Monday, December 29, 2008

Speed updating on my lunch break

It decided to be winter after all. We've been dumped on for the past week or so but it's raining now, which makes everyone's favorite--a foot of slush. Went to the gym this morning but forgot my boots. My very loving husband waited for me and drove me to work so I didn't have to swim there.

Keith is starting to install the floor today! This puts us on track for a Jan 1 move-in. !!

Tuesday the forecast is looking good for installing the upper portion of the stovepipe, the important part--the one that prevents asphyxiation. The stove itself is in, but the plates on top and the back don't go on until the rest of the stovepipe is on. So we use it as a glove dryer instead. I'm loving the tin behind it. We're also putting tin on the opposite wall, where the sink and counter will be.

Yesterday we made the bed frame, which really showed us how much room we have left.
backside is open for storage of off-season clothes

Talked about window sills, walls, curtains, shelving, reading swing, cabinets and escape hatches--all the fun stuff.

We also hung up the B that my dad made us for Christmas. We love it!!


Yesterday the weather was gorgeous---almost balmy. Keith swept all the snow off the roof (in preparation for installing the stovepipe) and Lazlo and I played catch with some snowballs.

Friday, December 26, 2008

No More Excuses

Boots on the way...no more complaining about losing feeling in my toes while working on the tiny house (or walking from the gym to work in the morning). I guess Pumas aren't made for cold weather climates. These are pretty much like Keith's only with pink trim. Only $50 on overstock.com!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Come on knock on our door(s)...

We're adjusting the deadline. It doesn't look like we'll be in by Dec. 25.
I could yell at the contractor, but I have a feeling that wouldn't do any good.
It's no one's fault, it's just too cold to get much done. We can only work out there for an hour or so before we I start to get frostbite.

The good news: The doors are hung!

Two weeks ago we had no snow. Today we have probably over 1'.

hardware my grandpa pulled off an old homestead in Montana

The brass hardware my dad gave us looks awesome with the paint color we chose. I had to rub hard on that brass to get it so shiny. We just wanted an even base for the patina to do its thing. Let's see what all this snow/rain/cold does to the color.

The blue tarp front door will soon be a thing of the past. Keith planned on insulating them today (weatherstripping, etc.) and maybe getting the wood stove ready to install. We're on the big countdown now. We also had to build some temporary steps to make getting in and out easier. Next spring we'll make our deck.

The dogs are loving the snow. We only let them out for about 15 minutes at a time because we don't want their feet to get frozen, but I think they'd stay out all day if we let them. Lazlo at least, because he has a health layer of insulation.


fatty

Mia Pia loves to eat snow!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Happy Solstice to me!!

Keith and I don't really celebrate Christmas. We've opted out of extended family name-drawing/gift-giving for several years now and we really only exchange gifts with our immediate family because my mom would cry if we didn't. No, but really, it's a family tradition and we like to participate in the feel-good-ness of it, but it's the consumerism and caroling and baby jesus that we're not into so much...

So, Keith and I don't really exchange gifts, formally, like ever. I mean for birthdays we go out to dinner or do something. And if we see something that we know the other one likes/needs, we just buy it. (Like Keith's winter boots, which should be here tomorrow!) Today out in the garage while we were polishing and installing the hardware on the doors, Keith said, "You didn't get me anything for Christmas, did you?" I gave him a look of disbelief and said, "I think the Tiny House is our gift." He seems satisfied with that. He better be, because I didn't get him anything and I don't plan on it (unless something strikes me at the last minute...).

But I couldn't help it today when I saw this on Blogtown (the Portland Mercury's blog, which I still read) from Ork Posters. I bought one for myself. For the Tiny House. For us.

Why I still feel connected so Portland is another discussion entirely, but the design of this really appeals to me and I like how all of the neighborhoods are spelled out (I've been really into typography lately). Art in the Tiny House will have to be well-chosen and appropriately sized, and I think this one will do just fine!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Change is hard, but inevitable

Everything changes, the zen master reminds me.
The more easily you accept this, the easier your life will be.

Getting used to not being on the internet for *cough*several hours a day*cough* is HARD. But I am managing. I don't have a choice, being sans laptop now for the past few weeks. That piece of crap is useless and can't even be sold for parts. What do I do, throw it away? Smash it, Office Space-style? That might be gratifying! I sneak in most of my browsing, via Google Reader, at work, which is also the only place I can post photos. My calories-for-a-Macbook diet is not producing any tangible results, but that may be explained by another recent change:

My new gym membership. Yes, that's right. I am paying money to exercise. I started Friday morning. I didn't eat breakfast and almost passed out after 10 min. on the elliptical trainer. Amateur! The monthly fee (no contract) includes all the classes they offer, too---so soon I will be giving kickboxing a try. I asked and there's only about 4 people taking the class so my risk of embarrassment is sufficiently low. They have showers so I am thinking of hitching a ride in to town with my mom, on her way to work, and getting a workout in before I have to be at work at 9. Keith laughed, and said, You do realize that means you'll have to get up at, like, 6?

Today I burned some calories helping Keith get firewood. He's working PT for a local arborist and volunteered to dispose of a poplar they cut down last week. Free firewood! So we cut up the tree and hauled it home today. 3 pickup loads. And probably at least one more load of maple tomorrow. It has to cure, or dry out, so it won't be ready to burn until next year, but there's probably about 2 years' worth, total.

Tomorrow (after woodgetting) we'll finish putting the doors together (and they look RAD!! just wait until you see pics) and maybe build the platform/storage under the bed. One of the things we have to do before the flooring can go in. With only 12 days until Christmas, we're under the gun to get moved in!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Installing glass, Egyptian style

Last weekend we made big progress by installing the 2 plate glass windows. We had been waiting on the trim that holds them---waiting for the several layers of paint to dry. Which took FOREVER. Don't paint things when it's cold. Because it takes forever to dry---even in a heated garage.

But the windows themselves posed a problem because of their size and weight. At 4.5' x 7' and several hundred pounds each, we were brainstorming on how to install them a) without breaking them (they flex a little when you pick up on the ends) and b) without cutting someone in half if they are too heavy and we drop one.

Then I had an idea! Let's do it like the Egyptians. Or maybe like the Easter Islanders. The point is, on rollers! So we bought half a dozen broom handles at True Value (now there's a business to be in--high profit margin in broom handles! $4 each!) and laid them out on the floor of the tiny house.

First, we loaded the windows, one at a time, into the back of the Mule to drive them over to the house.

Then we carefully slid them into the floor of the house. And everyone was waiting on me, while I documented everything.

From that point we rolled it around on the broom handles to position it in front of the hole where it needed to go. It was easier than trying to maneuver the window any other way--and no chance of breaking it!
This is the part that was most scary---lifting them into place without breaking them. Because they weren't framed they were a little flexible, but Foreman Gary assured us that as long we lifted them slowly we'd be ok. And he was right!

The new windows (one at the foot of the bed and one in the bathroom) let in a TON of light. I think storage is going to be our main problem--light is definitely not.

Before the big windows went in we installed the 2-way mirror in the bathroom, too.

So now the house looks like this, only imagine the big windows installed:

We're working on getting the door hardware ready (cleaning the brass) and the doors are painted and ready to put together. We also need to get the flooring installed and the wood stove in. And both of those projects are pretty labor-intensive...

At this point, we're shooting for a move-in date of Before Christmas.
But Keith says definitely by his 40th birthday (Jan. 28)!!
Let's hope it's earlier rather than later.