WE MADE IT!

Our house stuffs piled out in the yard. Didn't take long!

Short of a few scuffs and a small tear in the rubber roof- we are safe and sound at the farm!!


What a day!! Dan and I have been working overtime to get as much done on the siding as possible before the move. We broke from that frenzy on Saturday to prep the location some more and begin packing up and lowering the trailer. Come Sunday morning we were both full of excitement and apprehension. 


The original guy who was supposed to help us couldn't do it after all. He only had one size hitch welded on to his truck and it wasn't the right size. So Dan's Dad arranged for Interstate Towing to make the move for us. Sure it wasn't a free favor anymore, but we relaxed a little more know these were professionals with top of the line vehicles, years of experience, and insurance. 

We had examined several routes before the move to determine which would be best. We opted for the route that had the least hills, bumps, and sharp turns. Granted it took a little longer to get there- but it turned out to be a pretty smooth transfer. 

Waiting for the tow guys..

We had done our math and knew that the weight of the Pod was within the limits of the trailer, but there is always that little bit of doubt that lingers when you think about the scope of the project and how terrible it would be if we were wrong somehow. We filled our tires to 75 PSI after reading a couple articles on optimum tire pressure for trailers. They looked a little smooshed sitting there in the back yard, which I couldn't seem to ignore.

Pearl, you look gi-normous!

For the two days it sat on the ground before moving, I had one daymare after another about some freak accident happening, blowing out a tire, tipping over, causing a pile up, etc. As soon as the Pod began to move the first few feet, all my worries lifted.

It's Mater!! The little girls loved this!

It was just sunk into the dirt a bit! The tires popped up out of the little ruts looking fully inflated and ready to do the job. Maybe it was the truck, maybe it was just seeing how it moved, but I began to REALLY see how small our home is. Wow. Seeing that little box on wheels easily roll away with out a single protest made me feel relief and a little foolish for how much worrying I had done.

Moral Support Crew :)

We are on the move!

We had a nice crew there for support and entertainment as well! Dan's Dad was a HUGE help in coordinating and facilitating the move that day. His Mom and sister, Beth, plus her two daughters, were there for the big event too! We have plenty of pictures thanks to all the extra hands! 

There were only a few stretches in the road where low hanging wires were a concern, but we were below the 13'6" DMV requirement so TECHNICALLY if anything had happened, we were in the right, but thanks to the pros it never became an issue. There were a few times where they had to drive on the complete opposite side of the road in order to go under the highest parts of a wire, but thanks to our full parade of vehicles (Dan and his Dad lead the way, then the tow truck with the Pod, then the second tow truck, then me, then my Dad and Jake haha) we made certain that no one could be "surprised" by the tiny mobile house. 

I honestly thought there would be more rubber-neckers as we passed people in their yards or walking down the street- even people driving by. I am amazed at how many people just don't even look up! Their loss! 

After a 30 or so minute ride, we were turning the bend and rolling down the final stretch! I was so excited and felt SO welcome after seeing all the little celebratory welcome signs our new landlords put out for the big day.

I must say- Deb and Mike are comparable to angels to us. We know that what we are doing isn't typical or even widely accepted, so to find a pair of people willing to invite us onto their beautiful slice of heaven- and with genuine excitement and support- has been beyond amazing. 

We can't thank you enough!!!

It turned out to be a long and eventful day, but by the end of Sunday we were leveled and back up on jacks, we have moved just about all of our things back in, and just a couple boxes remained unpacked.  We still need to do more work before the solar panels are up and running, so for now Deb and Mike have graciously let us borrow power. Hopefully by mid-next week we will be running on sun power!

I still have quite a bit of video footage to go through and put together, so stay tuned for a video of the move!

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Our new landlords! :) 

Strapping Is Complete!

It's almost time to put pallets on! ..Guess we better get collecting!

Throughout the past week and on Saturday (no work on Easter) we took a big chunk out of the siding prep stage. Then, last night, Dan pushed through and completed all the strapping! We are now ready to slap on some siding- YEEHAW!

Last week, I came home from work to a wonderful sight- things getting done on the house by someone other than myself. ;)  Sure, in the beginning I reverted back to my toddler days of, " I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" And insisted on carrying out every last task, but a solid year later, I'm MORE than happy to step down and watch someone else work on our pet project/home. haha So, Dan and Adam were cheerfully pounding away at the roof line of the house when I arrived. We had installed EPDM rubber roofing, but we didn't fully complete the work. The rubber still needed to be tucked and secured around the perimeter. 

The guys put a solid edge around the roof using 2x4s. The hanging rubber was tucked tightly around that edge and then secured with termination bars- the little metal strips. It's looking like our roof edge won't come out much further than the siding, which isn't ideal, but if we have to get gutters to catch the water and keep it from slipping down the house wrap- we will. In fact, for water collection purposes that will be happening anyway! 

On Saturday, Dan and I completed the right end wall and the remaining pieces needed on the front wall of the house. We started the left end wall, but the sun was starting to sink and we were ready for some food and a little bit of time to make it feel like a weekend. We cooked on the grill and enjoyed our first outdoor meal around a fire. :)

Yesterday, Dan finished up the left end wall and cruised through the back wall. Without any windows or other interruptions, that wall is always the easiest to handle. Now, we start putting up the pallet siding! We are a little nervous, but I am confident we will make this work!

We just need to collect A LOT more pallets. Break them down, fill the holes with putty- rip them, plane them, and then put them up. This is yet another situation in which I am exceedingly thankful that our house is so small and manageable. I couldn't imagine applying this concept to a 2000 square foot house!

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