I was headed back to another event with Permatours in Acton, Maine, where we would be helping Scotty, another Permatourer, build his tiny house. Maggie and I were the first ones to arrive. We found Scotty out back by his tiny house, and he showed me around and explained what he wanted to get done. He already had all the framework up, and wanted to get the walls on and windows in before winter hit.
We decided the best place to start would be with making an overhang. We placed two two-by-fours parallel to each other on the ground and screwed in wooden pieces about every two feet connecting them together. After screwing the pieces in place on the ground, we used ladders to attach them to the roof that was already installed. We also capped the rafters on the front and the back parts of the roof by screwing on two-by-fours to the ends. That was all we had time to do before the sun went down.
The next morning Scotty made breakfast and I chopped up the veggies to help. Two other people had shown up late the night before. It was a chilly day so we bundled up to start working. We finished wrapping the outside of the house in plastic. It started to rain just a bit so I switched from my warm hat to my rain hat, which is actually a wool sun hat, but it works just the same. I never seem to use it for the sun anyway. Next we started cutting boards using a miter saw, and then screwed them onto the outside walls like puzzle pieces. None of the materials we were using were bought, so it was fun to figure out how to make all the little odds and ends fit together. We worked all day and when it started getting dark, we all got head lamps so we could finish up some last minute things. We had finished all the siding, got the door in, and worked on some of the windows. It was a very productive day.
Jessie, who had shown up earlier, restarted a little fire that we had going earlier in the day and started to prepare dinner. She had brought peppers from her garden and pre-made some ingredients to make stuffed peppers in a Dutch oven over the fire. I helped her prepare the peppers as she finished making the stuffing. We made just enough to fit them all almost perfectly into the Dutch oven. We placed the oven right in the hot coals and used a stick to gather up other coals on top of it as well. Scotty watched them as they cooked, checking them occasionally to make sure they didn’t burn. By the time they were done within an hour, they were cooked to perfection! We all ate as we sat around the fire, and I’ve never eaten such good stuffed peppers.
While we relaxed around the fire, we did a little exercise where each of us took a piece of scrap board and wrote three things on it. We wrote something we were thankful for, a prayer, and something we wanted to release. Lastly we drew a little picture before giving our boards to the fire. The thing I wrote that I was thankful for was this new life I’ve created and the people I’ve met along the way. We each took turns sharing what we wrote if we felt open to it before tossing our boards into the fire. In the morning we made a big breakfast of leftover stuffed peppers, eggs, and a veggie mixture. Then we got started working on the tiny house again. We finished putting up the little bit of boards we had left on the side of the house. Then we installed a huge window in the front wall. There were two windows that we wanted to use, but being salvaged windows, we found out the one side of each of them had been painted with lead paint. To contain the lead, we installed two windows pressed together on the side of the house, and called it the hippie double paned window. I used spray foam to fill in the gaps between the window and the house. It was my first time using spray foam; it was a lot messier than I had expected. It also expanded way more than I had anticipated. Luckily the extra parts can be cut away afterwards.
The door that we had put on the house the day before had some paintings on it that some of Scotty's friends, along with his nieces, had painted. Micheal went up to the house to get paint and we spent a little time painting our own pictures on the door. I painted a flower around the door handle attached to some swirls and another flower. As we painted, the sun set. We ended up needing to use headlamps to finish our masterpieces before heading up to the house. That night Scotty's mom made us veggie burgers for dinner. I was exhausted from all the late nights and work we had been doing, so I called it an early night, heading to my tent with Maggie to get some sleep.
The next morning I made breakfast for everyone. I cooked us all eggs, fried up some potatoes and made a kale dish for a side. I messed up the potatoes a little bit. They were supposed to be home-fries, but turned out more mashed, but Scotty and Michael both claimed everything was delicious. I planned to stay longer that day to help build more of the tiny house, but that was when Maggie started acting funny. She’d scuffled with another dog two nights before, and then had what appeared to be a stroke or a seizure, but it quickly passed, and she acted fine afterwards. She acted normal the entire next day until suddenly she appeared to be having a stroke or seizure again. She was drooling excessively, staring off into space, and kept twitching. I tried to pet her and talk soothingly to relax her, but nothing worked. I ended up calling my vet and they said to get Maggie to a doggie hospital. I called the closest one, which was about an hour away in Scarborough, Maine. I threw my tent and all my belongings into the car, wrapped Maggie in a blanket, and drove with her on my lap the entire way. When I arrived they wouldn’t let me come in with her. Instead they came out to the car and took her in alone. The vet came out to talk to me so I could inform her what was going on. She told me it would take a few hours to evaluate her, and suggested I go somewhere to maybe get coffee and relax. She assured me that they would call me as soon as they knew anything. Not knowing the area, I didn’t know where to go. I turned off the main road and kept driving. Eventually it became apparent that I had chosen a road that led to nothing. I started looking for a side road so I could turn around, and took the first one I saw. It was a dirt road that led into the woods. I decided to follow it a bit because it looked like a peaceful place. A long pond stretched along each side of the road. Eventually the lane split into two different paths. One led towards what looked like a house, so I went the other way. I came to an area where the woods opened up next to the pond with a huge sandy beach. Not one single person was in sight. I pulled up next to a camper that was parked there and got out to walk along the sand. As I was walking, I heard a man's voice politely say, “hey there, what are you doing here?” I walked over to him explaining that I was just exploring, and told him that I didn't know if this was public land or private. He told me it was private property. I explained that I had gotten lost and apologized for trespassing. We chatted for a bit. He told me how this space used to be used for events for boy scouts and camping, but they had to shut it down about fourteen years ago. He had hopes to reopen it eventually if they could figure out how to get funding for toilets and showers that wouldn’t affect the water quality. After chatting a bit, he said that I could stay and enjoy the land. The only thing he asked of me was to not litter, and then left me alone to enjoy the beach in solitude. I was so grateful. I needed some time alone to connect with the earth to feel okay, and it was as if this magical little piece of land was placed right in my lap. I sat in the sand for a while, taking in the view and breathing slowly and deeply. Eventually I took off my shoes and walked through the water as minnows darted around my feet. I ended up getting into my swimsuit and taking a quick dip. Even though it was a cold day, I needed it.
Eventually I figured I should head back to the animal hospital. I left a note that said “thank you”, with a little blue crystal, on the steps of the camper that was there. As I was leaving, the veterinarian called, telling me I could come pick up Maggie. She still wasn’t doing much better, but there was nothing else they could do since I couldn’t afford an MRI, or afford to leave her in the hospital for observation. They said she had most likely had a seizure and it was still affecting her strongly, and her brain was probably swollen. They sent me on my way with three different medications and told me to give them to her as soon as I could. When they handed my pup over to me, she didn’t seem to be there. She stared off into space, and anytime I touched or moved her, she twitched. She couldn’t even sit up, let alone stand. She couldn’t eat or drink. I was so worried she wouldn’t make it, and didn’t know how I would properly take care of her while being in a tent in the cold temperatures. I lavished her with love and did the best I could. It took a few days, but Maggie started recovering. First she became more present, actually looking at me and her surroundings. Slowly she started sitting up, then started drinking, followed by being able to stand and eat. My relief was indescribable. She’s been my best friend and roommate for seven years, and we have been through so many life events and so much together. It’s as if she is part of me. She has now made a full recovery and is back to her amazing self. I am beyond grateful to have my little travel companion healthy and still with me.
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