The importance of the outdoors when living tiny

Posted on May 16, 2022 by janalynch

I’m surrounded by talent.

Check out my outdoor studio below! It will be weighted to protect against the winds, thanks to my talented neighbor Todd.

I love my neighbors already.

It seems that Todd brought this entire community together. Well, at least he’s brought our two buildings together (that’s eight units), by building a community garden. I has an outdoor movie theater with a drop-down movie screen, speakers for great music, and a gaming center. It has little lights strung in the trees and a composter where I’ve been instructed to put the girl’s poop. Oh, and it also has a pond with a waterfall and a fire pit.

Everyone gathers there to listen to music or watch movies. I played a version of the Pac-Man game called Munchies. I was playing against a guy named DJ who kicked my butt. And if you know me, you know I’ve always claimed no one under age 50 can beat me at that game, but he did. Rum and cigars seems to be the flavor over there, and an abundance of animals come around the area. It’s magical.

Todd is my favorite because he has as special kind of talent. He forges metal. I hope to learn mold making with his help. He is extremely talented with his hands, and he can make, build or fix just about anything. So I believe we’ll be making assemblage pieces of art together. Jay Lynch will help us market them.

Yesterday Todd helped me build my little outdoor studio. He’s going to weight it down so it doesn’t blow away in the wind.

He’s also going to wire my outdoor space for electricity so I can cool myself or add a spot light.

I got up last night to go see the lunar eclipse, I walked across the little stretch of land that separates my building from the garden that Todd built, and people were still gathered there. When I told everyone why I was there, Todd ask Alexis when the event would be taking place. Sadly we had missed it. My point in telling you this is to explain just how equipped that garden is, and how it seems this community has made the most out of outdoor living.

I still have to complete my home office/art space. I have available about 180 sf of our 420 sf of space for that. My climate control storage for everything art is still a complete wreck. We will call it ArtCave from this day forward.

I hope everything will fit in that space so I can put my hands on my supplies when I need them.

I love this rock pathway that winds around here.

Getting down to Tiny living. It’s no joke.

Posted on May 14, 2022 by janalynch

Well we moved 300 square foot worth of stuff that we’ve been living on over to the 420 sf efficiency yesterday. Mind you we lived just fine on just that stuff over the last 5 months.

Since April 20 I’ve been pairing down two completely packed floor to ceiling storage units. This efficiency apartment is where I worked to get it sorted.

My new efficiency apartment. Another round of pairing down must happen today.

What was left after this process was what I felt we should keep out of all the stuff we still owned. Mind you, we started this process last year in Ruidoso where I had a huge garage sale and we even sold all my furniture with the house.

If you’re going to do something like this you have to understand you can only wear one shirt at a time. You are extremely blessed if you have seven shirts so that you only have to do laundry once a week.

The rest of the stuff you have is just a heavy burden that keeps you from moving freely about the planet.

And trust me once you’ve been evicted from your life a few times you realize just how ridiculous it was to acquire all this shit in the first place.

This tiny live thang is no joke folks. You got to be ready to let it all go. It’s an emotional journey because you learn that no one wants your old memories.

My advice to the young? Live way below your means. It’s a blast to be able to move around your day financially free.

I recommend a storage for your seasonal stuff like ski wear, scuba gear, and suitcases. But only stuff you know 109% you will use again. (Store no memories)

My reward. And future home to my outdoor art studio.

I will not be selling my stuff this time. It all will go to a battered women’s shelter where there’s a new gal arriving almost daily, someone who was evicted from her life with only the shirt on her back and a child on her hip and one wrapped around her leg.

Selfishly I ask, when do I get to make art again?

I can feel my heart quake as I still have to build an outdoor studio space and still have to get 1200 sf of Art Cave stuff to fit into 300 sf in the cold storage. I will be donating extra supplies somewhere because again, I can only use one tube of white paint at a time. But truly I hope it fits. Lol I love my art stuff the very most.

FYI when this is all done I will still own too much stuff.

Gawd will this ever end?! lol

I’m beat.

My Art stuff in cold storage has to be organized into a workable studio.

Our summer river gear hanging on the outside.

Creating in tiny spaces is interesting

Posted on April 30, 2022 by janalynch

I’m excited! I got my climate controlled storage unit for all my art related stuff today, so I’m setting up a little place for my art production.

I won’t work in there, but it’s a place where I can put inventory and unfinished projects to be completed etc. And it’s where I have all my paints that cannot live in hot spaces.

Making art in tiny living has its challenges, but having a little help like a climate controlled storage will make it easier.

