Mail Time & Tiny Bird at Tiny House

Getting back from a month away has been very eventful - I had a tiny bird in my tiny house. First, it was just hiding behind the tarps (that were protecting the house while I was gone) then it flew in my open door!

The next pleasant surprise was mail. My landlord is kind enough to let me use his address. I am now the proud owner of new glasses and a lovely coffee cup!

Great family friends just opened Bindle Coffee. It gives me great joy to know tiny house and I can support their amazing business.

March: Out at sea with the Navy

As tiny adventures continue, I have taken a turn down a different road. This month has slowed progress on tiny house, but continued my tiny learning - I have been living on the ship out to sea! My current living/working space is 505ft long x 66.6 ft wide and I am joined by 300 adults 24/7. Although this seems quite larger than tiny house, it means 110 sqft per person to live, work, and exercise - just smaller than tiny house.

I technically have 110 sq ft to myself, but those feet are definitely spread thin on our ship. My living space is actually a 10'x8' room shared with two other women. We have learned to how to store all of our possessions in very small spaces. It is a great transition from an apartment to tiny house - I don't have much of a choice except to pair down to the few items I actually need on a ship.

As I plan my house I know I want to be as off the grid as possible. I am trying my hardest to not have a sewage system. In effort to achieve this, I am going chemical free! I have finally transitioned to chemical free shampoo and conditioner. After many failed attempts (specifically Garnier Fructis Pure-Clean which left gross white film on my hair), I have found baking soda and apple cider vinegar. It has been a god send! It has fixed everything I didn't like about my hair, making it smooth, not as oily, and very manageable. It took me a while to even try it - but after one wash I was sold. As much as I would like to believe I am above peer opinion, the social stigma kept me from trying it earlier. Now, I wish I had never waited! A key factor for me is to make enough for a handful of washes so I don't have to worry about mixing it up everyday.

Claire's How to Baking Soda and Vinegar Shampoo/Conditioner:

- Buy two attractive squeeze bottles (the more it looks like a traditional shampoo bottle, the more comfortable to transition will be) big enough for approx. 1- 2 cups of liquid
- Mix a ratio of 1:5, baking soda:water in one bottle
- Mix a ratio of 1:4, apple cider vinegar:water in second bottle
- Before each use, vigorously shake bottles
- Use approx. 1/4 cup per use
- Shampoo mostly at your roots
- Condition mostly at the length of your hair, but work it in where ever you need.

I started using it 4 times a week when I started out, but I was able to wean off and now only was my hard 2-3 times a week (I shower much more though!).

Other then showering USS BENFOLD has been up to much much more this month. Here are a few photos and videos because we all know, pictures speak louder then words.

Our first missile shoot! A huge success!

Captain showing us how comms are done!

Sailing through San Diego

Post by USS Benfold (DDG 65).

Painting Party

Thanks to Kate and Alex for killing the painting today!

Painted siding - ready for installation!

Siding

Sunset over SoCal from the bridge wing - Feb 2015

I spent the last two weeks out at sea. I learned a lot about navigation, anti-terrorism tactics, and engineering damage control. It was a whirlwind of a trip but a great deal of fun to be out on the water. Happy belated valentines day!

The start of my siding has been a bit terrifying. I picked out my siding from home depot after much consideration. I had initially wanted to use cedar siding to make the house look like your sterotypical tiny house. Once price became a factor I settled on a composit siding that looks like wood. The drive back to the farm was an adventure.

Siding in route to the farm - very slowly...

Porch Stain

Mike, the Tumbleweed driver, suggested getting the porch weatherproofed first - so that was the project I tackled today!

Successes:
- big brush for fast application on large surfaces
- washing deck in the morning so that the sun dried it out by afternoon
- figuring out how the well water worked and how to attach a hose to the valve.
- getting my car unpacked while the first round of stain dried
- getting 90% of the stain on the wood (10% on me...)

Not so much successes:
- going to home depot with no list
- great large paint brush too big for stain can opening
- the space under the trailer is tiny (about 2 feet), making the washing and staining process under the porch more exciting.
- Lots of drips.
- toilet, I advise having a toilet plan before you commit to an all day building project.

A shout out to my friends and family back home in Iowa. Thank you so much for all of the kind words of encouragement. No matter where the Navy takes me I will always be an Iowan!

Arrival

Finally, right after the sun went down, my barn raiser pulled onto the ranch. Mike from Tumbleweed drove out from Colorado towing my trailer. It was suppose to arrive this morning but due to many crazy happenings (including a flat tire) it was a bit late.

Thank you to the San Diego Tiny House Enthusiasts for having a BBQ with my while I waiting anxiously and to Kate, Alex, and Ashley for all of the moral support!

A Start and an End

Today was the end of another apartment, but the start of my tiny house dream. I finally finished packing my (now) old apartment and the trailer gets here on Saturday 7 February!!

Finally empty apartment - good bye south park!

The plan for this weekend is to install all of the electrical wiring and plumbing. I decided they were the best projects to start with because the walls will be completely open and bare. I am using consultants to create the plans, make a shopping list, and inspect once I finish installing. It will hopefully be the best of both worlds - being able to learn/do it myself and still having a professional look over the work (I don't want my house to burn down due to bad wiring).

Please let me know if you want to come take a look! I will start hosting BBQs on the weekend and small working parties.

Happy February!!!!!