Peas Without Their Pod: What's Next For Us?

I let myself have the month of January to allow everything sink in.

Even now, as I sit in our temporary apartment, enjoying tea made from "faucet water" and unlimited electricity, I still somehow feel like we haven't left the Pod. As if we are just house sitting for another weekend, and soon enough we will drive back up to the farm, turn the corner up our old driveway, and there she will be, waiting for us. What that tells me is that I really truly, deeply, and irrevocably adored that home and way of life. I don't remember feeling this way about any home I have ever lived in, and I have moved a lot in my life. I didn't struggle nearly as much even when the traditional home I once owned and slaved over was wrenched from me, as the relationship I was in crumbled. 

Before we took the deck apart...

This time around, it was a conscious choice. We were ready to sell the Pod, at least as ready as you can be. We knew our next step and our next chapter would only happen if we parted ways with our beloved abode. On December 30th, I managed to muster a short post, documenting a huge moment: the Pod leaving Rhode Island. It was a quiet moment, no parades or parties. The tiny house that had sat still, kept us safe and warm, and cultivated and curated some of our best characteristics as individuals and as a couple....just quietly rolled away, leaving hardly a mark in it's place. The lasting marks were not made on the ground; that little place has left an indelible mark on our souls.

Empty... sigh..

I spend a lot of time in self-reflection. I second guess choices I have made in the past, worry about choices I plan to make in the future, and leading up to the sale of the house, I absolutely wondered if we were doing the right thing.  As the entire process began to unfold, I saw one sign after another that assured me we were on the right path. I startled myself with a small chuckle as I began to really think about each "sign" that solidified my resolve...

We knew we had to put together some kind of video, and we wanted it to reach a lot of people, so we chatted with our good friend Deek of relaxshacks.com about making a sale video. This was mid summer. Schedules got crazy, lines of communication went silent. I worried a bit...ok, A LOT.

Us with Alex- the reuse guy!

 It so happens that we also had agreed to be in a really cool documentary about converting a box truck into a tiny house using completely reused materials. (Check it out: www.boxtruckfilm.com ) This project is being carried out by the reuse king: Alex Eaves of stayvocal.com and the mini-build master: Deek! Dates for this kept getting shuffled, until finally a day in early November seemed to work for the hectic schedules of all three parties. 

Deek getting some cool shots for the sale video..

We spent the afternoon filming interviews and shots of the Pod for the documentary. As the afternoon sun began to wane, the filming wrapped up. Deek had brought his own camera stuff, as we hoped to squeeze in a shoot for the sale video. With about 20 minutes left, we hammered it out. 

Within a week, Deek had the video up online, and about 5 days after, we had put up posts sharing the official news. Dan and I were both sweating bullets. This was it- we were about to get some real, raw feedback on our house. Would anyone want it? Would anyone else think it was as beautiful and wonderful as we did? Would anyone think our price was reasonable, or ridiculous? Would anyone contact us AT ALL? 

I didn't really want to know at first, so I was thankful that we were slated to go visit family on the West coast for Thanksgiving. I desperately wanted distraction during that time....but wouldn't you know? None of that worrying was necessary. After Deek posted his video, Sarah contacted us THE NEXT DAY.  

Thanks so much, Sarah! 

We chatted a bit, and I answered a few of her questions, which spurred me to write a post answering many of the common questions we were getting in an avalanche of emails. We planned a day for Sarah to come see the Pod once we returned, and I held off scheduling visits with anyone else until Sarah had already come by. After I wrote the post, Sarah emailed me again, expressing just how interested and motivated she was. It was a great feeling to kick off a week of nice weather! 

When we got back, Sarah came to see the place, and as we talked, I grew more and more excited. She mentioned that she loved our house from the very first video Deek posted from over a year ago, and had hoped that maybe someday we would sell it. She pointed out all the details that she knew of, really commending us on our efforts to recycle and reuse materials. She was happy that we had it set up as off grid. She really liked that there was no plumbing, and she already had an outdoor shower on her FARM. She didn't want to worry about the winterizing process in the NH cold. So it was perfect for her.  She loved the simplicity and the big feel of the great room. She loved that we chose pine for the walls and not sheet-rock. She loved the colors we chose and the Swedish inspired decor. A fellow Swede! Amazing! Then, as if we needed sprinkles on this already iced cake: she told us her vision for the Pod. She teaches classes on homesteading and sustainable agriculture right on her farm and plans to rent out the Pod for workshops and provide an "Artist In Residence" opportunity for college kids during the school year. She said we were welcome to come attend a workshop and come visit the Pod!! 

We returned home on a Monday, and the Pod was officially sold that Thursday, December 1st to perhaps the most perfect possible person. So within two weeks of sharing this with the world, our house was sold. Within 20 days of that, all the "paperwork" was done, and the Pod was rolling away. I had worried about so many different things, and the last of my worries was: how long will it take to wrap up the final details and move the Pod out of RI? I wondered if this would follow us into 2017. Nope!

