Open house and middle of two projects...

I completely enjoyed the open house yesterday!  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics.  Sorry about that.  It was really good to connect with old and new friends and neighbors.  It seems that there are a few things in the house that people like the most.  First thing most people comment on is how much bigger it seems inside than they thought from looking at the outside.  I think there are three major contributors to that thought: 1) the white kitchen, 2) the high ceiling, and 3) the lack of interior walls.  The second thing many people comment on is the blue tile backsplash in the kitchen.  That happens to be one of my favorite things about the house.  It sets a really relaxing, laid back tone, almost beachy feeling.  

The third thing is the stairs to the loft.  The design is my own with influences from every other tiny house I've ever seen.  The stairs on a pulley adds a tree house feeling that reminds people of when they were a kid, so it lends a very playful spirit to the space.

 I truly love sharing my house with people! The happy, excited, inspired energy everyone brings has seeped into the structure and I can't help but smile every time I walk in the door.  Thank you all!!

This week has been a little busy for me.  I've been studying for a test that could land me a work-from-home part-time job.  The three sections of the test need to be done by this coming Wednesday which seems quite do-able, but I had no idea what to expect.  As of this moment I've passed two sections, each one took me 3-4 hours.  All that to say I didn't get everything finished that I wanted to for the open house.  I was hoping to get the table ready and the lights in the kitchen re-done.  Got part-way finished with both. So here is the progress report:

Table...got the middle section designed and part-way built and my measurements are off by about 3/8 of an inch so next will be to take it apart, re-cut, and put back together.

Kitchen light...the LED strip that I had in the kitchen was bright white LED's and I found the light too harsh for my liking even when they were dimmed, so I got some warm white ones that I think I'll like better.  The other part of the kitchen light re-vamp is that I liked the hula hoop shape/idea, but it looked shabby and a bit tacky to me.  SO, I wrapped the hula hoop in rope and I already like it better.  

Need to put the new lights on and see how that looks.  Then my friend Audry suggested I make a little chandelier out of it by using another smaller hula hoop to give it some depth.  I'm liking that idea, so might need to give it a try.

PS.  The charge controller arrived!!!  Waiting on the batteries and inverter now.  Can hardly stand it!

 

FINally! An Open House!

So, it is supposed to stop raining by next weekend, and I thought it a good time to do a little celebrating by having an open house.  My neighbors are all very excited! (And no, I'm not kidding)  So if you are in the neighborhood or coming to the neighborhood or making a special trip, stop by next Saturday afternoon for a tiny tour and some s'mores.  Bring the kids and the dog and your neighbors and whoever else wants to trek on over.  See you then!

Details:

3726 Porter Ave, Ogden, UT

Saturday May 30, 2015

2pm - 5pm

MUST. HAVE. CHOCOLATE!!

Ok, folks. I did it!  I just pushed the button to buy the rest of my solar components.  I think I'm gonna cry :D (from happiness).  I will still need to get cables, a fuse or two, and the advice of an electrician, but as of today my tiny house is one step closer to off-grid liveable!  This was the last big thing.  WOW!  Thank you Mom!  So now, I need to get my panels back out, then the waiting begins for the brown man to stop in front of my house. (That would be the UPS guy, who btw is very handsome. I'm always happy to see him.)  So the things I pushed the "go button" on today are the batteries, charge controller, and inverter.  I got 2 - 125ah batteries, 12v.  I got two because my panels are 24v so I will need to wire my batteries in series so the voltages match. I got an MPPT charge controller to get the most juice from the panels to the batteries.  And last but not least I ordered a 1500W pure sine wave inverter, so my electronics will work properly when plugged into the system.  I think this calls for a small celebration. Yes, I know I just went to the grocery store this morning, but I think I'd better go back and get some chocolate (which I so proudly walked past this morning...should have known better).

Ok, went back to the store...:)

De-clutter...the beginning...or maybe the middle

Hi Y'all! The weather this week has been interesting and so have my Ticklebelly activities.  I have a very short to-do list in the tiny house now.  I got the smoke alarm and the CO alarm put up.  There are only so many places in a tiny house that either of those can go.  The CO alarm is supposed to be on an inside wall, which only gives a couple of options, and the smoke alarm is supposed to be out of air streams that could prevent smoke from entering the alarm.  Hmmmm.  The number of windows in the house provide lots of cross-breezes.  In the end I put the smoke alarm on the ceiling in the storage loft near the peak of the ceiling.  I put the CO alarm down low on the bookshelf/stairs.  If anyone has any suggestions on where else they could go please leave comments below. 

I also started cleaning up the fender-outside wall junctions.  I'm putting eco-bond in the junctions.  Then I'll paint it so it isn't noticeable.  Got the starboard side ready to paint, the port side needs one more round of eco-bond.  And then the rain started, so that isn't crossed off the list quite yet, but at least no moisture will get into the walls. (no pics just yet due to rain)

And last but not least the down-sizing has begun, or is continuing... I've actually been downsizing for about six years.  I down-sized my own stuff when I moved to Utah to care for my mom six years ago.  If it didn't fit in my Jeep, I didn't bring it, knowing Mom had two (or more) of everything a body could ever need.  I think it is actually more difficult to down-size my mom's stuff.  And she doesn't only have her stuff, but my grandparents' stuff too.  SO down-sizing three generations of stuff...wow!  That is all I have to say on that topic for now.

But look!! Three empty totes! (Not to mention the 5 boxes that went to charity and the two times I emptied the recycle into the outside bin.)

