Tiny House/Big Decisions

Sooooo......I keep broaching the subject with D, you know the BIG subject...a TINY house.  One moment he seems semi-interested, the next he seems completely sure that it is a BIG, BAD idea. 

I see little glimmers of acceptance at times, and then other times I think I am going to have a battle on my hands.  Will it even be worth it?  I know my reasoning is sound; less upkeep, less waste, better financial investment for our future.

Next weekend is the Solano Home Show.  We plan to head on over to see a display of a couple Tiny Houses from a company that posted on Instagram yesterday.  I'm so excited, and nervous at the same time!  What if D totally thinks they are awful?  What if I think they're awful?  Neither of us has seen a real-life tiny in person.

I have had glimpses at tiny living in my life; camping with my family was living tiny, our summers were spent either truly camping or sleeping out in our tent trailer or on the front porch since the old farmhouse was so hot.  I loved sleeping in the fresh air.  I still crave that open-air sleep environment....and I crave the coziness the tent trailer held with my curtained end-bunk.

I've started feeling trapped by this 1,500 square foot suburban money pit.  It is stifling me.

I am confident that a tiny house would afford us a more streamlined, organized existence.   Every space could be designed for multiple, but specific, purposes.

Oy....is this a pipe dream?  Am I wasting my obsessive efforts?

Stay tuned...will I ditch it or live it?

TINY HOUSE, BIG OBSESSION!

It's official.  I'm obsessed.  I am obsessed with the Tiny House possibilities of my dreams.  At first it was merely fascination...now, it is pure OBSESSION!!

Hardly realizing what I was doing, I started watching and re-watching the shows "Tiny House Nation" (fyi network), "Tiny House Hunters" (HGTV), "Tiny House Hunting" (fyi network), "Tiny House, Big Living" (HGTV) various tiny house vlogs on YouTube, etc.  Then, I began stalking their Pinterest and Instagram pages....stalking.  I'm not proud.  I've lost nearly all interest in fictional t.v. programs and humorous frivolous pursuits of entertainment....but, it does keep me from whining about the lack of new "The Fosters" episodes as I await a new season...;-

Now, it's the blogs!!  I am in full-on research mode.  I want to know EVERYTHING.  

I made the ultimate admission the other day.  I ran into my brother at the local yogurt shop (shout out to Yogurt Island in Oakley, CA!) and blurted out that I really, really, really want to build a tiny house.  I advised him to watch the above mentioned shows.  I'm pretty sure I saw panic in his eyes...maybe some dismay...and his blood pressure probably spiked.  You see, he's the one that really knows how to wire, plumb, etc.  I am handy with saws, hammers, drills, etc. D is barely in survival mode with most tools (his grandfather didn't expect him to hold a 16 lb. hammer correctly by age seven, just saying)....but my bro is the one that can really turn a project from confusing and potentially disastrous into workable.  He has probably already packed and moved three states away....pretty sure I'll never hear from him again.

My little sketchbook is continuing to fill with ideas and sketches and I have titled it, "Think Tiny, Live Large". Lists of resources, questions, ideas, quick chicken-scratch sketches, and mere doodles abound.  I have started to pause my little shows to take a note.   I feel like I'm in college all over again.

I have found a few plans that are ready-made, reasonably priced from $99 to 300 (www.shelterwise.com and www.padtinyhouses.com...LOVE these sites).  I'm not 100% certain that the floorplans are really for us, but the framing and structure is very impressive along with the modern aesthetics I really am fond of.  An advantage to this constant viewing of "Tiny"...I am really developing a sense of what I like aesthetically and what I definitely do not like.  Floor plans are proving to be more challenging to be quite so perfect.

I  discovered that PAD (Portland Alternative Dwellings) offers basic tiny building workshops at $350 for a weekend.  I do love trips to Portland....well worth the cost, I am completely confident!  Now to find the time.  It's about a 10 hour trip so maybe the November workshop will be at a better time.

Steps 1 and 2 (besides really saving the chunk of change needed to carry out steps 1 and 2), in my mind is starting the search for a suitable trailer as well as polling people that live nearby, but more rural for possible build / park sites.  Step 3 is to take one of those workshops along with purchasing Dee Williams' eBook, Go House Go ,  a guide to building tiny that draws upon her own experience.  From the synopsis, she seems like someone that takes learning to the best level; learning from our mistakes and carrying out a plan to improve upon  results while helping others.

