Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz: Day 3

If you’d like to come see what we accomplished during the Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz, please come visit us for Cilantro Poncho's First Open House at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 11 at 4674 N Kain Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705.*

Yesterday was Day 3 of a week-long build blitz for the Meyerhofer’s tiny house, Cilantro Poncho. We got rained on most of the night so we did a 1-hour delayed start to give things time to dry out enough that the mastic would set up. Courtney arrived with a well-organized task list for the day which we checked in on first thing. The day before we raised most of the walls during Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz: Day 2. Additionally, two of the remaining sections were small, so we figured it would be easy-peasy getting the rest of the walls up in the morning.

However, yesterday ended up being a head-scratching day and we all learned a bunch. As we got one full long wall up we discovered that when we lined up the tops of the panels we had to shim the bottoms a fair bit in the middle. The ideas were flying as we brainstormed possible solutions.

We were trying to make sense of it and we came back to the notion that the trailer was bowed. We were all pretty perplexed, so we gave Damon at Trailer Made a ring to learn more. Damon assured us that the bow (which they call a “camber”) is not only totally normal but also totally on purpose.

“You know how when you see a semi flatbed it is usually bowed the other way, like a rainbow?” he asked. “That’s because when it’s fully loaded it flattens out under the load. With a tiny house trailer we do the opposite because all the weight is around the perimeter. We give it a little camber so that as the walls are positioned the trailer flattens out.”

Damon confirmed that we were better off not adding permanent shims at the bottom because as the top plates go in and the roof goes on the house should settle into position. We’ll be able to remove the shims as the trailer flattens out. We all breathed a sigh of relief.

I felt silly for not calling Damon up and asking the question earlier. I’d heard of trailers with a bow built into them but I’d never worked with one before. However, I realized that I should have checked in about this on Friday when we first suspected it might be the case with this trailer. That day Courtney, Kurt and I had leveled the trailer as well as we could, which involved taking some weight off the axels as we raised the jacks, and we found that the trailer seemed to tip in both ways. It was slight so I didn’t think much of it. Turns out, when you have a few thousand pounds of SIPs on the trailer, it starts to matter – a lot!

Now that we had a better sense of how to work with the trailer, we employed Andrea’s suggestion to let the trailer down onto its axels so that the ends could tip back down. That helped quite a bit, but the mastic had set up on that second panel we’d installed the day before, so it wasn’t budging, even after we removed the fasteners. We realized we’d have to live with it. Fortunately, we were able to get the rest of the long wall panels up and lined up. When we did our final measurements we found we were only off by about a ¼”. Since we know just where that came from, we’re pretty pleased.

I’m thoroughly impressed with how high morale remained throughout this process. I’m grateful to the Meyerhofers for their graciousness and to Mark, Andrea, Chris, and Richard for their patience, their creativity, and their willingness to try new things. It was great having so many math lovers amongst the group because it enabled us to make great use of materials and do some clever problem solving.

I’m going to stop making predictions about how long things should take now, but I’m glad that we’re finally in good shape to get that last wall up tomorrow! We’re half way through our six-day build blitz and I’m eager to see what more we can accomplish for Courtney, Kurt, and the Cilantro Poncho! If you'd like to come visit, please join us for Cilantro Poncho's First Open House.

*If you’re reading this after Cilantro Poncho's First Open House and you’d like to visit, please be sure to contact Courtney and Kurt to arrange a day and time. They can’t accept unannounced visitors because they’ve got work to do finishing their little house and they need to make sure everyone who visits can do so during a time that’s safe. Thanks!

Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz: Day 2

If you’d like to come see what we accomplished during the Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz, please come visit us for Cilantro Poncho's First Open House at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 11 at 4674 N Kain Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705.*

Yesterday was Day 2 of a week-long build blitz for the Meyerhofer’s tiny house, Cilantro Poncho. We started the Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz Prep on Friday and Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz: Day 1 included more prep for our wall raising, which we began yesterday. We had two more people come to join us for the work party: Kurt’s brother Chris and a friend of mine from college, Katie, who both came down from Phoenix.

