Well the site for Blackberry Cottage did not work out, hence the title of this blog becoming irrelevant. However that does not mean the end of all this blogging stuff. You can't get off that easy.
Just point your browsers to The Life and Times of People who want to Cob.
I have heard that this new blog is like this blog but on (truly natural, not pharmaceutical) steroids. It's a must read for those inclined. If not, we can amicably part ways now.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Posion Ivy Oak
We decided to stay in town this weekend, to see a hip-hop show in the PDX and catch up with some friends up in Hood River. I was torn between continuing clearing the land in McMinnie or staying in town, but we had too much fun to have made a wrong choice.
Jen is just finishing up her first semester back at school (she is studying to be a midwife), and her summer schedule at school is light so we will spending more and more time down there, so no biggie missing this weekend.
In the week we have been back from McMinnie, my allergies have flared up again after being non-existent while in McMinnie. There is something in the air that does not agree with me in Portland this time of the year. So it's a blessing that my allergies disappear when we are in McMinnie. You know, cause we are carving a house out of nature. It would be hard to work with nature if my allergies were flaring.
This allergy talk is really just a precursor to the Poison Oak story, or as I mistakenly call it Poison Ivy. I'm not from this neck of the woods, and obviously as you find out neither are my kids. I don't think I ever heard of Poison Oak before recently. I guess that's why I call it Poison Ivy.
They kids were warned about Poison Oak but they needed to find out for themselves. I didn't understand Poison Oak either, hence me writing this now. So when we got back home/Beaverton the kids we showing no signs of being in contact in Poison Oak. The thought never even crossed our minds. That was until the next morning when Maya woke up and she had a rash on her face and upper body. Our friend's son who was there in McMinnie with us had a similar experience.
As the week has gone on, Maya's rash has gotten worse and worse. She is a warrior though. She only has the occasional point of itchiness (pain?) where it seems too much for her.
We, well that's the Royal "We." What I mean is, Jen has tried several herbal/essential oil remedies. Not sure what the actual relief from those remedies bring, but at worst the intention of the remedies seem to work, and I guess that's all you can ask.
I am not really sure of the actual remedies Jen has tried. I believe she has tried Tea Tree Oil, Lavender Oil, Oatmeal baths and possibly Aloe Vera. I guess I have an idea.
This once beautiful girl is now a hideous mess. If you know me, then you know what I mean. I don't want to put any more disclaimers to that sentence. Her rash combined with her losing two teeth in the last week has her looking like an ugly relation to The Clampetts. Same thing applies here. It's all said with pure love. I guess it became disclaimer-ville. The pictures don't really do the hideous nature of the rash justice. Ok, that's probably enough talk about how my beautiful daughter currently looks hideous. I will now retire that thought.
Maya has now learnt the lesson about Poison Oak. She has said when we first went to McMinnie, Poison Oak was a small bush with little red markings but now they have blossomed into red-ish bushes with leaves of three. So didn't equate the two as the same. Now she does.
Nate only now, which is a week later has just began to show signs of a rash from the Poison Oak. His rash is currently only confined to his lower legs. Eli has showed no signs of a rash, but he did not explore the woods like his brother and sister did.
Another thing I want to touch on before I forget, and I might go more into this later is that I had several experiences with the Blackberry Bushes when I was clearing them. They were communicating with me via vibration, and at times it felt like "electrical shocks." There was the occasional "WOW" moments where I jumped backwards from the shocks. Interesting to say the least. Mother Nature is powerful(!), and something society as a whole does not understand.
Jen is just finishing up her first semester back at school (she is studying to be a midwife), and her summer schedule at school is light so we will spending more and more time down there, so no biggie missing this weekend.
In the week we have been back from McMinnie, my allergies have flared up again after being non-existent while in McMinnie. There is something in the air that does not agree with me in Portland this time of the year. So it's a blessing that my allergies disappear when we are in McMinnie. You know, cause we are carving a house out of nature. It would be hard to work with nature if my allergies were flaring.
This allergy talk is really just a precursor to the Poison Oak story, or as I mistakenly call it Poison Ivy. I'm not from this neck of the woods, and obviously as you find out neither are my kids. I don't think I ever heard of Poison Oak before recently. I guess that's why I call it Poison Ivy.
They kids were warned about Poison Oak but they needed to find out for themselves. I didn't understand Poison Oak either, hence me writing this now. So when we got back home/Beaverton the kids we showing no signs of being in contact in Poison Oak. The thought never even crossed our minds. That was until the next morning when Maya woke up and she had a rash on her face and upper body. Our friend's son who was there in McMinnie with us had a similar experience.
As the week has gone on, Maya's rash has gotten worse and worse. She is a warrior though. She only has the occasional point of itchiness (pain?) where it seems too much for her.
We, well that's the Royal "We." What I mean is, Jen has tried several herbal/essential oil remedies. Not sure what the actual relief from those remedies bring, but at worst the intention of the remedies seem to work, and I guess that's all you can ask.
I am not really sure of the actual remedies Jen has tried. I believe she has tried Tea Tree Oil, Lavender Oil, Oatmeal baths and possibly Aloe Vera. I guess I have an idea.
This once beautiful girl is now a hideous mess. If you know me, then you know what I mean. I don't want to put any more disclaimers to that sentence. Her rash combined with her losing two teeth in the last week has her looking like an ugly relation to The Clampetts. Same thing applies here. It's all said with pure love. I guess it became disclaimer-ville. The pictures don't really do the hideous nature of the rash justice. Ok, that's probably enough talk about how my beautiful daughter currently looks hideous. I will now retire that thought.
