It's getting cold! Heat is a thing

It's getting cold again in Washington!  It's not even Halloween yet and there was frost this morning.  Most of my annuals are dead (expected) and I've started bringing in the plants that I have room for so they don't also die.  Well at least not to the cold.

Yah it's going to get cold

I may have my 'it doesn't get above 45 in here' problem at least partially solved.  It was a combination of having an electriction install some outlets on the more isolated circuits and a new heater.

Last year's heater was great but it died shortly after the season.  I had been agonizing over heaters again and I finally picked one.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PLQ4T8

My salvation this winter

The part that drew me to it was the temperature control, I can run it at a really low power setting.  I had an older oil radiator for years when I lived in Utah and finally got rid of it while living in CA.  That thing was great, I love how it just slowly raises the temperature of the room.

I also had an electrician come in and install outlets on the heater circuit.  We also learned that my wall heaters have variable watt settings, so we changed them to the lowest watts.  This means I can have the one wall heater that isn't behind things on and this heater plugged into the other circuit (can't run that heater, it's behind too many things) and the breakers don't trip!  Both heaters have to be on super low but it works. 

For nighttime I wheel the oil heater into my bedroom and it, so far, has kept the temperature just warm enough that I can get out of bed  in the morning.  It's like I live in a house or something!

I still have to pick and choose what I run and when, but I am happy with these developments and anticipate not freezing this winter.  Hopefully.

One Year on the Boat! Goals!

I've found as I spend more time here the less I really have to say.  I figure that will stand until I save up enough money to do the renovations I want to do.  But, I've lived here a year! Let me reflect...

Things I've learned:

• Good ropes tied well will take care of the worst of the movement
• My couch opens into a bed in such a way that I *can* host two 15 year old boys for almost a week and we all live through the experience
• Taking out recycling is a pita, and would be better if I did it more often instead of letting it pile up
• It get *cold* so plan ahead.  Keep the water running, get a decent space heater, don't be afraid of staying at a friends place when it gets really cold (I didn't do this, I should have)
• 30 Amps is really not very much, plan ahead for laundry vs AC (or heat) and be prepared
• Plants are awesome and help make a home more 'homie'
• Watering plants is important... 
• Awesome neighbors are a must
• Keeping the large broom that you use to get rid of the spiderwebs on the ladder that goes to the roof is better kept *down here* instead of on the roof 
• Don't be afraid to get rid of things
• In the same vein, don't be afraid of keeping things
• Despite the fact that I live in a very small space, it is possible to lose stuff
• I miss a dishwasher

But mostly, I've learned that living on a boat is awesome and I love it :)


Goals for next year:

• Get some kind of dishwasher
• Water the plants more often
• Set up electronics, or move them to storage
• Get a better heater (mine lasted a season and died)
• Use the roof more

I still have some really long term goals in mind, though some of these may change.  This place is really ok right now but I do see myself wanting a bit more space, a bed I can get on without a stepladder and a place to put a dishwasher.  A larger hot water tank would be awesome too!


Long Term Goals:

• Add a spiral staircase to the roof
• Add railing to the roof
• Replace hull with an aluminum hull 
• Add my government allowed 10 x 12 room on the roof
• This will include a rearranging of the inside
• Greenhouse on the roof?
• Move bedroom upstairs (after extra room is built) and turn the current bedroom into an awesome laundry/pantry/office type area
• Move propane and punch out part of the bathroom (I've seen other places do this, it's awesome)
• Larger water tank
• Solar?

Lots to think about, lots to plan an save up for.  Every time I think about selling this and getting a bigger one I hesitate, this is working for me, so far.  Me and the dog have found a way to live in a really small space, and as long as I don't have more than four or so people over at once it totally works!

Dog pic because he's cute!

List of essentials on a Houseboat

Yes it's been months.  I've settled in and am just kind of living my life, and I like it!  I did have a Fourth of July thing and I'll write about that more later, promise :)

Today I did something I've been meaning to do for a long time.  I set up an 'ideas' list on Amazon for stuff I  couldn't live without on a houseboat.  I did it there instead of putting in affiliate links, I'm not a huge fan of those anyway.  I  was looking for things like this when I was  looking to buy a houseboat, and really didn't find a lot.  That is kind of why this blog exists, hopefully I can help someone else when they make this epic change!

http://a.co/3PrFzyW

I may add to it, but those are the things that have just made a huge difference living here.  I think my top one is the roll up over the sink drying rack (I totally stole the image from Amazon, my counters aren't that pretty).

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00HET3GEW

May on a boat -- Plants, Storage, and Ducks!

In the spirit of trying to update at least once a month, here is May!

The weather has been all over the place but since we tied me up with thicker rope the storms haven't bothered me as much.  The boat still moves but not nearly as much.

I've been concentrating on plants this last month.  I found an amazing nursery in Ballard called Swansons and spent more money than I probably should.  I also bought a plant stand that has a very small footprint.  I got some self watering pots and set everything up.  I'm super happy with the stand as it takes up a very small amount of space and holds so much.

All the plants!

Basic shelves are also proving extremely useful.  They can fit into some smaller spaces and are a better utilization of space.  Finding some that fit the specific area is harder, but it can be done.  Also in that picture you can see that I *finally* got the Dyson that is made to hang on the wall.... on the wall.  Wood Paneling makes it harder to hang things, simply because mistakes are pretty hard to fix, but I think it worked out well.

And while I was writing this, Sebastian started freaking out on the desk.  I went and looked and a family of ducks came to hang out!  I convinced the dog that they are not tasty morsels and they eventually got bored and left.