After check ins and a review of Courtney and Kurt’s goals for the day, we split into work crews got started on the day’s project list which included the following:

• Installing corner framing
• Removing trailer light temporarily to provide access for bolts on tail end of trailer
• Drilling 5/8” holes through the trailer flange
• Bolting the sill plates to the trailer with ½” bolts, nuts, and a bevy of washers
• Erecting scaffolding
• Prepping and positioning the first wall
• Spray foaming and masticing the first wall
• Tipping up the first wall, plumbing it, bracing it, and tacking it to the bottom plate

By then it was lunch time. It was awesome to have that first wall up by lunch and so fun to see everyone working together at a team. In the afternoon we started in on our next list of tasks:

• Tipping up the second and third wall sections and attaching the first two corner sections in place with SIP screws
• Installing SIP splines
• Installing the fourth panel
• For panels with wheelwells: tracing the wheelwell pattern on the SIP (making sure it’s the right direction and measured properly from the end!), cutting the bottom of SIP, scooping out foam with the foam cutter, and installing blocking in the bottom of the SIP.

We found that when the back wall was completely plumb there was a gap at the top of both corners where the SIPs came together, but the SIP screws managed to cinch everything together nicely.

We ended up working an extra hour to take advantage of all the help we had and it was great getting the trickiest panels up. We have five of the nine wall panels up and all the ones with wheel wells are done now. Tomorrow should be smooth sailing as we get the last four panels up and then we’ll be able to start prepping for the roof!

*If you’re reading this after Cilantro Poncho's First Open House and you’d like to visit, please be sure to contact Courtney and Kurt to arrange a day and time. They can’t accept unannounced visitors because they’ve got work to do finishing their little house and they need to make sure everyone who visits can do so during a time that’s safe. Thanks!

Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz: Day 1

 

If you’d like to come see what we accomplished during the Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz, please come visit us for Cilantro Poncho's First Open House at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 11 at 4674 N Kain Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705.*

Yesterday we kicked off a week-long build blitz for the Meyerhofer’s tiny house, Cilantro Poncho. I joined Courtney and Kurt on Friday afternoon to begin Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz Prep and yesterday we were joined by an awesome crew of folks who came to help them get this little house started. Kurt’s parents, Andrea and Mark, drove over from LA with their SUV full of tools, Richard came down from Mesa, and Cammie and Andy drove from Phoenix to be here.

We started out with introductions, goals, tool safety, and “walking tour” of the tiny house. Then we split into work crews got started on the day’s project list which included the following:

• "Painting" the SIPs exterior with a third layer of liquid-applied water resistant barrier
• Cutting window framing and installing it in the window openings
• Measuring and cutting sill plates
• Determining the center of the trailer and snapping a center line
• Measuring from the center line to clamp the sill plates into place
• Tacking the sill plates in place with 2” star drive screws

Along the way we had a few moments of head scratching, a bunch of laughs, and gave each other lots of kudos. It was an awesome day and we’re nearly ready to get first wall up!

*If you’re reading this after Cilantro Poncho's First Open House and you’d like to visit, please be sure to contact Courtney and Kurt to arrange a day and time. They can’t accept unannounced visitors because they’ve got work to do finishing their little house and they need to make sure everyone who visits can do so during a time that’s safe. Thanks!

Cilantro Poncho's First Open House

This week I’m in Tucson helping Courtney and Kurt Meyerhofer’s dream come true through a Build Blitz for their tiny house, affectionately dubbed the Cilantro Poncho. Yesterday and the day before we worked on Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz Prep and today is Day 1 of the Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz. We’re expecting five more people to come help out as we get everything ready for the wall raising on Day 2.

At the end of the week Kurt and Courtney are hosting their very first Open House so that you can check out their little house. If you’d like to come admire our week’s work during the Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz, please come visit us for the Cilantro Poncho Open House at 5:30 pm on Friday, March 11 at 4674 N Kain Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705.*

This will be a chance for you to learn more about their house, their construction methods, and their upcoming plans. If you’ve never set foot inside a tiny house, this is a great chance to do it! If you’d like to follow along with their time-lapse of the build via their YouTube channel, they’ll be sharing the link. And if you’d like to help out in exchange for some hands-on experience building a tiny house, you’ll be able to sign up for that, too.

*If you’re reading this after the Open House and you’d like to visit, please be sure to contact Courtney and Kurt to arrange a day and time. They can’t accept unannounced visitors because they’ve got work to do finishing their little house and they need to make sure everyone who visits can do so during a time that’s safe. Thanks!

