tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74233447876264030372024-03-14T00:30:36.974-05:00the Wandering Sidhea family journey to a tiny lifesyleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-44391391196284517862013-08-13T08:32:00.001-05:002013-08-13T08:32:05.165-05:00a year in reviewIt has been nearly one year since my last update. It has been a hard time for us. David did find another job, but it pays $3 less per hour. I am still looking. Our debt has increased, we are now in default on our mortgage, though that should be remedied soon. Keeping our food budget under control continues to be a struggle, the debt is such that until I'm working we cannot eliminate it. My weightUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-61967469480523542062012-08-24T01:19:00.000-05:002012-09-02T02:02:01.094-05:00paring downI've been blogging for almost six weeks about my tiny dream and the realization that I must get rid of my stuff is finally sinking in. I once said something to the effect that I would miss seeing my things in this house, but I finally realized, that even if we never make it to a tiny house we can live much smaller than we are in our 800 sq ft house. We have a lot of things we never or basically Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-54933463828242577392012-08-20T03:30:00.000-05:002012-09-02T02:01:08.149-05:00reflections on movingSorry for the posting break, but it's been a busy week. David's brother is entering a phD program two states away. So with a family of four, the youngest being 3 weeks old, obviously there were some things he asked for help with. So this week I've been hip deep in toddlers and babies, plaster repair (I'm the best drywaller in the family), trash picking up, carpet cleaning, screen replacing, etc..Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-7563306048798042042012-08-07T12:29:00.000-05:002012-09-02T02:08:52.905-05:00saucer v3Since my last post I have been hard at work to give David his stairs, and in so doing I also fixed the head space issue and moved back to the bench with trundle, and shrunk that entertainment center down to a less obscene size.
So by moving the stairs into the bathroom area, I will indeed lose space in the loft, but as long as my trusty graph paper can be believed, my queen sized mattress Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-15839362883584831082012-08-05T07:45:00.000-05:002012-08-31T03:50:46.626-05:00one step forwardAfter yesterday's creative aside I'm back to getting the saucer section right. Husband looked at it, and you remember that look I was talking about. Anytime "ladder" entered the equation he got that look. He much prefers the stairs we saw in the park models, steep - but functional. He likes the way they were sandwiched on either side in this model (and many others), but I don't think I can pull Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-48133652321610033432012-08-04T18:34:00.000-05:002012-08-31T03:00:16.232-05:00tiny home v2So this began as shuttle #2, also known as the escape pod which was really supposed to be a dining room/en suite but it took on a life of its own and here it is. My first run that I'm happy with the bathroom and kitchen, but I drew in my current sofa (a queen sleeper) and it dominates the little space left.
I try again with a smaller but still roomy sofa and it works out.
This is a 24 ft Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-45045963959124308702012-08-01T08:28:00.000-05:002012-08-31T03:06:42.903-05:00saucers, shuttles, doors.. oh, my!So here are some preliminary designs for the saucer section (24') as well as the shuttle #1 and shuttle #2, which I will likely call the escape pod (this first design is tarleton-esque, it was unintentional). You'll notice that the saucer and the shuttle both have 2 sets of patio doors. This is key for the docking, the door openings must be the same size so that the weatherstripping on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-49214690969756769052012-07-31T13:35:00.000-05:002012-09-02T01:45:59.698-05:00a private courtyardOne thing David and I have always loved the notion of are those enclosed private courtyards big homes. A private outdoor space, not achieved by a flimsy fence, but by the sturdy walls of one's home. So when I made my sketch of the saucer and shuttle combo I stated that I couldn't imagine needed more than three tiny homes, but I guess David can dream bigger when inspired.
Four. He wants four. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-2813989920227861062012-07-30T01:56:00.000-05:002012-08-30T13:00:14.399-05:00state of the unionNote: After writing this post I was so ashamed that I nearly didn't post it. But this is about being honest and open, with you sure, but especially with myself.
Let's talk dollars and cents. Because at least part of living sustainably is living without debt month to month, more often than not. I have no problem with the concept of financing certain things. However, just because I don't mind it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-55935716373086195672012-07-29T20:11:00.000-05:002012-08-30T22:36:17.076-05:00rain drops keep falling on my headFor some reason I was thinking of that song when I had my brainstorm with David yesterday. The way to make my saucer and shuttles aesthetically pleasing after docking is going to have a lot to do with the roof. to dock them successfully remember we have to be weather tight, but not so permanent it takes more than a drill, ladder, and a few screws to pull apart. Ideally we want the casual passerbyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-8971147618472767872012-07-28T06:39:00.000-05:002012-09-02T01:18:52.083-05:00scotty, four to beam upI thought the shared dream died as fast as it came into being but I spent all night thinking and drawing and drinking lots of caffeine and of course once I had my idea I checked the blogsphere and combed Google. Its an idea others have had, sort of.
