Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!

Ryan and I have been busy at work ( as usual ). Do I ever say that we aren't busy?  This week was a particularly difficult one because I started a job in Kalama a few months ago. It is going really well, so well in fact that we have been trying to figure out what to do.  The commute from Washougal will be over an hour to this job and the job is PT.  We spent this week looking around and not finding another piece of property.  We love the parcel in Washougal. We love the nice, normal neighbors that it has and the solar exposure and the good schools and cell access, etc...

Just not the commute that I will have.  We don't know what the future holds for my job but if the right property presents itself, we might not build in Washougal.  Stay tuned....

Status: November 2012

Another month has gone by and we are currently busy doing support activities for the new house here at home. Today we get our truck back after a tranny rebuild (she was having a hard time getting up the hill to the site) and Ryan just replaced a bearing in his car as well.  We are both working at our jobs and paying the property loan down as quickly as possible.  Still shooting for Spring 2014 ground breaking.

Chicken Apocalypse 2

On a sad note, we lost one of our chickens (Paige Jr.) in the last two weeks. Once the duck project had ended (with Bob's untimely demise and Mabel's adoption to another family), we had been pretty much letting them do what they wanted. They roosted high in their home and woke up as well as put themselves to bed. No more getting up at 7AM to open the enclosure. We thought we had gotten sooooo lucky.  Was not to be.

One day we went out and I couldn't find PJ. She was kind of a little bitch. 

Aside: Here is where I would totally volunteer that she was just like her Mom in that sense but that isn't true. We named her PJ because she was kind of always off doing her own thing, just like me. Also, she wasn't afraid to be herself, again, just like me. She was complicated. That was something that I liked about her.

Her partner was around and not giving us any clues. There were some feathers in the greenhouse but PJ had started to molt, so alarm bells didn't immediately go off.  We looked and looked and it was me that found her. Something came into the greenhouse, snatched her off her roost. By the amount of feathers, we were able to piece together her last, violent moments. I am proud that she fought so hard to escape and I know that if there is such a thing as chicken heaven, that she is there. Her body was hidden under a ramp, her head was chewed, her eyes gone and her body ripped to pieces.  A neighbor came out told us that she had heard a loud commotion that woke her up and sounded like "geese" but she did not investigate because she was home alone (and she did not come knock on our door to tell us either).  It's not that we could have saved her. In fact, if we had been outside when it happened, it might have been like that time the squirrel got into the wood stove and I lit the stove not knowing it was in there. Watching something tragic happen and being able to do nothing about it.  No, I mean that it would have been nice to have been with her so that she didn't die alone. That was the worst part for me.

PJ and No Name in a favorite spot

We buried her in the yard next to Bob. Then of course, Otis decided that a new patch of dirt was perfect to roll around in for a few days.  :) Either way, we adopted two new chickens that looked like they came from a concentration camp. All three are now happily hanging out together in the yard everyday. We go out every night and close them in after dark and every morning, I have returned to getting up with the sun to open it up again. A small price to pay so that we don't have to bury another one.

Ryan says that pets are just a tragedy in waiting. Do you agree?  I look around and our life is so full of joy in ways that the people in my life have never provided, save a small handful. One of these posts I'll tell you all about Cleo. She is the "special needs" kitten that Ryan brought home a couple of months ago.  I don't think that she will ever stop being entertaining.

Is it fall yet??

Mid-October and we finally had our first rain.  Really?  I can't recall that ever happening before. Our 1000 water tank was down to the last 50 gallons and we waited patiently for the rain all throughout September and it never came.

My birthday is in late August and there are two constants to that date throughout my life: 1) there is always a horror movie playing in theaters (and I was tempted to drag Ryan to it as I have so many birthday party attendees in the past) and 2) my friend Stacey always calls or texts me a "Happy Birthday". So while those two things remain constant in my life, the weather certainly hasn't.

