The Essentials

We returned to our tent once more this month to bring up a bit of furniture and to get a sense of what life will be like living here. We are less than one month away from our official moving date, June 11th. Scott's last day of school is June 10th, and I begin my new job in Nevada County on June 15th.
The logistics are pretty intense and not all perfectly worked out yet, but we have a feeling that each problem or need will be met and solved as it arises. I admit, there have been moments of anxiety and the occasional panic stricken thought of, "Wait. What am I doing?!" But honestly, these fears are mostly tied to my concern about being away from Penny and making the transition back to working full time. I know these feelings are the same for every mother, wherever and whenever she first goes back to work. This will be a much bigger challenge than living in a tent, I'm sure of it!

But back to logistics. On this last trip we moved the futon and the workbench into our temporary home. The futon, for sleeping, the workbench for safe keeping. Scott made this workbench last year and it has since been soaking up moisture in our very damp garage in Berkeley. The bench has suffered a great deal in these conditions, and we're hoping that the drier mountain air will calm some of the expansion and warping that has occurred. Normally a workbench wouldn't be your first priority piece of furniture in a move, but this bench was a labor of love, a work of art, a piece of furniture, a tool, and the cornerstone of Scott's future woodworking shop. It was put ahead of the dining room table.
We have another trip planned for Memorial Day weekend to move a few more of the logistically complicated items. Specifically, a car and a spiral staircase.... a what? Yes. A spiral staircase. Scott and his brother rescued it from a jungle of vines, tied up and hanging down the side of a Berkeley canyon... It has since been undergoing repairs and renovations by Scott's students, and I still haven't actually seen it. But where will it be going? And why do we have it? These are questions I leave up to Scott's inspiration and ingenuity. However, I'm trying to imagine what we will look like from across the fence... living in a tent with a workbench as our table, and outside, an old '97 Ford Escort parked next to a spiral staircase. You know...just the essentials.

The Temporary Shelter

In 2009, Scott ordered a book titled, Mortgage Free, (you can read his review on Amazon.com). The author, Rob Roy, outlined his philosophy and strategies for living free of a home mortgage (literally, the "death pledge"). This book stands out as more of a guide than most of what Scott reads -- we have returned to it over and over in the past 2 years, as we planned and dreamed about how someday we, too, might build our home and life in a way that did not enslave us to money and the need to have copious amounts of it. The two key principles of the Rob Roy strategy included #1 the grubstake (I hate that word...though, and will substitute "nest egg" instead) and #2 the temporary shelter.
The purest followers of the strategy would first save up a nest egg big enough to pay for land outright... with cash. We chose a more impatient route and took out a small $80,000 mortgage to buy our 1 1/2 acres last fall -- when prices were very low. The monthly payment is very small, and we felt that it would still give us ample flexibility until we can pay it off.

So that was Step #1... a slow, slow process of saving, working a lot, navigating banks and real estate offices, and countless trips to Nevada County to drive endless miles of back country road, walking property lines and scraping through manzanita bushes...Scott estimates he walked over 60 properties and this parcel was easily one of the smallest. We used our nest egg to put a large down payment on the land and had a bit left over to start our homesteading project.

Step #2 The Temporary Shelter. Here is where it gets exciting! Planning how we would move to the land and figuring out how to live there... as soon as possible! Our decade of idealizing the "Simple Life" will now be put to the test. What are the basic necessities? Can we continue to hold "normal" jobs without living in a "normal" house? Rob Roy's book describes in detail how people build temporary dwellings on their land, to occupy for free while using your resources to build the actual house. All that money being burnt up on rent and utilities and cable TV and other nonsense gets redirected in building a homestead. We, however, live in a county (state really) with a pretty stringent building code, so most of the temporary shelter's described wouldn't come close to meeting permit requirements. We opted for the temporary tent instead, which still fails to satisfy code requirements, but in the words of the county planner "We have no way to permit it" and..."What's the worst that could happen?"...
The photos above shows our first homesteading encampment. During spring break, we slept in the bed of Scott's truck while building the tent platform. Please note the handmade wooden lumber rack made from an exotic Amazon wood, as mentioned in the previous post. We were hopeful that we would pitch this tent in a few days, and spend the rest of the week working on other developments- namely, electricity. So we set up camp on Saturday...

Sunday, Scott purchased the building materials. Who knew this would be a full day event?

Monday... Breaking ground. It was a strange feeling to be making our first marks on the land. There was the amazement that we were actually beginning our homestead, but also a feeling of responsibility- we were also starting to make our own footprint on the place, and our actions could be either helpful or hurtful.

Tuesday... Much of the same. Leveling the ground became a day and 1/2 long digging project for Scott, and Annie was of no help to him. The baby seemed to be feeling a bit exposed as hawks circled above, and she sprouted her very first tooth- both things resulted in a very clingy baby for our first few days on the land.

