A Tiny Slice of Heaven

Last weekend, I did an unlikely thing- I had a terrific vacation in Long Island.

Now, before I offend any Lawn Guylan'ers, I do realize there are very beautiful parts of the island, but those aren't generally adjacent to LaGuardia, which is where I spent April 25th and 26th. In the basement of  Marriott, to boot. It was a most unlikely venue for one of the most magical weekends I've had, but it just goes to show you- life is odd.

For once, though, it wasn't me that was odd, and I have Tumbleweed to thank for that. I attended one of their workshops, and all weekend no one thought me strange for being a crunchy, vegan, tiny-house-building, business-hippie. That's what happens when you get about 50 tiny house enthusiasts in one room; open-mindedness doesn't have to be sought out or cajoled- it's already present in spades! As soon as everyone started introducing themselves, I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer like-mindedness. As is almost always the case when you talk with tiny housers, the idea kept cropping up again and again of creating a smaller home in order to live a larger life, and ultimately, that's what brought each of us there and why I felt the presence of such kindred spirits; we truly value life, and the idea of cutting down on costs, both financial and environmental, so that we might spend less time administrating our lives, and more time inhabiting them fully, drives us.

In short, it was brilliant. Not only was the workshop cram-packed with a ton of information, most of which backed up what I'd already researched, and the rest of which I would never have come across on my own, but it was also quite touching and a massive stress relief to spend time among people to whom I didn't have to justify my decision to live in a 150 square foot wheeled house with a composting toilet (read: bucket).

They even found a tiny house for us to explore! The lovely couple behind Runaway Shanty agreed to tow their gorgeous house halfway to us.

Absolutely beautiful. Even though I ultimately decided against a gambrel roof for my own house, it was nice to see one in person. I also found great comfort in finally seeing the real life actuality of the dimensions I've had in my head all this time (we chose the same size trailer), and I no longer have even an inkling of a doubt in my ability to roost happily in such a small space.

I seriously couldn't have imagined a more useful or delightful weekend. It shone so much light  and confidence in my plans and capability, a lot of respect and gratitude for the company that sold me my trailer, and, best of all, a network of tiny housers in the Northeast.
I canNOT wait to get this project underway!

I still have a bit to wait until my trailer arrives, but I'll update soon!