It was blistery hot every day until my birthday and we needed that time because the new roof took more than 20 minutes to install. In fact, if you ever get a near toothless man recommended to work for you by a supplier. My advice it to take it.  Don looked like he had led an imaginably hard life and I think this was a tremendous growth opportunity for Ryan. On looks alone, it was hard at first to have faith that this man would help us. Soon enough though his honest approach, tirelessness and amazing abilities won us over.  If anyone who reads this needs a man to help them install a roof, please let us know as Don comes with our highest possible recommendation.

Back to the point I was making... The day after my birthday it suddenly became fall. Crazy. From so warm that you can't sleep to crisp and chilly. In one day.  We are truly blessed to live in this part of the country. Now we just needed rain. Although I secretly was hoping for a little more time to get some painting done.

We waited with breathless anticipation for the first rainfall to test our work. As of this writing, 5 days of rain have fallen and every single leak has been addressed. Yea!!

We also proved to ourselves that we can work together on a project and our marriage will survive. I realize that a roof is not quite a house, but our communication and abilities to work as a cohesive team have been steadily improving over the years and were tested mightily on this project. Sometimes having two capable people is a hinderance (sometimes it isn't)  however, it is a tribute to my beautiful husband that he doesn't stop trying.  Thank you Ryan  :)

Isn't she pretty?

Don wrapped the peaks, so she looks like a present.  :)

October 2012 Update

Hi everyone...

Ryan and I are gearing up for winter at our home. Not much at all being done about the house since we are stretching it out a year.   I started a new job last month and am almost done with my exams to get a license that I need.  Ryan and I will work on our drawings as we get the motivation to. We still go up to the property every so often and Mike is doing s terrific job cutting the grass for us.

Things we need to do:

1) Perc test (to be done next summer)
2) redraw drawings as a result of the last meeting between Chuck and Ryan (eliminate some windows and other passive housey type things).

At this point, I am honestly not sure if we are in the counties pilot program any longer. They have a 5 year deadline which we will be unable to make.

We are putting this down for now and hope to break ground by 2014 but if we don't... that's ok too. We are very busy throwing as much money towards this project as we can afford to and as soon as we have enough to get a good, running start, we will start paying attention to how to navigate the hoops. In the meantime, you all have our contact info if you need to convey needed information to us about this project.

TTFN

Paige and Ryan

Update. AUGUST 14. Where we've been

For the last 5 weeks, Ryan and I have been tearing off the roof of our 1939 home. The new roof comes tomorrow and should be on the house by Monday. 

In the meantime, we have met with Chuck Dougherty and gotten started collecting all of the nigglibits that are going to be required in addition to our plans. We might be in this stage for a few months so check back later. Otherwise, full steam ahead paying down the property and getting ready for next year. We feel that we are still on track to break ground next spring and are not panicking.

The ball starts to roll

On Monday morning, Ryan and I have an actual meeting with an actual, live person!!

Chuck Dougherty ( Form Studio,
Creating Innovative Built Environments
360.573.8082 ) is going to give our plans the once over and give his opinion as to how we are doing. With his input we will be able to complete our packet and turn it in for review. Chuck is essential in the counties green program, so we feel lucky to have his attention.

To prepare for the meeting we need to get our list together for the Petals. If I can get through Chapter 4 in my PHP MySQL class today, I should be able to make that happen.

*** Note to anyone who is interested: once you get your WAMP environment set up on your Windows machine, don't mess with the settings ( even if you are trying to learn something). I totally broke mySQL in AAMPP last night. An uninstall, regedit search and several repeats of a fresh install ( even in safe mode) did not fix it . The AMP stacks on the Mac are a lot more forgiving I am finding.

Changing the root password manually on some of this open source is dangerous business. Had to go with another WAMP stack. That's 4 hours I'll never get back, so I'm behind.

Will update again after our meeting for next steps...

Roof Square Footage Update

Ryan got the roof plan done today and we have final numbers for rain water collection

The main house and garage combined are at 3198 sq.feet. Which, for our purposes equates to 3198 * .55 = gallons per inch of rainfall. ( see House Elements page above).