It all was so seamless and easy. Dan and I kept pinching ourselves. We would randomly blurt out to one another, "Is this really happening?! It's sold? It's done!? No tire kickers?! No low ballers?!"

The universe seemed to say, "Don't you worry, Jess and Dan, you are doing the right thing. I've got it alllllll covered. I've got this person who happens to find every detail you are worried about- like the no plumbing- to be absolutely perfect. I'll have her contact you within 24 hours. She lives right in New England, she loves all the same things as you, she thinks your price is more than fair, and she will take wonderful care of the Pod. I'll have it all wrapped up before the year's end, so you have a fresh start in 2017. Now roll on to your next adventure!"

Indeed, Universe. INDEED. 

Our new focus will be the business, Two Little Buns, but we will still be involved in the tiny house world. We plan to return to tiny one day, and we will live with it in mind until then. We still have a lot of fun things to post about...many plans to visit all the tiny house friends we have gained, and perhaps plans to build a tiny mobile "booth" for the bakery!

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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. 

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Vertical and Stawbale Gardening- Our 100% FREE & RECYCLED Vertical Trellis

Forget flowers! My stair beds have kale and chives!

It feels like quite the juggling act right now, and all I am trying to manage are some slowly growing plants.

The difficulty of a task can rise exponentially if all actions boil down to a handful of pre-requisite decisions you are simply incapable of making. That was me over the last week or so. I have all these ideas and gardening techniques I would like to try and about 25 different types of seeds to choose from, I also had that pile of seedlings I started WAY too soon, just looking like a bunch of gangly trapped teenagers. 

Recycled deck wood!

I'm not used to gardening at a smaller scale I guess. I even restrained myself when planting the seedlings back in March, but still ended up with too many of certain things without any real plan of where to put them. 

The Vertical Trellis

We created a vertical trellis just in front of our house. Partly because of all the great things I read about vertical gardening in this book. I didn't want to give it back to the library! So much knowledge!

Once again, my new mission is to create as much as we need from things that are already laying around or found for free. I'm beginning to re ally love the pile of old deck wood behind Dan's Dad's store. He kept it without really knowing what purpose it may, if ever, serve. It wasn't the pretty pristine looking stuff it used to be, but it was still good solid wood. 

I made my small bed for the trellis out of left over deck wood. We then took apart the two extra solar racking posts we had made last summer. Seeing all of these things lying around here get a second life is giving me a new sense of appreciation for what can happen when you mash together creativity, tenacity, and recycling. We took the longer pieces we retrieved and created a simple frame. This was where we would mount our trellis of sorts.

We thought of a lot of things, maybe bamboo? Maybe thin strips of scrap wood? And at one point, I even thought, "Okay, every other part was free, maybe I'll just grab some lattice at the big store." I went and checked the prices- for the type of weave we would have wanted, it would have run us about $28/sheet and I guessed we would need two. I decided to put a pin in it,  not letting my excitement and OCD level need to just complete it already. 


Just a day later, we were driving home, not even 2 miles from home, and we spotted two pieces of lattice work, propped against a tree with other miscellaneous items. I squealed with joy- what a find! I felt as if I was being rewarded in some way for sticking to my own rule of no spending. We tried every which way to get them in the car, but with screws still poking out, it made it difficult to do without damage. Finally, I said to hell with it- I started walking with them over my head while Dan went and got his truck. 


We brought them home, and used the very screws still in the lattice to attach it all. Free lattice and free hardware! Nice! We have planted peas, beans, peppers, and leeks in this box. Time will tell if I crowded them too much, but if half of it is going to grow upward, I think it will work out great. 

Another major reason for wanting to try vertical gardening and choosing that particular location, was not only to conserve ground space, but to provide some shade to our utility closet. Last summer we did not have our solar power set up, but this year, that cabinet needs to stay as cool as we can manage. Overheating that equipment would be dreadful and oh so costly. 

After a few days of watching the shadows, I was a bit peeved to find that the shadows fell just a few inches short of the utility closet. By the time we scooched the trellis close enough to make proper shade, it would be practically on top of the house and we wouldn't be able to access the closet. SO- our next gardening project is now to set up a few containers on that closet roof and have some sort of lattice or netting reach from there to the top of the trellis. That will do the trick! We are going to have one interesting looking place in another month or so! 

BOOM- Free and Full of Awesome

The Straw Bales

I went to the local hardware/gardening store and picked up 4  bales of hay. I jammed them all into my car which was quite a sight, and quite a mess afterwards. I liked the idea of straw bales because not only do they need minimal to no soil, they can be plopped down anywhere. We have a lot of overgrown, rocky, and root filled soil here, so rather than trying to till or clear away those plants, I opted for bales to sit right on top. Plus, I just want to see how well it all works! 