What obsession will strike next?  What new things will I learn about going tiny?  Will a fun name come along for my future tiny home?  You know, they really need to have a fun name...next obsession identified.

The beginning of my "tiny" sketch pad...

Tiny Terrific Idea or Huge Terrible Idea.....

Pardon the typos below...I am fighting the iPad! I will edit them ASAP, but Day 2 back in Blog Land and I come to you with an idea I have been brewing for some months now. I want to build a gorgeous Tiny House and live in it!  Seriously. Tiny. House. On. Wheels. 

I have been a fan of the Tiny House Movement that is sweeping the world for a couple of years now. I have, since childhood, a long history pouring over Mother Earth News issues and I strive to be more environmentally responsible. I also have a large distaste for the money and time we waste on housing and utilities when we could be using our meager resources more wisely and maybe even doing some modest travel instead of pumping all we have into keeping up even this small 1,500 square foot abode and the costs that go with. Hey, my dad and his siblings, along with my grandparents, lived in a converted bus for a while as they built their rural Washington mountain home.  My grandpa never quite finished that beautiful A-frame house in the Nile Valley above Naches, Washington, but I loved that home.  I always admired his inventiveness.  It must be in my genes!

I have dreamed of building my own home since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I spent large chunks of free time as a child drawing houses. I took mechanical drafting in middle school and interior design courses in college. I even had my eye on an architecture degree for some time. I collected building plan magazines like crazy. That career just wasn't in the cards for various reasons. But, my dream to build lives on. I just have not been blessed with the resources it would take to do so.

Why do two people need what amounts to 750 square feet each to dwell? Huh? That isn't even counting our crap-filled garage. At this very moment we are working on our own projects in two rooms about 12 feet apart. The entire front living and kitchen portion of this house has the lights off and is not in use until morning, and that is just for a very short time. What a waste.  Maybe we keep up with this place for the cats?  (My sister-in-law would appreciate that! :-) )

I have started forming mental checklists in my head as I daydream about building our own efficient, beautiful TINY HOME. I gobble up the shows devoted to my Liliputian dreams.  I have begun to cook solely on a nice induction burner, in the crock pot, on a griddle, and in a really efficient small convection oven. Next I will physically downsize kitchen tools, food storage, and equipment to fit in our current pantry. Will our trusty armoire work as the functional, yet beautiful, cabinetry to hold all of these goodies? Those of you that know us, know we bake a lot...and we own more than one big Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Those babies stay! ;-) It can work!

I have been tossing the idea out to D more frequently. I am pretty sure he thinks I'm joking. I was, maybe, for awhile....but I became serious very recently. This could be the answer to a reduced cost of living for our hopeful retirement in 14 years or so. This could also allow us more freedom to travel ....maybe..... and to invest in ourselves. We could have the finishes I admire in a home because the minuscule amounts of materials needed would be much more cost effective. Recycling and upcycling furniture and other household items would be rewarding and frugal.  That gorgeous glass tile and harDwood floors I admire would be mine....ALL MINE!

The negative points of Tiny House dwelling weigh on my mind. I have a mental list compiled for those aspects as well. Ridiculously, at the top of that list is parting with some beloved furniture. An antique dresser, the armoire we purchased in year one of marriage, my grandparents' kitchen table and chairs, my family steamer trunk and antique Singer sewing machine.  Some items could certainly live a new life in a tiny home...but some I am working on picturing in the aesthetic and layout I'm beginning to crave.

I don't feel like I have a ton of clothing...but, attempting to put it all away in one closet and one dresser has proven to be impossible.  Time to pare that down as well....what to give away first??!!

I am pretty confident we could design and build such organized, ample storage that our art/craft/cooking hobbies could be accommodated. D wants to know if a Tiny House could have a big kitchen...I saw it could be nearly ALL kitchen!

I bought a fresh little sketch book this weekend and started sketching a rough exterior. That to me is not even the hard part! So much fun I have when I am sketching houses...even those on wheels!  It feels like my dreams are alive again, like my brain is coming home to a place it has long since wandered from.  It feels like HOPE and INSPIRATION mixed with creative juices and served up on-the-rocks.

The logical and creative arrangement of interior space is the challenge. My Pinterest board runneth over!

So...I may be posting my thoughts and findings regarding the details behind our choice....can we make it happen? Where could we park a beautiful Tiny Home?  Oh....the POSSIBILITIES!!!