This is good news because we will have the capacity to collect more water than we would ever use during the rainy period and have no troubles during the summer. The plan us still for a cistern between 10 and 15,000 gallons.

Cheers!!

Checking In

For those of you who don't live in Washougal, you may not know that they are working on the road. For 15 weeks we will not be able to go the direct route to the property. We might not get there all summer. Ryan is finishing the basement and roof plans now. I have to finish the Petal information. We just had a giant project thrust upon us at work so we are now " officially" behind schedule. 

More later

Checking in... Memorial Day 2012

Well... here it is, Memorial Day weekend. I am going to try and work but am torn between wanting to give my extremely overwhelmed 4x+ a week, brain time to catch up some more VS taking a break so that I don't burn out. I don't know why but every task, no matter how small, seems so daunting. It's hard not to feel like I am disappointing everyone. Maybe I took too big a first step. I've never been a quitter so I am crossing my fingers and hugging Ryan a lot these days.

To take me away from my quandary, Ryan and I decided to gas the truck up ( $3.89 a gallon with our Safeway card), which led us to the property. Here's a photo or two. We are very humbled by the task ahead and excited to start the adventure.

Second Floor Drawings

Here they are!!


I got Ryan to make some labels for this one. Of course, it site directly atop the first floor.

Second Floor Drawings

I don't like the behavior of the document in the IFRAME, so I am only providing a link here. Next step is the basement drawings and a site plan drawing alsong with all of the Petal stuff (which is on me). Pete, we'll be contacting you pretty soon. Abigail... here is your second floor if you are still liking it !!

First Floor Drawings

I have been waiting for the other floor to be done but am starting to grow impatient. We have had the first floor done for a very long time now, so I decided to bite the bullet and put it up.

The top is south facing. You are looking at, from the top down, the LR then DR, then kitchen. Bank of windows on the south and east walls. Wood stove BTWN LR and DR. Stairs to second floor next to east windows. Doorway out to entryway and then through double doors to get to garage where there is a mud room. Stairs in entryway go downstairs to the train room. The entry way is not in the heating envelope but is a transition area between out and in. The two rooms off the kitchen are a bathroom and a pantry.

Outside dimensions are:     N to S: 50 feet           E to W: 35 feet (not including the garage)

Our first floor plan

April 13-14: Volunteering at Hawks Mountain Ranch

When we get out there, we are getting goats as our natural pasture/blackberry control measures. By golly, we're going to know all there is to know about them and have a clue!!  This year we were gratefully allowed to volunteer at Hawks Mountain Ranch during kidding season. Lisa, our very gracious mentor and hostess showed us city-fied folks the ins and outs of cleaning stalls, feeding, rounding up and most of all, marveling in the awesomeness of the Pygora goat. 

Ryan and ClairBell

We even feel in love with two little ones. I don't have the photo available of the little white boy but this is ClairBell and she stole Ryans heart. An orphan, she had a troubled birth and was not welcomed by her mom once she got better.

The little white guy was abandoned by his mom after a few days and was left. Nothing has ever broken my heart more than watching a little baby goat run from mom to mom and try to get some milk only to be kicked away as if he was poison. He just stood there and looked at the ground before gathering up enough strength to try again with the same results. Everytime getting a little weaker and a little more hopeless.  :(   The photo I took was so sad I can't post it here. Lisa intervened and worked some magic and he is stronger, bigger and doing better.

We had a great experience and feel so much more prepared for what lies ahead and inspired to go back next year.

The little ones are hiding

Ryan feeding the pregnant(?) mothers

We seldome have the opportunity to get photos of Ryan so I am extremely pleased that he was willing to be photographed doing something that he doesn't like to do... getting dirty.  LOL  Sory hun but it is SO true.

I am proud of you and know that you are going to be the best partner that I could have asked for on this adventure.