Cilantro Poncho Build Blitz Prep

We’ve had a lovely spring in Portland (read: plenty of rain!) so I felt parched the moment I stepped out of the Tucson airport. I immediately wheeled my tool-laden suitcase over to the nearest drinking fountain and began the hydration process that will ensure survival during our week-long build blitz in the desert.

Kurt and Courtney are the homeowners for this tiny house (tentatively named the Cilantro Poncho) and I’ve been working with them since they signed up for The Package Deal in the fall of 2015. They took my Tiny House Considerations E-Course, my Downsizing E-Course, and we worked through a custom tiny house design together. (Their design is based on the Skyline tiny house built by Eric Bohne, which they stayed in at Caravan – The Tiny House Hotel last fall – and we tailored it to suit their needs. Thanks, Eric!) For the past 6 weeks we’ve been working through project management together: getting quotes for trailers, SIPs, windows, water resistant barriers, and roofing so that we can get their little house dried in.

As they wrapping up Friday afternoons at work, I hit the ground running with a list of errands. My first stop was reserving scaffolding at Sunbelt Rentals so that we can get the SIPs roof installed on this tiny house safely. Then I headed to the build site to receive deliveries and finalize the tool, material, and supply lists.

Once Kurt arrived we walked through what materials and supplies we have on hand, which are arriving with Kurt’s dad, and which we need to pick up. We were just wrapping up when the trailer arrived. Damon and Natalie of Trailer Made went the extra mile (literally!) to ensure an on-time delivery for the trailer, driving it themselves from Denver to Tucson. I met them at Tiny House Jamboree last summer so it was a delight to see them here in a different context. Kurt was as swoony about his new trailer as Natalie and Damon’s dog Ruby was about Kurt! We admired it for a while, Kurt walking around “in” his new house to get a feel for how it will be in now that he has a life-size foundation. I told him that the house will go from seeming really big to really small to really big again as we add the layers. The window delivery from Window Depot arrived shortly after Courtney did and it was especially exciting to see the tiny windows that will go in Kurt and Courtney’s “away room.”

By evening we had all the major components we’ll need for the Build Blitz: trailer, SIPs kit, windows, and water resistant barrier. So we headed out, list in hand, to the hardware store so that Courtney and Kurt could select and stock their tool belts and a few basic jobsite tools. The part I’m most excited about for their sake is the impact driver and drill set they picked out. My Makita impact driver and drill set was one of the best presents I bought myself for my build and I’m sure they’ll appreciate having this great tool set for their own build and beyond.

By the time we wrapped up at the hardware store it was late, but I still stayed up talking with my host for the week, a friend from college whom I haven’t caught up with in way too long. She has a sweet little house not far from the built site and it feels splendidly serendipitous that she also has a guest room at the moment. Hooray for the week ahead! We can’t wait for everyone else to arrive! (And we still have a couple A Day at the Tucson Build Blitz spots available later in the week if you're in the area and want to join us!)

Lina's Tiny House: The Lucky Penny

For those of you new to The Little Life, welcome! My name is Lina Menard and I live in a tiny house called The Lucky Penny. I designed and built the Lucky Penny in 2014.

This profile will introduce you to my lil' house. If you'd like to see more photos and articles about my house, read Lucky Penny's Public Debut. If you have questions, please be sure to take a peek at my Frequently Asked Questions and if your question isn't addressed there, please contact me. If you want to see a video tour, please check out the Lucky Penny Tiny House Tour by Jenna and Guillaume of Tiny House Giant Journey. You can also check out other posts about The Lucky Penny on my blog.

Fast Facts

• Name: The Lucky Penny
• Location: Simply Home Community in Portland, OR
• Location Type: Tiny Cohousing Community (three tiny houses act as detached bedrooms in the backyard of a single-family home)
• Setting: Urban
• Designer: Lina Menard of Niche Consulting LLC (yup, that's me!)
• Builder: Lina Menard & Friends (I hosted work parties most weekends!)
• Plan Set: To Be Released Soon
• Number of Full-Time Inhabitants: 1
• Number of Part-Time Inhabitants: 1
• Pets: Raffi, 10 year old red Devon Rex tabby cat

Size Details

• House Width (Exterior): 8'-4" (100")
• House Width (Interior): 7'-4" (88") 
• House Length (Exterior): 14'-9" (177")
• House Length (Interior) = 13'-9" (165") 
• Exterior Square Footage: 123
• Interior Square Footage: 100
• House Height: appox. 12'-6" 
• Weight: Unknown

