Mid-Year Update

The 100% reused outdoor shower/garden!

The last day of June was a rare day.

Hence, the just-as-rare post- ha! Life has been moving along swiftly, tossing a continuous string of challenges and chores our way. My lack of posts is in no way indicative of my level of passion for this way of life. We are on year three of the tiny off-grid life and we have settled into our rhythms nicely. It's to the point where it does not usually occur to us that how we live is any different. Often times, a lively conversation with a new fan of tiny houses gets us to rub our eyes and refocus. After each encounter like that, we find ourselves reveling for a moment in how unique this lifestyle is and how thankful we are that we dove in.

So we are still loving this tiny homestead, but life has a way of pulling you in directions you couldn't possibly plan. I have slowly started to master the one-woman-band that keeps TLB rolling. As a result, just about all my energy and focus has gone into this venture. Not much time to play around at the Pod. :/  I'm quickly outgrowing my current production space, and that's a good problem to have! I've got a couple of different ideas on how to get us to the next level, and I'm excited to share them when I know for sure! 

Back to the last day of June... It was truly a rare day for me. I had an open morning and afternoon before baking that night. I also had an open mind! Lately it seems that my every thought is somehow related to business needs, but on this day, that voice was silent. I had a break from business brain. I stood on the deck, breathing the fresh air, and memorizing details of our lovely view.

Suddenly, inspiration struck and I felt like building. I knew exactly what to work on: outdoor shower 2.0! Some of you may remember the cool, re-claimed shower stall we made with fallen timbers. Well, our timing really sucked. We completed the shower last September and it promptly got cold outside. Through the winter, we looked at it wistfully, all covered in snow. Finally, spring was upon us! Hooray! Showers at the house! Wrong again. It's been an incredibly windy year- which I will come back to- and an especially fierce wind storm in April thrashed the stall to pieces. I was so peeved that I apparently needed a two month time-out before trying again. 

Humungo compost heap, full of freely sprouted veggies!

You're comin' with me, tomato.

I set up some music and got to work. I certainly wasn't about to pay for materials, so I looked around at what I had to work with. I pulled out the hammer and the drill, going about things lazily, as it was a hot sunny day. Using 100% reused or reclaimed materials, and no measuring tape or saw, I put together our new shower stall. 

I didn't plant a garden this spring, which makes me sad. This spurred me to incorporate a living wall to provide privacy....eventually. HA I used our self-watering buckets (also 100% reused) and scouted out some veggies in the farm compost heap. No buying seedlings for this gal! I got three tomatoes, some kind of squash, and a cucumber. It was a bit of a rough transplant, but they all made it, and are growing nicely now. 

Garden just transplanted...looking sad.

After finishing the shower stall, thoroughly burning my back, and soaking in sweat- I took the first, and oh so glorious, shower outdoors. Let me say- it is freakin' great to shower outdoors....at home! Not having to go elsewhere (gym, etc) to shower is quite a treat after that two month time-out. There's just something about bathing in fresh, open air. The other night, I showered under the stars and went to bed feeling more refreshed and more relaxed than I have in months. 

Aside from the outdoor shower, we have been doing little touch ups inside- replacing bunny nibbled trim and refinishing cabinet doors. It's amazing how just a few key details can make the place look super new again. These touch ups were inspired by a very exciting project we will be doing, and I can't wait to share more details! I think you all will be pretty excited! 

Big changes are ahead for these two peas and their pod. It seems like no coincidence that it has been such a windy year already- we are certainly feeling the winds of change swaying our life in new, undreamed of directions. I find myself holding tight to every moment before letting it pass. I understand that change is an inevitable part of life, but it won't stop me from wishing we could stay just like this. 

Thanks for reading!
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Exterior Work Begins!

What a couple of weeks it has been!

I'm a little embarrassed to explain why I have been blog-silent during perhaps one of the most exciting times in our journey thus far! The weekend before last, we began work on the siding. I set up my tri-pod and took shots all throughout the day with plans for a sweet little time lapse. I love all kinds of media and I know you all do too- so I was hoping to bring another video into the mix!