As many tiny home folks are also becoming
parents but not allowing that to drastically change the tiny dream
there has been what I feel is sort Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-30626744787232606212012-07-27T22:39:00.000-05:002012-08-30T14:42:48.477-05:00incompatible dreamsSo we have been going back and forth about the width of the home. After seeing the light in his eyes when he finally could conceive of our family making a tiny home work thanks to a tour of a park model home with loft and stairs I killed it. I didn't mean to, but well, I couldn't let him go on with a misapprehension that I know he was under. The ones we looked at were about 11 ft wide and 40 ft Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-74991188032512561632012-07-26T23:05:00.000-05:002012-08-31T01:24:12.799-05:00tiny home v1Encouraged by yesterday's road trip I sought out some designs online of park models and have been working those designs and features inside the legal towing limit, which is generally 8.5' W x 40' L x 13.5' H according to a site for race cars. I also saw a heavy duty trailer base on craigslist that was 40' long, so it seemed like a good place to start.
I will spare you the page of nothing but Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-43834659453014014942012-07-25T17:52:00.000-05:002012-08-30T14:53:18.334-05:00the light in his eyesSappy title, but appropriate. My father-in-law has always had a soft spot for the freedom dream. He knew of a campground/trailer park about an hour away that sells park model homes. He didn't know what they were called so he was calling them trailers. I don't want a trailer I would reply, I want a home on wheels. Since we were having a communications breakdown and since it was a way to get out ofUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-7333434801326314622012-07-24T12:05:00.000-05:002012-08-30T14:08:06.327-05:00being greenIt seems like I have a love/hate relationship with the 'going green' movement. I majored in Conservation. I care am passionate about it on the grand scale. However, I just can't seem to get excited about another dozen uses for vinegar or pallet wood. Is this my consumerism? Is this divergent with the tiny home mentality? Or is it just an admittance that with two small children I have no time to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-84872960976230336242012-07-22T11:51:00.000-05:002012-08-31T01:15:34.503-05:00pen to paperWell, I've moved beyond the digital and started working on paper. If you know me you would realize that it means I'm serious about something. It is a nearly insane undertaking with children around, but my best ideas generally come when I'm wielding a pen and graph paper. This first shot was just trying to get into a sense of space and figure out how to get a bedroom on the first floor for the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-53119347482068808822012-07-21T13:22:00.000-05:002012-08-31T00:49:07.260-05:00wishlist v1.0<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-79511169184615970972012-07-20T13:27:00.000-05:002012-08-30T16:53:05.044-05:00for better or worseIs this just my dream? How hard should I push? How can I get this family on the same page (sometimes I'd settle for the same book) with the most enthusiasm or the least amount of resistance? These are the kinds of questions I'm wrestling with today. It's not the kids. If I can spin waiting in line at the checkout into something fun changing houses won't be so hard, but my husband is another storyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-18800202072168954882012-07-19T10:30:00.000-05:002012-08-30T16:57:00.866-05:00survialismI'm not sure what combination of media and such led to the epidemic of the survivalists who are sure something bad is coming and we need to get prepared. But even we have fallen prey over the last 8 or so years.. oftentimes it has become an opening line to some discussion or another, "when the world as we know it ends..." In short we really aren't ready. We have some skills, granted, but no Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-12524388443320307482012-07-18T10:00:00.000-05:002012-08-30T01:01:22.122-05:00nostalgiaThere is a part of me that has always wanted to live small. Many of the most creative memories of my childhood were accomplished by creating playspaces in unusual locations - closets, nooks, the hollowed interior of overgrown bushes...
I grew up in rural Indiana and the first home I remember having was an old double wide manufactured home. My mother and aunt spent a huge amount of time painting Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7423344787626403037.post-60311489456370831502012-07-16T00:03:00.000-05:002012-08-31T01:10:05.555-05:00every story has a beginning
The perfect time to start something never arrives.
My name is Pamela and this is the beginning of jumping in feet first and hoping we learn how to swim. My husband David and I have been together for 10 years and we have a 2 year old son, a 6 month old daughter, a 10 year old cat and a 6 month old (formerly stray) cat who is going to have her first (and last) litter of kittens in a few weeks.
I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0