Construction Details

• Style: Gypsy Wagon
• Roof Shape: Vardo (curved)
• Foundation Type: Single 5000 # Iron Eagle Vardo Trailer with side extensions, welded-on stabilizing jacks
• Construction Type: SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels)
• Insulation Type: EPS (expanded polystyrene foam)

Systems

• electric point-of-use water heater
• electric space heater (Oct-Mar)
• mini-fridge without freezer (April-September)
• one-burner induction cooktop
• convection toaster oven
• mini chest freezer 
• kitchen sink
• bathroom shower

Sustainability Features

• salvaged door, windows, and finish materials
• electric-only appliances
• SIPs construction for energy-efficiency
• liquid-applied water resistant barrier for air sealing and energy-efficiency
• all LED lighting
• energy-efficient appliances
• low-VOC paints, stains and sealants

 Budget

• Total Budget: $25,000
• Total Build Cost: $24,250
• Building Materials: $14,000
• Car & Truck Rental: $2,750 (I don't own a car, so I rented cars and trucks for my build)
• Build Space Rental: $2,250 ($250/month for 9 months)
• Volunteer Meals: $1,500 (I ran work parties most weekends and provided coffee, continental breakfast, snacks, a picnic lunch and for those who stuck with me till the end, dinner!)
• Furnishings: $1,500
• Contracted Labor: $1,250 ($750 roofer, $300 welding for flip-up porch, $200 electrical consultation)
• Appliances: $1,000
• Estimated Sweat Equity: $16,000 (800 hours at $20/hour*)
• Total Value: $40,250

Small Developer Bootcamp in Portland

Yesterday, on a gorgeous spring morning, my landie Jake and I rode our bikes down to the Native American Center at PSU to attend the Small Scale Developer Bootcamp hosted by Eli Spevak of Orange Splot, LLC and John and Jim from Incremental Development Alliance. These three incredible people teamed up after meeting at an event last year. Eli told Jim and John that Portland has lots of people eager to make our neighborhoods better places through creative, community-oriented small scale projects. They scheduled a one-day bootcamp for the summer of 2016. But as more and more people contacted Eli with questions over the winter, he realized the demand for this information was even greater than anticipated, so he convinced John and Jim to bump the training up. They agreed and had the opportunity to present to a sold-out crowd of more than 100 people yesterday! The event actually kicked off on Tuesday evening with a set of presentations by small scale developers at The Zipper, a fun new food court with local independent restaurants created by Kevin Kavanaugh of Guerrilla Development. It was fascinating hearing about all the small-scale residential, live-work, incubator, and mixed-use spaces that have been created. A special focus of the bootcamp was missing middle housing, a term coined by Daniel Parolek to describe the mid-density housing that most American cities quit building many years ago and now sorely lack. Daniel was there for the bootcamp to describe missing middle housing - you know, like fourplexes, garden apartments, rowhomes - and its role in our urban fabric.

Yesterday the ten sessions included topics like:

• Financing Your First Deal
• Site Selection & Buying Property
• Deal Structures & Money Sources
• Understanding Pro Formas
• Due Diligence & Acquisition
• Understanding Condominiums
• Property & Asset Management

It was heartening to see so many people in Portland eager to learn about how they can play a part in making better neighborhoods by filling the gaps in our urban fabric with missing middle housing and small mixed-use projects. It was also fun to recognize so many faces in the room and meet new people. I'm glad I was able to participate and I look forward to seeing what happens in Portland over the next couple years as a result of the Small Developer Bootcamp!

Biz503 Radio Show re: The Future of Green Building

Later today I'll be one of the guests for a radio show on Biz503 (a segment about business in Portland on the Portland Radio Project station). This particular episode is focused on the future of sustainable building and I am honored to be one of the panelists, along with fine folks from Sustainable Northwest Wood - which provided most of the lumber for The Breathe Building, Earth Advantage which is the standard the Breathe Building was built to, People's Food Co-op - where I'm a member, and several more! I look forward to sharing a bit about Simply Home Community and I imagine we may also discuss The Breathe Building, the ADU Case Studies Project, the Space-Efficient Housing Working Group, and other sustainable building projects I've been part of here in Portland. Read on for the blog post Biz503 wrote to preview the show and tune in if you can!

