No going back

Over the last few days it starting to feel like the move is official. The yurt is set up to accommodate us until the second one is built. What we don't need or can not find is stored in the loft of the barn. All of us in 315 square ft is going pretty well, we have a nice kitchen set up, with a small refrigerator, electric hot plate and microwave. Our Ikea shelves have created a nice sleeping area, and there is still room for a table, couch, and little office. Our compost toilet is currently set up outside the yurt, but is working very well and I think will be fine to have inside a yurt once space allows for it (see http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html).

Angi has gotten a membership at a local gym which is also providing her with a shower, the girls and I are perfecting the sponge bath. Our indoor kerosene heater is working well to take off the morning chill, but we'll be investigating other heating sources through out the summer. This weekend we'll start work on our landscaping to create points of landscaping that will allow us to safely and responsibly empty our laundry water. We'll dig 10" basins several feet wider then any of our planting, then pile dirt into islands where plants are to go, then fill in the basin with mulch. Draining our greywater under the mulch. At the moment we'll create four points a center island of shrubs and grasses in front of the yurts, two fruit trees, and a some bamboo (see http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/). I have the hope of setting up a wood fired bath in the near future using a Japanese wood stove hot water heater and a stock tank.

Angi had gotten a garden started while the yurt was being built and its now looking really good. Collards, corn, beans, radishes, and carrots. Last night we had our first fire in a fire pit provided from John and Cindy made up of an old truck tire rim. It worked really well and we had a beautiful evening.

Angi has been working part time with her work as a therapist, and I have been asked to start next Thursday as a substitute custodian with the school district. I will also will go visit a local goat dairy farm this weekend that needs some one to give their barn a daily cleaning. It would be just a couple hours of work, but might round things out with the substitute work. The girls are awesome. Chloe is so far loving it here. With room to run, a grandpa to go visit, a big red barn, bugs, dirt, bats, barn cat, birds, snakes, creek, cherry tree, and strawberries. Esmé is the most darling baby on this side of the universe, and seems to be handling all of this very patiently with a calm that seems to say she is ok with it. It is strange to think that Chloe may have a few half memories of her first few years in Seattle, For Esmé it will be this yurt and property.