Well, my Windows Movie Maker program decided that it would happily let me spend over an hour editing and getting the video just right, only to crash any time I tried to save. I have spent the last WEEK researching, trouble-shooting, installing/uninstalling, looking at other programs, etc. I now know what programs NOT to use. Alas, my senses came to me. I can't hold back sharing our progress and work just because I can't make the cool video I wanted. BUT I PICKED THE BEST SONG EVER! The pictures changed with the beat and everything....sigh. Oh well.

ANYWHO- back to the progress made. On Saturday- while Dan was in class, I took the time to give The Pod a good cleaning so I could take some decent pictures. So many people have asked to see the interior! Go check them out if you haven't- they can be found under the "Photo Tour" tab of our blog.

On that Sunday, we started with the front wall, considering it's the one we stare at most. We are putting strapping at roughly one foot on center so that regardless of the length (hopefully) of the pallet pieces, we should be able to secure each one properly. 

It was a decent day out and we worked happily and steadily. That morning we got the supplies we needed to apply the trim as well. So while Dan worked on cutting and putting up strapping I painted the trim pieces. 

We haven't even put one piece of pallet siding up, but we both remarked more than once that it looked great. I think it's just that we've stared at that ugly house wrap for so damn long that even some skinny pieces of strapping and a few trim boards makes it look great....because it looks like PROGRESS.

This sudden flurry of activity was inspired by two things- one, moving day is not getting any further away. And two, a reporter from Yahoo Finance contacted us for an interview. I spoke with her that Friday and the article was posted that night! Talk about overwhelming and motivating!

I remember when I used to geek out about getting 500 hits in one day and getting about 1 comment every month. We were also ecstatic about nearing the 300 likes mark on our FB page. With the publishing of this Yahoo Finance article our numbers, our traffic, our SUPPORT, has boomed. 

I almost fell out of the loft when I checked our blog stats the next day. OVER 35,000 HITS! And blog comments up the wazoo! Within 48 hours, that 300 like mark was blown out of the water. We are at 598 likes now! So amazing! THANK YOU EVERYONE!

BUT-
Along with the awesomeness does come some not-so-awesomeness. This world is full of people with opinions and some opinions are offered, some shared, and some spat at you...or on you. I had just read a post by Macy over at minimotives talking about how she handled all the insensitive comments, judgments, and intrusive "you should be living your life THIS way" declarations. It couldn't have been more timely- and I decided that I would not read any comments on the Yahoo article- I would only respond to comments on our page or our blog. 

This advice has served me well- as I suspected, cantankerous negativity-spewing trolls will gladly shart out (that's right I said shart- I like the random messiness it implies) their hastily formed opinions after a 45 second read into an article that covers maybe 4% of the whole story. Then they move on with their day, leaving behind a trail of spotty smeared remarks until they manage to feel a bit better about themselves. 

I have a secret for you trolls- it will never make you feel better.

 You'll get back what you put out there. 

So maybe try some positivity?

  I digress! Clearly preaching to the choir!

We have received so much love and support on the blog and page from all over the world. Being a source of inspiration for others has always been a continuous life goal of mine. It's amazing knowing we have this platform to reach out and touch so many others. I can't tell you all the people who have told us they wanted to do something like this and now have the courage to get started. MY HEART IS BURSTING!



Speaking of things that make your heart burst- this weekend I went back to the farm to get better acquainted with our future parking spot. Dan went to NYC for a birthday weekend with his brother, so siding work was put on hold. When I visited the farm, I got to meet several new arrivals! Baby goats! And the one that stole my heart was this guy right here.... he keeps escaping simply to follow you around. His little tail started wagging like crazy when I met him. I think I will name him Wiley...even if I'm the only one who calls him that. ;) 

I am quite pumped about our future location. Not only will we be obscured from the road, we have an amazing view! I can't wait to see what it looks like once all the trees have their leaves!
 

Since we plan to move at the beginning of May - it's definitly crunch time. We will be starting work on weeknights again...I can feel it. Considering the siding is really all that's left, I think we can manage.

Thanks for reading!!
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