If any of you are beginning the down-sizing process or have even thought about it, don't be afraid!  Remember, the easiest way to finish something is to begin.

I'm back!

Took a little break to take care of some family business, but now I'm back and heavy into the downsizing in preparation for moving into Ticklebelly Bungalow.  Also been working on fixing up my big house. My little brother, Brian (hehe, he's not that little) and his wife, Jo, helped me with the honey-do list. A GIANT thanks goes out to them! There is only one more thing on it, but it is a biggie that I'm sure will require a professional.  

Here is one of our little projects.  This idea came from another blog, and I apologize for not taking note of it so I could link it here.  All you need is cinderblocks (donated by my neighbor), paint (the most expensive part of the project) and a couple of 4X4's.  We had one left over from our fence repair, bought another to match it and then used two old fence posts (with the rot cut off).  For the cushions I used a foam mattress cover (cut to size) and a sheet for the covers which I left open on one end so I could take out the foam and wash the cover if needed.

Painting the cinderblocks

Brian glued the cinderblocks together

 

All put together

With the cushions

I think it might be time for a marshmallow roast and Ticklebelly Bungalow open house!  I'll keep you updated about dates and times.  

San Diego EarthFair 2015 and San Diego Living

Before we get to the pics...a funny.

Since I usually don't schedule myself to go places early in the morning, I was a little nervous about waking up on time to arrive and set up at the EarthFair.  I set two alarms one on the phone, one on the iPad.  Well, I woke up before either alarm rang. Dark outside, checked the clock 5:15am, tried to go back to sleep.  6:15am, still dark outside, couldn't go back to sleep so decided to get ready to go and show up a little early...couldn't hurt to be a little early...supposed to be there right around 7 to set up and only takes a few minutes to get there.  6:45 still pretty dark outside, but beginning to show signs of daylight.  I hop in the truck after double checking lights, hitch, etc, turn the key in the ignition, console in the truck comes on, and the clock reads 5:45.  Then it hits me!  My phone and iPad don't automatically change time zones, because I changed that particular setting.  I was already awake and ready to go, so I figured I'd just go.  It all worked out just fine, but NO WONDER it was SO dark outside!!  

So on to the pics

Rolling up to our booth spot

Inside the packed but very happy house...

Outside the packed but very happy house

People waiting in line for a tiny tour of my tiny space.  Most of the day there was a line of people waiting to come in and see.  We let in 5-7 people at a time, most people were inside for about 2-3 minutes and it was a steady stream! So in the 8 hours of the fair between 1200 and 1500 people walked through my house.  Each one had a smile on their face as they walked through the door, and the kids were so fascinated by the lofts!  A lot of them got to climb the stairs and sit on the bed.  I loved seeing their excited little smiling faces.  SO FUN!!  It was really great to hear people say, "I could live in this!" or "You built this?" Me: "Yes, I did and so can you!" Then I could see the wheels turning as they thought about the possibilities, being inspired by standing in my tiny space! 

The instructions about closing booths at 5pm are pretty strict and understandably so.  If not, they'd never get everyone out of the park.  At 4:45 someone came in and told me we had 15 minutes before we had to close.  I was a little shocked! The time had gone by so quickly!  We finally let everyone in line crowd in so they could get a little view of the inside, and at 5 we had to shut the door.  Bummer.  We walked out onto the porch and pulled the door closed, then I had a slow motion moment.  You know when you lock your keys in the car, and the door is half an inch from closing and there is nothing you can do to keep the latch from clicking?  Yeah, one of those moments. And yeah, I locked the tiny house door key in the tiny house!  Good thing the windows were open!  So then this happened...

Danielle's brave daughter went in through the kitchen window to save us!

Her first house break-in!

All in all I would call the day an amazing success! 

Monday morning...here we go again!  Off to the TV station to be on San Diego Living.  Driving in a bit of morning traffic was interesting...driving in ANY traffic is interesting. I love the looks and thumbs up and peace signs and rushing to get out the phone for a pic. It is almost as good as driving the topless jeep with Nellie riding in the back wearing her doggles.  ANYWAY, if you'd like to check out our TV appearance click on the link below.

http://www.sandiego6.com/san-diego-living/real-estate-home/House-Trends-Living-Tiny-300689661.html

And here's us in the backlot.

Well, that's all for now.  I'm headed to the beach for a little while.  Can't come to San Diego and NOT go to the beach.

 

   

TB has left the yard!

Some fun things so far about this adventure...

See in Beaver, UT  "Fast friendly service...... Quality Gasoline!!  #1 RESTROOMS!!!!  Guess we have our priorities straight.  ;D

People are drawn to the bungalow!  Every stop I made, except my midnight sleeping stop, people wanted to see and talk about tiny houses!  I LOVE IT!

Here are some new friends in North Las Vegas.  Stopped for gas and met a very nice family!

At the EarthFair today we had a constant line of people waiting to take a peek inside.  I was a little surprised at the interest and excitement.  We had 1500 business cards promoting the Tiny House Enthusiasts Meetup group and they were all gone by early afternoon.  Such a fun day sharing my little house with San Diego!  Time went by so quickly and I was quite shocked when someone came in and said we had 15 minutes left and then we had to close our booth.  WHAT? IT IS QUARTER TO 5?  Wow! Fastest 8 hours I've ever lived through I think.  I'll post more pics later.  Tomorrow it is off to the TV station for San Diego Living on Fox channel 6. Live TV and I'm a little bit nervous. It will be very fun.