Beautiful Hopeville Pond camping...

My sister and I went on another camping adventure in the Beach House this month.  We stayed at Hopeville Pond Camp Ground in Griswold, CT.  It is a beautiful place to stay and the staff are very nice and accommodating.  We had a wonderful time and I just wanted to say it was a pleasure to meet all the nice campers who got a peek inside my tiny house on wheels.  Enjoy the photos and please comment!

 

Beach House in the Pines...

 

My second camping trip 

with the Beach House

was another memorable time.  

My sister joined me on this 

trip and we truly enjoyed 

ourselves.  We met very nice 

people who loved the house

and asked questions about it 

and I was happy to tell them 

my story as well as letting them 

have a peek inside.  It made the 

weekend that much more special.  

Family came by to visit and long 

time friends were there and 

popped by to say hello..

it was just perfect!

We stayed in Burlingame State Park in Charlestown

Rhode Island.  It really is a beautiful place to camp,

and I think the layout of the park was very thoroughly

thought out and planned in such a way that whatever

road you take, there's always a round-a-bout or turn 

around that will take you back to where you meant to go!

The only thing that did not make the "perfect" list was the pollen!  

Oh my, if you have allergies, try not to plan your stay in pollen season!

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Easter weekend by the sea.......

Easter was a very special one for me this year.  I finally made my dream of staying by the sea in my tiny beach house a reality!  It has been a long time coming and was so very worth the wait.  It was a perfect mix of weather.  When I arrived on Saturday, it was blustery and overcast. Early Easter morning with the shining full moon it was calm and serene before the sun even rose above the ocean.  

It was time for me to appreciate living in the moment.  Something my best friend knew how to do.  I wish I had learned it from her while she was still here on this earth, but grateful that I chose to live it on this trip.  I took the time to reflect and to breathe, to take in the beauty of my surroundings, and to thank God.

In this upside down world we all live in now, perhaps learning to appreciate living in the moment is something that we all need to do.  Take the time to do what makes you happy and appreciate it for we never know what tomorrow will bring.

I'll take the mountains...

 My Beach House had a temporary home recently.  She was nestled in the mountains of VT while awaiting her credentials.  In as much as I cannot wait to enjoy staying in her while at the ocean this year, I couldn't help but love the way she looked in the pines...

                        And, that blue door......💙

I'm getting The Beach House bug!...

 

This winter has me feeling a little restless and dreaming more of warmer, sunnier days ahead.  While snug inside by the wood stove, although I love being warm by the fire, I find myself thinking of what I could be doing outside like working on things on the beach house or getting the Scotty Gaucho ready for camping.  I write list after list of "things".  Then I realize I cannot do some of those outside things right now due to the weather, so I force myself to do those inside things that I keep putting off because I keep adding to  my outdoor dream list!  I need to just let time pass and do what I can during each cycle.  One part at a time vs pinball machining everywhere!

This afternoon, the temperatures got up into the 40's and I took this opportunity to get out to the Beach House to conduct a winter solar/off-grid experiment.  

I've had my solar panel on the roof for about a year now and it is hooked up to my deep cycle battery, charge controller and inverter.  But, I also have a heavy duty extension cord running from the house for when I get the inspiration to go out there and read or clean or re-arrange.  Recently, I watched one of Will Prowse's live streams and he talked about the life of a solar panel and how if it is hooked up but no power is being drawn off of it through the battery, it will degrade much faster by just absorbing all the sun's rays and not utilizing the power.  Enter my experiment....actually it is my second experiment.

The first experiment was to hook up a small LED lamp and monitor the battery performance during a full week's worth of sunshine.  I plugged the lamp into the inverter and turned it on.  Every day, I watched the monitor show me the smiley face of "everything is fine".  I was pleased!  What I did not take into consideration was that over 5-6 consecutive days and nights, the battery didn't have a down time to charge.  I left the light on 24/7.  On the last day when I checked the monitor, it had a sad face and there were zero's across the board.  The inverter shuts off automatically so there was no fear of damaging it.  

On to the second experiment....I plugged the lamp into a timer and I will monitor the results of the light only being on for two hours in the evening and two hours in the early morning.  This will give the battery the recharge time it might need during the daylight hours.  I will let you know how it went when the experiment is over.  

Tuckertown.....what a town!

 After discussing the thought of another yard sale, Carolyn Sally and I decided we wanted to have one again but in a different location.  Sally offered her yard.  We set the date.  Last weekend was not only the two day yard sale, it was a time to

Beach House most recent photos....

Her maiden voyage...

 

Inspection day for my Beach House...

