Travel Trailer ~ Tiny Home Away From Home

Cedar Pond was sold the first day we put it on the market May 1,2016. We had 2 offers on our home so we knew if the first offer fell through the second probably would not. We were surprised our home was snatched up so quickly and we'd have to leave by June 15 , 2016. That left us 6 weeks to pack up and move to our home over the mountains and far away. However, our future home was occupied by tenants and my husband had not yet retired and needed to stay near Cedar Pond to continue working until the end of September.What to do ? We moved a travel trailer ( above ) to the back yard of our youngest son and his family.  They live within walking distance to our new home. I lived there for awhile and my husband stayed with his younger brother and family withing walking distance to Cedar Pond so he could commute to his job until he retired.( My  husband came over the mountains frequently to stay here and begin getting our future home ready for us to live in .)

The travel trailer is a 1990's model we paid cash for ( cheap ! ) to use as a home-away-from-home when we visited our sons and their families on this side of the mountains. It soon became my real home for awhile. We did not have time to re-model the travel trailer or glamp it up, but the trailer was in pretty good shape, roomy, the air conditioning worked , and I was truly a happy camper.

Here is the living room of my tiny home (above). The carpeting and upholstery are turquoise and in good shape. I decided I would go with the color scheme. Hey, I like turquoise.I filled the trailer with my quilts, some antiques, my house plants, and my spinning wheels. A girl's gotta spin you know !

I did tear out all the original curtains and drapes, they were pink and turquoise with a lot of frilly trimmings popular in the 90's. I replaced them with simple sheer white curtains. The trailer already had blinds installed in all the windows.

We put a flat screen t.v. and DVR player in the trailer on an antique shelf . We were not connected to cable or satellite , we have an ample collection of favorite videos to watch. You can see the small bedroom off the living room here.

The very small,warm and cozy bedroom with the very small sliding door. A bedroom with no space to walk around the bed. The bed is very comfortable though with plenty of storage in the nightstands and above the bed. You just have to climb over the bed to access the storage.

Since our tiny home / travel trailer was in the back yard of our youngest son and his family, his son would practically bounce out of their home in the mornings and head to our trailer to visit. The first thing he would look for is our cat Blizzard. Little grandson really loves Blizzard and Blizzard is very happy to make himself available to grandson. ( Blizzard is on a bunk in the 2nd bedroom of the trailer.)

What you can't see is the sink and stove to the right in the picture, and the dinette that seats 4 to 6 people to the left front of the picture.

Blizzard and our other cat Miss Marple were never allowed out of the trailer when we lived in our youngest son's backyard. They did not seem to mind at all. Here is Blizzard looking out the window at our son's Mennonite neighbor haying his alfalfa field.

My German Shepherd spent the days outdoors and the evenings indoors with me and the cats.I covered a lot of the trailer's original carpeting with my own handwoven rugs.

Even a tiny home has room for a large dog to stretch out.

All my house plants and the small trees and bushes we brought with us were placed around the outside of the trailer. In July I gained a new puppy from one of our granddaughters and the puppy kennel was placed under the awning in front of our trailer. In this picture our 2 youngest grandsons are talking to my puppy , Luna.

Blizzard was never allowed outdoors but he surveyed the comings and goings from the trailer screen door. I loved living in my tiny home and know I could live this way quite happily. So could my cats. I think even my husband could too. However, he retired, out tenants moved out and we began moving into our new home at Laughing Dove Farm.We are so thankful to our youngest son and his family for their generosity in allowing us , our flock of geese, chickens, doves,sheep and dogs to live in their back yard while we waited to move into our new home.

This travel trailer is now our guest cottage.We had a few guests stay in it quite comfortably. Our grandkids like staying in it when they visit. I fill the cupboards and fridge with snacks and beverages. The trailer has a very nice kitchenette and a bathroom, plus a bunk room with 3 bunks.I am planning on making it even better and doing a teensy bit of renovating. We will be adding a nice corrugated metal roof, skirting around it, and a porch. My once tiny home will be our guest cottage.

Oh Christmas Tree

 We're still getting settled in our new home and have many boxes stored in the barn we've yet to unpack. Many of the boxes are full of Christmas decorations . We knew we had a lot of Christmas decorations but boy oh boy, is it possible to have too many ? Especially since our new home is less than half the size of our home at Cedar Pond. ( Picture is of our youngest grandson helping my husband place the first few decorations on our tree.)