I was juried into a group show that will be featuring birds, which is being offered since Bastrop was voted a Bird City. Trying to prepare for that in tiny living can be challenging.

Come play May 6 where I’ll be painting live at Nieghbor’s. On this painting I’ve titled it “Will we let our history fall into the River?”

The painting below is a painting that was made by a group of my artists in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let’s do something like this on May 6th!

Be sure to wear your paint clothes. I’m starting a group paint on May 6 that we can work on together. It’s going to be a birds-eye view of our river, I’m thinking. What will you add to this new piece?

This is the group that painted the art shown above. My talented brother Wyley Lynch, who was a very talented musician, used it on one of his CD album covers.

God released a bit of pressure from us today

Posted on April 2, 2022 by janalynch

Grateful. I get this beauty for six more weeks here at the Harmony House on the Colorado River.

I’m so grateful today because I know where I’ll be for the next six months, and that’s a good day.

It was a complete answer to prayer. We received it seconds before signing a lease on a way-too-expensive place. My prayer was this: to continue living here and learning about tiny living; to learn if we dig it, which we do so far; to do it in a way we can well afford so we can prepare for our next adventure, which is to build a tiny something to live in on a gorgeous piece of land with fabulous outdoor living spaces, complete with all the fun toys we could ever want (like a boat and hot tub and an electric bike, or a Polaris off-road vehicle), and of course a screened-in porch. Oh yeah, and a groovy space to create.

A golf course hotel converted to tiny living apartments

The view from my front door starting May 15, 2022. I take possession May 1st so I can prepare it for move in.

It continues to be so exciting as we are learning that God only promises us one day at a time, and we are to ride the Grace Pipeline that He maintains between Himself and Believers in Christ. He promises us safety and provision inside the pipeline. We’ve learned that we will never be tested beyond what we can handle when we reside there. His righteousness cannot accept anything less than His own absolute righteousness, and as Believers, we are credited with possessing the Righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why we are promised Blessings. It’s just like a dedicated pipeline to the Father.

2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB1995

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

But honestly, I never dreamed I’d be pushed to the edge by not knowing what tomorrow would bring. That’s what our life has been since Aug 25, 2021, and today I’m grateful for the lesson. It’s one I know so many of you have already learned.

We’ve been blessed with a little pressure release as today we know where we will hang our hats next – if only for a bit of time.

We all are in an invisible conflict, kiddos. Which team are you on? The road ahead is a bumpy one.

We’ve learned that life can be lived with joy, even during uncertain times, or it can be hell. We’ve learned it’s about our attitude toward life and learning more about the Word, which is The Mind of Christ. It’s what and how we think that determines which way we will go.

Love and peace to all.

Hill country beauty, even near the H-E-B parking lot.

My pocket book is happy

Posted on March 31, 2022 by janalynch

Ok, we got the word.

This region had the greatest need for Store Director within the H-E-B company, so they put us here in Bastrop. Kevin will travel to various stores around this area for probably a year, or forever until they determine which store will be his.

That’s good news because we like it here.

We will probably need to rent a place in Bastrop for six months or so, maybe even a year.

Let the search begin. I wish I could just paint a place for us to live like I’m doing for my Monster High Doll. She’s a lucky girl.

I’m painting a bedroom for Monster High Doll to sit in.

Sherry Ann asked a good question, so I included it here: Is Kevin happy?

Sherry Ann, oh yes. This is an exceptional company. They want to make sure their leaders are fully immersed in their culture, and it’s a good one. H-E-B is very favorable to their workers. The money is great and the insurance is even better. Everything is great. I’m still getting over the shock that this area was not even an area where we applied for work. It’s lovely, and God must have a plan for us here. I know He does.

UPDATE:

We found our place! It’s 420 sf of living space, which is huge compared to the 300 sf we’re living in now. It’s a golf course hotel converted to apartments, I think there are 16 units. It has a floor-to-ceiling glassed-in atrium that I can see out from my bed. The ceilings are extremely tall. The bathroom sink and the kitchen sink are one and the same. Lol. Funny, tiny living is…but my pocket book is pleased, as we are hoping to build our final tiny home somewhere, some day.

Loads of beautiful outdoor living space. The guy who lives across from me built a water feature in front of his door. I can’t wait to have comfy outdoor chairs so I can listen to the lovely sounds.

Tomorrow I’m going to First Friday in Historic Downtown Bastrop to see if I can rent a studio art space in a co-op.

More stories to come about our strange, transient life. Thanks for following me!

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