We have been living in our little home for seven months now. Wow! Seven months! This is the first time in a while I have sat down and counted how long we’ve been in this little adventure. Last time I wrote I talked about how I thought I was going to lose my butt to frostbite. I was looking forward to spring and evenings outside, but then May came.
The entire state of Texas has taken a hit this spring. All of the plain states have taken a hit! Last year we were begging for rain and this year we are beyond over the rain. Please pray for those who have been affected by this weather and for it to leave us alone already. Thank goodness we haven’t had any flooding issues were we live. Right now, we are cramped and going a little nuts in the camper. I can’t put the dogs outside because it’s so wet and muddy. We can’t eat outside because it’s either wet from the day before or raining. And, don’t get me started on the mosquitos! With all this stagnant water, they are EVERYWHERE, and they just love me! They are biting me through my jeans!!!
It’s becoming apparent to me that every season is going to have it’s challenges and this season it’s the rain and mud, not to mention the countless tornado watches. When we decided to move into the camper, I never took into account that I would be living in a camper in a state that is prone to tornados. I have been told by several Texas natives that this is not normal spring weather and that gives me hope. I know that it’s not realistic, but I am hoping that June 1st will be like a light switch, and the rain will stop.
A few times I have felt myself on the edge of my sanity. My floors haven’t been clean for more than 15 minutes in over a month. But, the most challenging part has been the tornado watches, especially at night. Several times a week for the last three weeks I’ve been woken up in the middle of the night by a phone alert or the howling wind rocking our camper. SUPER FUN! On Monday, we had another round of bad storms, and I needed a break, so we checked into a hotel with the pups. I just needed to be in a solid structure that was attached to the ground. A girl has needs.
Right now, I’m keeping my eye on the prize. The goal to build the little house of our dreams. June will be here soon, the rain will stop and the ground will dry out. Soon enough, it will be time to write another post, and I will be complaining about the Texas heat.
These last seven months have been filled with love and frustration with our little house. I love our little camper. We put a lot of work and love into our tiny home but, it has its challenges. It was built in 1972 which means it has zero modern conveniences, and you don’t realize how convenient those conveniences are until you don’t have them. We’ve toyed with the idea of upgrading to a more modern camper but, anytime I think of selling our little home I want to cry. Which tells me it’s not time. And, when I really think about it I can’t even bear the thought of selling the camper.
I just found your blog and am so excited to learn you’re temporarily full-timing too! My husband and I had to move to San Antonio for his job. We’re waiting for our house to sell back home and are living with our three pups in our Airstream Argosy. We’ll stay in it even when the house sells to save money and pay down debt. It has been hard, but I know it’ll be worth it. Finding your story has made me feel less crazy for doing what we’re doing. Please keep posting!
We lived in an old mobile home in South Texas some years ago and got so paranoid about tornadoes and hurricanes (we were close to the Gulf) that we ended up building a monolithic dome. Safe but still tiny. Then my husband was transferred to we ended up in a 5th wheel in Southern California that survived a forest fire and a flood. We hauled it to Louisiana (another job transfer) and survived two hurricanes. We left it behind when we moved to the Big Island of Hawaii where we bought a house that last year was in the path of the lava flow. We also survived a hurricane in a house in Austin in the mid-90’s. So the lesson of that story is to be cautious, evacuate if you need to, and remember that the only structure that’s really safe a dome – and even that probably wouldn’t survive an earthquake!
I sincerely hope you stay out of harm’s way. The pictures and stories on the news have been so upsetting to those of us around the nation. We had the 500 year flood in Nashville five years ago and some residents have not yet recovered from $2 billion in damages from it. I do say it brought out the best in people here with all the volunteering though. May Texas dry out soon and begin rebuilding.