Posted by Rebecca
I just found one of the cutest trailers I’ve seen in a while. The Fancy Farmgirl, Tiffany, is a photographer in Seattle, and apparently has a penchant for fantastic trailers. Check out her recent renovation! Cassi and I would have great weekend get-aways in this thing….
The cutest little trailer in a country mile.
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
I was very surprised to read this morning in a recent census report, where Nevada ranks in mobile homes per capita. At 6% of its residents living in mobile homes, we are 0.6% below the national average and equal with New Hampshire, ranking at #28. The #1 state for mobile homes per capita is South Carolina at 17.9%. And #50 is Hawaii with just 0.2% of its residents occupying mobile homes.
This is surprising to me because it seems like trailers are everywhere; not just in the cities, but even in the middle of nowhere.
I have always found kooky Americana very fascinating. I’d love to take a long road-trip through the country, seeking out things like the world’s largest Paul Bunyan or ball of twine. I’ve driven the 452 miles between Reno and Las Vegas a few times, and it is full of ‘kooky’ and lots and lots of trailers.
These pictures were taken in the tiny town of Mina, NV, which consists of a entrepreneurial green trailer, a couple weird signs, a few other generic buildings, and oddly enough, an airport. I guess by air is the only means a lobster could make its way to Mina, NV….
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
One of the things that I love so much about living in the desert is the opportunity to enjoy a single blossom.
I have friends in Vancouver and the San Francisco Bay Area and the northeast, where there is plenty of moisture. There, where it is lush and green all the time, there is a plethora of flowers, trees, and bushes, heavy with blooms, blossoms, and petals. And it is beautiful!
Here in Northern Nevada, though, there are vast expanses with nothing more than sage and rabbit brush, juniper and fir trees. The hills surrounding our basin are either white in the winter or brown in the summer. But I love it!
Many people can’t see the beauty of the desert at first glance, but I entreat you – look again.
Remember those black and white photos that were popular a while ago, that have color in just one spot? Usually blue eyes, or a red rose, or a colorful bouquet. Well, to me that is how a flower looks in the desert. Surrounded by browns and earthy greens, a single blossom is eye-catching. Breathtaking. The pinks and reds and yellows and blues jump right out, and I can’t look away. It stops me in my tracks. I see the flower in a way that I have never seen it before – more vibrant than ever and full of detail, and it is mesmerizing.
I know it is often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that beauty can be made new, enhanced and invigorated by a colorless backdrop; beautiful in a way that any beholder would see.
Here is the color in the desert that I have been enjoying and watching develop this week.
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
Here is a look at part of my deck and the entrance to my home. The bamboo is for privacy and the artwork is for sanity. All of my yard art was done by Tanille’s super talented husband, James. It makes my heart happy to see this when I walk up to my front door.
I hope you’ve stuck something at your front door that makes you smile every day.
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
It’s like a trailer in a tree. Adorable!
See the inside here, at Tiny House Blog.
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
Hoarding is relative, relatively speaking. Some of us like the more lived-in cutsy-cozy look, and some of us are minimalists. Some of us are very sentimental, and others, not so much. And, some of us just like to have more stuff. But the important thing to remember, no matter what our style is, get rid of the stuff that isn’t important or useful in order to help keep your home comfortable and clean.
Apartment Therapy (I know, I know, I can’t get enough of them) has some ideas on how to scale down and clean out. My favorite ideas in the article are:
- Remove furniture that blocks hallways and walkways and choose smaller items that fit into the space, allowing room to breathe.
- Lose furniture that you don’t use, like tables designated only to hold piles of stuff that should be tossed.
- Clear out stuff from under the bed and under pieces of furniture that you can see. Believe me, I know how valuable storage is in a small space, but if the piece of furniture is overwhelmed by the stuff stored under it, it may be time to eliminate that clutter.
- Recycle, donate, file at the beginning of every season. If you didn’t wear or use it during the previous season, consider removing it for good.
- Recycle junk mail as soon as you receive it, or better, cancel it.
Read the whole article here, and Happy Un-Hoarding!!
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
The best way to describe my neighborhood would be, in a word, interesting. As you know, I live in a tiny trailer park – just 24 spots. 11 of those spots are occupied by my friends, or friends of friends, so we really have a nice little community. However, when you step outside of our little mobile haven, you are in a whole ‘nother world.
There are 3 or 4 other little trailer parks within a few-block radius, some quite nice (with speed bumps and everything) and some quite not-nice. The demographic is lower-income, primarily hispanic. The billboards and signs are all in Spanish, and there are several taquerias and panaderias within walking distance. And we have delicious taco trucks that stay busy late into the night.
In addition to the hardworking, ethnically diverse members of our community, there are some very unusual sights. There’s the hooker who wears one boot while carrying the other up and down the street; there’s Skateboard George, a Reno old-timer who wears knee and elbow pads while limping along and simultaneously kicking his skateboard (one which he never, not ever, rides); then there’s the lady who pushes her shopping cart around town, and in that shopping cart stands nothing but her tutu-wearing miniature poodle…. Oh, and I saw a chicken once. But only once. I don’t imagine my neighborhood is a safe place for a live chicken. We also have an abundance of other “wild life” in the area; dodging Chihuahuas and cats on a regular basis has become par for the course.