 We bought a new artificial tree for our first Christmas here. Yes, we have many beautiful trees growing in our forest that'd be perfect for us, but the woodstove in our new home keeps the whole house roasty-toasty and we did not want to worry about keeping the tree stand filled with water when we knew it would dry out every day with the heat and our cats and dogs drinking out of it. We chose this tree because it is narrow and nine feet tall, filling the window but not crowding us out of our new little living room.

Blizzard, our 20 pound cat, stretched out under the tree .

 We have a new puppy . She was born to a Labrador Retriever one of our granddaughters owns. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and now she is 8 months old. Her name is Luna and we love her. She discovered a long time ago she can peek into the house from the windows overlooking the deck. Our two cats seem to enjoy mocking the dogs from indoors. Here is Miss Marple almost taunting Luna. If Luna were indoors Miss Marple would be hiding under the bed or in the closet.

 The view of the tree from outside on a cold snowy winter's evening. You can see our other cat Blizzard looking out the window.

"The shining sparkling ornaments strung on our Christmas tree , Reach out and take me by the hand to years that used to be."  *  'To The Years That Used To Be '  from poem by Annette Victorin

Cats !

 This is what I often awake to, Blizzard my cat staring at me. I know this picture is slightly blurry, but I don't see well without my glasses or contacts and this really is what I see, close up and very personal. Blizzard does not sleep with us at night, my husband does not want the cats in bed. However, when my husband goes to work early in the morning Blizzard opens the door ( yes, he can open firmly shut doors ) and allows Miss Marple , our other cat, to precede him into the bedroom and onto the bed. Blizzard often tries to sleep close to my face but when he wakes me up while trying to curl up on my pillow I move him away and eventually the cats and I settle with them curled up at the foot of the bed. I sleep on quite peacefully with the comforting sound of a purring lullaby.

Our daughter and her children were visiting last week. You can see Blizzard knows he is an important member of the family. He took his place on the sofa to listen in on the conversation, and why not ? Cats, I love them, especially mine .

The Work Begins ( Packing Up )

 The work began right after Christmas ~ sorting through belongings , deciding which to discard and which to keep. My craft room has to be sorted and emptied out by the end of this week so we can  re-carpet and paint it in preparation to sell our home. I have been finishing many projects to accomplish some sense of order and help me decide what I want to do with our space and my time in a new home. What is worth keeping here ?

 I sorted through my fabric stash and have a huge box ready to donate to the goodwill . I have kept most of my fabric though . I have collected fabric for future quilts and comforters and know I will sew them in the future. ( above picture ~stack of things I will sew before we move.)

Later on today I am hoping to finish packing up the craft room. I have art supplies and scrap-booking supplies to sort through. This is going to be my hardest work because I know I have too much to justify taking it with us on our move. I am also NOT looking forward to going through years of paperwork in the office section of this room. I am amazed I have been able to neatly and efficiently stash so much stuff away in this room that was once our daughter's bedroom. I also know I never want to store this much STUFF again.

Blizzard has been helping me by checking out every pile of fabric and seeing which ones are suitable for a cat nap.

 

Tasks &Accomplishments thus far since January :

1. Finished weaving 4 rugs , took off loom to pack rugs and loom, weaving supplies packed up.
2. Had sheep sheared , ready for lambing.
3. Began skirting * wool fleeces to take to wool processor so I can have wool batts ready for moving.
4. Mucking out poultry pens , taking big pens down for moving. ( HARD physical work ! )
5. Deciding on which poultry to keep, sell, etc.,
6. Already cleaned out most of pantry, boxed up dishes, etc, some for future garage sale.



 

My Canine Companions ~ Blessings !

 I don't think I can ever underestimate the many ways my canine companions have enriched my life. This is Whimsy our German Shepherd. If I had known many years ago what an amazing breed German Shepherds are Whimsy would not have been our first GS Dog. I believe we have been mightily blessed she is our first because of her willingness to please us and quickly learn our ways and routines , mutually beneficial to all concerned. And how could you not love a face like this ? She is looking at me in this picture. She watches, studies, and follows me , humbling me with her unwavering devotion.

