Monthly Archives

December 2015

Dec 27
Love0

Looking Back on 2015

By Uncategorized
Land in the sunset hours

2015: the year we acquired land, built a straw bale octagon, traveled east and west..

It’s that time of year again when I like to reflect on the goings-on of the past twelve months, wondering what the heck happened to the time. There was no lack of building work this year, and some very exciting trips towards the end of the year… and then there’s the new land and a baby on the way, too. Hrm… this whole blogging thing might get difficult trying to hold a baby while planting potatoes in the upcoming spring, eh? Well, until that time comes let me take a moment to share some of the highlights from 2015.

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Dec 20
Love1

The Wood Cook Stove is In!

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Kitchen Queen 480 Wood Cook Stove

Lighting the first fire in the new Kitchen Queen stove

Another big fulfillment came in the form of moving our wood cook stove into the house today. Hooray! The stove made it through the door, and nothing terrible happened in the process either. Mind you, the stove weights 750 pounds, so it was no slouch trying to maneuver the beast into its final resting place. We found this beauty on craigslist months ago — it’s a Kitchen Queen 480, an Amish-made wood cook stove of epic proportions. Here you can see me about to light the first fire… yes, it was a giddy moment for me.

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Dec 13
Love0

SunRay’s Magical Treehouse

By Photos, Carpentry, Design
SunRay Kelley Treehouse

A ramp provides access to this funky little treehouse — I love how the underside of the roof catches morning light

SunRay Kelley may be one of the most “mythical” of the natural builders out there. He’s the builder known for saying the forest is his “Super Natural Store”, and his building designs conjure up feelings of the fantastical, magical, funkadelic. I had the privilege of seeing one of his creations in the making at the recent 20th anniversary Natural Building Colloquium at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, NM — a whimsical treehouse nestled in ponderosa pine trees, featuring some signature SunRay touches. Check out the photos of this wild little building ahead…

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Dec 06
Love1

This is One Sweet Natural Floor Finish

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Rubio Monocoat floor finish: buffing

Our natural oil finish in the process of going on the new red oak floor

Well dang, I’ve been waiting many days for this moment. Right now I’m happily sitting in a chair on our hardwood floor. That doesn’t sound particularly thrilling without any context though, I know. So… after days of grueling installation and sanding, we finally got to put the finishing touch on our new red oak floor — a special natural oil floor finish, one we’ve never before used. The application was a breeze / dream, your choice of cliche.

Really though, the finish went on extremely well. Best of all, of course, is that it’s a natural oil finish. This particular product is linseed oil-based (no polyurethane or VOCs here, thanks), it goes on in a single coat, and it gives the hardwood floor a beautiful “natural” tone and low gloss finish. The particular natural hardwood floor finish that I’m describing here is Rubio Monocoat, which I’ll talk more about below. So far, I really like it.

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Dec 02
Love0

The Best News of All

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April and Ziggy

!!!

I’ve got an exciting announcement to share with you all. I’ve been waiting to really share this news for a little while, and now’s the time. The newest addition to our lives is better than the new land, or any house or cool building project… it’s a little baby. April is pregnant, and she is due in early March. Wow! This is by far the most exciting thing that’s happened for us, even moreso than acquiring land this year and all the other great things that are happening in our lives. Life is about to get really interesting, I must say. I’m looking forward to parenthood and having a little one running about. I already have visions of the baby’s first fistful of cob, and tromping around in the garden… oh yea.

It’s been remarkable to experience all the changes in April’s body. Thankfully, April’s health is really sound right now and she is physically feeling quite good. A bit of sore muscles here and there, but things must be alright if she’s able to paint the walls of our house, and cook big meals and plaster walls… There’s nothing more remarkable than a woman’s body and the ability to grow a tiny person, right? Unreal…

Well, until March… we have some time to prepare, thank goodness!