The heat is on

...and we haven't died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Yet. (ahem)

After a rough start involving regulators (bad advice from 2 hardware stores - WTF, people), we finally got the heater hooked up and operating. As in: Keith crawled under the house with the spiders while I fished copper tubing through the hole and then he did the rest. He's good at that!

So, yes, it's definitely not as attractive as the old stove (which was a beaut), but the efficiency and reliability factors went through the roof with the new one, which runs on propane. We set it on the LOW setting and it keeps it at 70°+ all night. That's with the window cracked the width of my fist to prevent aforementioned CO poisoning.

The black part on the floor that was under the old stove will probably stay (ugly as it is) until we re-do the floor as part of the Murphy Bed Project, so that means who knows how long. Anyway, it's a concession we're living with.

Having heat indoors means we can, theoretically, work on the interior of the house over the winter and you know, cook meals and use a toilet of some fashion. Wow, won't that be an exciting day. The kitchen counter and sink are waiting patiently. Me, not so much with the patience.

Of course the dogs are very happy to have heat, too.

But having a heater doesn't mean they still don't get in bed. I was fooling myself thinking it would. Nothing short of pigeon spikes could keep these two down.

Don't let anyone tell you short-haired dogs don't shed. They do. In enormous amounts. I swept the day before I took this shot.

We're enjoying a mild, if rainy, fall and haven't seen any trace of snow in the valley. It frosted a couple of weeks ago, but otherwise plants are following the late seasons we've had all year. Here's a panorama from the (covered!) front porch of the tiny house. Click on it to see it larger.

I finished up Ashley's senior portrait session (4 in all! whew) and was pretty happy with the final results.

It took me a bit to find my groove and match up what I had in my mind with what I was able to produce through the camera. She was a good sport, too, and very patient with me. If it turns into some referral business, great. If not, it was still a good experience.

It can't be October already.

On the way up the old Nezperce grade last weekend to cover the Lewis County Fair (and also the combine demolition derby), we stopped at The Point to take in the view.

Once you get on top, the scenery really changes and starts to resemble the Palouse.

It was a gorgeous day. I saw a dust devil and even snapped a few photos, but it escaped capture.

In Tiny House news:

We sold our stove! Mixed feelings on this. We both LOVED that stove. Aesthetically, it was perfect. Practically, not so much.

Keith ordered a propane infrared heater (something similar to this) from a local place today as they're on sale for $170. It will great to wake up on a winter morning and not have icicles in my nose. (Also, since it's been gone - no where to pile things as we come in the door. For me, a person who lives by piles, it's somewhat of a problem.)

We're still not sure what kind of kitchen/cooking set-up we're going for now that we're going to have heat under control. We saw some rad outdoor grills at Costco. I mean how sweet would it be to have something like this.

We even considered an outdoor oven, like Camp Chef sells, but I don't know how practical that would be. Probably not the safest way to cook inside, ha. But as long as the weather stays above freezing we have a coffee station set up on the deck. French press travel mugs + camp stove = mmm.

Photography-wise, I am hoping to get on a roll with some senior portraits. I'm shooting the first girl for free (she's buying prints) just to get the images out there and hopefully that will earn a referral or two. I've heard people want options for senior portraits around here, but whether or not I am that other option, we'll see.

I made a FB page for myself and I've uploaded the first set of Ashley's senior portraits there. It was a meet-and-get-comfortable kind of shoot so I'm hoping to push the boundaries a bit downtown tomorrow on her second shoot. Maybe try to channel Parker Fitzgerald.

Mia girl has been on a tennis ball rampage. We bought 2 cans in Missoula and we have two balls left. She would go until her heart exploded, but we take it easy and I make her take drink breaks. Thinking of submitting her (and/or Lazlo's) photos to the Idaho Humane Society for their calendar contest...