A few streets down the neighborhood gets scary, as there is lots of gang activity and regular police presence. But it doesn’t seem to make it down to our little park, thank goodness. And believe it or not, our park is very quiet. During the day there are dogs making some noise, and children playing, but at night it is peaceful and quiet. I sleep with my windows open and never hear a peep.
I like my little neighborhood. It’s very interesting. Would I rather live in a pristine gated community, or a heavily treed historical neighborhood? Sure! Who wouldn’t? But that’s not what I have, nor what my circumstances allow. So I choose to see the humor and joy in what I do have, and, besides, few things compare with living just a few steps away from good friends, and from one of the best taco trucks in town.
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
We get hot summers here in Northern Nevada. Often we will get 90+ temperatures for a couple of months straight, without a drop of rain. The sun shines and shines and shines. I love it.
What I do not love, however, is my temperature-control-challenged home. The pink trailer was built in 1958, and I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure they insulated it with nothing more than fairy dust and butterfly kisses. I know you are probably sick of me complaining about my insulation woes, but bear with me. Usually my complaint is in the winter, when all my attempts to stay warm aren’t good enough and I still have to go to bed wearing a toque (yes, I’m Canadian). In the summer, though, life is great. I let the sun beat in the windows and on the top of the aluminum tube I call home, without a care in the world because my super-amazing swamp cooler is doing what it does best – keeping me cool. That is, until it goes down in a blaze of glory.
About a week ago I giggled to myself as I came home to a wet deck. It appeared that the neighbor had left his sprinkler on extra high and it was arching over my trailer and onto my deck. Being the ever industrious gal that I am 
, I even moved my potted plants so they would be hit with the spray. No need for all that water to go to waste.
I moved inside and noticed that the swamp cooler wasn’t running. Yikes. It wasn’t hot that day, but the heat was coming. My super-fix-it guy, John planned to come for a visit in 10 days, so I talked to him about it and he promised to fix it when he got here. Ok, 10 days. I can do this.
Through the course of the week I soon realized that the continuous spray onto my deck had nothing to do with my, as I thought him to be, water-wasteful neighbor, but was, in fact, spraying out of my split swamp cooler water line. Whoops. So the water to the cooler was turned off, and I continue to wait for repair day. And it really wasn’t terrible until yesterday.
Yesterday I came home to 99 degrees inside (yet it only got to 84 outside). So I did what any rational person would do – I aimed the fan towards Cassi and I, stuffed Otter Pops down my shirt, and laid, immobile, on the couch until the sun went down.
Today I am being proactive and researching more ways to stay cool and maintain a swamp cooler state of mind, until it can once again become a reality. Here are my favorite tips:
- Keep curtains, blinds, and even windows closed as soon as the sun starts to warm things up.
- Place a large bowl of ice or ice water in front of a fan, and adjust the fan to blow over the ice.
- Use a misting fan, or create your own by spritzing yourself with a spray bottle as the fan hits you.
- Avoid anything that creates more heat, like ovens, stoves, washer and dryer, dishwasher, unnecessary lights; even electronics like your TV or computer can put off some heat.
- Use silk, satin, or sateen pillowcases and sheets.
- Drink lots and lots of cold water.
- Place an icepack behind your head (or Otter Pops down your shirt 
).
- Run cold water over your wrists for about a minute every hour. This trick reduces your core temperature.
- Eat and drink minty things, and use minty toiletries. It’s refreshing, and leaves a cooling sensation on your skin.
- Eat spicy food. This one is my favorite. The heat in the food (from the spice, not the temperature) will engage your internal cooling system by making you sweat, which will cool you down.
I will be using more than a few of those tips tonight, as Reno is supposed to get even hotter today. And I will keep in mind, as miserable as I am, at least my tomatoes and herbs are thriving in this greenhouse I call home.
Rebecca Knabe
Posted by Rebecca
Friday’s here. Are you thrilled? I am!
I’ll be spending much of the weekend rescuing the pink trailer and neglected yard from what feels like 2 months of living out of a suitcase – an eleven day trip out east and weekends in Tahoe, Sacramento, and two days en route during the race last weekend. So I’ve got lots to do.
Oh, and my swamp cooler conked out last Sunday. Misery! Hopefully I’ll find a quick fix to keep me kinda cool until my friend, John, gets here next week and fixes it. (Thank you, John ) To beat the heat, Cassi and I will be hanging out, doing house and yard work in our bikinis, white trash style.
Until then, here are some lovely tips courtesy of Bits of Beauty, and found on Pinterest, on how to have a lovely Friday….
Rebecca Knabe
P.S. Follow me on Pinterest for awesome trailer pics, outdoor living ideas, decor inspiration, and other great stuff.
Posted by Rebecca
I just came across a great article on Apartment Therapy‘s website that will give you ideas on simplifying by examining how much stuff you actually need.
One of the trickiest parts of first-time downsizing is trying to figure out how much you use, and what you will actually need to live still comfortably. Here are some great tips on 12 Things You Probably Own Too Many Of; a good guideline on the items you need, and what to do with the items you don’t.
Whether your place is huge or tiny, limiting unnecessary items in your home will eliminate clutter, minimize cleaning time, help you breathe easier, and give you a chance to carry on with life.
Rebecca Knabe
