When they say "April showers bring May flowers," they're talking about spring rains, but with my new Garden Beds & Graywater set up, the showers I take in April really will contribute to the success of my flowers this May. Let me explain...
Over the past year and a half that I've been living in my tiny house, The Lucky Penny, I've never gotten around to finalizing my shower because it's easy enough to shower in The Big House at Simply Home Community, which is just a few dozen feet away. However, it's always been my intention to have the shower set up so that it can be used when The Lucky Penny is located in a place where there isn't such easy access to a shower.
I've now made three pushes to get my shower set up. The first time was more than a year ago when I got everything almost ready, minus installing and caulking the corner trim. Then something I did under the house broke something inside the system, which meant that I had to tear everything out again and basically start over. It took me a while to muster the energy to tackle it again. In late February this year Isha helped me get my shower mostly set up by dismantling and then reinstalling my shower. We also took the opportunity to raise the floor in the entryway by 2" so that it matches the floor in the rest of the house. The height difference had always annoyed me, so it's splendid to have this little quirk fixed! As soon as this was done, I tried out my shower by sitting in my tub, but without a shower curtain or trim I couldn't really see what it was like.
This past week, I finally got my shower operable. I picked up a couple pieces of 1" fir quarter round trim at Woodcrafters, stained and sealed it with a layer of Watco Danish Oil, and then added 8 layers of the wood topcoat that I used for my countertops and trim. (In fact, while I was at it, I sanded and refinished my countertop, too!) I glued the trim to the Alupanel using a Titebond Greenseal construction adhesive and used my air compressor and nailer to secure it in place. I then sealed the trim with a generous application of clear silicone caulk.
Next I installed my shower curtain rod, which is they type they use for hospital curtains. This particular one is pretty cool because you can bend it to the shape you need. I bent mine into an L-shape for my entryway and installed the shower curtain on it and a PVC-free liner on the shower side. Now the curtain can be used to cover the shower, the front door, the shower AND the front door, OR be tucked away behind the dressers, depending on whatever I'm doing in My Quintuple-Duty Mud Room! How's that for adding multi-functionality!?
The sunflowers are doing well and a couple days ago I scattered more flower seeds in the raised bed on the south side of The Lucky Penny. Here's to April showers bringing May flowers!
