Showers are Overrated

I spoke too fast when I said that our frozen pipe problems were fixed.  We defrosted the kitchen sink  and thought: Problems-Be-Gone... But in the evening when we went to take a shower... Yep!  You guessed it.  Nothing.  No water.  Since it was late at night, we just made due with washing ourselves using the kitchen sink.  The next day (yesterday) we had a full day and didn't get to the water pipe issue.  tBOY and ttDOG went for a long bike ride and then tBOY went for a one-hour massage while I did arts & crafts with girlfriends on the bus.  Then we had fondue (with our beautiful new fondue set):

 We figured we would deal with the situation today.  So this morning, tBOY got to work... crawling under the bus with the hair dryer :)!

Unfortunately, after 20 minutes, there was still no running water.  We think that there are a few places where the water is frozen and the hair dryer is not going to work.  So we did the most logical thing we could think of...

We went for a bike ride :)!

We're not sure how to tackle this water pipe problem.  We hope that warmer temperatures forecasted for later this week will defrost the pipes and then tBOY might go in and redo the insulation (with more heat tape).  We decided that this can be a project for Christmas holidays.  We are not too concerned about not having running water in the shower as we can either:
1. wash in the kitchen sink,
2. wash in the shower with a bucket of warm water (from sink) or
3. take a shower at tBrother's cabin (200m from our place).

So we went to ride bikes!  But brrr... It was COLD!! My fingers and nose were frozen like the pipes :(!  ttDOG protested against the ridiculous jacket we made her wear by refusing to leave the bus (but I think she thanked us for it once we got into the forest).

The stream was half frozen

ttDOG's fav part about bike rides... treats :)!

A stop at a sunny spot to warm up and check out the view

The lake was partly frozen.
tBOY thought it would be fun to put ttDOG's treat on the ice...

ttDOG is super cautious and wasn't sure about the ice (despite the treat!)
But after a little encouragement (and perhaps a push in the bum by tBOY)...
She got it!

After our ride, I went to pick up my new skis (the bindings were put on).  The worst part about this cold cold weather is that there is NO snow on the mountains for us to try out all our new slack-country ski gear.  So sad!

I guess I'll go take my shower in the kitchen sink now :)!

Heavy Winds & Sub Zero Temperatures

Two nights ago, it was very windy outside.  We were having a cozy dinner in the bus when we heard a loud thump on the roof.  A branch had fallen hard onto the top of the bus.  We ran outside with our flashlight to check for any damage.  Luckily it fell right between the 2 skylights.  That got us concerned about our skylights though, so we had to figure out a way to protect them from other potential falling branches.  And fast! as the wind was blowing violently around us.  

We did a quick inventory of the materials we had available to us.  Unfortunately, earlier that day, I had just donated all our extra towels/blankets/quilts to the women's centre store :(!  All we had left were a few small cushions and one extra duvet that we kept for guests.  We figured that we could somehow duct tape it to the skylights... But just as we were taking the stuff out of the shed, we saw our crashpads!

Crashpads?  What are those?  Well, they're for bouldering... a form of rock climbing... but not the type with ropes like this:

Where what keeps you from the ground down below is the rope and your belayer (be careful in choosing your belayer as it can be a very long way down!)...

When you are bouldering, there is no rope...

And what's between you and the ground (and/or rocks and other hard things) is a big huge foam pad, a.k.a. a crashpad... (and sometimes a spotter...)

tBOY's best friend spotting him in Fontainebleau, France

Crashpads also make a cushy spot for picnics...

They usually come with straps so you can carry it around on your back like a big backpack...

Sometimes you even forget that you have one on...
tBOY picking and eating berries with a crashpad on his back

tBOY riding to the boulder, ttDOG trying to keep up

And if you are feeling lazy, you can just make the young people carry the crashpad...

Our 6-year-old friend :)!

Anyway... we decided to protect our skylights with our crashpads.
So armed with duct tape, a flashlight and our crashpads, we climbed onto the bus (while the winds howled and threatened to blow us off!)