BIZ503: THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

Sustainable building is on the rise – in Portland and across the world. The global green building market has surpassed $260 billion, and client demand is expected to keep pushing that number higher.

People are turning towards architecture that’s harmonious with nature for many reasons: economics, health, energy reduction and an overall awareness that the spaces where we live and work can be more than toxic boxes. From tiny houses to sustainable wood, to living buildings and urban forest canopies, there’s a movement to build green.

Join us Friday, Jan. 22, at 1:00 p.m. for a live broadcast of Biz503 as we talk to industry experts about the in-and-outs of the sustainable building movement. Mark Grimes of NedSpace and Cindy Tortorici from The Link will lead a discussion about the designs, ideas and visions of those who are pushing the borders of what it means to “build green.”

Our show guests include:

• Lina Menard,  member of Simply Home Community, and Owner of Niche Consulting
• Terry Campbell, Director of Business Development, Sustainable Northwest Wood, Inc.
• Ryan Shanahan, Senior Green Building Consultant at Earth Advantage
• Tom Liptan, Board Member at the Urban Greenspaces Institute , (recently retired from Portland Bureau of Environmental Service)
• Eric Corey Freed, Author, Speaker, Green Architect and Founding Principal of organicARCHITECT
• Jenna Chen, Design Manager & Collective Manager at People’s Food Co-op
• Thomas Robinson, Founder of LEVER Architecture
• Joel Miller, Building Manager at Ecotrust

A Year Living in the Lucky Penny

It's my one year anniversary of living in The Lucky Penny! November 15th last year was my Move in Day & Housewarming. But Raffi and I officially moved out of the basement of The Big House and began living in my 100 square foot gypsy wagon, The Lucky Penny, on December 1^st of last year. So I’ve now lived in my little house for a full year. And what a full year it’s been!

I celebrated A Year of Little Living in September of 2012 and I commemorated Another Year of Little Living in 2013, but a year of Living in the Lucky Penny seems extra special because this is the house I designed and built for myself (with lots of Tiny House Helpers, of course!) After Offering Gratitudes this week, I’m especially thankful to have another year of Tiny Home for the Holidays!

I woke up to moonlight on my face this morning. It was shining right on me through my domed skylight, which someone recently referred to as my “moon roof.” I love that description! It totally is a moon roof! Of course, it also lets me see the stars, the clouds, the rain, the sun, the birds, and the mighty oak tree I’m parked under.

Here are a few things I’ve discovered after a year of living in this this little house:

• The Lucky Penny works really well for me. I don’t have any major regrets with the design or the construction though there are few things I’d do smarter now that I’ve done them once the hard way. (For instance, you’ll see in Musings on my Vardo Roof Box that I would do the roof differently next time!)
• I love that whatever activity I’m doing is what the house becomes. When I’m sleeping it’s a comfy bedroom. When I’m working the whole space becomes an office. When I’m cooking, it’s all kitchen.
• I have plenty of storage space in my little house. More, actually, than I know what to do with. The top half of my tansu is empty right now as are some of the upper cabinets and I don’t have much in the storage loft.
• When I’m here with just Raffi it’s very easy to do whatever I need or want to do in my house. Once I add another person to the mix we have to navigate around each other more. It gets to be a tango. The dance is fun when it’s my sweetie or a friend, but I can already see that it could get old over time if I shared this space. (Isha and I have talked about trying it just to see what it’s like, but we're happily scheming our Tiny House for Two.)
• I was afraid I would get annoyed by converting my multi-functional spaces, but I’ve found I actually like it as long as I’m not already stressed and in a hurry. For instance, putting My Pull Out Bed away in the morning is a nice part of my morning routine. Getting my drawer top table ready is just the first step of Setting the Table to have breakfast or tea. Isha likes this idea enough that we’d talking about designing it into our Tiny House for two.
• I find I sleep comfortably on My Pull Out Bed in either its closed up or pulled-out versions. The pulled-out version is especially nice because I’m under the moon roof, but it is also quite cozy when Raffi and I sleep on the bed when it’s in window seat mode. And no, I’ve never fallen off!
• Cooking and baking in My Plug & Play Kitchen is wonderful. Although I usually make big meals for our Community Dinners at the Big House, I make my own breakfasts and lunches in my little house. Sometimes that’s as simple as making tea and having a piece of fruit. Other times I get on a baking kick and make cardamom twists in my little house, rolling out the dough on top of My Tiny Chest Freezer and baking them in My Fabulous Toaster Oven.

