Building

I was just talking to a very dear and darling friend about our build, about all the decisions that need to be made, dreams that are selected, others that are set aside, we talked about the sweat, the outdoor camp kitchen, the joys of baking cakes on a bbq (oh yes it can be done), the fact that we feel like the town carnies what with shredded blue tarp and an upside down hills hoist as backyard features and we talked about the fun of it all. Some of you might know these darling friends Annie, Genevieve, Olive and Oscar from ole Bega town and may have read all about their own building adventures, in stunning straw bale no less. They are absolute inspirations and definitely raise the bar in self-sufficiency in every which way. It has been a journey seeing what they have created, against many odds, the way their minds are alive with so many crafty, clever and wholesome ways of living and being. It has been an inspiration to pick little bits here and there from not only them but from countless websites and episodes of Grand Designs. Trawling through websites doing research, reading reviews, asking, asking and more asking and then sometimes making mistakes. We did originally play with the idea of straw bale or hempcrete  as our material of choice but for a variety of reasons neither won out. However Scott and I still continue to swoon over both materials, who knows, maybe one day we will get to have a play with them. Ah, the negotiations and compromises of building. But it is all okay, we are delighted with what we are creating, our intentions and our vision (think food forest, a big verandah for many people and even more instruments, soft candlelight, delicious feasts shared with loved ones, water tanks, solar hot water and one day solar electricity (when the battery prices come down), so many dreams float around our heads, it is really all very exciting.

So yes Scott, Poe, Ilo and I (and a few helpful builders and friends) have started the extension to our home, we have gone through moments of aghast when we saw the size of the hole and then were able to breathe again when we factored in the verandah, but still... We have had many people comment on how buildings grow and shrink over a build, I absolutely get it now. Scott and I have been assisting the builders, oiling timbers, cutting timbers (local blackbutt from a guy named Dave's property, just out of town), sanding, hammering, using the dumpy (oh yeah), measuring, basically getting totally involved and loving it. The kids meanwhile, as you can see, have been getting thoroughly and delightfully muddy, they have been loving exploring and creating new and wonderful games and cherishing their new bunk beds (the last photo is of Poe at night, weaving).
The completion date is said to be the 24th December, hmmm, I guess all we can do is wait and see.