Main skylight protected!

Skylight over our shower

Apart from the wind, temperatures have been below zero these days.  This morning, we woke up and found that part of our water pipe had frozen :(!  When tBOY insulated the pipes with heat tape and foam, he knew that there was a small section that might freeze... but because it was an awkward area, we just kept our fingers crossed and hoped for the best.  It didn't work :(!

So, tBOY put this little space heater to work on the section that was frozen:

And then we turned the tap on and waited.  In about 20 minutes, water started to run again :)!  Phew!

Between now and real winter, we have to create a better way to protect the skylights.  For now, it is a bit darker in here without the sun shining in through the skylights (since we actually have sun these days!)  We also need to find a way to insulate the tiny bit of water pipe to prevent freezing again.  

*My friend just called while I was typing this blog entry and told me that we are going to have record cold temperatures this weekend - Eeks!  Sigh!  I miss hot summer days...

Today a visitor/neighbour knocked on our door and gave us a present :)!  She is from France/Switzerland (French but works in Switzerland)...

(Argh!  I rotated this in iPhoto... but it remains in the wrong rotation here.... Sigh!)

It's Saint Nicholas Day.  Happy day to all!

Email!

You can now email us at: teenytinyliving@gmail.com.
You can also click on our Profile and click on Email (under Contact me).

Hope to hear from you :)!

Crafts & Nature Time

I finally found the time to revamp those old IKEA cubbies that date back to my teenage years.  As I had mentioned in a previous post, some of them were painted by my siblings at ages 6 and 9... so it was definitely time for a make-over.  Here are some before and after pics:

My young sister decided to paint her name on her cubbies... so of course our younger brother had
to do the same thing. The letters are out of order... Can you guess their names?

The ones without letters were mine.  It made a pattern when in the right order...

I got so inspired that I even did the teeny cubbies and folder holders at the front of the bus:

tCarpenter built an extension for the table - using parts that were cut off of the original coffee table (so it's the same wood!)  We had an inaugural dinner on it with tCarpenter + friend.  Yep.  The bus comfortably fits 4 for dinner and probably even 6!

When we first moved into the bus, I tried to treat the kitchen countertops with a natural oil (i.e. no chemicals, no fumes, nothing artificial/toxic).  But.  It was not resistant to daily wear and tear :(!  So we ended up with a number of stains and burns - darn.

So yesterday, I sanded away the stains with an electric sander.  It was like magic!  A big plug-in eraser.  Very satisfying to see my countertops return to its original flawless state!

Before sanding

The finish that I used was not 'all natural' this time and the fumes made me nauseous :(!  Fortunately, both tDog and I did not stay in the bus to breathe it in.  I was seeing clients at the clinic and tDog was on duty as the therapy dog at the local high school.

I gave in to the use of somewhat toxic chemicals because I reasoned that most kitchen counters are probably treated with something.  And if we do not treat this wood, it will continue to get more damaged and crack (it already did in a few spots).  Sigh!  I had fantasies of building a toxin-free home, but alas...  It is difficult to source toxin-free materials/furniture/finishes (if they even exist), not to mention that if we do find them, they are usually quite (too) expensive.  Also, the toxin-free options are often less effective/durable/practical.

Counters drying

Other news:

Baths are working out in the bus shower for tDog - designed with her in mind:
 I made sure to create a lip high enough on the side of the shower to keep water and tDog in!
She still doesn't love baths, but she's always patient and cooperative when she gets them!

tBOY created a standing desk for himself for working at home

This mama cow on the farm had a still birth.  Super sad.
I am happy to report that she is recovering and doing well.
So now we have fresh raw milk again.
Thank you Mother Nature for such gifts.

Lastly, tBoy, tDog and I have made a commitment to ourselves to get Nature time every. single. day.  On weekends, we have no problems being outside because outside is our playground :)!  The days that are more challenging are the ones after a long day of work in the Fall/Winter when it's cold and wet (rain/snow) and so very dark outside (like now).