Wednesday... Annie's first day of work. Scott had the day to practice being the stay-at-home dad... a role reversal that will be a nice change of pace for everyone, we think.

Thursday... The platform's STILL not done???

Friday... Penny was more and more comfortable playing in the pine needles and watching us work. We finished the floor and started on the ridge poles.

Saturday ... it all came together. The side rails went up, we hoisted the tent onto the ridge, our neighbor helped pull the rain fly over the top, and we finished fastening grommets and tying ropes just in time to have dinner with a friend. Our new home was built in 7 days!

Preparations

Our long awaited Spring Break Building Blitz is now just one day away. How are the preparations coming? Lagging behind expectations, as expected.
We had a fantastic planning session last weekend listing goals, action steps, tools needed, prioritized to-do lists, divisions of labor, packing lists... but they seem more like wish lists at the moment.


Of course, some progress has been made. Scott is putting the finishing touches on his custom wooden truck rack- complete with wooden pins and mortise and tenon joints (photo to be posted upon completion)... He has basically built a piece of furniture onto his truck, a very Scott solution to the problem of how to transport all the lumber we will need this week.



My major goal was to arrange a time to meet with my future employer, and it turns out that I did better than that. My first official day of work will be on Wednesday! I'll be attending a networking meeting and starting some online training. I continue to get such a great feeling about the company I will be working for. I come away from my conversations with them with the refreshing sense that they are genuinely good and caring people.

Though we've packed the camping/cooking gear already, the major tasks of tools, tent, laundry and baby remain to be completed. But that's not unreasonable....though the goal of completing the electrical panel is looking more and more improbable.

Spring Break

Friends and Family,

For those of you following our adventure (both of you), we are headed to our parcel for my Spring Break (April 9th -- 17th, 2011). We have grand intentions of swooping down and building our temporary shelter and simultaneously installing our electrical service...and starting the driveway. A more modest opinion of our abilities would suggest setting up a tent, and possibly figuring out where to put our electrical pedestal.

The photo above is from the Colorado Yurt Company brochure, and is the inspiration for our temporary shelter. We purchased this tent and will build the platform as our first order of business. Penny thoroughly inspected the tent construction and has given her stamp of approval on what will soon to be her new home.

So here is an early element of our decision making revealed; we are planning on bringing 400 amps of electrical power to the land. Whoa. That is uber-wattage you might say, enough to power a small town. This is true, and maybe even a little embarassing for a family that values energy conservation and has visions of building a passive solar home -- allow us to explain. We met (Scott) with a PG&E engineer, and when prompted "what would you do if this was your land?" he helped us form this idea -- we would install two separate meters and supply a line (wire) to the property capable of giving us 400 amps. This isn't because we want to have an outdoor baseball field, its because two meters can actually give you lower bills. We can divide up the barn, the shop and the future house on different loads, and avoid paying hog rates. The second rationale is to leave room for the possibility of creating a fully functioning woodworking studio should Scott, you know, become a full time artist and woodworker... someday... somehow... Though that may be looking decades into the future, it is cheap and harmless to put in more power than needed now, and complicated, expensive, and annoying to add more power later.

We'll see what we can get done next week. I imagine that setting up house and getting comfortable will take much of our time. Annie has a new job to field and train for as well. Go girl. We received the good news just this week that our water meter has been installed at the street. This will be our only comfort utility at the moment, and that's 500 feet away. No power, no plumbing, no heat. no nothing. But we have a river flowing, wind in the pine above, and sun. We have the Blue Dragon to the East (mountains), the White Tiger to the West (valley), and most auspiciously, the Red Bird to the South (flowing water). A Chinese feng-shui geomancer would have much praise for our building site, nestled 400 ft south of a quiet county road, tucked behind a small duff covered berm, housed beneath a canopy of ponderosa pine, and washed in a steady strong light. Not too big, not too small.

Back in Action!

Dearest Friends and Family,

We are back in action and preparing for our next adventure! As most of you know, we are moving to Nevada City, California to begin building, gardening and homesteading. This is our acre of land, one mile outside of town.

Throughout the winter, we have been taking steps forward, slowly but surely, to install water and power, to submit plans and acquire permits for the development of the property. But the next steps are much bigger and scarier, and they require our time, commitment, and presence. We are stepping out in confidence that if we are willing to work hard and be uncomfortable for a little while, we will be able to build the house and the life we have imagined.

I say "scarier" only because we have a healthy respect for the risks we are taking. Scott has decided to give up what is an ideal and coveted teaching position in the Bay Area; we are beginning a building project that could take a cool decade to complete; and we have never lived in a tent with a baby before... Unless you count the several weeks I spent in a Mongolian ger (aka "yurt") with a family of Buriat nomads. Well, we do have role models at the very least.

