Nothing like building a house to get in the way of blogging about building a house. But this weekend I got to pause and see reflected in other people's responses what an amazing project this is, and to hear from some of the people who have joined me in making it a reality. As one of my builders, Marc Rudnick, said, creating something new that hasn't been done before earns me all the pain and beauty of going first.
Around forty people passed through my little house over the course of a few hours, and I got to see what we've accomplished through their eyes. This Vehicle will end up costing close to what a luxury motorhome would cost, but my luxuries are clean, non--toxic air, solar energy and at least some of the time, biodiesel fuel, and a design crafted specifically for my body, for my needs, to my taste.
Six years ago, this was a wild idea. Two days ago, a bunch of people walked through my wild idea, touched the smooth wood of the cabinets, admired my Kimberly stove, (so beautiful, so sleek, so small!) and marveled at the as yet unmanifested plan for a greenhouse. All along the way, so many helpful people have shown up. My visitors got to hear from my architect and one of my builders, but one person who's made it all possible wasn't able to attend. George Smichinski is my landlord at U-Haul of Somerville. After three months of searching for a place to do construction, I was at my wits' end when, really not believing it would lead anywhere, I decided to write to one more storage facility. Within hours, George responded that he'd like to help, and donated the perfect construction space. Not only has he hosted this project at no charge, he's received millions of packages, unloaded materials with his forklift, helped my crew level the trailer, lent us a charger for the batteries that raise and lower the deck, and been an all around blessing. I never imagined when I started on this journey how many people would step forward to help!
Around forty people passed through my little house over the course of a few hours, and I got to see what we've accomplished through their eyes. This Vehicle will end up costing close to what a luxury motorhome would cost, but my luxuries are clean, non--toxic air, solar energy and at least some of the time, biodiesel fuel, and a design crafted specifically for my body, for my needs, to my taste.
Six years ago, this was a wild idea. Two days ago, a bunch of people walked through my wild idea, touched the smooth wood of the cabinets, admired my Kimberly stove, (so beautiful, so sleek, so small!) and marveled at the as yet unmanifested plan for a greenhouse. All along the way, so many helpful people have shown up. My visitors got to hear from my architect and one of my builders, but one person who's made it all possible wasn't able to attend. George Smichinski is my landlord at U-Haul of Somerville. After three months of searching for a place to do construction, I was at my wits' end when, really not believing it would lead anywhere, I decided to write to one more storage facility. Within hours, George responded that he'd like to help, and donated the perfect construction space. Not only has he hosted this project at no charge, he's received millions of packages, unloaded materials with his forklift, helped my crew level the trailer, lent us a charger for the batteries that raise and lower the deck, and been an all around blessing. I never imagined when I started on this journey how many people would step forward to help!