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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Signed, Sealed...



The Offer to Purchase has been accepted, and I take it to the bank tomorrow!! I am beyond happy. I feel as if I am finally at a place in my life where I am doing and not just flapping my lips. Very empowering and it is spilling over into other parts of my life-taking the reins so to speak.
According to the loan officer it should take 2-3 weeks until we can close. I have already been sketching floor plans-we are planning an approx 1100 square foot house for the 4 of us. I am looking forward to building a house which really fits our family's needs now and with an eye to the future. Passive solar design with a very open design. We really like the idea of very small bedrooms and a larger central space that can be used for multiple activities.
Redundancy is big for me-if no power is available via the grid, whether peak oil or just an ice storm; how will we heat, cook, pump water, etc? We will certainly take advantage of the great incentives for installing PV and solar hot water. There is some uncertainty about whether we will try for off grid or net metering-it all comes down to $ though-many of the incentives are offered by the utility provider. No provider=significantly lower incentive. Fun times!
We had a good visit with my sister's family this weekend. It was decided that our Christmas exchange would be different this year. We will each bring a wrapped homemade gift, draw numbers and either select a present or 'steal' someones gift. It should be fun, with less stress and less cost. Now if only I could convince my DH's family to do the same. Sigh.
Putting the pumpkin whole into the oven working very well. I will certainly do that again. I didn't puree it however and it had the consistancy of snot. Lesson learned! I had 4 quart bags of the cooked pumpkin/squash in the fridge and my seven year old came to me wondering why I was thawing out so many eggs? I think she was hoping for many quiches. It is true that our pasture raised eggs were the same color as the deep orange squash-the things kids notice!

This is two 'homemade' eggs compared to a store bought. The color is poor in the shot, and these were January eggs-no pasture, no bugs, and they are still kicking butt!

10 comments:

Sue said...

Congrats on getting the parcel of land! Now the fun begins.........

As for the eggs-the difference is unreal! That was not a happy chicken that laid that egg. And how old do you suppose it is??? I don't think we want to know the answer to THAT!
Have a great week!

Judy T said...

How exciting for you! Have fun designing your 'dream house'.
Judy

Conny said...

Very cool! Will that be your view from your kitchen window? Or open-spaced area? Very nice indeed.

We live in a 1,000 sf (3BR, 1BA) house where the bedrooms are considered small by todays standards. It's nice to not have to heat a larger house.

It'll be nice to help design your own home. Good luck, and have fun.

Ruth Trowbridge said...

Congratulations!!! Don't forget a pantry in your house plan. I use a hand held blender to puree, easy to use and clean. So wonderful to see your kids appreciate your food. Love the egg picture, people wouldn't believe it if they didn't see it. Let us know if you need any links, it is so much fun at the "paper" stage. News is awesome, way to go you 2. Peace for all

Country Girl said...

Yeah Congrats. That will be great desining your own place. Boy would I change a lot. Ugg, forgot what those store bought eggs look like. Nasty!!!

Ruth Trowbridge said...

Here's a good link:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Rancho-Cappuccino/Earthships-Michael-Reynolds.aspx

Hickchick said...

Earthship!! I poured over earthship plans one night last week. I love the water recycling. My DH took one look at them and said no way! A little too unconventional for his tastes. I'll keep trying though! Can you imagine the local bank/housing permit people okaying something like that! It would be fun to push the envelope!

Ruth Trowbridge said...

that's the job of this generation, to push the envelope for sustainable change - I love your attitude, anything is possible - peace for all

Anonymous said...

I know I'm late, but I had to comment and say congratulations! That is amazing, how you took an idea and made it into a possibility and are now living the reality. Designing a house, fun :-)
Last year I neglected to puree the pumpkin before putting it in the fridge, and... yeah, the results were not pleasant! Funny about the observation on the color though.

Drew said...

Re: the eggs. I made pumpkin pie the other day with two of my neighbor's eggs and one from the store. Realized as soon as they were all cracked into the pureed steamed pumpkin that pumpkin and neighbor's egg yolks were the same color, whereas the store-bought egg was pale, limp, and wan in comparison. Oh, man, do I want to get out of here into our own place (or somehow convince my landlord to allow chickens!)


Nice picture!