It’s Crunch Time!
Hello Friends! My schedule has become unpredictable as I've been taking trips to go to our property to begin preparations for our move to full time, off grid life. We will be moving soon and there is a lot that needs to be done. It’s getting to be crunch time so I’m going to cut back to posting once per week. Here is a look at some of the things I’ve been up to, adventures had, and lessons learned!
You Haven’t Heard this Version of the 3 Little Pigs!
“I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your misconceptions down!”
Once upon a time there were three little pigs. These little pigs all set out to build themselves a home. One little pig decided to build with sticks, or dimensional lumber. He mostly just did it this way because it was the normal way to build. It’s just how it’s done. The second little pig thought he wanted something more substantial, so he decided to build a brick house. The third little pig, was something of a rebel. He felt like he wanted to explore some alternative options. He learned that there are many different ways to build that are often overlooked because they are more difficult to manufacture quickly and are not as easily defined into building codes. He learned about adobe, cob (like adobe but built wet into a monolithic structure), rammed earth, rock built, straw bale, and even hempcrete! These were interesting to this little rebel pig. After a lot of research, he decided that he liked straw best. The reason was because he could build a home with more natural materials with fewer harmful chemicals, have massive amounts of insulation, breathable walls, and it looked really fun! Unfortunately, when he told his other pig friends what he was thinking, they were concerned.
You Don’t Choose the Hammer, the Hammer Chooses You!
This is a just for fun story of how my big yellow hammer came into my life. I like telling this story so I thought I might as well post it for your enjoyment!
I’ve never been the type of person who insists on having the best tools. I’ve never been able to afford that! In fact, I grew up making due with whatever I could find. However, there are times when having a good tool is well worth the cost! In my opinion, knives fall into that category! But a hammer? I wouldn’t ever spend extra money to buy a good quality hammer. A hammer is a hammer right? Well, I admit that some hammers are better than others and if I were using one every single day for a living, I might consider it, but that isn’t me at all. My big yellow hammer is a more expensive one. So… why did I get it? How much did I pay for it? Well... I almost paid my life for it!
Off Grid Fight!
Our plans are shifting… again. If you’re new here, we have recently moved from our home in Southern Utah and are temporarily house sitting in Southern Missouri for the winter. We will be moving onto our own off grid property in May. We purchased raw land more than a year ago. It had no home, no water, no electricity. We even had to build an access road! We had plans for a temporary shelter while we built a home, but those plans got shattered. We shifted and found the opportunity to live in the home we are in now. It has been a blessing! A gnarly car crash during our move made us shift gears again. Recently, storm system moved through the East/Midwest and Missouri had several tornadoes touch down and cause significant damage. We were safely out of the path, but it was too close for comfort. This was honestly one of our fears before moving hear but we looked at the data and it appeared that while there are plenty of tornado warnings, actual damage causing tornadoes were not super common in the Ozark region. This storm system is supposedly a 100 year event. However, in Southern Utah we had a 100 year flood. It caused lots of damage. Then it happened again several years later, then again not too long after that! Natural disasters seem to be increasing all over. Our long term home plans include plans for this, but not our temporary shelter. So, here we are. Shifting our plans again. I am not going to tell you what we are planning exactly, because nothing has solidified yet, and honestly, it might change again! This whole process reminds me of what it feels like to fight. Let me explain:
The Great Off Grid Ozark Adventure: part 9
It was clouding up and we could hear thunder in the distance so we figured we would go grab something quick like a peanut butter sandwich and keep working until the rain came. We headed back to the trailer and just as we started getting food, I heard a few rain drops hitting the trailer roof. I told Ethan I was going to go back to get the tools put away while he made food for us. By the time I got back to the build site, a large storm had rolled in. It was thundering, pouring, and blowing like crazy. I got the tools gathered but was 100% soaked by the time I got back. Water was already running on the ground and the heavens unleashed!