So, as you all will be aware, we are now over two weeks into lockdown. For many, this will be a boring, tedious, and maybe scary time. Two weeks is a long time for limited social interaction and, maybe for some, lack of a sense of purpose. It is working though – as a country, New Zealand is banding together and we seem to be beating this virus. However, we definitely won’t be the only people counting down until its end. We need to get supplies to continue with our project, and develop our land to be able to move the house on. This week, Tom and I became proud owners of a 4 hectare block, which has been a long time coming! It’s really great that we were able to proceed with the purchase despite the lockdown, and we are stoked to be able to call it our own!
The next major step for us is moving the house onto the land – which will obviously require the lifting of the lockdown. We have contacted Mainpower to see how soon after this they will be able to put in a power connection – and Tom is looking into a temporary solar system as backup if this will take a long time (we are thinking there may be quite a backlog of work for them after this period). We also need to do some development on the land, including flattening an area for the house to go, which will require hiring of a digger, and running of water pipes (which apparently are not deemed “essential” enough to be gotten hold of during this time).
The house is coming along nicely (again, we are still managing to make constant improvements even without being able to get supplies). Tom built an amazing pantry, which we then painted together. This has been great in making our little kitchen a lot more tidy and organised. He is also working on the plumbing at the moment – hopefully before long we will have both hot and cold water to the kitchen sink. The sink has been a massive improvement to the kitchen space, and the bench setup in the kitchen seems to be working well so far. Tom has also put in a toilet door, which has obviously been a big improvement for privacy and comfort!
Tom has been keeping me well-fed and entertained when I get home from work in the evenings – we have been going on many bike rides and walks together around the neighbourhood, and he has been cooking some delicious food! The pinnacle of this was when I got home to a sausage sizzle stand he had set up – clearly someone has been missing our weekly trips to the hardware shops! I am thinking of suggesting to Bunnings that they include $1 wine with their sausage sizzle stand… not sure how well it will go down but I’m thinking it’s an excellent suggestion.
As far as having enough space goes, we have been absolutely fine in the tiny house! Having outside space helps a lot with maximising living space, but even on rainy days when we can’t go outside, there has been plenty of space for Tom and I to live comfortably without getting under each other’s feet. We are really looking forward to fulfilling our land development plans and getting our house situated on there in the (hopefully) near future.
The Tiny People 