Bipolar Build

Our earthship build has been comprised of 68% pleasurable, uplifting, inspiring, memorable times and 32% exhuasting, dysphoric times.  The past couple weeks have been mostly the latter type with some much-needed sprinklings of happy times.  I tend to error on the side of positivity at least where people outside of my close family and friends are concerned and will sugar-coat the glum times.  I feel it is important, however, to let it be known that building an earthship or any other sustainable home yourself is filled with its' fair share of difficult, depressing times.

Having so very little within our control regarding time frame is maddening.  One week it is raining, the next week, the weather is perfect but the dirt is still too soggy from rain earlier in the week. The following week, a piece of equipment imperative to our build breaks down and Zac must halt everything else and work to fix it.  Last Saturday, after having spent every evening after work prepping our old home for the new tenants (who moved in last Saturday), Zac was nearly immobilized in bed and said that he needed to take a day off everything for his physical well-being and for sanity's sake.  And so, he rested a bit and then we took the rest of the day as a family and had the BEST DAY in recent memory.  The next day, he was able to work through some tires with Anthony, our new friend and volunteer.  However, work has been sporadic due to things outside our control and in the past several weeks, only about 40-50 tires have been completed and I feel as though we haven't made much progress.  

Weather is already starting to turn and the Farmer's Almanac is predicting an early and harsh winter ahead.  So today, with no extra hands to help, he felt it would be best to focus his time on beginning to winterize our cistern.  His plan is to build a wooden frame around it and then put slip straw walls around it to ensure that it doesn't freeze when frosty weather hits.  This project will be helpful for our earthship build too as we have (yet again) changed our plans for our bedroom walls and they are now going to be slip straw walls covered with adobe plaster.

He plans on working on this project here and there but was pleased to have gotten a head start on it today.  Zac is going to take off work this Tuesday (September 16th) through Friday (September 17th) to hopefully make some serious headway with our home.  As you may remember, our goal was to complete the tire wall by October 1st and we are still pushing to make this a reality.  If you'd like to come on out to help this week, we would SO appreciate it and will provide meals for you!!!  

And so, we have been struggling as a family the past few weeks to remain positive with Old Man Winter appearing closer than we had imagined so early on in the year.  This sort of thing really has been wearing at both Zac and I and we have found ourselves having to take more time outs than our son to gather our emotions and get ourselves in check.  

I want to be sure that we remain transparent and truly share our experience throughout our build and want everyone to know that should you decide to build such a home yourself, you are in for both the best and worst of times.  We are lucky to have our health as a family but truly, the past couple of weeks have been rough on us.  I know we aren't alone as I've heard other families' similar struggles toward living a more sustainable lifestyle and I know that there is a silver lining to our story.

How we're choosing to look at the cooler weather now is that it will allow Zac some serious rest and recooperation as well as some time to research the plumbing, electrical and radiant floor heating systems that need to be in place before our concrete pad is poured this upcoming Spring.  Perhaps we will feel more prepared for next year's progress and less like the kid in class who is constantly forgetting his homework.  

The ups throughout our build this past year have put us higher than ever before; as I imagine it would feel to be manic.  The lows this past year have sent us into some periods of depression.  And yet, I can say, without a doubt, that we would do it all over times ten if it meant living a life we're proud of and can put our stamp of approval on!

Sky and land shot last weekend while tire pounding was underway

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In other news, we will be speaking at Glen Helen this upcoming Sunday (September 21, 2014) at 3:00 PM and invite anyone and everyone out to hear about our "Pathway to a Secondhand Home."  We will share our story about why we chose to jump ship on the American Dream, an overview of what an earthship is and what earthship living is all about and we'll close with some information about our build thus far with a sneak peak of our most updated house plans.  For more information, visit Glen Helen's Facebook Page.