Changes my way

     Well peeps, I haven't posted anything lately because my life has been trying.  My husband and I separated in January and a divorce is pending.  Even though I never imagined I would be at this place in my life, I am a person of faith.  I know the Lord has plans for good, though I don't understand.
     The cob house plans are still a go.  Now when it can start... that's a good quesion.  Stay tuned...

<>< Natae 

There's something happening here...

     Well, barely something, but I like that!  Ok, so we are getting a later start than planned, oh well.  Here is what has been going on lately:
     *Right-of-way is now passable and the drive is 1/2 way covered in gravel!  As long as the electricians can get up there, I'm happy!  My husband bought a couple of loads of creek gravel (cheaper than quarry-style crush) and had them delivered recently.  He was hoping to fill in our culvert area and back down the the road and it was just enough.  This was accomplished today!
     *I have recently scrapped the idea of living in the camper and am now set on the whole "tiny house" movement for our temporary residence while building.  (I just love the idea of the tiny house and, if I didn't have two young children, I could probably just make due with that!)  I ordered a 10x20 wooden building with a small loft.  It should be here within three weeks.  We plan to convert it into a *temporary* tiny house to live in while building and then convert it back to a shed afterwards!  That feels like an adventure in itself!  I have been SCOURING pinterest/internet for tiny house inspiration and, really, since they are so tiny- there's not a lot of options- itty kitchen and bath on one side, living space on the other, and loft for sleeping above.  I'm almost as psyched about the tiny house as I am the cob house!  What an experience!  This way, I can go ahead and give the composting toilet and rainwater harvesting a trial before applying it to the Ca de Cob.
     *I joined a beekeeping society with the best of intentions to start my first hive this Spring, but that looks like it may be going on the back-burner for a while.  Though, when we get into the tiny house, I'm hoping to go ahead with a couple of raised beds and chicken coop- would love to start with some dairy goats, but may need to ease into this. 
     *Our land has made it through the winter well.  I was trekking around it today, daydreaming about where the different parts of the farm will go.  We planted a few fruit trees at the end of summer/early fall and they seem to be thriving (it has been a mild winter), we seem to have a natural abundance of blackberry bushes (Yay!  Can't wait for fresh milk, eggs, and jam for breakfast!), and some unknown plant with a fruit-looking bud on it (I'm hoping it's edible, no word yet.  I tried to identify it on a website, but when I found out that Tennessee has around 13,000 different species of plants- I decided it wasn't worth it yet.)  ;)
     *We have been accumulating items for the cob house: stones, mirrors, windows, colored glass bottles, wooden spools, an antique stove... still on the lookout for recycled and unique pieces. 
     *I am currently reading the book "Born-Again Dirt", it was recommended by a homesteading friend.  It's about putting God first in your farming and what the bible says about it, interesting.  Today, I was reading about the actual layout of the farm- which has been on my mind a lot.  Being that I have never laid out farm plans, I'm fearful that I will make rookie mistakes....
     I'm posting a few photos from today's views.  Also, I'm currently taking considerations for the farm name- every good farm needs a name!  I'm wanting something hip/hippy/earthy/biblical.  The only thing I have come up with so far is "Maranatha Way (or Farm?)", but I'm not sold on this.
     Until next time,
     Blessings! <><

A driveway in the making!

  Fence row and berries

The top clearing is our future homestead! -->

<---Our tiny trees!

With Winter fast approaching...

... we are not much closer to our start.  Though, my husband's work is quite seasonal, and the lull is upon us, so I know that right-of-way (our current nemesis) will soon be conquered.  I know that, once we are over that hurdle, our foundation-work will begin quickly.  We have been collecting rock and have a decent pile building.  I pray my next post will bring a true update.  With that in mind, I did make a layout of our plans on graph paper today.  A little more readable.  I added a tiny compost chute and have our cisterns in place and semi-sized correctly.  Window placement is still not accurate.  (Note, the corners now look very square, this is not my intention for real-life, we love the curves!) 

                                        *MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!  BLESSINGS!* 

An update with no real updates (sigh)

     Ahh, nothing.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to start as planned in October.  We had good intentions, but my husband has been so busy with work (and we did take a little trip), that the month slipped by us.  It wasn't all wasted though. We did meet with our local electric representative and got the poles/line placement worked out (to my disappointment, we are going to have to cut a few trees, but we do plan on using them in some way).  We also recently purchased a 24' camper that we will shortly move over to the property and begin living there!  I've never been so psyched about the thought of living in a camper!  :D  And I think I have talked my husband into a composting toilet- by SunMar- so I'm thrilled with that!  (From what I understand, about half of your household water use is typically flushed, and since we will be catching rainwater, it seems more precious!)
     Someone had commented and wanted to see our layout, I am attaching a picture.  We decided on this design after much research and googling (there were, surprisingly, several "cob house blue prints" online).  Upon finding this one that we both liked, I tweaked the design to fit our needs and then figured the dimensions myself.  I want to build as small as possible, but our land has a restriction that requires a 1200 square foot minimum for a dwelling.  This plan should put us at about 1213 sq.ft.   (Sorry the pic isn't very clear, but I want to point out a rocket stove between the living/kitchen area, and also a small fireplace in the master.  The windows are not drawn in place at all, just spacing noting where there will be many windows for passive solar, also we plan on having a tiny root cellar/storm shelter under the pantry.At the end of the hall on the south end is a reading nook.  I think we will place our rainwater cisterns outside of bedrooms 2 and 3- since there will be no windows there anyway.)  Enjoy! 
     November is the month... I feel it! 

     Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Maybe, in the next year or so, we will be eating our own turkey!