 This is Hawk, our old Vizsla , settled in front of our fireplace with our other constant companion, Blizzard. Blizzard may look like a cat, but he is 20 pounds of muscle in a cat body with the personality and friendliness of the average snuggly dog. Blizzard actually becomes a nuisance when we have company because he runs to see who's here and then proceeds to jump in their laps, especially if that company includes children. He loves being in the midst of loud playful kids and often frustrates them by snatching their toys for himself. Alas, Blizzard usually has to settle for us and our dogs, but he has no qualms about thrusting himself upon us. Hawk always appreciates a warm body to lean into and he and Blizzard are friends.

 Beatrix is 11 years old and such a faithful dog. She and Whimsy do not get along because they both strive to be by my side. Whimsy works hard at keeping Beatrix away from me by circling us as we walk and nipping Beatrix , trying to bully Beatrix to stay back away from me, far away from me. This works too , because Beatrix will back away from me and flatten herself on the ground when this happens. It is apparent Whimsy has quickly become the "alpha" in my little pack of four. I am working with Whimsy to teach her manners, it is not polite to mistreat your elders . This has really been my biggest challenge with Whimsy. I will not allow her to abuse Beatrix , and Beatrix is the only dog she picks on. I have been thinking on this since Whimsy was 6 months old. Why does Beatrix seem to concern her regarding me ? How can I stop her from bullying Beatrix... still working on this, but Whimsy has not physically harmed Beatrix , and thus far Whimsy has respected my insistence on this. ( She'd better ! )

 This is Willow, Beatrix's older sister. She is 13 years old. Both Beatrix and Willow were born in my kitchen. They are full sisters from different litters. Willow and Whimsy are companions, sharing the back yard and porch. They sleep together too. Willow gets along with everyone, people, other dogs, cats. She loves nothing more than food and her beef bones. She is always carrying a beef bone around with her and sleeps with her favorite beef bone. Willow is one of those dogs often unappreciated until they are gone because she is so easy to have around. Sometimes she is silly and it is fun to watch her roll around in the grass , one of her big pleasures. Rolling, rolling, rolling.. and snorting with pure doggy joy as she does.

All our dogs love to hang out with my grandchildren , and all my grandchildren love dogs. My canine companions enrich my life, entertain me, and I hope I give to them even a fraction of the love and devotion they give to me. My dogs are a blessing to me and I am thankful for them. ( Picture is of Whimsy and one of our grandsons, daughter's youngest son. )

Random Happenings Around Cedar Pond

 It's that time of year I spend a lot of time watching and evaluating my Jacob sheep. This is Gudrid. Her four horns are a bit wonky but I like them, and I like her. I also like her fleece. I have a new ram and am hoping Cedar Pond's Gudrid and  Puddleduck Jonas will produce some amazing lambs for me. I am excited about spring 2016 lambs already.

 My husband was painting the second story of our house front, directly over the skylights in the sunroom. The cats were fascinated and watched him the whole time he was up there.

 Blizzard ...

 ... and Miss Marple.

 I finished my chicken embroidery on a piece of linen. I am still not sure what I am going to do with it. Add words ? Make a pillow or tea cozy with it ? Put it away in a drawer and forget about it ?

I carry a small bag of embroidery projects with embroidery floss, scissors and extra needles for those times I find myself waiting somewhere away from home. The doctor's office, the auto shop, or while visiting people. If I have some stitchery to do it keeps my hands busy and my mind free to concentrate on conversation or prayer. 

We now know why our fountain is losing water more rapidly than it should. Just glad Ella and Fella can't actually get into the fountain to splash and swim ! ( You know that is what they're contemplating.)

 

We finally got some rain this past weekend, along with a windstorm that knocked out our power and kept us without electricity over night. We survived , but many in our area sustained a lot of damage to their homes and the winds whooshed their way over the mountains to eastern Washington without much rain fanning the flames and spreading the already devastating wildfires there.

 

September is here and I am so happy about this. It has been a very hot , dry, and busy summer , but my favorite season is almost here and along with September cooler weather has come. Yay !!!!

Pink Fluffy Clouds of Wool !

Pink, fluffy clouds of wool to spin up into yarn.

The morning I took this picture the sun was streaming into our living room belying the very cold temperatures outside. It was not a hard decision to make about what I would do on this morning.

I am going to sip coffee , spin the pink fluffy clouds of wool into yarn, and enjoy the quiet. ( With my cat Blizzard keeping me company.)

The Rest Of The Story ?

