Ontario

Tiny House Art Gallery

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Laura

I just got my art work back from a show in Kingston when the men were coming to put up the steel.  There was a whole box of them, plus I had more here that I had stacked on a shelf.  Because there is not a lot of space at Tiny House Ontario, I decided to put my work up on the walls.  So, Tiny House Ontario is doubling as a Teeny-Tiny-Gallery.

I also have a new and wonderful painting from the Kingston artist Geoff Smith.  I have not shown it to you yet, because I have not yet decided on a frame.  None-the-less, if you come to see my paintings at Tiny House, I will give you a sneak peek of Geoff’s beautiful work.

I found it inspiring to have a home gallery.  So much so, that despite my having men there putting up steel, that I started a new painting which is sort of abstract.

Here is a sneak peek of my current piece.

Categories: Art, Cloth Porch, Laura Moreland, Magical, Ontario, Open your eyes, Original Art work of Laura Moreland, Tiny House Ontario | 3 Comments

Chocolate Coating

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Laura

Leo and Kyle were back at work again early this morning.

First they got the West wall done.

Then they finished up the East wall.

They did not do the South wall over the cloth porch for two reasons, firstly, I neglected to order enough J-trim and secondly I did not buy fabric to recover the cloth porch which will need to have the ceiling cut out so that they can work.  Kyle is going to bend a piece of J trim, eves trough and facia panels for the in-house.  They will be back to finish the week after next and I will update you then.

These men never stopped all day.  Finally at the end of the work day in the heat and humidity, the father and son team cracked a well deserved cold one.  I hope it was yummy!

After the men left, I took a photo, as you can see Tiny House Ontario is brown and lovely like a big brick of Cadbury chocolate, perhaps I should paint candy canes on the corner and have my chainsaw artist friend Steven Kenzora (from Peterborough) carve me some large gumdrops for corner cornices so it looks a little like the witch’s house in the famous German fairy tale?

I am happy that it is done on three sides and also that everything is tidy!  If you visit after the rain, the blue chalk lines will be already washed away.

A huge thanks to Leo and Kyle for their great work!

Categories: Cloth Porch, Off Grid, Ontario, Tiny House Ontario | 1 Comment

Steeling Chocolate!

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Laura

My childhood friend Allan calls Tiny House Ontario “The Chocolate Shed”.  For those of you who don’t know me… this is owing to my huge addiction to Cadbury chocolate.  When I looked at the photos for the first time, it suddenly dawned on me that I picked steel that is the same colour as my favourite food group.  I think that Allan will like this!

It was raining the morning; even so the men arrived to put the steel up on Tiny House.  They said better a little rain then the horrible heat we have been having and got right to work!

Getting the corner and J-trim on took quite some time, but by 11:00 they were getting the first big sheet on.

Tiny House looks TINY against these big lads!  By the way, ladies, the young lad in blue (Kyle) is quiet, fit, handsome, handy, 28 and SINGLE.

The front of the house was the first side which was finished.

Then Leo and Kyle worked on the East Side of Tiny House Ontario but it is 5:00 pm so they packed up for the day and may come back tomorrow to get the rest up.  It won’t take as long because the trim and corners are already cut so it is just the sheets that need to be put up.

It changes the look of the place as you come down the driveway, that is for sure!

Categories: Off Grid, Ontario, Tiny House Ontario | 4 Comments

Snake Face Worm Dude

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Laura

You all know by now that I am not a huge fan of insects/worms/creepy-crawly things…

This guy keeps moving back into the cloth porch.

My friend Liisa thinks that it is BEAUTIFUL.  I am not afraid, because dude is much to slow moving, still I am not convinced that it is beautiful as much as it is sort of interesting as long as it is at arms length.  This fat worm dude is about the size of a tomato worm and has a snake’s face and head…

Anyone know specifically what it is and what it will become if it goes to another phase?

 

 

Categories: Cloth Porch, Forest, Nature, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario | 1 Comment

If You Can’t Stand the Heat…

Posted on July 4, 2012 by Laura

It is hot here again at Tiny House Ontario.  Pig hot!  So hot in fact that Baby does not like to be driven and is giving me a bit of grief.  It is not a wonder, even my thin leather jacket is far too warm – both it and my helmet are getting downright funky.

The dogs have gone to Hamilton to be in the air-conditioning with Big Papa Dog.  I have been running away from the house to get away from the heat which is possible only because I don’t have to be there for the dogs.  I have been at my friend’s significantly more comfortable (AKA: air conditioned) places (thanks and you know who you are!), I have been at the movies and even at shopping places to get out of the heat.

Not moving around much is also a good way to deal with the heat, so I read the entire (not very good) dropped book which was left at the end of a driveway in a pile of stuff.  I also do this with books.  I read them and leave them where I finish them, unless there is someone that comes to mind when I read it or there is something mind bogglingly amazing about the book.  The mind boggling ones, I keep and read over and over and often buy copies for friends too.

I also had a little bit of company.  My girlfriend Velda, her husband Peter and their youngest daughter were out for a visit and also delivered the battery for my solar system (Thank you!).  I wish that we lived closer year around because both my husband and I really like their company and it would be good to see a lot more of them.  Too they have really terrific kids and I seriously miss being around little ones.  I would have loved to have a lot of kids but life did not offer me this opportunity so I am grateful to have friends with kids and also this probably explains the dog pack.  It was a nice visit even though it was far too hot.  We could not even sit in the cloth porch which was sauna like, so we brought some chairs to the shadier North side of the house and sat there for a visit.  I am afraid that it was not a very comfortable temperature there either, but even so, I was happy to see them.

So, thanks to my friends, I have all the bits now for the solar system except for the 12v lights which is what the system will operate.  I will get all the bits in place this week so that when Leo comes on the weekend… yes, I remembered to call him this time… I can get some guidance from him regarding what to do so that I don’t blow up all the new bits!

The weather forecast says that the weather will cool off a bit tomorrow and that we are expecting a bit of rain on Saturday.  I am divided about wanting rain for my garden and the forest and not wanting rain because this is when I expect Leo to put the steel on THO.  It would be great if it pissed rain every night after 9:00 and then stopped at 6:00 am.  Mother Nature, are you listening?  Please give us hours and hours of good slow steady night rain.

Categories: Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment