New storage place

 For now, as our ruins are not rebuild yet, we need storage place. And for that, we are using the bathroom “wanna be” as a very organized storage place!

We used an old metal structure that we brought from my parents in Porto, and used it here to make some shelfs. It’s a perfect place to have things very organized, like bedding and towels for example!

Exciting decluttering day

We woke up today with decluttering mode!

Boy, did we work hard!

As you know, our bathroom has not been made yet, so it has been a storage laundry area. Well, that is not happening anymore! We cleared the space, cleaned and organized it so well! We even found spider nests in the window seals - no good joojoo!

And David worked on an extra shelf in the kitchen - so necessary!

 

Where are we living and new loo!

Olá 2018!
We have been sick after spending christmas at my parents in Porto (a strong flu that knocks anyone down!) and our energy levels have not been the best.
But like the saying says, time heals everything. Even depression times.
Tell you, living life after a fire that turned everyone's life upside down is challenging, but possible.
Anything is possible!

After spending some weeks in Mizarela, wich we are really gratefull, the calling to go to the land and be closer to the Tiny House and to the land itself, was big, so we decided to have a place to live here.
The fastest situation would be a caravan. And living here, we would need a mean of transport, as well, that could go in these tracks with no problem. That we could transport things and friends and family when they come to visit.
Searching in Portugal, was clear that we couldn't afford this! Everything was very expensive and very old or in not so good conditions. The other possibility was the UK.
It was obvious to us, that not only the prices but the quality of the caravans and the cars were so much affordable to us!
So, the journey begun.
David went back to the UK and in 2 weeks, he found a beautiful caravan and in very good conditions. And the plus is that it came already with a gas heater. So we didn't have to worry with small woodburners or any kind of improvement in the caravan. And the other find was a 4x4. Ideal to transport the caravan to Portugal and to transport people and things here in the mountains.
We love both of them. We are confortable and warm and at a very tiny distance from the Tiny House, so we can work, prepare meals and to not waste anytime in big journeys back and forward.


Here you can see some pictures of the caravan and the 4x4 journey:

In the ferry coming from the UK to Spain

In Spain with snow

Arrived well to Benfeita, at night, and only the next day I could see both properly. Right before David got to here, he had a bit of a situation, because the 4x4 wouldn't pull the caravan all the way up the road from Benfeita here. But, fast he could see what the problem was! He arrived well but with a smell of burned tire!

And there they go, the same track as the one that the Tiny House did back in August. It was very fast, not even 5 minutes to arrive to the top of the track that goes to the land. 

When we got here, we had to turn the caravan all the way around, since we wanted it in a way that we could take it out. It looked so easy and fast! Was it? No! Not at all! All because the space was small, cluttered with things and we don't live in a flat area. There are ups and downs everywhere, which makes something always more challenging than normal.

Straps were used to secure the caravan, in case the brake would not work. We didn't want the caravan to go on it's own down the hill!

 

Just in case, we were always putting a log close to the tires.

Half way done!

Driving on the right side and you can see the caravan turned all the way.

Almost in place and then we thought of something: security! We can't have trees so close to the caravan. Because of the fire, we learned that houses have to have an area around them with no trees, and because the soil is so empty, with rain, it can just slide and trees can fall down easily. So, the next thing that we did was to cut some pine trees. 

In the middle of the work, we run out of fuel (when we think that things can go in a flow, something often happens!). No worries! 

And the work is done! Caravan in place, with no trees in danger to fall down on top of it and we are ready to move in!

Not only we are happy living here, but Lara and Missanga love it as well! Sometimes is challenging, because it's smaller than the BUS. We just downsized in things that we own because of the fire and we live in a smaller place. It's funny, because either we laugh about it or we are just irritated by living in such a small place. Welcome to the Tiny Living! 

And the adventure re-starts!

Meanwhile, David started to build a loo so we have the proper conditions to live here. We had a big storm in the area back in December. The wind was so wild that knocked the loo down! Luckly, nothing else happened over here, except a lot of rain falling down in a small amount of time.

And that's it for now!

We are good, we love and we are challenged living here, but now our spirits are high!

We have the next steps planned and we are working on them already.

Some days were spent in surviving the flu, or just a downtime.

In between, we planted some trees on the land and we allowed ourselves to just be.

Life in the mountains, with the cold, the rain and the strong winds is not easy.

We questioned our choices, but it was all part of the post traumatic time that happened (and I think it's still happening) after the fire.

We are looking forward to continue to build the Tiny House and to finally move in.

Hope to give news about the building very soon.

With love,

Raquel

P.S. - After this time sick in the caravan, we decided for sure that we want an inside loo in the Tiny House. We are not going to put our precious bottoms in the cold in the future!

A blue and pink surprise?

Today we had the first frost. I woke up to this beautiful white and shinning white color over the plants and the ground. There is a magical soul in Nature during cold days. A magic that calls to go in and rest. To sleep a little bit more. To look inside with no separation from the outside. It feels like winter already. It's so cold, and yet so sunny.
For now, I consider that we are in transition times.
We are lookind at the land and the house and see what comes, somehow!
Decisions are hard to make, because, like I said before, the experience is one of instability. But, life goes on and life is moving on, and so are we!
David is almost arriving from the UK. Yes, good things are coming!
I want to leave as a surprise and I am only going to show you and tell you about the next steps, when "they" arrive!
Until then, I would like to show you more pictures of what has been happening with the house and the land.

- We upcycled a burned sink from Mizarela, and created a wood structure so we can use it. For now, it's our exterior sink.

- David made the structure for the outside compost loo. Something simple, but it's going to be dry and protected from both the wind and the rain.

We have been clearing the burned BUS, so we can finally say goodbye.

And in one of the times that I went up to clear some more, I just saw this. An amazing butterfly standing in the ramainings of the BUS. So beautiful that it broke my heart. Nothing else is important. The beauty of life is the only thing that matters - and the beauty lies in everything and everyone. In every situation: the ones that we experience as good and the ones that don't seem so good. It's a transformation that is occuring. It's a letting go of the old, so the new can materialize itself. Thank you butterfly.

This is the place that I always took a picture from when we were building the house in Mizarela. Looking at this place, I am full of gratitude, because we moved the house before the fire. If we hadn't done that in August, right now, there would not be a house to continue to build. That's why we are really grateful for life and for the right timings, for miracles and for listening to our intuition. 

The green starts to come after the fire and we rescued our tiles - not so bad! Maybe some creative form will come from them. A very good looking morrocan bathroom on the way!

 Enjoying the sun right after meditation every morning in our room in Mizarela

 Visiting the bees every other day

Missanga's ear and Lara with not a so nice look! She loves to hide in the box.

A very long and precise work of leveling the house! Very important, because we were always feeling deasy everytime that we were in the house and for the structure itself it's very important. David can tell you more in detail later about this job.

Leveled Tiny House! Iupi!

All the people like us that lost houses and things could come to this places to get similar things that got burned. The Portuguese are very giving in these situations, so these places were and are still full of very good things that we can use, including food.

 I learned that instead of being angry because the 42m2 that we bought of wood for the floor got burned, I accepted it. What else is there to do in these kind of situations? It's a waste of time to imagine how things could have been if we had moved the wood to the land in September or so. We didn't, so this is what is! (in the picture you can see the only thing left from the floor!)

For now, we decided not to change the windows that got broken, since we are not living there yet. 

Preparing some fire wood for winter

We put some fairy lights in one of the trees next to the house. They are solar, so every night, if it was sunny during the day, we have an amazing view of the fairies on the tree!

I finished cleaning the wood burner - it took a lot of work since the plastic was completly melted on the surface. We had to use heat, a metal spatula and at the end David had to use the electrical sand to sand everything out. So now, we just have to paint it with a special paint for wood burners.

And that's it for now!

Monday we will show you the pink and blue surprise that will mark the new phase of the Tiny House building.

Until then, a big hug with love

Raquel