March 2012 Update

Not much to report I am afraid.  My new job has me working almost every waking hour, including the weekends. Ryan is still working on the second floor drawings but in taking up all of my slack, not much going on there.  We are still on track to turn in our drawings to someone by spring. Since spring starts this week, we have at least three months to get our act together.  Good thing is that my new job pays a living wage, so we are on track to have almost half the property paid off by next February. Which gives us a nice chunk of change to get started.  More when I can...

Our House... the template

We have finished the design of the house and are busy (Ryan is busy) re-drawing the sketches so that we can get them to the architect for a once over and some engineering help.  It seemed only appropriate to show everyone what the house is based upon.

Located on the title space is a photograph of a model of the 1995 Life Magazine Dream House created by Dennis Wedlick Architect LLC.  I spoke to him last year and let him know personally of our project. The initial inspiration for our house goes solely to him and his brilliant design.We owe him and the publishers of Life Magazine the credit for giving us something to dream about. I saved the original magazine in my desk for all of these years dreaming that someday, I could live in a house as unique and beautiful as this one. I can't believe that this might actually happen.

Here is the south face of the home in it's original iteration:

Life Magazine's 1995 Dream House

 

 Floor Plan Drawings:

Downstairs

Upstairs

Ryan and I have spent the better part of the last year thinking and troubleshooting and changing these original plans into something that works for this project and the way that we live.

I will post the finished drawings he as I have them. We assume that the counties architect is going to monkey with them, but we a hoping not too much :)

Cheers  :)

February 2012 Status Update

Here it is, almost spring. We are gettiing ready to make our 12th payment on the property. The way it is going, we will have this thing half paid off by the time we start construction in the Spring of 2013!!  We could not be happier about this development.

Ryan is working on the house elevation drawings and re drawing all of the plans so that we can submit them to the county.  That's about it.

Thank you to all of our new neighbors who are keeping an eye on the property and our fallen trees.  I start a new job on the 27th which is going to do several things for us:  more money so that we can pay this off sooner and I will be able to remote in from home on those "snowed in" days that we are sure to have when we finally get out there.

Stay cool and come back soon!!

January 2012 Status Update

I have started to feel a little guilty that I am not out here every week putting something up. I am just not motivated right now.  :(

The felled trees are still not done and we have gone up about once a month for the last two to chop, chop, chop some more wood off of them. We are getting to the bigger stuff that is testing the limit of our chain saw, so it's not motivating. We will continue to work on that in between storms and as our work schedules allow.

The House Plans are almost done!!!!  We are enlisting the services of a friends wife who will render them in 3D so that we can see what we have done before we hand them over to the counties Living Building Architect for a once over.  Our plan is to have submitted the drawings and gotten tentative approval for our design by summer 2012. Our house is going to be so awesome.  In case I haven't mentioned this, it is based off of the 1995 Life Magazine Dream House design by Architect Dennis Wedlick.  He just completed the Hudson Passive house to rave reviews and acclaim.

Here is the summary:  Basement (subterranean but in the heating envelope) housing the water room, electrical and the train room. First floor which has three sections:  a garage with a mud-room leading through double doors to a passageway that is transitional between outside and inside leading through a large door into the heated envelope housing the kitchen, dining room and living room. There is a wide stairway leading to the second floor that houses our bedroom, Shaelyn's bedroom the communal bathroom and the laundry room as well as a Pullman Car room located centered over the garage. All of the second floor is in the heating envelope except a large storage area adjacent to the Pullman Car room.  Both the first and second floor are passively heated with hydronic radiant floor supplement as well as a soapstone wood stove centrally located on the first floor. The chimney affect will be utilized for the first and second floors as well and the house will be zoned so that we can seal off certain areas when not in use. The house is large but there isn't a single place in it that is wasted space.  It really is awesome and we hope that the architect thinks so as well.

Loan:  We have paid off 17% of our loan to date. That's in 10 months and we are pretty happy about that.  By spring 2013, we are on track to be able to break ground and start with the underground cistern, the ICF and maybe even start framing.