Autumn News and Contest (to WIN!)

Autumn is here and winter is coming...

It's that time of year to sweep the leaves from the bus roof again

Fall cleaning: Sorting through my wardrobe

tBoy has been working hard to increase insulation and minimize condensation.  The windows are where we lose the most heat and get the most condensation.  First he tried a sort of industrial saran plastic wrap on the windows to create an inexpensive version of double-paned windows.  After many frustrating hours of measuring, cutting, sticking and blow drying, it didn't even work :(!  It's because tBoy was unable to create an airtight seal because of the wood we lined at the bottom of the windows.

tBoy using the hairdryer (trying) to create the seal for the plastic wrap

Do you remember the bubble wrap at the back of the bus... not so pretty, but so effective?...  Remember how I thought we should bubble wrap many more windows?  Well, tBoy didn't think it was a great idea last year, but this year...

(Looks like the bus needs a power wash in the spring!)

We now have a bit of a UFO bus :)!  We only have this silver bubble wrap on the last three windows of the bus (on both sides).  tBoy cleverly put industrial velcro on it, so that in the spring and summer when the temperatures increase, we can remove the insulation so that light can shine in again.  For now, it makes the back of the bus (the bedroom) darker, but the days are so short anyway and the sky is usually overcast (fall/winter in the rainforest), so it doesn't make a huge difference.

Here's how I covered up the windows on the inside:

I found these cute little clothes pins :)!

So far this fall, we've been lucky with the weather.  We had a dry spell - some cold temperatures but not much rain.  So we had a bonfire at our friend's.  Yep.  She lives in a bus too...

She has a flatnose

Fire, beer, sausages (can you see one roasting?)

Homemade soup to warm us up... Oooo!

My friend's artist work space

Bathtub in her bus - Jealous!!!

Cozy dog

Adventures this season...

Digging (more) holes in dirt

Finding the BIGGEST mushroom ever!

tBoy has a new toy and hobby :)!

I gave it a try too...

We're not too shabby :)!

Ski season has begun :)!!

The story of our bus is at the Tiny House Blog.
Check it out HERE.

Also.  The English version blog post about our bus is now up at The World of Flow (English).
Apparently, I have a husband (don't tell tBoy!)
Check it out HERE.

As for the CONTEST in the title of this blog post:
tBoy has built a tent structure behind the bus...

And he dug a big hole underneath it...

Can you guess what it's for?
CONTEST: If you are the first person to correctly guess what tBoy will put under that tent in the comments section below...
You will WIN a copy of Tiny Homes on the Move where we appear on pages 58-59.
Good luck everyone!
And goodbye for now.

The World of Flow

Do you know Flow?

It is the most beautiful magazine from the Netherlands.  I (happily) stumbled upon it at a bookstore many months ago.  I loved it so much, I ordered all the back issues and I wrote to them about our bus :)!

We are featured in their online blog!  At the moment, we are only on the Dutch site.  The English version is awaiting translation and is to come soon (kind of funny, since the write up that I sent them was in English!)

If you are a lover of all-things paper, check out Flow: http://www.flowmagazine.com/
And for anyone who reads Dutch... check us out here: http://www.flowmagazine.nl/places-we-want-to-go/een-schoolbus-als-huis.html 

I'll let you know when we are translated (back) into English :)!

Little Mountain Town

When we moved to this little mountain town over 2 years ago, we were seeking nature in proximity.  Read: Right outside our doorstep.  And we certainly got that...

Endless rainforest for tDog to get lost in (can you spot her?).
The bus is nestled RIGHT in the forest.

Rivers to play in with friends: human and canine.
This one runs right along the property the bus is on

This river is a 10 mins bike ride away

And this one is about a 15 mins bike ride away

tDog and my favourite lake to swim is a
45 mins hike away from the bus

Or do you prefer the Pacific Ocean? A 15 min drive away...

...where you can attend a yoga class (with your dog!)
right along the ocean with a view of the mountains 

We are also a 15 mins drive away from many
world-known rock climbing crags...

and bouldering sites.  This one is a 7 mins bike ride away

And world class mountain biking trails?  From the bus?
You can be on one in about 10 mins.

Drive 40 mins and you arrive at one of the
best (or THE best) mountain biking parks in the world!

Or ski that mountain in the winter...
that doubles up as a top ski resort

Into XC skiing?  Drive 35 mins to get here...
It was good enough for the Olympics

If you are into hiking, there are plenty
of hikes to many mountain tops

So where am I going with all this?  Well.  I guess we definitely got what we were seeking in moving here.  And for a long while, we really thought that we had it all.  We were happy and content small town peeps.  We play in nature all the time.  We have direct access (i.e. our neighbours) to locally grown organic (and bio-dynamic) food and we never have trouble finding parking in town.  

BUT (you knew this was coming!)... We started to realize that as much as we are into nature and the great outdoors... It turns out that we are into other things as well(!)  We started to miss Arts and Culture.  Now, it's not like we were going to the opera every week when we lived in the city (we didn't)... but suddenly when this is not an option at all, you realize that you want it.  We find that we crave academic lectures, film festivals, theatre, good restaurants... And more than anything, we want to talk to people about anything other than sports and outdoor activities and trail conditions and gear!! (with the extreme sports crew). Or composting toilets, septic tanks, heat source, veggie-oil powered vans!! (with the hippy folk).

If you live in the forest when you are still plugged in, that is, not living off grid and wanting to be a hermit (us) then it turns out that you have to DRIVE to the grocery store, to the yoga studio, to work, to your friend's... everywhere... everywhere...!  And if you want to be a part of a pottery studio or go to a bookstore or attend a university course (me) or do a certain type of martial arts or go to the climbing gym on a rainy day (tBoy) then you have to go to the city.  Wait a sec, didn't we just leave the city?!

So move back to the city, right?  Well, no.  Although we miss aspects of what a big city has to offer, we haven't forgotten about the things that drive us batty: the crowded streets (people and cars), the pollution, the lack of nature, the noise...

So for now, we are still here.  And at least the drive to the city is incredibly beautiful:

The highway runs along the ocean between the mountains
(it is on the right side of this photo)

But we are searching.  For a creative way to have the nature and the Arts and Culture.  So far, we haven't figured it out... but we are hopeful.  It may mean driving our bus elsewhere... or not.  We have yet to see.  But one thing is for sure.  When we wanted to stop being renters, but wanted to live in the forest, but couldn't find land that we wanted to buy... We got creative.  So we can do it again!  Stay tuned to see what happens to these teeny tiny people and their dog :)!

Summer Time Away

Summer has come and gone and I finally have time to do a post.
We've been in the bus for over a year and we survived all the seasons!
In the last three and a half months, we have spent most of our time away from our beloved bus home travelling, riding, camping, playing.  I guess that was the point - to simplify so we can spend more time in nature doing the things we love...

So many swims in lakes, rivers and the ocean... 

Playing at the beach (yes tBoy caught a crab (temporarily) with his flipflops!)

Eating yummy food...

Riding our bikes in so many beautiful places...

ttDog had the best summer too... Is that not a happy-looking dog?

Spending time with good friends and family (like my lovely brother)

And many friends from all over came to visit and check out the bus.  Some even camped out in the yard :)!

Oh!  And we got interviewed for the local paper:

As for the plans for doing bus related things this summer (insulation, winterizing etc.), tBoy says that he didn't get to even a fraction of the things he wanted to do because we've been away + so busy (playing).  Hmm.  I think that is a testament to a great summer!

We hope your summer was amazing too!