I am excited to be reading the new book by Chris Martenson and Adam Taggart! The basic premise is that big changes are coming, and it is wise to be prepared. The authors explains that things simply cannot continue as they are now because of the 3 Es:

• ENERGY: There is a limited amount of oil left in the ground, and it is becoming more expensive to extract. We do not have an alternate energy source that is developed and ready on a massive scale to replace our dependence on oil.
• ECONOMY: Our money, banking and financial systems depend on GROWTH. The world economy is now propped up by $200 trillion of debt, and the debt is still growing. This cannot go on forever.
• ENVIRONMENT: The Earth has limited natural resources. Currently we are taking too much from the natural world, and putting too much waste back into it. Several species of life on earth are going extinct each day, fertile soils are being degraded, and the oceans are acidifying. This misuse of our world will lead to serious consequences in the near future.

The authors point out that before we can take action to prepare for the hard times ahead, we must change our inner beliefs about the future. Most people are unaware of the difficulties ahead, or choose not to believe it for many reasons:

• Humans are clever. Someone will invent a solution in time.
• Too much faith in authority. “They will never let that happen.”
• Non belief. I have not heard it on the nightly news or Oprah, so it must not be true.

The authors advocate that people develop “Resilience.” In order to survive difficulty we need multiple ways of meeting our basic needs, have buffers and stored resources, and the ability to switch between different solutions. For example, having several methods of heating and cooling your home makes you more resilient because you can switch energy fuel types if one becomes scarce or too expensive. Having a store of emergency food and first aid supplies is a good start on being resilient.

In addition to resources, the authors explain that building up your knowledge and skills are also forms of resilience. These skills can be bartered with other people who have different skills.

This book review will be continued in my next blog post. 🙂

 

 

 

It is a happy time of year as we decorate our Tiny House for Christmas!

I have hired a special “green” architect to design a straw bale home with  a basement, to go in the big hole in the ground that was already excavated for a basement by the previous owner. Here is a photo of the basement area dug out (open on one end).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am studying straw bale home construction, and I like it! The homes are very beautiful, and are truly “green.” Vast quantities of wheat, rice, oats, barley, etc., are grown each year. The stalks of these grains are considered to be waste, and are used as animal bedding or they are burned which pollutes the air. This agricultural waste can be used to build straw bale homes. A wooden post and beam structure, or a steel framework, can be used to support the building, and the walls are filled in with bales of straw. The are covered with welded wire mesh and coated with several coats of lime or earthen plaster. The resulting 18 inch thick walls are super insulated which saves energy costs. After the “skin” of plaster is applied, these homes are extremely sturdy and resistant to fire, wind, earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes.

Because the wooden support structure looks more like traditional construction, in many places people are able to get building permits for these sustainable homes.

Large or small, straw bale homes are beautiful and economical to build.

 

 

 

 

 

I have the privilege of experiencing the forest around me go through the four seasons. This frosty morning in late November I experience “Quiet Beauty.” The deciduous trees have now shed their leaves.

It is so quiet. It is peaceful.

The sun is up but some frost remains. Lichen is visible on some of the trees.

Mushrooms grow on a stump in the shade.

 

The evergreen trees stand tall and majestic, the same through all seasons. They know how to live in the now.

 

 

 

 

On my flight from Washington to California I saw a magnificent sunset over the Pacific Ocean!

I had so much fun listening to my oldest son, Aaron, performing with his Celtic Music band called “Charmas.” My son is the tall handsome guy in the middle playing the wooden flute.

I had a nice weekend visit with my Mom and step-dad in Santa Cruz. My Mom let me borrow her car and on Saturday morning I found this very interesting building where the workshop was being held. It was decorated with art and inventions from the past.

First we introduced ourselves.  There were so many people attending the workshop this took about 2 hours. Most of us were beginner builders, but 4 attendees were construction contractors who came to learn more about Tiny House building.