Mama and babies hanging out

Right off the back of the boat!

Lilacs are blooming! And the goose is hatching eggs....

Lilacs!!

My lilacs are blooming!  I've loved these flowers since I was a kid and I couldn't grow them in SoCal due to it not getting cold enough.  They smell amazing and are hanging out on my little porch.

Moving on.... one of the things that is pretty unique about living on or very near the water is the wildlife.  Geese are not afraid of humans, and they hiss.  The other day it was just hanging out on the dock and I had to walk by it.  It calmly looked at me and hissed.  It was creepy, I carried the dog.

Yesterday I found out why.  I had figured someone had a nest because most birds just don't care to stay that close to humans.  Turns out I was correct!  There is a goose sitting on a nest on the deck of a building in the marina I face.  Picture is from my porch. 

Apparently she has six eggs and they expect them to hatch relatively soon.  Then they will jump from the second story balcony they are on into the lake.  I guess it's about a week messing around before they venture out into the lake proper.  I'll try to get pictures after the fledge but I have a kind of not great one of mom hanging out.

She's the black and white spot just above the planter

It's Spring! And house-guests on the Houseboat!

I know it's been more than a while.  February was a big blur, all the snow and then my nephews came to visit! Work got crazy and, well, here I am again :)

 First off, we are having an amazing weekend, it's stupid sunny and warm.

Shocking my inside plant with *all the sun*

This is why I live on a boat, weekends like this one.  It makes all of the cold and lack of space and all the rest of it worth it.

But, the part that might actually help someone who is thinking about living in a houseboat, I had guests! That stayed on the boat with me for almost a week!

They were a pair of 15 year old boys, so we juggled showers and managed to get everyone out the door in time each morning.  My secret? Best Ikea Couch EVER

I adore the color

It is called FRIHETEN, and I'm linking to the product page.  All of the pictures are taken from their site.  This three cushion couch not only turns into a queen bed that fits in my house, but it has storage!  I love this thing.

The color rocks, but the reason I got it initially was for the storage.

There is my linen closet!

Holds all the things

This fit in my boat, and there is enough room to move the coffee table out (and still walk) when we make it into a bed.

Pulls right out into a bed!

It is the only 'hide a bed' that would ever fit, and it worked great!  The boys slept on it without issue, though the only electric blanket was a single person blanket so they had to trade that off.  It was still cold when they were here but the water was running and I could run the heat, so it worked out.  It's better when we can do a lot more outside, but it was a great test run!

And just over a month ago it was snowing, Washington is weird.  I am solar powered and I am loving the weather!

All The Snow! And it's not over yet

Or, I am still living off of my internal water tanks and it's getting old.

It was only two weeks ago that the idea of 2 to 4 inches of snow was unheard of.  Now it's almost nothing because even more is coming.  It just doesn't end!  Today we got maybe two inches but tomorrow is a snow/slush/rain insanity that will probably all turn to ice overnight.  I may never get to step back into work again.

But this blog is about the houseboat!!  It is very humbling to have as many people reach out to me just to make sure I'm ok, to offer their homes as a refuge should it not be livable here.  Thank you to all of you who have reached out, and I'm not ruling anything out yet!

I've been toasty warm with my electric blanket and my space heater.  It's not exactly *warm* in my living room but it's not freezing either.  The blanket does the trick, I highly recommend.  Also layers, lots of layers.

I dug out the car today, I should have gotten a pic of the snow but I was more focused on how cold my hands were even with gloves so I didn't.  I did get pictures of the dog and my neighbors when today's storm hit.  My neighbors have a mostly flat topped boat so they have to be really good about removing snow.  It's no as bad as some but it still matters, you don't want instabilities when you're floating.

Facing West from the back of my boat, look at the snow!

Neighbors cleaning off the roof of their boat

I didn't feel the need to clean off my own roof.  Here is a pic those same neighbors took of my roof the day before, it is really pretty with it's blanket!  I am not worried about removing the snow on mine because my roof is a bit concave and is braced by a whole lot of wood beams.  I also don't have any plants up there, in future years I may be more proactive but for now it's fine.

Unblemished snow on my roof

They also got a great pic of Seb's footprints before he noped he hell off the deck

It's cold on a puppy's feet!

Tonight he stayed out a bit longer and seems to be getting used to it a bit

Making sure *everyone* knows that a Dachshund lives here

I got a pic of his footprints later

Less nope but still didn't stay

The only real complaint I have is that because I'm still on my internal water I have no real idea of what that actually means in term of water availability.  A smarter past me would have turned off the outside water on a day where it didn't matter and see what I could do shower and laundry wise with just internal water.  Past me was not that smart however so I'm pretty much just guessing.  And before anyone says 'well just go look' there is one way to get into the hull and it's not easy or comfortable.  I'm ok for now, i'm doing the fast turn the shower on and off thing, which is not very comfortable when it's not very warm, but since I'm not actually going into work I"m ok.  

Neighbors and I share the water spigot and we fount out that we own the hoses and our splitter connection, something none of us knew as it was there when we bought the boats.  There will be new hoses and connections very soon, preferably something that doesn't freeze as easily and something that I could disconnect without help.

We're planning on being snowed in from tomorrow (Monday) afternoon till honestly Wednesday due to ice and roads and things.  This hasn't been my favorite thing to do ever but I've lived through worse.  I'm warm and I have lots of food.  Internet has been stable and the power hasn't even flickered.  And if I can't get to the store tomorrow I still have food, I'm a long way from starving.