Update

It has been a while since my last post so it's time for an update. Although it is a definite long shot, I still haven't given up on living at the Hollow. I am postponing looking for a new spot until all avenues have led to dead ends. I have an appointment with Central Saanich city planner next week to ask some questions and get some information. If that does not even yield a glimmer of hope (even for a temporary solution), I will have to give up and start the search for a new place to park.

Fortunately, my landlords have been great - they would rather wait to have the extra space downstairs than have me live in a tent. I have already postponed my move-out date twice and am now staying on a week-by-week basis.

On a positive note, I am now involved with a small advocacy group. We met Saanich councillor Fred Haynes last week. He is a tiny house and small living supporter and has been working on a report for the council on affordable housing alternatives. It was a very positive meeting and was wonderful to have someone talking about all the possibilities instead of just the obstacles. And this weekend, Alexis and Christian from Tiny House Expedition will be in town and meeting with some tiny house people as well as Fred and Mayor Lisa Helps. Nothing will change in time to benefit my current housing problem but it feels like the tiny house movement is gathering support and momentum.

I'm not quite sure what is happening with my house build. Jamie took a couple of weeks off to move to Nanaimo and I don't know if he is back at it yet. He usually sends pictures every few days and I haven't had any now since the house got towed up there. However, I think windows is the next project so it will be nice to see pictures of the completed exterior. Even if I can't find a place for Happinest just yet, I am anxious to see it finished.

Emotional Week

Three days before we were to get the nearly-finished house to the Hollow, I received a very upsetting email from my soon-to-be landlord. A neighbour had heard that two tiny houses were moving in and made it clear that we would be reported as soon as the houses arrived. I had found my perfect spot and now would not be able to live there. Needless to say, it caused a very emotional and stressful few days! Fortunately, my current landlords are awesome and let me rent my apartment for another month. And we arranged to get the house moved to Nanaimo. It was a big expense (over $1000) but it made the most sense. That way, Jamie can work on it up there until it is finished and I can concentrate on seeing if there is any legal way to move to the Hollow and, if not, start working on finding a new location and advocating for acceptance of tiny houses. Things have to change!

Getting closer ...

I have ceilings and a floor now! The ceiling is pine tongue-and-groove. Both lofts have been done with cedar that was left over from the exterior. I think it looks great so far. The centre area walls are going to be horizontal tongue-and-groove in white. I am really looking forward to seeing what it all looks like together!

The house will be moved out to the site on June 15. There are still windows, stairs, kitchen and bathroom to finish so it may not be totally finished before the move. As Jamie will be moving at the end of the month, if there is anything left to finish, he will come down in early July. Either way, it should be ready for me to move my stuff into and hopefully live in next week. It may be a bit like camping for a few weeks but I will at least be in my own home and on site in Happinest Hollow!

Build Update

It's getting closer :)  Although the build is going to finish a bit later than hoped for, I am still optimistic that it will be done for June 15. Fortunately, my landlords were not planning to rent my suite right away so I am able to continue to stay as long as needed. However, as I am paying for both the land and my apartment starting in June, I am definitely hoping I won't need to stay much longer. I am so eager to be living out at Happinest Hollow!

The exterior is almost complete. The cedar siding looks - and even smells - lovely! The roof will go on in the next few days. The window order is due in a couple of weeks and they will probably be the last thing to be done.

There was some extra cedar left so it will be used inside as well. The walls of the loft bedroom are cedar. The rest of the house will be wide horizontal planks of pine tongue-and-groove and will be painted white to make the house feel as big and bright as possible. I'm so looking forward to seeing the interior come together.

Flooring was ordered this week. As the ceiling and counters will be light coloured, my personal interior decorator (my aunt) and I chose one with a greyish tone that will add some contrast but that will still (hopefully) hide muddy footprints and Golden Retriever hair as much as possible.

This week was a bit depressing as Jamie broke the news that we were overbudget by several thousand dollars. We had made a few design changes and added a few windows but I wasn't expecting that much of extra expenses. It took a couple of days to process it but, in the long run, I know that I am getting a great house that is exactly what I want and the extra money (and time to pay it off) will be worth it in the long run!

Irony

I was thinking the other day - as I was spending money on more garden stuff and bird stuff - that it was rather ironic. My main reason for going tiny was to save money and live comfortably when I retired. However, now that I have a garden and hundreds of bird "dependents" (and a few squirrels, too), I really just think I will be rerouting the money I save with lower rent payments to different things. However, as I expect these things will continue to bring me peace and pleasure, it may be ironic but it will also be money well spent.

Tiny T

On several visits to the Hollow, I saw a little grey bushtit. I had never seen one alone before as they generally hang out in groups of 10-20 that stay close together. I think I've figured out why this little one is alone. He/she only has one leg so may either not have been able to keep up or has been ostracized from his/her gang.

This sweet and photogenic little thing only has one leg! However, he/she is still able to hang upside down on the suet feeder so is managing in spite of his/her disability. I will make sure that feeder is never empty!

I wanted to give this little one a name as I hope that he/she stays nearby and visits regularly. Mum suggested Tiny Tim. However, as we don't know if it is male or female, I went with Tiny T instead. Sierra calls him/her TiTi. I'm not sure which name will stick yet.

House update

The house is coming along great! This photo is prior to putting on the house wrap and cedar siding:

The cedar siding is thin horizontal tongue-and-groove. It will not get stained or painted and will just weather naturally over the years. It looked even better than I expected! I forgot to take any pictures on that visit though so will have to wait for Jamie's weekly email with photos of the progress.

The window order went in last week. Unfortunately, it is a very busy building/renovation season so the estimated delivery is five weeks instead of the usual 2-3. Jamie is still able to finish everything else and leave the windows until last. However, it will probably delay my move-in date by a week or two.

The electrical and inside walls are next on the agenda. I'm very excited to see the interior come together in the next few weeks!