First we heard from Jay Shafer, the author of “The Small House Book” that some believe was the beginning of the Tiny House Movement. Jay explained that a “Tiny House” is any house in which ALL the space is used well. It is an EFFICIENT HOUSE. He told us about building codes and minimum house size regulations.

Then we heard from Daniel Bell of Danielbellconstruction.com. He taught us about many things including safety, tools, trailers, foundations, framing, insulation, roofing, composting toilets, electrical and plumbing. In addition to a Power Point presentation on all topics, Daniel had a lot of cool models and samples of everything that he showed us. I learned a lot, and I finally understood off-grid and grid-tied solar power systems. Daniel said with a grid-tied system if you generate more power than you need, you can sell it to the power company. But it is not quite as great as it sounds since the power company buys the electricity from you wholesale, and sells it to you at retail.

 

It was nice to land safely at the airport in Seattle and go home to my Tiny House and children and dogs. It was a great 4 day weekend! 🙂

 

 

 

 

Happy Day! I am making HOT coffee in the sunshine in my new mini-coffee maker plugged into my temporary power pole! They hooked up our power yesterday! After 2 months of flash lights and propane heaters, we are getting electricity in the Tiny House and travel trailer! FUN!

Here is an electric light inside my Tiny House! Whoo, hoo!

 

Here are some photos of them putting in our electric service yesterday.

I still need to write about my travels to California for the Tiny House Workshop, but the HOT coffee report was so exciting, it had to be told now!

Princess with her newborn puppies in 2012

The forest is a beautiful and dangerous place. My little girl dog “Princess” went out to go potty, and never came back. She had been doing really well being off leash around my campsite area. I would let her out of my Tiny House so she could go potty outside. She would always come back and scratch on the door and I would let her back in. But it was just getting dark when I let her out for the last potty stop of the day. I think she decided to go for a run this time instead of coming right back. There was a lot of coyote howling and barking in the woods that night. We don’t know what happened to my sweet doggie, but she never came home. She was a domesticated pet dog with no sense of what things were dangerous. I called every Vet office and animal shelter in the area, but no one brought my dog in. I know for a fact that if she was alive she would come home to me. Princess was my sweet baby for 7 years.

Here is one of her darling puppies:

While walking around my property, I saw these bright orange colors. At first I thought they were flowers, but closer inspection showed they were growing right out of the ground with no stems or leaves. I checked with a friend and she said they actually are mushrooms! How cool is that? My friend says sometimes she has neon blue mushrooms on her property, and bright yellow ones with an orange spot in the center.

Here are some more mushrooms I saw on my property.

The sky was so beautiful this morning I just had to take a photo. The stars at night are incredible, but the night time photos do not turn out well.

There is one thing the Tiny House articles do not talk about. Some of your friends and relatives will not understand your life choices. I lost a good friend because of my decision to live tiny without electricity and water. My friend was so upset, she won’t speak to me anymore. I told her I will keep my children and doggies warm. But she couldn’t handle it, and she walked away. It hurt a lot.

My “camping” situation won’t be for too long. I am hoping to have electricity and water before wintertime. I am hoping to build a small cabin next summer, and hook it to a septic system. To me, living for a while without all the modern conveniences, is totally worth it to become mortgage-free. But the Tiny House homesteaders should be aware that some people will not understand.

Well, Laundry Happens! LOL. It has been a long time since I had to use a laundromat to do my laundy. I found out that prices to wash clothes have doubled since then. It will be very sweet when I have a new small home with electricity and water, and a WASHING MACHINE.

Speaking of building my new small home, I enrolled in a Tiny House building workshop with Jay Shafer of Four Lights Tiny Houses! (One of his designs is pictured above.)(www.fourlightshouses.com) Jay wrote The Small House Book and is considered by many to be the “father” of the Tiny House Movement. It will be November 7 and 8 in Santa Cruz, California. My Mom, step Dad and my oldest son live in Santa Cruz, so it will be really fun to see them. I will write up a blog about it after I attend the workshop!