The First Consultation

     Yesterday was a good day.  Christina Ott, Cob-Builder/Consultant, made a trip our way yesterday.  She is a wealth of cob knowledge!  She studied natural building, conducts workshops, and recently was a presenter at a national "green" convention.  She amazed me with the way she easily answered all our questions and could readily talk numbers with our local building inspector.  This lady knows her stuff!  (Check her out at www.barefootbuilder.com.)
     I stumbled across Christina while casually searching cob on the internet.  (It seems like I have done a lot of stumbling lately- but with a wonderful outcome!)  To my disbelief, there was a live person, in Tennessee, that is an instructor on this topic!  We signed up for a weekend workshop and ended up coming for a kind of one-day independent study.  (Piece of phone conversation with Christina:  Me, "Do you live in a cob house?"  Christina, "Yes, I'm sitting in it now."  Me, huge smile.)  We plan to have her involved as our project moves through phases.  The first phase being the foundation, which is what we mostly discussed during this visit. 
     Cob, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term (I wasn't!), is a mixture of clay, sand, and straw.  It is similar to adobe (yes, I know, adobe is typically seen in dry climates and we aren't. The key is a good "hat and boots"- large roof overhang and a foundation with an excellent drainage system.)  Definitely nothing new in the world of building.   In Europe, beautiful cob home are still lived in today that are 500+ years old.  Cob is a very efficient material, cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  It's also very green and not to mention beautiful.  The curves.  The custom built-ins.  The little nooks and crannies.  (Pinterest has a lot of cool cob pics.)  It's just not common around here.  (Am I am no expert, thankfully there is a lot of information readily avaible online and some very resourceful books.)  
     We discussed our house plans, with only a few minor, minor tweaks.  The lot is almost ideal, coverage all around except for the south- perfect for passive solar.  The site has a little slope, but nothing some minor leveling won't fix.  Ready.
     We plan to begin the foundation next month.  This will consist of leveling the home site and digging a trench for the foundation, and then the building of it.  The trench will line our home and will be approximately three feet deep and 24' wide.  A perforated drain pipe will go in the bottom, followed by two feet of gravel.  Then a one foot concrete footer (to meet building code) will be poured up to grade.  Then lots of rock.  The rock foundation will be about 22" wide and 16+ inches tall.  Christina estimated needing about one and 1/2 dump truck loads of rock to meet our need.  (Many cob homes are small, only a couple of hundred square feet.  Our land restricts a home less than 1200 square feet, so we are building slightly over- but trying to keep it as small as possible.)  
     It sounds daunting when all of the steps are broken down.  Our goal is to build our foundation through the fall and winter, and begin the cobbing in the spring.  Lord, please send the rock our way.  I know He will provide!  Hopefully, my next post will include a groundbreaking! 
     Until then...   
     <><

Up until now...

     This is the beginning of something special. A turning point for my little family. My husband, Arab (a nickname of no meaning), and I will soon embark upon the building of our forever home. With our hands. Out of dirt. I think a lot of people think we are crazy.

     We have a typical little nuclear family: Dad, Mom (that's me), Daughter (Manna, almost 3), Son (Moses, just turned 1. Mo is blind, ok, I guess that's not very typical). Arab owns a roofing business. I had worked as a school counselor until a few months before the arrival of our son (Mo's blindness had nothing to do with my decision to become a stay-at-home mother, we actually didn't know that he was blind until he was a few months old). We had a typical little home life too, a mortgage, paying lots of bills and outsourcing practically everything. Don't get me wrong, we loved our house. It charmed us away from our hometown with its rustic nostalgia.

     After only a few short years, we realized this wasn't our forever home. We missed our tiny hometown and wanted to be closer to family (even though we weren't that far away). Finding out about Mo's blindness made my urge to be near family even stronger; I wanted my children to have a close-knit support system. That is now in the works.

     Two months ago, we were blessed with the selling of our first home. That rustic house we fell in love with. ("I can't believe we own this house!" I remember saying to Arab with delight as we slept in our living room floor. Our first night in our first home. Just us.)

     Let's backtrack some...

     In the spring, we purchased land. Five little acres on a sloping hillside. A nice clearing. Lots of beautiful trees. A trickling creek. Oh, and the neighbors... My parents (Mom and Stepfather) and one-year-old niece live right across the road (I would say street, but it's not really a street- there are no lines or anything). My stepbrother, his wife, and their two children (who just happen to be exactly the same age as mine) purchased the land directly beside us a few months before. Family unit, here we come.

     When we first purchased this land, in the country of a rural county in Tennessee, we were thinking cabin. I am the researcher and had been doing the research. Yes, for sure a cabin, it made sense. But how could we make it green? While googling lots of "green" house stuff, I stumbled across a very unique looking home to which I was immediately attracted.

     My first thought was something like, "That's really neat, but that's not a home that can be built around here". This was my introduction to cob homes. I thought Arab would dismiss the idea as crazy, but to my surprise his only concern was the structural integrity (which is not an issue). Thus began our cob journey. From here, we (and when I say "we", it was mostly me) researched, read, and became immersed in cob information.

     Land- check. House plans- check. Building permit- check. Skid steer purchased- check (for efficiently mixing cob). Cob-building consultant- check (Christina Ott, barefootbuilder.com). We are having our first on-site consultation this week! I am so excited to set forth on this journey. What a blessing!

     Let me share my dream with you, picture this...

Beautiful cob house on the hillside. Downsizing. No mortgage. Living more simply. Passive solar. No central heat/air. Wood heater (rocket stove). Rainwater harvesting. Becoming more self-sustainable. Continued stay-at-home mom. My kids growing up with their grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins right beside them. These kids never knowing anything different about Mo and his blindness. Homeschooling. A garden. Canning and preserving. Dairy goats. Honeybees. Sounds like the perfect adventure to me.

     We hope to begin in October.
     <><