Monthly Archives: December 2011

Dear Readers,

It is snowing now here in Ontario and today, in a moment, I leave for Tiny House Ontario.  I am not sure how long I will stay, because I don’t have any heat there except a little stinky camping propane heater and about 30 bees wax candles.  I am not convinced that my tiny herd, of tiny dogs, will like the Tiny House, with only the tiniest bit of heat.

So, this is a heads up.  I will not be posting while I am there because if you have been reading you know I am as off grid as one can be.  I hope to be there the 10 nights which is what I am aiming for, but it may only be 2 depending on the dogs.

Even so, I will come back armed with more photos of the place.  There will be, I hope, some good and updated visuals when I return.  In the mean time, I leave you with one of my paintings.

Stay safe, keep reading and planning!

Laura

Why, inspiration of course!

Who inspired me?

I know that this might sound like it is stolen from Dr. Seuss and I suppose it is, but I think that inspiration does not come in a can.  It is not something that you go to the store to pick up and suddenly everything is prepared.  At least, it really is not that sudden for me.  There were many people which brought me to the point of buying land and deciding on a tiny house.  Some of it had to do with simply wanting to have a place to go when I go home; but it is not just a home, it is a little bit more.  There were a lot of people who inspired me to be thoughtful about what I would do on my land, when I finally got it, here is the list as I see it.

Grandma and Grandpa, Leslie and Mabel.  Who taught me to love history and who taught me about the people from where I came.

Dad, Richard.  He taught me to love the land and know the plants and seasons of the area where I came from.

Erazim Kohák. Who wrote about what it means to understand and love the land.

Dr. Seuss, the Lorax: Who taught me that the planet is more important than thneeds.

Grandpa and Grandma, Bob and Violet:  Who taught me that farmers are the most important people in the world and deserve to be respected for the years of education that they receive on the farm.  Indeed trained from infancy, groomed to work and to know the land, and consequently the most educated people we have in the world.  Still, sadly, so many imagine that this earned education to be less than what is paid for at university, that this education is somehow unimportant because it is simply passed down and along.  Absurd that farmers are and continue to be some of the most marginalized in our society.

My cousin Andrea and her husband Orrie:  Who live the life of the Lorax, every moment on their bio-diverse, organic farm in Inverary, Ontario.  They have each taught me so much about living the good life, that I cannot begin to tell you what I have taken from them and their friends and followers.

Of course then there is Jay Shafer, who, though I have never met him showed me how to live big in a small home.

Lastly, and most importantly, I have to say that my husband, HJ, is the one who works to make this all possible!  He supports my philosophical and artistic hopes, even though I left him for six months this summer to chase and build this dream.  HJ is as solid as the giant rock escarpment that I built the tiny house on.

These people were my major inspirations.

Two cute little kids live in a home which is close to my tiny house and they come to visit me frequently to have a candy from my auto refill dish. The youngest suddenly realized that there was no bathroom in my Tiny House, and said: “where do you go to the bathroom?” I answered: “in the woods.” The response: “Oh Gross!” I asked: “Where do you use the toilet?” The answer: “In my bathroom. My response: “you poop in your house? Now that is gross!” I was met with big eyed amazement and no response. Poor kids!

Still, this smart, small person has it right! If you have ever lived in a home with no toilet facilities you may also understand why this particular problem keeps me up at nights. Yes, going out in the night in a region where there was a bear sighting this summer, wolves are frequent visitors, coyotes howl and cougars are becoming increasingly prevalent is a bit scary. Not to mention that there is a a loony living within walking distance, and the prison capitol of the WORLD is right there, next city. So it is not exactly ideal to have to pee in the night out of doors, and obviously I contemplated if I really NEED to about go out from time to time.

I think this spring I will resolve this issue by building a tiny additional building. I am thinking that a 4×6 will be exactly right – at the front – a breezeway next to the door and then the deluxe outhouse attached to this. I have made a drawing but I am NO expert with photoshop, so it is not as clear on here as it is in my head. Thankfully, I much better with a paper and pencil due to years of drafting in school. Thank you Mr. Phil Hegarty! I use this skill that you passed to me, frequently! Still with no scanner, I can’t draw it for my readers that way so this will hopefully give you an idea of my plans

The circle in this drawing is to represent a urine separator unit with a sort of collector for the other stuff. The drains will both have sinks that drain and have running (collected rain water) from the roofs (tiny house and addition). I got a wonderful collector bucket this summer which is made out of an industrial relish barrel. Quattrochi’s in Kingston sells them. They are a lot sturdier and way cheaper than the standard ones at $50.-. I will raise this up to sink height so that I get enough flow for hand washing.  The pink dots are the planned raised rain barrel array.

I will install a drain for the urine as well as two for the rain water. One in the out house and the other in the breezeway so that I have a sink to do the dishes in without having to manually dump. I already use ecological cleaners so I think that there will be nothing to worry about regarding the drains.

Poop, tissue and sawdust will be buried from time to time.

Anyone with experience in these matters please let me know what you think.