The other thing we have is an understanding that we are going to need a lot of support and encouragement! I am reminded of our historical tradition of "barn-raising"... when homesteaders drew upon the strength and support of a community and then celebrated their successes together.
So this is an invitation to join us or support us or pray for us or just peek in once and a while to find out what happens.... There will probably be pictures of a really cute baby, too.

Hello!

What? Is this the beginning of another garage sale to eliminate our worldly possessions, and embark on a journey without any for-thought or planning whatsoever? One where we fly to a randomly chosen country where we don't know the language- where we don't know where we'll go, or how long we'll be gone, or even why?

No-- no such thing is happening. I just have the sudden urge to resume broadcasting my life as if people should be interested in what I'm doing.... They really shouldn't be, but I think there might be a couple people out there who love me, and would be kinda happy to have a little window into my life. That's what the internet is all about right? I opened a facebook account. I know.



I don't pretend to think that this little life I live in Berkeley, California is anything special, but I'd like to share it with you none the less. But where to start? With what we've been doing for the past two years? That seems overly cumbersome and boring. Maybe I'll just start with today & work backwards.

Today:
Just said good bye to Judy, Mark & Dave---all flying to Chicago tomorrow. But I'll see them in Chicago on Saturday, so it wasn't such a sad goodbye.




Minutes before...said good bye to Scott who is going over to the neighbors for a night cap. I'll be sleeping by the time he returns.
Seconds before that.... said good bye to Gabe & Kayla-- they're moving to New York on Sunday. Driving Gabe's old bio-diesel Mercedes from one coast to the other. They'll be missed.

So, maybe it's not so surprising that I feel the need to broadcast a hello after so many good byes...

Picture Treats!

Ok, so here are a few pics from Costa Rica...

These are from a little Waterfall hike we went on with Nathan, Amber, and Gordon.

The vast expanses of Chicagoland

Oh, Home! I can't express how wonderful it is to see everyone, and get notes from long lost friends and far away cousins! I'm really surprised how many people have been keeping track of us. It makes us feel loved. thanks. So...we've been in Chicago-land for the past two weeks...babysitting nieces and getting caught-up on such wonderful americanisms as YouTube and 24. So far the reverse culture shock has been mild...the hardest part is just remembering to throw your toilet paper in the toilet...not the trash can, like we've been doing for the past 4 months. It's weird how quickly you make new habits. Oh, and I still get thrown off when a cashier talks to me in English. Don't know why.
Anyway...we're gonna try and get on that picture thing now...kay? I'm serious.
Here...I'll prove it to you.



This is Scott's birthday at Volcan Irazu in Costa Rica!

Feliz Nuevo Año... eve

hey kids.
After another hellish bus adventure, Annie and I are back in Quito after three days on the coast of Ecuador at a beach town called Canoa. Another addition to a series of relaxing and pleasant places since our advenutres in Riobamba with volcanoes and ancient trains. If you haven't read the last entry (shame on you!) we are here to catch a flight to Chicago on Jan 3rd to wrap up this section of our travels and see our families... which have grown since we have been gone (in number, not in body size [well maybe in body size since Christmas])
As some of you may remember, today being New Year's Eve, this is our wedding anniversary. 2 years people... and no divorce -- in fact we love eachother (and love being together) more today than we did even 2 years ago. I know, that is amazing. Take that American marriage statistics! Apparently if we make it past three years our statistical chances of staying together for life skyrocket. And if we make it past five years we get an official certificate from the US government declaring us "awesome". So after sleeping off the misery of the domestic Ecuadorian travel system, we'll celebrate today with a gratuitous and embarassing American film at the movie theatre and enjoy a nice dinner out, although the novelty of eating out for a special occasion has lost some of it's luster in that we've eaten out probably more than 200 times in the past four months. Also, Ecuadorians celebrate the Nuevo Año by having a huge parade with paper mache effigies of various people. They are all different sizes and some of these effigies represent bad people (like George Bush Jr.) and some of them are a bit more random (like Spiderman) Anyway, Ecuadorians strap these things to their cars and drive around all day today, then march them in the streets tonight, and then, being filled with sawdust and fireworks, blow them up at midnight in a savage display of violence. What a sweet tradition. The meaning of course being to rid ourselves of the bad and begin fresh for the new year.
I wanted to say here that Annie and I will not be abandoning this blog site but will continue to update with news from your favorite action/adventure partnership. There is a lot more to come actually. This trip has been a very introspective for us, although we have devoted most of those topics to emails with our siblings. But, since you were wondering; we talked about starting our own business(es) ranging from a breakfast restaurant to a woodworking/furniture or a custom kitchen/remodeling busiess, to a small college town residential rentals business. We've also talked much about myself going to graduate school for sculpture or 3d design, and Annie maybe pursuing a new direction too. We have also, with some trepidation, discussed transitioning to California and different living arrangements near or alongside Judy and Mark in Berkeley (thanks to Mark for all his patient emails). Another popular topic is Ella Tienefe, our new sobrina whom we've yet to meet and Amora, our sobrina who has begun to walk and talk since we left Chicago in June. Speaking of those rascals, happy birthday to their beautiful mother Chasity! We look foward to celebrating with you (a few days late) soon. We have by no means allowed this trip to make us intellectually lazy -- we have spent countless hours discussing the meaning of every choice we can make about our present and our future. We have read almost 20 books between us, and have focused more intensely than ever about how to make this life we are living together meaningful and conscious. We look foward to spending time with each and every one of you soon. See you in the US.

