Simple living

Who Wants This?

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Laura

I just started cooking supper now.  A fall vegetable and red lentil stew of my own creation.  The house smells really great as this simmers in the large pot on the stove.

It would be so much more satisfying to be in the forest to eat this meal.  It is 11 degrees in the Kingston area now.  A little bit cloudy and damp.  Imagine a long, well paced walk in a forest, while it is preparing for its long winter nap.  You can smell and see the changes that nature brought us in the past days.  A few chipmunks gather the last of their stash, the hornet nest preparing to sleep, birds call as they are flying over you going south.  You are just a little out of breath coming back after the hour, but you can smell the light spicy aroma as you approach the cozy Tiny House.  Keen to see how it looks, you all fresh and rosy cheeked peek into the pot and see this just as the open pot reveals a deeper scent of onions peanuts and peppers.  Mmmmmmm!

Food tastes so much better after a bit of time with the natural world.  Anyone else want to be doing just this?

Here is what is in my fall stew:

1/4 cup grape seed oil

3 chopped onions

Fry to brown then add

3 chopped red peppers

6 chopped tomatoes

1 chopped head broccoli

1 chopped head cauliflower

2 chopped big potatoes

4 smaller squashes (I used white ones but it does not matter)

3 small nappa cabbages

8 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1/4 cup TVP

1 cup natural peanut butter

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon pepper

salt to taste (I used about 3/4 of a tablespoon)

2 tablespoons mixed herbs parsley, thyme and sage is what I had.

Once this is all soft and ready I took it off the heat and added a small can of coconut milk for the under flavour.

Categories: Environmentalism, Food, Forest, Nature, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, View | Tags: , | 6 Comments

One Tiny House Regret

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Laura
I love this! I strongly wish I would have done one of these under Tiny House Ontario. I would only have been able to go down four feet because of the stone under, but even so this would be loads of space for food storage.  I decided this summer after discovering that I have a dairy allergy that I don’t need a fridge after all – but this would have been so great to store all my garden produce even though I would have to stoop down there.
Sigh….
Do you have any regrets about your Tiny House build?
This is mid way through a stand alone cellar project which can be seen here.  Due to the fact that I did not have the foresight to build one under THO, one like this is also on my TO DO list.
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I am not sure why there is a problem with the link… you may need to cut and paste this in your window if it does not work for you.
Categories: Food, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | 4 Comments

THO Floor Space

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Laura

Finally!  THO has floor space!  Making the Tiny House bigger is something that I have been working on for a while now.  I did not want to build on so the only solution was to downsize the stuff that I keep in the place.  After getting the Tiny adaptable table that my cousin Vernie built, I started getting rid of the table and chairs inside and now finally they are removed.  I can’t believe how HUGE the place feels now!

 

Categories: Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario, Trade, View | Tags: | 2 Comments

The New Cloth Porch

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Laura

It is not exactly a new room but the same Cloth Porch with a bit of a change up as well as a cold weather transition.  I attached a bunch of 2×8’s to the roof which Hj handed up to me, then tarped some of it, and just as it started to rain we lifted the BBQ inside.  It was totally awesome!  It was pissing rain outside and there I was tucked safely under the newly tarped roof, dry and cozy cooking supper.  We worked on the meal and tidying up the construction mess while things were cooking.  We both felt happy to have the porch at least semi set up so that we could work through the stuff that had to be done, dry and cozy.

We had rice with a few remaining garden veggies in a red pepper and coconut cream sauce.  I had tea and the big German had a beer.  I have to tell you supper was totally yum!  You know what I mean, food is always so good after fresh air and a good day of work.

I decided in the night that I am not going to tarp the rest rather I am actually going to cut down the South facing tarp and I will cover the rest with thick vapour barrier plastic.  Not exactly the prettiest stuff but it will allow light in, so this is a better solution I think.

This morning we fixed up the screen door which after two summers with little dogs pushing on it had let go of the screen.  I just put the screen back in and screwed some 1×2 alone the entire rubber bead.  Works again like a charm!  This winter it too will be plastic coated.  Not today though, we are back on the highway soon, as you see by the photos it is pissing rain here so we will lock the doors again and won’t be back for a couple of weeks in order to finish what we started.

Categories: Cloth Porch, Forest, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, View | 6 Comments

Music of the Heart

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Laura

We arrived safely at THO at about 1:00 and shortly after, I had a visit from someone who played a more than significant role in my life.  Kiki is the sort of person that we need in our life, who believe in you when you not exactly the greatest human inspiration.   Who know how to inspire you to be better, even if it is a little kick in the ass that is required.  She opened doors for me in a time of my life when it seemed that I only faced closed ones.   It was just awesome to see her!

As a way of paying forward the kindnesses that I experienced all those years ago I made a fast stop  to do a small pay forward.  Getting through is not always easy for brilliant and creative people.  It is sad – at least it is for me – our talented artists should be able to make a living from their talent!  Do you agree?

After Kiki’s visit, I had to skip to Kingston after to pick up a few things and also stop to see Leo who is coming this morning to put up the eves trough.

We had a bite to eat and after dinner Tiny House Ontario was just starting to warm up so Hj and I took turns playing the McNally Strumstick (G).  This is such a great little instrument!  We are both not musicians and yet just like McNally promises you can’t hit a wrong note and right away you feel like you might be able to do it.  The guitar I have only wishes I could play it as well!

What can I say, today at THO there was music of the heart.

Categories: Friendship, Magical, Music, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario, Trade, View | 7 Comments