April showers are upon us!

April is halfway gone! How can it be? This means school for the kids will be over in just a handful of weeks! I'm not ready!!! We have one that will be graduating from High School and off to college. The last few months have been bitter sweet thinking about this new adventure for her. However, it is exciting and will be a new exciting adventure for her.

We have completed some more trim work and shelves behind our master shower/tub. It has been a task! Once we moved into our tiny house and the weather soon changed... our daily lives got busy with other tasks.. the barn, the yard, the garden, the kids, our new puppy that isn't a puppy anymore, and more that I cannot even think of! Completely a certain room started to feel impossible because we were already moved in and living in the room. It was hard. But..... we did it!!!

 Master bathtub/shower we placed it in the corner so that we could use the hidden space behind it for storage and shelves.












I found an old wash tub that would be perfect size for our bathroom sink. Bought the drain assembly and drilled the hole. Works perfect and SAVED us money!!

               

 We also need some storage by our sink for simple things like deo, makeup, lotion, etc....

We cut the top off of this old tool box and cleaned it up a bit. The drawers are small but perfect for holding our stuff.... we do live in a tiny house so I can't have a ton of makeup. :)

 After our sink and counter is finished! Looks amazing and is perfect for us. We also used an old oil can to hide the "ugly" plumbing under the sink!




TJ built shelves behind our corner shower/tub! The shelves are perfect for storing extra shampoo, toilet paper, travel bag, and linen. Also the bottom shelf comes out completely to store away items that I do not need on a regular basis.

I hope you all have enjoyed! It has been a journey within itself but I love the ride. The best ideas do not come over night. Also, when you are hunting and re-purposing items.... it takes awhile to find the perfect piece! So remember... take your time and don't rush the beauty!!!!

You are doing fine!

February 12th, 2016

Valentine's day is upon us and Easter is just ahead. I am the worst at being caught up in the moment and not taking a step back to be thankful for my surroundings. Early December 2015 we joined the local gym and fell in love with the "love hate" relationship. However, our gym adventure was put on hold because of an unexpected hysterectomy that was needed.... that was 7 weeks ago!!!! WOOHOO 7 weeks have past and it was a LONG 7 weeks. We are all back in the gym and "working on our fitness"

I am saying all this because when we are in the gym and focusing on "me" time.... I struggle with calming my mind and just focusing on me. Rather than relaxation, I think about all the laundry and dishes at home that makes my daily life busy! Today after our PiYo class, I was talking to our trainer and explaining my balance issues to her. She reassured me that some of the very things I am struggling with are ..... well...........NORMAL! Although it has taken me years to get to where I am today, everyone struggles with something!

I read this quote today:

"Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. You made it, another day. And you can make it one more. You're doing just fine."

It has been really hard to just relax and enjoy myself. Realize that I made it through the day and doing just fine!

We have finished the shower in the master bathroom/bedroom and have done a few odds and ends. The weather has been too cold to do much in and out. It is mid-February.... lets hope this winter isn't like last year where it just lingered.

My oh my oh my!! What has happened in the last year? How has this all escaped from me? I could only say.... This is GOOD and BAD!

How great it is that I have not got caught up in the rat race but have gotten caught up in our home, our land, our garden, our adventures, our love! But, in the same breath it is so awful that I have forsaken this blog. I love hearing from everyone... all around the world who have adventured out of the rat race and simplified their lifestyle. I want to hear more. I want to learn more. I want to see what YOU are doing!

As for me....
The weather got cold and we decided to take a break from our Tiny House (House of Atlas) and move our work to the barn! We started preparing the barn for chickens, goats, our new dog, and maybe even a pig! Boy, we took on a new task that had a few surprises. We ended up getting several chickens, 2 goats, 32 rabbits, 3 peacocks, turkey, pot belly pig and a new Great Dane puppy. Having all of these animals around really started to give us a feel of homesteading! We were learning about vaccines, milking, raising babies, butchering, eggs, etc.

Once spring arrived and the rain came... we soon realized that our barn would need a lot more work before our animals could live in it. Rain came in all directions of the barn and soon flooded the land. It was literally a swamp that the animals were living in and it was not healthy! Sadly to say... we parted ways with most of the animals and focused on our garden. Gardening was such a learning curve! The kids learned to work the garden.. they learned the differences in herbs and what a few vegetables. We had always talked about cucumbers and which cucumbers would be the best for canning. As we studied and came across different plants... our cucumber selection turned into 14 different crops.

We canned alright! After giving away so much produce and eating some ourselves... we canned 22 Gallons of cucumbers! We learned so much about canning!










TJ and I have NEVER been in a position where we could take the kids on a vacation. Both of us had been to New Orleans previously. We fell in LOVE with the culture, the people, the environment, the music, the food, the smells (good and bad) and the weather! A few weeks before the schools spring break... we decided this was our chance. Our chance to show the kids what we love! Sure enough, we took a little getaway to New Orleans.








