www.the-Mini-House.blogspot.com
...see how we are transferring our live-aboard skills to low-impact land-lubbering.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Monday, July 21, 2008
Just a Note to Keep Y'all Company
Oh, Ah'm a'tradin' my ole' wooden boat fer a tractor, Dear Lord!
A ole' painted tractor fer me!
As soon as Ah gits some music to match, Ah'll be sanging anna mowin' 'till dawn!
Be, creative, go ahead and imagine this song as a number one hit! OK! So this not my tractor, ours is a wee red Massey Ferguson, no back-hoe, but it'll do. What, I'm not too sure, but they tell me it's great!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Two weeks Left!
Francoise and Paul will come to take their new baby home two Saturdays from now. Wowie! After that, I guess we continue to camp.
Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion of...the Lambton Duo!
...will they find a building permit next to their morning coffee tomorrow?
...is the new soil just right for Pinot Noir?
...will they be completely homeless?
Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion of...the Lambton Duo!
...will they find a building permit next to their morning coffee tomorrow?
...is the new soil just right for Pinot Noir?
...will they be completely homeless?
Friday, July 4, 2008
Sold!
Chelonidae will sail again, this time under the hands of a nice couple from the Lake Champlain region. She'll be taking them south, back into the beautiful blue water, and I'm sure everyone will have a great time.
As soon as I get over some strong parting feelings, I'll be able to put things in better perspective. The year just went by too quickly, I guess.
Now it is time to pack, and put it all...where, exatly? We haven't quite got a building permit yet, but Bob is working on that.Jim & Bob are working at getting our new/used Massey-Ferguson in working order too. Busy, busy busy! In the meantime, I am visiting with my folks in Peterborough and also in Port Perry. As soon as the reality of our situation sinks in, I'll tell you more.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
I'm a Wee Bit Jittery...
Guess what I'm doing right now? I am writing (duh!) from our favourite wi-fi cafe, The Sleepless Goat in Kingston while Jim is giving a second viewing of Chelonidae.
A couple came up from vermont to see her yesterday, had the intial showing. Things were going well, so we actually left them alone on board to have a really good look, scooted off to look at windows and doors (I'll tell you about that in a minute) and come back to serve drinks and an appetizer. Tongues losened, chatter flowed and they announced that they wanted to go ahead with having her hauled out so he and the shipright-friend they brought with them could survey and get an even better look. Sounds serious. I'll know when I get back! (But you won't, ha ha!) I am not the emotional type for saying good-bye, but this one will be hard. I won't be ready for that until I am exhausted from moving all our stuff off.
So! About looking at windows and doors!
Our new house will be heated via two patio sliding doors, one being in the bedroom, the other in the living area, along with a fixed window the size of a single door. There is wrap-around porch that will break on the sounth side to accomodate a pergola, so there will be shade in the summer and when the vines die back in the autumn, there will be sun in the winter. Our floors will provide mass for the sun's heat to accumulate and radiate out through the evening on a sunny day. On cloudy days and for night time, we will ahve a Jotul woodstove, uber-modern design made in Finland. There will be a composting toilet and an on-demand hot water heater (no tank) in the bathroom. The shower and sink will feature water collected from rainfall.
The actual job-site will be powered by three 80 watt solar panels and maybe a small gas-generator for the bigger tools.
I am thinking of starting a new blog for this project, anyone interested? If you don't want to jump through the hoops involved in posting a comment, go my profile and get my e-mail adress and let me know.
I am also thinking of passing this blog (if possible) on to the next owner. They want to take the boat to the Carribean, sounds like fun!!
I'll let you know whether they want to buy, when we move (cuz one way or another, we have to move...) and all that stuff...tah-tah for now!
A couple came up from vermont to see her yesterday, had the intial showing. Things were going well, so we actually left them alone on board to have a really good look, scooted off to look at windows and doors (I'll tell you about that in a minute) and come back to serve drinks and an appetizer. Tongues losened, chatter flowed and they announced that they wanted to go ahead with having her hauled out so he and the shipright-friend they brought with them could survey and get an even better look. Sounds serious. I'll know when I get back! (But you won't, ha ha!) I am not the emotional type for saying good-bye, but this one will be hard. I won't be ready for that until I am exhausted from moving all our stuff off.
So! About looking at windows and doors!
Our new house will be heated via two patio sliding doors, one being in the bedroom, the other in the living area, along with a fixed window the size of a single door. There is wrap-around porch that will break on the sounth side to accomodate a pergola, so there will be shade in the summer and when the vines die back in the autumn, there will be sun in the winter. Our floors will provide mass for the sun's heat to accumulate and radiate out through the evening on a sunny day. On cloudy days and for night time, we will ahve a Jotul woodstove, uber-modern design made in Finland. There will be a composting toilet and an on-demand hot water heater (no tank) in the bathroom. The shower and sink will feature water collected from rainfall.
