Wholehearted House is in The Crooked Wood

After an amazingly epic day yesterday, my home has been relocated!

Still tons to do, so no time for a lengthy post (inevitable as that is) but here is a photo of her in her new situation! 

Moving

They say moving is ranked among the top three most stressful events in life – right up there with changing jobs and losing a loved one through death or heartbreak.

I believe it.

I hate moving. I'm happy to help other people move, but I hate moving myself.

There has been a lot of moving in my life over the past 6 years. I've really pared down my belongings, but I still have way too much stuff in way too many locations and in far too much disorder.

I'm moving this week. It feels overwhelming and complicated. It involves a lot of anxiety and a lot of work.

Last night, I had a dream that I was – you guessed it – moving.

On one side of the narrow road that I had to travel with my things, there was a rock face and on the other side, a steep drop. And, if that wasn't scary enough, there was a dragon who was angry with me for having stolen a beautiful gemstone (yes, I did read The Hobbit compulsively as a child).

In my dream, two of my wonderful friends were helping me me move. (Lucky for me, in real life, several more of my dear friends have volunteered to help me move). We did the first load very quietly without waking the dragon. Then I told them that I just couldn't bear the risk of them doing the second load. I didn't want anything bad to happen to them. So I went back alone, as quietly as possible, to get the rest of my stuff.

I can't remember how the dream ended.

But, I'm pretty sure I got busted by the dragon as I sneaked back with the second load. And ended up as ashes and dust. (Which might be my subconscious mind telling me that I should just light all of my belongings on fire and start fresh).

So, here's to moving: anxiety and terror met (in my dream at least) with courage, love — and inevitable, sickening disaster.

Wish me luck.

Names and Naming (A Tiny Home/Land Development Report)

As I write this, it is exactly one year since I became the official steward of my land.

I am planning to move my tiny home there soon and I am facing the incredible stress of that process. There is almost nothing I find harder than moving. And in this I am not alone. Moving, losing a loved one (to death or heartbreak) and starting a new job are frequently cited as the three things human beings find most stressful.

But that is not what I want to write about today. No, today is a day for celebration! I have accomplished a great deal in one year. I have shaped my land, thought about my site, assisted in the cutting down of many trees, moved wood and brush and had a driveway excavated. I have gathered the materials I need to start a garden and have gotten a quote on a shed to hook power up to.

Many tasks lie ahead, too. Oh, I keep coming back to that don't I? I am feeling a little daunted these days, I admit.

But, that is not what I want to write about today!

A friend of mine, who is a writer and a storyteller, wrote to me in response to my last blog post, asking me why I had not yet given my land a name.

I responded that I had, but that I had not yet started using the name on my blog. I promised the big reveal would come very soon.

So, here's the story:

There is a quote attributed to Tom Waits that goes like this:

My kids are starting to notice I'm a little different from the other dads. "Why don't you have a straight job like everyone else?" they asked me the other day. I told them this story: In the forest, there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. Every day, the straight tree would say to the crooked tree, "Look at me...I'm tall, and I'm straight, and I'm handsome. Look at you...you're all crooked and bent over. No one wants to look at you." And they grew up in that forest together. And then one day the loggers came, and they saw the crooked tree and the straight tree, and they said, "Just cut the straight trees and leave the rest." So the loggers turned all the straight trees into lumber and toothpicks and paper. And the crooked tree is still there, growing stronger and stranger every day. (If you're in the mood for more unsourced Tom Waits quotes, click here.)

On my three acre plot, there are five magnificent, twisty old pine trees. Two people have to collaborate to give each of these trees a hug. (Three of them I have named Orwen, Orduu and Orgoch, after the fates from the Chronicles of Prydain. Two of them are currently unnamed.)

One of my twisted sisters;
I believe this is a photo of Orduu.

And there is one splendid twisty old maple, whom an 8-year-old friend of mine has dubbed Father Maple.

Father Maple

So, we are namers – me, my friends and my family – and humans in general, for that matter.

I believe human beings name things to help fix their meanings. When I studied psychotherapy back a bunch of years ago, we often used the word hermeneutics to refer to the process of creating meaning through interpretation of the things we read and, by extension, from our feelings and experiences.

So, in honour of a (very possibly, totally fake) "Tom Waits" quote along with the proven truth of how crooked trees survive loggers and the meaning that I interpret from that truth, I have named my land The Crooked Wood.

My Wholehearted House in The Crooked Wood (very soon, I hope!).

I hope my house will always remind me to live life with my whole heart and that the woods will always remind me to honour myself for who I am: unique, somewhat screwed up and absolutely unchoppable.