 Oh glorious spot in the sunshine , perfect place on the bed for a cat nap.

 What you don't see is how Blizzard woke Miss Marple out of a sound sleep and bullied her out of her spot.

I am pretty sure "the rest of the story" is coming.

Where I Store My Teacups ~ Part II ( Cat-Napping Room ? )

Blizzard woke up from his cat-nap while I was taking photos of my crafting room. Since he realized it was only me he settled himself back down and got comfortable on my work surface.

This was once our daughter's bedroom. She has long since moved out and now lives with her own family, so my husband & I began setting things up to accommodate the crafting supplies and work area that I used to store under beds, in closets...anywhere I could find space. Now it is all in one room. The boxes and bins are labeled and I try to keep like items together. The shelves are from Home Depot and are in the closet storage system department. I had at first wanted beautifully made hard wood shelves  and know my husband could have made them, but we're busy and expediency and budget were taken into consideration. I am very happy with these shelves.

Even though this looks cluttered, everything is labeled and has a place.

The wall on the far right has shelves holding the clean & carded wool from my flock of Jacob sheep. I try to use almost all of my wool before the next wool harvest , but there are always a few wool batts left on the shelves before the new shearing is finished. Sometimes this wall holds many bags of clean and carded wool fiber piled up in front of the shelves of wool. So much wool you cannot see the shelves ! The little shelf to the right of the wool shelves holds weaving supplies and a sewing machine.

This is the wall opposite my work table. Fabric and sewing supplies dominate here while the lower cabinet holds crafting books, pattern books, and magazines I use for inspiration in my crafting. The sewing machine & sewing table I use is beneath the thread holders on the wall. I keep it covered when not in use because working with my wool fiber can sometimes be dusty work. Again, any closed boxes, baskets, or containers are labeled and stored near similarly used supplies.

I see Blizzard is sleeping again and I am going to have to reclaim my work surface. Thank-you for taking a moment to see my messy, but useful & much loved crafting room. Now I am going to work on a few more needle-felted balls. Blizzard will probably happily bat them around and hide them . He's just testing them out to make sure they work properly and having fun watching me find them later on. I suppose this makes it Blizzard's room too, his cat-napping room !

My Love

Happy birthday Jim , I love you !

March Musing

March is almost over for us here in the Pacific Northwest , of course April has begun for almost everyone else in the world by now. March has marked a few milestones for us this year. Whimsy , our German Shepherd puppy is 9 months old and we are loving her even more every day .

 March is the month here at Cedar Pond for new, bouncing spotted lambs ! ( Below is one of my older ewes with her newborn lamb. )

This year we have a bummer lamb ( lamb without a mama ) we named Stormy. Stormy is growing quickly and enjoys his bottle every few hours. He has begun to nibble on alfalfa leaves too. His little face appears crooked because of his markings and he has beautiful long eyelashes.

Did I already mention new lambs ? I spend an awful lot of time outdoors just watching the lambs play. If you're feeling down in the dumps just get yourself to the closest farm with new lambs and sit a spell , watch, and laugh for joy. The joy of life !

 It has been the wettest March in recorded history here in Western Washington. We have had 9 1/2 inches of rain this month. Our ducks are loving this weather but our land is squishy with mud and oozing water everywhere. Thankfully our home & buildings are high and dry. Our prayers go out to our neighbors to the north of us in Oso where the wet March brought  a small mountain of earth sliding down on a small community wiping out  everything in it's path and taking many lives .

The hummingbirds have returned and Blizzard our cat spends many hours watching them at the feeder outside our living room.

March also is the month this granddaughter celebrates another year of life. We were blessed to have her spend the weekend with us. Granddaughter and the fairy are playing in the herb garden where this granddaughter and her sister made me a few fairy homes.

Every March we celebrate the birth of 2 of our 6 granddaughters. We rejoice in the birth of new lambs, chicks and ducklings. The birds are building nests all over the property , the ducks and chickens have increased their egg laying. The frogs chirp, our bees are buzzing over every precious new bloom. Ella, my Sebastopol goose is faithfully sitting on her clutch of duck & goose eggs while her partner Fella guards her,never leaving her . Some time later this week if all goes well I should expect hatchlings from the pair. What fun March is. It brings us joy, hope, new life and celebrating spring. "This is the day that the Lord hath made we will rejoice and be glad in it."