On days when we don't have much time, we do a loop around the farm where we live.  We are finding that it is a very different place in the night/dark.  We've been having the best time searching for salmon in the river with our flashlight, walking in the dark trying not to walk into trees (not always successfully!), rediscovering our other senses: smell and hearing.  When we have more time, we go a little farther away to explore in our warm clothes and boots with our headlamps :)!

On that note.  It's Nature Time :)!  Off into the darkness we go...

Being Published & A Change of Seasons

Our bus project is going to be published in a book!  The book will come out around May 2014. This is super exciting for us - especially for me as this bus has been my little (BIG) art/design project that has consumed my life for a good many months!  Another book by this publisher about tiny homes inspired our project (scroll back in the blog and you'll see which one!)  We'll share more details when the book comes out.  For now, here are some photos that I took of the bus for our two-page spread:

(Aaaah.  If only the bus were that clean all the time!)

I've also been meaning to take a photo of our "wardrobe" that is located above our bed.  It is the dog house-like building on the back part of the bus.  It's hard to get a shot of it because it's a little hidden behind the clothes. There is a 20"X 45" opening and there are 2 levels of shelving along 3 sides.  Along the top is a rod on which to hang clothes.  To access our clothes, we stand on our bed and try not to bump our heads (I'm saying this because it happened to me this weekend.  I hit my head so hard that I'm convinced that I got a mini concussion - eeks!)

Otherwise, Fall is here and the new season has changed a few things about bus living.  We've built a shelter outside the bus to keep us dry when we put on/take off our shoes.  Not to mention to keep the shoes dry.  The shelter also keeps the water heater dry and creates some storage area for recycling (the two containers), and soon we will be filling the shelves with miscellaneous things (e.g. vacuum cleaner, gardening stuff, tools, propane tanks etc.). 

We have been using our heaters a lot.  They are doing a great job of keeping the bus warm.  So far, we are still happy that we went with them so that we have room for a couch (instead of a wood stove).  We are noticing condensation throughout the bus though, so we are looking into getting a dehumidifier soon.  As expected, we are losing heat through the windows, so...

we've put up curtain rods all along the bus.  Now I just need to get fabric and make curtains :)!

Our bus is surrounded by trees, trees and more trees.  Which in Autumn means leaves, leaves and more leaves!  The roof of the bus, including the skylights, are covered in vegetation, so tBOY...

has been up on the bus sweeping:

Speaking of bus chores... here is another one that tBOY is responsible for: Emptying the composting toilet!

tBOY is ready with his high tech tools for the job: large heavy duty garbage bag and an elastic (a.k.a. hair tie!)

The top comes right off.

tBOY insisted on showing the contents of the toilet.  There is surprisingly NO foul smell.  It smells like soil, which it now mostly is.  Toilet paper takes a little longer to decompose, so you can see bits of it in the mix.

tBOY placing the bag around the 'solids' container (with the help from the hair tie).

Turn over and empty.

tBOY with the 'goods' that we bring to the dump.  Technically, if we had enough time, the compost can be disposed of in Nature (not my garden though!) But because we are using it full time, we are continually adding to it, so the dump is the best place for it.  In the future, we may choose to purchase another container, so we would just switch one out and let the contents decompose while we use the second one.  For now, a visit to the dump works for us.

So who eats our waste?  Our friend Peat Moss!

We are trying to empty the solids container once a month and the liquids container about once a week or week and a half.  We have learned our lesson about what happens when we wait too long.  Without going into details, let's just say that we now know that earlier is better than later!

Ok.  That's all for now.  I will try to be back soon though.  Since the home-building part of teeny tiny living is slowing down, I want to shift the focus of the blog more towards its title: teeny tiny living.  I want to start conversations about living small - what that entails and how we are trying to do it.  I hope to inspire some discussions in the cyber and the real world about making a smaller footprint on this little planet of ours.  I invite all you quiet readers (I know you are out there!) to comment and to tell me about you, your home and your lifestyle choices.

Happy Halloween everyone!