It was her maiden voyage and a white knuckle trip on the highway up to the city to see if I was able to get a VIN assigned to my home made trailer.  I don't think I would have made it through the day if it were not for my friend and co-pilot, Kristie.  Seriously, I was that nervous.  It was quite windy and there were many semi's on the road.  Nothing out of the ordinary when you are in a car...but towing a tiny for the first time was definitely not ordinary!  We did okay on the travel part.  The rest was not so great.  I was lacking a few things that I hadn't even given thought to.  Side marker lights for one thing.  Ownership documentation....I won't go into detail on that part now.  With the help of the kind inspectors though, I might be okay.  I should know in a couple of days.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

Winter almost gone...

Tomorrow is the first day of March and I am so looking forward to spring.  I want to dive in and get back to what I was doing before winter showed up at my door and suggested I stay inside for a while.  I want my work gloves back on and my tools in hand.  Eagerness is never so present as in springtime.  Time to plant things and repair things.  Time to brush off the dust and rearrange things.  Time to be outside breathing in fresh air.  Let's shake out the quilts and hang up the hats and gloves.  Let's enjoy this season called spring!

 

Time...

Time....seems like it's what we never have enough of.  Getting ready for winter is when we need time to do the buttoning up, the gathering of wood for the stove, the equipment maintenance.  Time is a necessity for getting these things done in preparation of the upcoming winter months.  Take stock in your pantry, pulling out the heavy blankets and wool socks.  Ready your mind for nestling in for the darker months ahead.  Stay warm.  Time will pass into a warmer season.  A season that we look forward to and never seem to have enough time in.

just because.....it's autumn

The Beach House build continues...

CLICK HERE FOR MOST RECENT UPDATE!The weather has been great for working on The Beach House, and I have been trying to get out there each night to do what I can.  It is beginning to feel like I am really making head way toward completion! 

Tiny Beach House build continues...

It is spring once again and time for me to get back to work.
Actually, I worked here and there during the winter on some of the interior things that I could handle without freezing my fingers off.

To update my readers.....

missing winter white...

I know winter isn't over yet... but the two significant storms we've had here in the northeast were short lived.  Sure it's nice not to have to drive in it, but it doesn't feel much like winter when the temperature is hovering in the 50's and all the clean white blankets of snow have dwindled down to a few dirty remnants of plowed snow here and there leaving nothing pretty and pristine to look at...only grays and faded browns. 

Harlow's Pub.....

By recommendation of our friends at Field and Forest Recreation in Harrisville, NH, my husband and I stopped in for lunch at Harlow's Pub in Peterborough, NH on Saturday.  The minute we walked in, we knew this was

three days straight...

Thursday, 4:35pm..."red at night...sailors delight"

Splinters and nicked up knuckles...wind burn and chapped lips, aching back...Friday, Saturday and Sunday....I worked three days straight to get this far.  I've come a long way since

coming around again.....

Tomorrow is the first day of autumn as the calendar tells us.  Our world also tells us this in its ever changing canvas.  The seasons, like a well worn book that we read over and over again, are predictable and longed for.  Throwing that favorite sweater on to take a walk outside...taking in the sights and smells of fall.  Getting mindfully ready for the season after.  Knowing all too well we will be hunkering down indoors with a warm cup of comfort and that well worn book to read once again.  Welcome autumn, welcome.

cotton and cashmere...

I discovered something about myself today while cleaning my closet.  Cotton and cashmere...a metaphor for who I am.   Simply cleaning out my closet made me realize I am both.  It may not seem all that impressive to read, but it made me think about myself.  Cotton is my "go to" fabric everyday.  I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal.  It's my work clothes, my home gear, it's pretty much my 365 days wear.  But, when the event calls for something a bit more dressed up, I do have my soft cashmere sweater (and of course, my jeans).

I'm cotton and cashmere.  I'm down to earth and homegrown as well as polished soft like cashmere.

Read your closet...what fabric are you?

 

gettin' crafty...

I love it when I'm home, in my jammies with coffee in hand, on a rainy Sunday to do whatever I wish.  I can multi-task with wild abandon!  Throw a load of laundry in, (have another cup o joe...), clear some clutter, find a lost earring (bonus!), organize that cupboard...you get the idea.  This particular Sunday was my "finish up a few

embrace the unexpected...

What started out as a rainy Memorial day turned pleasantly summer like.  I chose to forego the four wheeler ride and just meander around on foot to take photos of whatever appeared in my path.  I'm so glad I did!  My white lilac was bursting with blossoms and a butterfly was taking full advantage of it.  Greenery was exploding in every fashion in the woods.  And the unexpected