Simple living

Gaining Comforts

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Laura

Tiny House Ontario has become a lot more comfortable this year.  A little bit of rearranging, turning the cupboard door, the W/C (non addition) through the side window have all made things feel a bit bigger and easier to access.  It all helps to make the space feel better even though it is not yet completed.

Here is what it looks like now.

Due to the fact that we pay as we go with her, THO is very much a project that is still underway.  The major ones to do here are (in order of operation) the flooring ($1500 and time), the kitchen (drawers, 12 volt fridge and 2 burner cooker – $2000), the furnace ($1500), the well (plus solar and hand pumps -$7000).  None will be done this year unless we fall into a little bit of money and if this happens the furnace will jump que so that we can use THO more comfortably and with more safety this winter.

Categories: Money, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny house, Tiny House Ontario | 2 Comments

Laughing Wire Water Garden

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Laura

My cousin Vernie, one of my favourite people, let me know that he had some chicken wire to put over my garden to keep out the rodents.  So I went over to his place to pick it up and he shared a few hilarious anecdotes from the past.  He just slays me!  His daughter Tracey has also inherited his wicked sense of humour so we laugh a lot when we are together.  I love that my life is filled with hilarity!

Vern also shared one of his new inventions with us, a very cool corn planting machine.  The man is a genius!

With chicken wire in hand and though it was raining cats and chihuahuas we braved the rain to reseed and also to put the chicken wire down.  It looks pretty nifty and will be interesting to see how the plants can come though it.  Hopefully they will not all be gnawed off.

This morning it was still pouring but the seeds seem to one totally in place.  I hope it keeps on raining for another day or two since everything is dry as bone here and water is needed to get the food growing.

I left a small rubber container out on the cloth porch last night and it was about 2 inches deep this morning.  Thus it was a good rain.

My mom used to sing… “oh Lord don’t let the rain come down, because my roof has got a hole in it and I might drown”, but we are dry in Tiny House Ontario as well as in town doing a blog post.

I think I will sing… “oh lord how I wish it would rain down on me” to keep that water coming for a bit and get my garden going.

Categories: Environmentalism, Forest, Friendship, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Sustainable living, Tiny House Ontario | 1 Comment

Cuddling Corner

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Laura

I rearranged the furniture at Tiny House and have found that I really like to sit in this little corner.  It is particularly nice if one of the dogs cuddle in with me while I read or write.

The photo of Honey is not too flattering, but she does not get on line much and I won’t tell her about it, so please don’t tell her about it either.

Categories: Dogs, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Time, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment

Wild Strawberries…

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Laura

When the rain stops, I will go into the forest and pick a bunch of wild strawberries.  They are nearly ready at Tiny House Ontario.  I think that nothing tastes better than these little wild wonders.

Categories: Food, Forest, Off Grid, Ontario, Simple living, Tiny House Ontario | Leave a comment

Again: The Cloth Porch

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Laura

I know, I have said it a hundred times already, but I want to emphasize that I use the cloth porch more than I imagined I ever would and it seems to be not just my favourite hang out but the favourite of all of my visitors too.

Last year I put up the remaining spruce that was left over from the inside but I did not have enough to finish the job.  This year my husband and I broke down and bought 6 more boards.  They are not weathered so they look a little different than the ones from last year.

It makes the cloth porch feel a lot more like a room and a lot less like an after thought.  Here is what it looks like when you look in from the South

Categories: Cloth Porch, Nature, Off Grid, Simple living | Leave a comment