*** Photos from Tiny House Big Living, Tiny House Blog, and Pinterest

I'm Back! Finally!

so, a funny thing happened on my to becoming a grandparent....life got exceptionally busy! My last post was shortly before the baby shower for Baby E....that was over ONE YEAR AGO! Yikes! I really meant to keep up with posts about impending and then new gramma-hood. However, we have been far too busy enjoying that little guy and his big bro to make time for blogging.

That being said, the baby shower was great (of course...I always think about things I could have I proved upon...but, ya' know!). Mommy and baby were spoiled!

Then, March 9 brought a very high B.P. For mommy-to-be and she was admitted to the hospital 11 days early to be induced. Talk about frightening! I left school slightly before lunch and headed to pick up forgotten items for the "kids" from their apartment. Then, off to the hospital where we all paved the floors for two days awaiting Mr. E's arrival!

Wednesday, March 11, at 3:20 a.m. Brought little E into his new world! He was a compact 6 lb. 12 oz....so much lighter than we all anticipated.  He was jaundiced and needed to stay a bit longer in the hospital than we all liked and even went back for a few days the next week.

He sure is worth it, though!

Flash forward a year and we just celebrated his first birthday! He began really walking and clapping all in his actual birthday. He has sooooo many vocabulary words that a separate post may be warranted. He is sweet, silly, super smart, and adventurous. He and his big bro love each other so much!

Ok...enough catching up for today.

BTW...I have a new idea brewing that may lead to Blog #2....we shall see!

Who has time for this?  Not me.  It's 10:30 a.m. and I'm confident I'm using up what little energy I have just checking e-mail and attempting to do normal life business.  This cold / flu bug has really taken over.  No bueno. 

So....keeping it short, but vowing to keep up with expressing my grammaish thoughts, too.  

Last night I thought I could do something, anything, just something small and non-energy-using.  Well, I managed to apply decorations to six little mugs for the baby shower, but that pretty much ended my productivity.  Nice try!  

Baby E...the much awaited new grandson is due in about eight weeks.  Time has flown and the anticipation is really taking hold.  Along with that is anxiety...about EVERYTHING!  Let's not even go into that.  

One FUN thing that I plan to get prepped soon is a "GRAMMA BAG" for the big event.  Mamas know they need to have a bag packed, but grammas have a unique task of entertaining and caring for everyone and everything...and if they don't do that they are not true grammas :-).  I want to be sure I'm prepared!  So, I'm making a list of items that need to go into my gramma bag.  Snacks, gum, water, coloring books, notepads, an extra phone charger...anything you can think of?  Please let me know in the comments below.

Post Número Dos!

Well...I am taking a day off with that lovely flu bug that is floating around CA. GREAT. JUST GREAT. I don't like laziness and this is the ultimate in lazy.

So, today, Gramma Suannie Did....nothing. Phooey.

All out of energy now, but better luck tomorrow.

Gramma Suannie's First Blog Post!

Here I am....creative full time teacher, sometimes cake designer, wife of 24 years, mom of nearly 23 years, mother-in-law of nearing three years, Suannie Bananie to bonus grand kid D (some call them steps, but we consider him a bonus....what the heck is a step kid or grand kid, anyway? I'd never step on him! Meanies!) and expectant gramma to baby E (will March 20 ever get here?). Let's not forget gramma and primary caretaker to one very opinionated chihuahua mix and a handful of rescued gatos. Am I exhausted? Ya' think? But, that is besides the point.

I decided a few weeks ago that grandparents, especially us young'ns, could really use some resources.   I won't even bother to look up the stats on the median age of grandparents these days, because it can't help but be noticed that many peeps in my age bracket (rapidly approaching 47, thank you very much) are just now producing their own offspring. Seriously, it doesn't matter to me one bit whether a parent is 20 something or the trendy 9,063, but I can't help wondering if being a youngish gramma will get some interesting reactions and produce some unique needs.

Another real need is a list of activities for grandparents to do with these little squirts. Pinterest is full of great, creative activities for parents to children of all ages, and certainly many of those ideas transcend to gramma-hood, but I honestly haven't done a search for specific old-folks' dealios.  Anybody ventured there yet?

Finally...I'd love to share some tidbits of projects, activities, events, resources, blah, blah, blah that I attempt or that I stumble across. Thus the title, "Gramma Suannie Did It!"

Don't expect billions of posts...I'd have to develop one of those illusive 27 hour days yo make that happen...and it probably wouldn't do any of us any good, anyway.