Feliz Navidad!

Happy Holidays to all! We miss you so much! We have spent the last four days hiding out in a wonderful little hotel in Vilcabamba. It's a small bed and breakfast called Madre Tierra...it includes gourmet organic breakfasts and dinners, and they made us a beautiful Christmas Eve feast...complete with all the turkey and cranberry sauce. It has been a much needed break for us. Our Christmas presents to each other were massages at the spa. (only $25 for a whole hour!)So, we've been livin' in up...and recuperating.
So...recuperating from what, you might ask? Well, from Riobamba we spent 3 days in the mountains outside of town. We hiked El Altar...an amazing volcano with a bright green lake in the crater, and surrounded by the most magnificent jutting peaks... all around. There's no way to describe it! So, the hike was about 20 miles...we camped just below the crater. The next day we hiked out to the Hacienda where the hike starts, and waited for the bus...for 2 1/2 hours. It never came, and we ended up spending the night at the hacienda...no people...no heat...no food... We woke up early to catch the next bus at 5:30am. It turns out that the bus had been held up by a landslide, and the morning bus was now being held up by a broken down potato truck. We could see it down the valley...honking at the truck, but unable to get around it because of the steep cliffs! The only thing to do was start running. So at 6:00am, after 2 long days of hiking, and having not eaten since the previous morning...we ran with our packs the 3km to town (along with four little boys also trying to catch the bus to get to school) Luckily, the people could see us running along around the mountain, and held the bus up for us (probably for the school kids, actually). So that was adventure #1.
Adventure #2 started the next morning at 5:00am. We stayed in Riobamba that night, and woke up bright and early to catch the Gringo Train to Alausi!! This fabled train once ran from Quito to Guayaquil, but has suffered many floods and catastrophes, and most of the line doesn't run anymore...except this bit known as the Nariz de Diablo, "The Devil's Nose". It's a crazy little engineering manuever to get it down a really steep canyon, including a couple of switchbacks where the train runs backwards...very beautiful views, but not exactly a fully funtioning transportation system. Hence it is now exclusively a Gringo Train. I couldn't believe the masses of tall white people who assembled at the station at the crack of dawn! Everyone in hiking boots and zip-off pants...the hardiest travellers sit on top of the train...feet dangling off the edge as the train dangles off the cliffs. I only lasted for the first hour or so...It was so stinkin' cold in the cloudy mountain morning. Scott returned to the top at the end...when it's most dramatic. So, after the train ride, all the gringos hopped on a bus to Cuenca...and we followed.
Adventure #3...The buses. After a day in Cuenca (where we were delighted to witness several of their spirited Christmas Parades) we hit the road for Vilcabama. We were driven out by the intense pollution that made us both sick almost as soon as we got there. We had a 7 hour bus ride from Cuenca...and felt lucky to be assigned seats 1&2...they had a bit more leg room... But we soon found out that the extra room was intended to be used by the 20 extra people standing on top of us for the duration of the trip...full on bags on our heads and butts in faces. The second leg (2hrs from Loja to Vilcabamba)wasn't much better...but at least this time it wasn't bags and butts...they just put thier babies in my lap.
So. As I was saying. We were feeling a good bit overwhelmed and tired by the time we arrived in Vilcabamba. We knew it was time for a break when our usual patience and cross-cultural understanding were wearing thin. So, after a few days of resting up and healing (we've also been battling multiple stomach issues since Colombia), We bought ourselves one more Christmas gift. We bought tickets to Chicago for January 3rd. We will fly out of Quito, so we'll have to head back north from here, but when we looked into flying from Lima in a month or so as we intended, we found that tickets were nearly double (and there is a 20% tax on top of it.) So, we've got another week to relax and enjoy the mountains and warm weather before we plunge into Chicago Winter! AHHH! But we are really excited about being home and with our families! So to all of you who have been faithfully following this photoless blog -- you get to be the first to know that we are heading home. Our adventures are hopefully not over -- only this current leg in South America... we hope to see you all soon, and tell you all about it. (And maybe even show you a picture or two...)