For a better understanding of how straw bales work and how to prep them, check out this article. We laid down some cardboard (free and abundant at Dan's Dad's store - no purchasing black mesh for us!) watered them well, then covered it with chips. Just a note- always use bare, non-coated cardboard with minimal labels or printing- and be sure to remove all the tape!


 I followed the steps in the article, but things got a little loose towards the end. I was using water directly from the little pond near us, so I think that helped speed up the process. The pond is "live" water packed with nutrients like fish, duck, and turtle poop and teeming with microorganisms that all help set the stage for some great growing medium. Much better than the treated and sanitized water coming from your average garden hose. 

Not very pretty, but the paper will keep
the grass at bay.

Well- all the plants are in, but grass has told me that this stuff is just perfect for it. It's sprouting everywhere. I was quite peeved, as I asked numerous times for the hay with no seed. Either the guy didn't know or didn't care I guess. Make sure you get your bales from a reputable source, or be prepared to battle grass all summer as I will have to do. BLERG. 

In the strawbales, I have some brocolli, leeks, peppers, and dragon carrots. I was going to do some vertical stuff on these beds too, but thought maybe I should give Dan and I a break and focus on just getting our food in the ground.

Aside from the gardening, we have been slowly working on improving the space around us-- well making it less tantalizing to goats would be more accurate. It's beautiful as is! But- the last thing I want is to have a pack of goats munching all of our garden food- so we are trying to make our area look less tempting. How? Wood chips and cardboard. Lots and lots of wood chips and cardboard. Luckily the wood chips were free too! Our landlords were very generous to let us use a bunch. They get it delivered by the truckload from local utility companies that are always looking to get rid of huge piles of the stuff. So, if you have the space to dump it and the interest in using it- contact your local utility company and ask if they need places to get rid of their wood chips it works great as ground cover and mulch. Plus you can't beat free! 

An update on our self-watering containers on the roof- they are doing GREAT! Even in the beating sun, I only have to go up and fill the water reservoirs every 4 days or so. The soil has stayed perfectly moist and the plants are LOVING IT. 

Next up, either sanding and sealing the siding, or starting work on our outdoor shower. We hope to use all the leftover bamboo the goats ate through the winter. Should be fun!

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Between Holidays

Just a few days after Christmas, to my complete surprise, we actually got a bit more work done!

This past weekend we finished our deck. Last we left off, we were about 6-7 boards short. By the end of that day (we had processed 22 boards), we were feeling like, "Oh screw it, let's just buy the rest we need."  I'm glad we put a pin in that instead of acting on it immediately.

With some time, and a great Christmas with friends and family, we were back to singing a more chipper tune. On Saturday morning, Dan woke abounding with ambition. We were out the door by 745am, headed back to the pile of old deck wood behind Dan's Dad's store. Usually it's me pushing us out the door! I'm enjoying this new trend. :)

After one session of working to re-claim the boards, we had a better idea of what boards were rotted and awful and which ones just look that way on the surface. I've said it before, I'll say it again- planers amaze me. We sent some pretty beat up looking stuff through that thing and out comes a lovely board that says, "And I was going to be thrown away... beauty is on the inside, don't they know?? Tsk tsk".  

Within 15 minutes we had collected enough old boards for the rest of the job and cut them down to a rough size for transport. Back at my Dads, we pulled out our tools and made quick work of the task at hand. This time around we worked like a well oiled machine- knowing exactly which steps were next and what each of us should do to move it along. I love sessions like this one. Dan and I set up our little Bose speaker, play tunes, and then sing terribly and joke around with one another as we work in perfect rhythm. 

The remaining wood we needed for the deck was ready to go in less than two hours! We headed back to the house and slapped those babies on. It felt good to get a deck- it feels even better to have a completed one! After that, we gave ourselves the rest of the day off and headed out to visit some more with family before they left town. 

And we even have two extra boards! We plan to use those for the new steps we will make.

We are registered!!

Other than that- not much other progress to report. I do have some very exciting, not-so-related news though! It's official this morning! Dan and I will be attending a strawbale workshop in July! We are seriously considering this building method for our permanent home on the ground some day.

 Since we never took a honey moon, we decided we would allow ourselves a series of GUILT FREE small adventures throughout 2015. When so much of your world is about how to save, save, save...it's hard to justify spending on fun versus necessity...but in a way, I argue that fun IS necessary. It's just a matter of finding the right balance as we continue our journey toward a debt free life.

Dan and I would like to thank every last one of you that has taken the time to read about our adventures, send us little notes of encouragement and support, and made us feel we are a part of a community. We hope that 2015 will be a great year for each and every one of you! 

   HAPPY NEW YEAR!   

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