(This post is most especially for you, Frank! Thanks for asking!)

The Driveway Completed (A Tiny Home/Land Development Report)

What a week this has been! It's amazing how quickly things can happen sometimes!

My driveway entrance

I have felt this to be a rollercoaster week emotionally. I was elated on Monday – so excited about work beginning on the driveway sooner than I had hoped.

Around the gentle curve...

I was advised to install one culvert to manage water
through the "dip" in my driveway

I felt frustrated and aggravated on Tuesday and Wednesday, because my volume of desk work was very heavy and I had to stay in my home office, ploughing through work, when all I wanted to do was go out to my land and watch the bulldozer and dump truck do their thing.

But, I consoled myself with the thought that I need all the desk work I can get in order to pay for the work being done on my land. It's the age-old Catch-22 of time but no money, or money but no time. And since working for money is vital to this land-development process – while sitting out there watching wouldn't contribute anything – it was a no-brainer where I needed to be. Even if my inner-four-year-old did spend a little bit of time whining about wanting to go see the big machines in action.

A call out on Facebook for photos from neighbouring friends resulted in two different people sending me pictures of the work done on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Those photos, and the kindness of the people who sent them to me, soothed my soul.

My clearing, facing the sun and the
jeez-I-hope-I-don't-have-to-cut-down-that–maple.

My clearing, facing back out
toward the un-driveway

Yesterday, I was so excited, I actually forgot it was market day and missed the Lunenburg Farmer's Market for the very first time since I started living in Lunenburg for the winter.

Happily, I was able to get out to my land for about an hour, in time to watch (and enjoy) the process of digging the septic system test pit. I can't remember ever having been that excited about a hole in the ground.

The backhoe dug a deep hole (big rocks! very cool) and the engineer had a good look at my dirt. Sandy loam was the verdict – very auspicious soil for a septic system. The topography is also favourable for a less-expensive gravity-fed system. We discussed the best site for the house, too, and I believe I have settled on a location that means I won't have to cut down the beautiful old maple tree in the middle of my clearing. All in all, an excellent day.

The septic test pit

And, the driveway is now completely done! My contractor had predicted five days, but finished in four. All that's left to do is run a cheque up to his house today or Monday. 

A number of people have warned me that everything about this project will probably take longer than expected and cost more than I thought, but so far so good! Buying the land proceeded ahead of schedule, cutting trees went more quickly (and was less expensive) than I thought it would be and the driveway too is completed earlier than I thought and didn't cost as much as I feared (although it's not small change, I feel like I paid a fair price for the work done).

This feels like a big milestone to reach. I don't know why it should be so, but the land looks and feels more "open" now that there's a road instead of just a lumber-strewn cutting.

I am one year into this process. I hope it's going to be only three years in total before I am all set up. Because I like graphs and stuff, here is a proposed timeline:

My next two big tasks are to establish my garden and to move my tiny home from West Dublin to Crousetown. Stay tuned for all the news!

(Now back to work for me! I have never seen such a busy April! The VERSE is throwing whacks of work my way, which is very helpful and for which I am very grateful!)

DriveWAAAAAAAAYYYY! (A Tiny Home/Land Development Update)

I dashed over to my land this morning, early enough to get there and back almost before my clients located in other time zones noticed that I was away from my desk.

As I approached my land, I saw the "truck turning" sign and thought, that sign is for MY work on MY land!!!

Ask not for whom the truck turns,
it turns for me.

By the time I arrived, two loads of fill had already been added between the road and the driveway. I have never felt prouder or more excited about a pile of dirt. 

Dear dirt, you complete me.

This is actually happening!

I am feeling delighted and excited and jubilant (and just a tiny bit nervous – can I do this?)

Yes, I can. With a lot of help from my friends and neighbours – and some very heavy equipment.

The next BIG step (A Tiny Home/Land Development Report)

On Saturday evening, April 23, 2016, I got a call from the contractor who has agreed to install my driveway on my land. Spring weight restrictions were being lifted, he informed me (they came off at 12:01 am today to be precise) and he was willing and able to come start building my driveway this morning!

EeeeEEEeEeeeEEeeEeeeeEEeee!

SO EXCITING!!!

First thing this morning, I called the Department of Transportation to let them know that work is getting underway. And then I called my survey contractors to co-ordinate doing the septic pit test later this week, making the most efficient use possible of the heavy equipment while it's on site.

Next, I'm going over to my land to drop off a deposit on the work. I hope I will arrive in time to watch the bulldozer pull up to the site!

