Tiny Houses

I haven't posted on my blog for a long, long time. Seems I lost interest in telling bus stories. Now I have a new interest. Tiny Houses. Specifically, I want to build a tiny house on a trailer, modeled after the ones made by The Tumbleweed Tiny House Co. You can look them up online.
My kids both think I'm crazy. Other people probably do, too. I don't care. This is my dream. I am turning 53 this year. April will be going off to college in a year and a half. Ramona is 25. I will not need a 4 bedroom house anymore!
The first problem is, I have accumulated a whole lot of stuff over the years, and I am loathe to get rid of anything. But I am starting. I sold the spa, which we never used. I took a load of junk to the dump. I have the piano and the vanity on Craigslist. I cleaned out the closets of extra jackets and other warm clothing and gave them to the homeless this winter. Next, I need to attack the books. I have WAY too many books. Books I've read, books I haven't read. Books I want to read, and books I'll never read. Fiction, non-fiction, schoolbooks, classics, trashy romances, science fiction, historical novels, encyclopedias. Total worth? Probably close to zero. It's HARD to get rid of books! I love them! And I will certainly save a few, expecially the ones in the category of 'books I want to read'. Maybe a few of the classics, too.
The next problem is, no money! This, I hope, will improve. When April goes away to college, I plan to move into the back house, and rent this front one. That will bring in a good amount. Plus, it will solve problem number three, which is, where to build it? I can use the big patio back there! It's perfect!
So, for now, since I can't start yet, the plan is to downsize, downsize, downsize! Also, I am designing. The house I have planned will be 16' x 7' on the inside. The trailer itself will be 8 and a half feet wide, including the wheels, and about 21 feet long, including the hitch. I've already spent at least 100 hours graphing out floorplans. I want a bathtub, albeit a small one, and I have discovered them online disguised as koi tubs. I want a gravity fed plumbing system. I want solar panels. I want to use a marine cooler instead of a refrigerator, and a propane stove and heater. In short, I want it totally self contained, but also able to draw power from the grid, and hook up to plumbing and sewer if I choose. I want an octagonal casement window in my loft. I found one online for $500 that I am drooling over. It has a stained glass rose in the middle.
When I'm ready to retire, the plan is to buy an older Suburban to pull it with, and travel North America. I want to visit my Aunt in Nipomo, April's Grandma and Uncles in Oregon, other famiy in Washington, Oregon, and Missouri. I want to go see Tatiana on her farm in Colorado. I want to go to Alaska via Canada (the only way you CAN get there by land...) I want to go back to Yellowstone and Thermopolis Wyoming, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. I want to see the Northeastern states, and go down South to New Orleans. I might even venture into Mexico, if it looks calm enough.
This is what I want to do. My dream was always to have a view from my front window. This will give me not just one view, but many, many views. A different one every day, if I want. As far as building it myself goes...well, I plan to attend a workshop this summer on the subject. I also plan to volunteer for Habitat For Humanity, as a way to learn what's involved in house building. That's another thing I can add to the list of 'Things I can do right now.' And it will help others at the same time.
So, from now on, this is what my blog will probably be about. I may still throw in a bus story now and then. It still can be pretty interesting out there.