There are some things still not done. I never have finished out the shower since I’ve been showering at The Big House. (This is one of the many advantages of living at Simply Home Community, a tiny cohousing community.) And still I have a punch list that’s 40 items long that includes little tasks like washing the windows and doing paint touch ups. I’ll get to those eventually. Say, this spring when it warms up again! But for now, I’m enjoying being hunkered down for the winter in my little house!

Now, to go hang my advent calendar and count down the days till I get to go visit my sisters and introduce them to my sweetie, Isha, The Guy Next Door!

Small Home Weekend Wrap Up

What an action-packed weekend it was for little houses!

On Friday I enjoyed visiting with other small home advocates and enthusiasts from all across the country at the Build Small, Live Large Summit. Alan Durning of the Sightline Institute and Dee Williams of Portland Alternative Dwellings laid the scene perfectly in their Keynote Address: The Power of Small. I especially appreciated that Alan’s point that small housing is so often illegal and his encouragement to think really BIG about how we can move forward housing options that are better for people, communities, and natural environments. It was hard to pick between the concurrent sessions, but I’m glad I went to the one about demographic shifts and housing trends because it was really interesting learning about how certain trends (towards smaller households, larger homes, longer lives, delayed marriage and childbearing, increased desire for walkability, etc.) are impacting housing choices.

The five panelists for the Space-Efficient Housing Policy Round Table (Eli Spevak, Jean-Pierre Veillet, Danell Norby, Liz Getty, and Rachel Ginis) did an excellent job describing the regulatory challenges they face in their daily work as they attempt to create small homes. They also presented clever solutions to address or work around these challenges and we left the audience with Tangible Ways You Can Support Space-Efficient Housing.

The Courtyard Clusters session with my heroes Ross Chapin, Mark Lakeman, and Eli Spevak was full of incredible ideas and images. I tried frantically (and failed miserably) to capture the poetry of how smart land use creates sustainable community. I also learned new words like “pre-legal” which I have already begun employing. (Thanks, Mark!)

The Best of Small Design Slam was fabulous, too. As he was ducking out at the end of Mark Lakeman’s presentation, Mayor Charlie Hales leaned over to me and said: “I know a vacancy coming up soon and that guy would be a good candidate to fill it!” I completely agree, Mayor Hales.

On Saturday Eli and I both lead Guided ADU Tours with 14 participants, showing them a great line-up of accessory dwellings. Many of the people in my group are considering creating an ADU on their own property so they had lots of questions about the ins and outs of the upcoming Accessory Structures Zoning Code Amendments and the impacts of Multnomah County’s new method for assessing property values on properties with detached ADUs. It poured down rain all day, so we ended up soaked, but morale remained high as we went to as many ADUs as we could fit in.

That evening we celebrated Simply Home Community’s 1 Year Anniversary with a party at our place. It’s always fun to get our friends together to mix and mingle. We hosted little parties in our tiny houses (at one point I had 17 people in The Lucky Penny!) as well as activities in the Big House. And, of course, we had singing and s’mores around the bonfire to wrap up the night.

Yesterday during our Simply Home Work Party we donned our rain coats and put our garden to bed. (Amazing how much we can get done quickly when working together!) Then Jake, Isha and I hunkered down at Bison Coffeehouse in the rainstorm to work through our Tiny House Considerations Lesson & Challenge for Week 2. (Since I've fallen in love with The Guy Next Door, I'm going through the same process of scheming a tiny house as the other participants in the E-Course!) We had a great conference call for Week 2 of the Tiny House Considerations E-Course and I look forward to sharing the Lesson and Challenge for Week 3 because it’s full of fun design exercises so participants can consider what’s most important to them. The bell rang for Community Dinner just as the conference call wrapped up, so we trooped inside for one of Lindsey’s fabulous meals. Our Heart Meeting after supper focused on capturing our Values in preparation for upcoming conversations about Vision and Mission.

If my weekends are going to be so full, I'm glad that they're full of great things and wonderful people! With a good breakfast in my belly (fried green tomatoes from yesterday’s garden harvest) I’m ready for a brand new week! Happy Monday, everyone!