(I feel like a four-year-old with a passion for Tonka trucks at the moment. EeeEEEeeeEEEeeEEeeEEeEEe!)

Photos to come.

Waiting on Spring (A Tiny Home/Land Development Report)

Last night, I heard the spring peepers for the first time this year — not a full chorus, but a few bold frontrunners.

There are still predictions of snow in the weather forecast (in fact, snowflakes are falling as I write this), but I'm hopeful that there won't be any accumulation of snow. It would be great to have relatively clear sailing from here into the summer. Except of course for the inevitable season of rain and mud that passes for spring in Nova Scotia.

Not that I'm complaining. Compared to last winter, this winter has been a walk in the park. And no matter how wet and gross this spring becomes, at least it has already started. This time last year... well, don't get me started.

Now that spring is both officially and apparently here – and my biggest desk-work commitments are out of the way for another 5 months – I'm getting itchy.

I have less than a month left in my winter rental and I'm wild to know how soon I can move onto my land.

Preparation work has been continuing through the winter. More trees have been cut down. There is now a beautiful clearing letting in a ton of sunshine – as well as the fully-cleared actual (second) driveway.

I'm sad this cool stump will have to be
rooted out of the driveway.

Discussions have been happening with many and various people regarding possible construction, septic systems, wells, the driveway and electricity hook-up.

Decisions, decisions

I've had to make some major decisions this winter. 

The biggest decision I faced was whether I should try to winterize Wholehearted House (the tiny house on wheels that I bought a couple of years ago and have lived in for the past two summers) or if I should build a micro cabin.

After consulting with the fellow who created Wholehearted House (out of a 35-foot RV from the late 80s), another good friend who's a builder, my pops and others, I decided that it would not be wise to try to convert my tiny home. It is not meant to be a year-round dwelling. It's a grand (and beloved) dwelling in the summer time, when all the windows can be wide open. And it stays beautifully dry in the winter if it doesn't have a human being in it, producing gallons of moisture. But I've decided that trying to make it habitable year-round would be a misuse of funds and almost definitely a shortcut to major problems with moisture and mold.

However, I love my house and don't want to part with it. I have decided to keep it and use it in three seasons – as quiet, off-grid living/working space and as guest accommodation – or more likely, as my accommodation when I have guests, as I don't imagine all of my guests will be as happy as I am to live free of modern conveniences.

So, what about this micro cabin?

My pops, who always keeps an eye out for tiny home ideas for me, posted this link on my Facebook page a couple of months ago and I fell in love.

Isn't it adorable? Click the link in the paragraph
above to see many more photos.

Interestingly, after my mom saw these pictures, she told me that my Nana (her mom) had really, really wanted an A-frame cabin in the 60s, but ended up with a more traditional style of cottage.

There will definitely be some modifications to the design, but I think this is the general idea I'll be shooting for.

On my birthday this year, I went over to my land for a site inspection with my Builder Friend. We had a good look at the lay of the land and discussed everything that needs to get done.

In the midst of that conversation, I came to another decision, a rather sobering one: I simply can't afford to build my cabin this year.

That's disappointing.

Very disappointing.

I was longing to be settled in one place before winter this year.

But it's better to know and decide now instead of getting in over my head and winding up leveraged to the hilt. Or worse still, making commitments that I can't keep. I'm assembling a team of awesome people whom I really like and the last thing I would want to do would be to make – and then break – promises to them.

So, slow and steady is the order of the day. I am working hard, budgeting and saving as radically as I can (without sucking ALL of the joy out of my life).

With a little luck, I hope to be able to save enough money to build my micro cabin next year.

In the meantime, my immediate needs are a driveway and level spots to put my car and Wholehearted House. Then I'll need to move my tiny house on wheels to my land and set up a small solar rig for my immediate power needs, so I'll be able to work while I'm living there this summer.

The driveway is currently on hold, waiting for spring weight road restrictions to be lifted. And of course, because the path of my driveway has changed, I need to get a new estimate.

This spring, I want to make some raised beds and plant a garden. I also hope to be able to have a well dug (or drilled) and possibly put in my septic system this fall.

I have lots of research to do and decisions to make. Fortunately, I am surrounded by experienced friends who are generously willing to mentor me and help with ideas, advice, skill and labour.

And, since it will all take some time to get this project off the ground, I am also lucky to have a number of friends and neighbours who have offered to share their infrastructure through the summer so I'll have access to water, showers and laundry.

I'm looking forward to my summer in the woods. Conditions will be rustic in the extreme, and hopefully also peaceful in the extreme.

Well, adventurously peaceful.