The actual job-site will be powered by three 80 watt solar panels and maybe a small gas-generator for the bigger tools.
I am thinking of starting a new blog for this project, anyone interested? If you don't want to jump through the hoops involved in posting a comment, go my profile and get my e-mail adress and let me know.
I am also thinking of passing this blog (if possible) on to the next owner. They want to take the boat to the Carribean, sounds like fun!!
I'll let you know whether they want to buy, when we move (cuz one way or another, we have to move...) and all that stuff...tah-tah for now!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Biggest News Ever!
Sorry for ignoring you all!
We are still anchored out in Anglin Bay, Kingston Inner Harbour, living aboard, but not for long.
No sooner had we put the anchor down when Jim started looking for land. After a couple of Email exchanges with some friends, we discovered they had purchased some land in Prince Edward County. 34 acres.
"That's a lot for just two people!" Jim said, "got an extra corner for us and our environmentally-friendly small cabin?"
The reply was spectacularly short, sweet and to-the-point: "Sure!"
Bob explained that he was entitled to build a main house (for him & Linda) plus a "seasonal unit" for farm hands.
So here we are, asumimg the role of hired-hands, planning to eventually purchase said corner, but more importantly planning on building this small, seasonal unit this summer. In two weeks, as a matter of fact.
Why the dramatic change?
Well, recall what I had earlier said about not really being able to sail everywhere we wanted to go, not wanting to sail the open blue water again, burning so much diesel, not being able to recycle our garbage (so many tin cans and bottles went into land-fill...I'm ashamed!) and wanting to have a community and family around more. This all results in becoming much more aware of the giant environmental footprint we were leaving on this planet. We decided a wee while back to make this change and "live smaller".
"What the heck could be smaller than a boat to live on?" you ask, incredulously?
A 16'x24' small house. We read about the "Tiny House" movement, but the examples given were just...too tiny! We will need storage for a few things, a shed for garden tools, composting bins, etc. And I just plain didn't want to live so radiacal, dude! Besides, we are looking forward to travelling on other people's boats during the winters, so we still need all our boat stuff.
So we are in the final stages of planning our new digs, litterally. Bob & Linda are really great people, have similar interests and ideas for this land, one interest being raising grapes for wine-making. I'll tell you more about the Picton area, and its three yarn shops, two theatre guilds and 17 wineries later. As soon as the mile-wide-smile fades from my face and allows me to see through un-rose tinted glasses. Might not happen, we're pretty pleased.
Soon, this blog will be re-directed to a new blog: Living Small.
We are still anchored out in Anglin Bay, Kingston Inner Harbour, living aboard, but not for long.
No sooner had we put the anchor down when Jim started looking for land. After a couple of Email exchanges with some friends, we discovered they had purchased some land in Prince Edward County. 34 acres.
"That's a lot for just two people!" Jim said, "got an extra corner for us and our environmentally-friendly small cabin?"
The reply was spectacularly short, sweet and to-the-point: "Sure!"
Bob explained that he was entitled to build a main house (for him & Linda) plus a "seasonal unit" for farm hands.
So here we are, asumimg the role of hired-hands, planning to eventually purchase said corner, but more importantly planning on building this small, seasonal unit this summer. In two weeks, as a matter of fact.
Why the dramatic change?
Well, recall what I had earlier said about not really being able to sail everywhere we wanted to go, not wanting to sail the open blue water again, burning so much diesel, not being able to recycle our garbage (so many tin cans and bottles went into land-fill...I'm ashamed!) and wanting to have a community and family around more. This all results in becoming much more aware of the giant environmental footprint we were leaving on this planet. We decided a wee while back to make this change and "live smaller".
"What the heck could be smaller than a boat to live on?" you ask, incredulously?
A 16'x24' small house. We read about the "Tiny House" movement, but the examples given were just...too tiny! We will need storage for a few things, a shed for garden tools, composting bins, etc. And I just plain didn't want to live so radiacal, dude! Besides, we are looking forward to travelling on other people's boats during the winters, so we still need all our boat stuff.
So we are in the final stages of planning our new digs, litterally. Bob & Linda are really great people, have similar interests and ideas for this land, one interest being raising grapes for wine-making. I'll tell you more about the Picton area, and its three yarn shops, two theatre guilds and 17 wineries later. As soon as the mile-wide-smile fades from my face and allows me to see through un-rose tinted glasses. Might not happen, we're pretty pleased.
Soon, this blog will be re-directed to a new blog: Living Small.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
We're Baaaack!
Just a quick note to say...well I just said it! We're home in kingston and already having a good time. We cleared in with customs, went for a walk in the old 'hood and discovered a neighborhood bar that sells icy-cold, crunchy, delicious Steam Whistle! Such simple pleasures...
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