Summer came and the sun was HOT! School was out and the roads stayed HOT! We were running here to there and back. We decided to continue a few project that winter had placed on hold. Insulating under our home as well as finishing the underpinning and trim. We put the kids to work this summer building our fire pit also. We dug a huge 6-7 foot square hole about 5 feet deep. We laid concert blocks along the bottom and used clay and rock to form the sides and ring. As school was approaching we found ourselves getting busy with the kids and attempting to reinstate a routine and pattern. :)

What else can I say? School started back. The garden died away. Days started getting shorter. Our bodies started talking. TJ was diagnosed with RA and had a Gout flareup as well as a few stomach issues. Gastritis and acid reflex was not a welcoming sign. Antibiotics and several trips to the doctor and we are still fighting it. I, myself, had an Echo and EKG that showed a leaky valve... just something to watch as well as a total hysterectomy. Followed by Christmas!!!! What can I say? We have a wonderful family and our children are safe. We are loved and more than we can imagine! It has been a wonderful year and I promise not to wait this long for the next blog!!

Barn project is no easy project!

So.... we have taken a little break from the tiny house. We have some trim left, our bathroom not complete and our kitchen isn't complete. Our bathroom and kitchen are function able just not complete yet. It is mid December here in the Ozarks. We have had some really strangely nice days but it is getting pretty chilly. Our other BIG project is our barn.

The barn needed a lot of LOVE and work. We cleaned the old hay out, trimmed the trees and branches, nailed down the wind blown damaged tin, replaced a beam, tore out old stalls and rotten wood. The barn hasn't been used in years... except to store old hay.

We even did a little decorating on the old barn :)

None of this could have happened if it wasn't for the man of dreams!! TJ has been such an anchor in my life! He was right by my side when I was sick. He was next to me through the surgery and recovery. I know this is crazy but he has had my blood on his hands... my spinal fluids on his hands.... ugh!!! :) My point is this... even while our house is on a break.... TJ doesn't stop making my dreams come true. He doesn't stop. The barn was in pretty bad shape and now it housing 6 chickens, 21 rabbits, and 2 peacocks. :) Yep... he is pretty amazing!

About the barn again: We have 26 New Zealand rabbits that will be raising. The primary reason for getting them is for meat. This will provide our family with a lot of meat that is nutritious and delicious. We are eager to have meat from the rabbits and honestly... I am excited to try a new recipe. I'll post all about the recipe too! I'm also looking into their pelts and tanning the hides. Not sure what to do with them or what I can make but I'm sure I'll come up with something! :) Message me if you have any recommendations. 

If you haven't found us on Facebook... we are here > https://www.facebook.com/poordevilcreations

or 

Find us on Google+ under "House of Atlas"

Thanks for reading our blog and sharing our story!!

Stephanie Thompson

Here at the "House of Atlas" we have been very busy!!! We have both bathrooms up and running and usable! :)

WOOT WOOT!

Not only have we been extremely busy but we have also had a lot of fun getting our bathrooms complete. In the washroom we have a shower/tub, sink, toilet, hot water heater and washer/dryer. The wash room sees a lot of dirty clothes and washes a lot of dirty butts. :) With 5 kids... I did not want to down size on the washer and dryer. I felt that we needed full size units and let alone... it is running all the time. We also decided that we wanted and needed a 65 Gallon water heater. With total of 7 of us... we did not want to run out of hot water if we needed to take back to back showers. We also decided to go electric so that we did not have to vent a gas water heater. Our goal was to put NO holes through the roof for vents. We didn't have the room to put vents through the roof anyways because the kids lofts are there. The vents would have been going straight through their space. So... we did electric water heater.

We had the opportunity to use some items that we have carried around for awhile. Items that most people considered junk or trash.... but we see STUFF!  :P We used TJ's great grandfathers suitcase as our vanity in the washroom. Harvey Jones carried that suitcase for years and would be tickled to see it as our vanity top. We also bought a little galvanized bucket for 5.99 at Tractor Supply here in Harrison AR. We then picked out the faucet at Home Depot along with a sink drain setup. Then... we put them all together. After it is said and done... we have $70 invested in the sink vanity.

 

We did a very similar set up in the main bathroom. However, we found an awesome old wash tub at the flea market. We paid $12 for the wash tub. TJ's pawpaw had the old wood hoarded up in the barn. We bought the drain setup at Home Depot and the faucet from Lowes.  With a tiny house, you also have less storage of course. For our main bathroom vanity, we used an old toolbox that TJ had. I cleaned it up real nice and lined the drawers with mats. We used an old Mobil Oil Can to hide the plumbing and used the other piece next to the toilet for extra toilet paper and cleaners.

Oh and I can't forget the shower/tub excitement! We had to make custom shower rings for the tubs. This only took a little thinking... we wanted to make sure that the shower curtain rings would moves all around the ring and be free from the anchors. So, this is what TJ designed and made.

Recycled and beautiful!

On July 31st, 2014 I shared a post titled: To the Wind of Change

We had decided where to build our Tiny House and the huge decision to remove the old chicken house. The decision was hard because TJ's PawPaw had built it and there were several memories made. Of course, We wanted to save all that we could including the tin off of the roof. We knew we wanted to use it in our home and his PawPaw would be just tickled to see him save it and use it..... that is just what we did.

We pulled each sheet off of the old chicken house and knew it would be perfect in our living room. What we didn't know was.... there was just enough!!! Each sheet was 12 foot long and we were able to cut those in half and cut smaller sections for the shorter sides. There were just enough sheets for us to use and finish the living room ceiling! What a blessing!

Tj's PawPaw kept everything! We are so thankful that he did!! We found perfect pieces to finish out the ceiling and tie it all together. Here are just a few pictures.

I can't tell you how excited we were to have all the foam insulation covered! It started to feel like a real home and most importantly... OUR HOME!