a private courtyard

One 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. The could interlock. It's mad genius really. With the right plantings and roof lines casual observers will truly not be able to tell that the house is tiny. He pointed out that our longest term plan is for three. The fourth could be independent even, say for my grandmother who has to retire one of these days.

Unless I become truly bored I'm not even going to try to figure out awesome layouts. This is his baby. But if he comes up with something I promise to share it.

state of the union

Note: 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 in theory doesn't mean it isn't hurting my family's bottom line in a very real way. How deep is our rabbit hole?

$112,600.72

Six figures. I knew it might be that bad, but really I was trying not to think about it. That is our mortgage, car payment, my student loans and and just over 16K of revolving (ie. credit card) debt. That is the number that makes me want to give up my things. Because wasn't it my things that got me in this mess? Well partly.

58.8

That is the other shoe. That is my BMI. It represents wasteful, unhealthy, expensive food. Food that I've been eating my whole life, but particularly in my 20s. That is where the money control is truly lost every month and the result is the inability to do anything about it the more obese I become. Fixing obesity is a lifestyle change. I have fairly successfully avoided fad diets. But I've tried to eat better and to control my portions, it hasn't ever been enough. My environment and the bad habits that go with it defeat me every time.

19

That is how old I was when my mother committed suicide. I tell you this not to elicit any kind of sympathy and definitely not to make excuses. Some of how I got here was seated in grief, which led to bad habits and the inability to break them was my hereditary, untreated depression. When my daughter was born I started getting treatment for the depression and it literally has transformed me. I am no longer paralyzed, I have more energy, more can do attitude.

0

The number of jobs in my household. Right out of college I had my dream job in a research lab, and then the economy tanked and I was laid off. We assessed that the economic recovery was going to be slow and we weren't getting younger, so we started our family. We had always hoped to have one of us be a stay at home parent and although tight, we could get by on his salary.

Then, a year or so ago, David's company got new management. Then his immediate bosses started leaving, until he was just about the last person on staff with more seniority than the management. Well the writing was on the wall, and it hit mid-May. Fired. Fired with recommendations from both his old boss and from his new one who thought upper management was giving him a raw deal.

Right now we are both looking for work, so far we have interviews but no offers. We devote Monday to the job hunt and spend the rest with our children and family, making the most of a bad situation and trying not to worry. He was paid enough in his job that the unemployment is more than he would be paid as a day laborer so until it runs out we are better off just hunting for work.

rain drops keep falling on my head

For 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 passerby to do a double take when they go by, because a house simply appeared overnight.

We are pretty sure that from the outside it really won't be all that hard. As long as the roof pitches are the same we can line them up and with a simple "cap" of extra roofing cover the gap. Bonus, done correctly it will keep the rain off the docking clamp (I'm just throwing phrases along without too much detail, well, because we have no detail - we are still theorizing!) A simple sketch of the saucer section roof detail:

If this is how the saucer section appears it would be the only one with complicated roof lines, a big plus, because after doing it once, I'll bet we never want to try again. Potentially it has two shuttle attachment bays, one to the right and one to the left, even in my biggest little dream three tiny homes seems to be enough.

Also we will need a few trim pieces for the gaps along the walls and skirts, although I'm thinking potted plants would also be helpful in visually moving the eye around. Here is a sketch of the saucer/shuttle combo when docked:

I'm not sure why I put a bay window on there. I think I was just looking for depth.. It felt a little flat, but you get the idea. Together they will make a nice L shape, giving a perfect place to start a courtyard.

I haven't made a sketches of the interiors yet (if you can tell, my artistic ability is pretty much stretched to the max), but I have been collecting a few ideas including one on getting two teenagers their own private space without taking up too much space. As far as the docking procedure (I really hope there are some other Trekkies out there reading this):

1. Put the saucer in place.
2. Remove patio doors from shuttle.
3. With 3M command strips or similar, attach continuous weather stripping to outside door trim of shuttle.
4. Back shuttle up to saucer and engage docking clamps, tightening the seal of weatherstrip.
5. Get out the ladder and place and secure the roof cap.
6. Place and secure the siding strip and skirts, etc.
7. Back shuttle into place against saucer.
8. Go inside and lay in threshold and any trim necessary for interior safety and appearances.

Well those are our ideas, we are thinking of picking up a few little utility trailers and some materials to test out our theories on (tiny playhouse on wheels?). Anyone who has done (or attempted) something like this, we'd love your feedback!