Maya has now learnt the lesson about Poison Oak. She has said when we first went to McMinnie, Poison Oak was a small bush with little red markings but now they have blossomed into red-ish bushes with leaves of three. So didn't equate the two as the same. Now she does.
Nate only now, which is a week later has just began to show signs of a rash from the Poison Oak. His rash is currently only confined to his lower legs. Eli has showed no signs of a rash, but he did not explore the woods like his brother and sister did.
Another thing I want to touch on before I forget, and I might go more into this later is that I had several experiences with the Blackberry Bushes when I was clearing them. They were communicating with me via vibration, and at times it felt like "electrical shocks." There was the occasional "WOW" moments where I jumped backwards from the shocks. Interesting to say the least. Mother Nature is powerful(!), and something society as a whole does not understand.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The (long) weekend of Machetes and Margaritas
Long weekends usually do not apply to those who do not have a "job" or do not have their kids in institutionalized care. But this last weekend which coincided with Memorial Day, we spent our time finding the perfect place to build our Cob House. That meant finding the ideal area for placement of the house in correspondence to the sun. That feels like connecting with the source/nature.
However the ideal area happened to in the middle of heavily overgrown blackberry bushes, which is what Jen had foreseen. I tried to fool myself by finding a different site sans the blackberry bushes yet lacking the connection to the source because it was the easier site to clear. And that's how the name "Blackberry Cottage" was coined, because we chose the site overgrown with blackberry bushes. Simple. Yet effective, at least to me and that's all you can ask.
We came with machetes knowing this area was a prime building area. I swung the first machete, and it was kind of overwhelming. An initial path was created with the kids staying a safe difference away watching. Once the two younger kids wandered off, leaving Nate watching in anticipation. I could sense this, and not too long after Nate had now joined me in the machete-ing. It was a proud time, father and son clearing the land for their future home. A couple hours later we had finished for the day.
The night became my introduction to margaritas. Well margarita-like drinks according to Jen. I am not sure if that was the plan. Nevertheless that is what happened. The drinks were drunk, and some some-some. And that's how to spend a chill night.
That's how Day 2 happened. Machetes by day, and margaritas (and some some-some) by night. By the end of Day 2, we had cleared the area (well the ground was a sad scene of slain blackberry bushes), created steps and tracks through the bushes and hosted a family. I was quite impressed by our achievements. The task of creating a home out of nature with three kids is forever a balancing act, but one that has now become part of our reality. It is balancing act that I want to play a part in.
Day 3 was home (for now) time, but before it was clearing up time while the kids had their last play. It is kind of exciting getting plugged back into the the technological life, yet at times confronting. That is another balancing act that we are learning. We shall be eating that skill for breakfast in the months to come.
However the ideal area happened to in the middle of heavily overgrown blackberry bushes, which is what Jen had foreseen. I tried to fool myself by finding a different site sans the blackberry bushes yet lacking the connection to the source because it was the easier site to clear. And that's how the name "Blackberry Cottage" was coined, because we chose the site overgrown with blackberry bushes. Simple. Yet effective, at least to me and that's all you can ask.
We came with machetes knowing this area was a prime building area. I swung the first machete, and it was kind of overwhelming. An initial path was created with the kids staying a safe difference away watching. Once the two younger kids wandered off, leaving Nate watching in anticipation. I could sense this, and not too long after Nate had now joined me in the machete-ing. It was a proud time, father and son clearing the land for their future home. A couple hours later we had finished for the day.
The night became my introduction to margaritas. Well margarita-like drinks according to Jen. I am not sure if that was the plan. Nevertheless that is what happened. The drinks were drunk, and some some-some. And that's how to spend a chill night.
That's how Day 2 happened. Machetes by day, and margaritas (and some some-some) by night. By the end of Day 2, we had cleared the area (well the ground was a sad scene of slain blackberry bushes), created steps and tracks through the bushes and hosted a family. I was quite impressed by our achievements. The task of creating a home out of nature with three kids is forever a balancing act, but one that has now become part of our reality. It is balancing act that I want to play a part in.
Day 3 was home (for now) time, but before it was clearing up time while the kids had their last play. It is kind of exciting getting plugged back into the the technological life, yet at times confronting. That is another balancing act that we are learning. We shall be eating that skill for breakfast in the months to come.
Introduction of sorts
Hi, my name is Nick, and I will be your guide. Read my words at your own peril. Some words may not make sense to you, some actually might. I will do my best as your guide or at least somewhere near my best to describe to you the going-ons of building a Cob House with my family (and friends). The joy, the excitement, the trials, the tribulations and ultimately the completion.
A little bit about myself. I am an thirty-something Aussie, living in greater Portland, Oregon with my wife, Jen and our three kids, Nate (8), Maya (5) and Eli (3). We as a family have always veered off to the left. We have never really held down a "career," we home-school the kids and we eat a non-traditional "American" diet. I have always preached live to your means, so as a couple with three kids who home-school and don't want to hold down a "job," our paths led us to downsize. And our current downsizing looks like building a Cob House and live a self-sustaining life off the land.
We have moved continents as a family twice. From America to Australia and back to America again. Our move to Australia was predicated on moving in with my family on their newly purchased 5-acre lot and live off the land. That basically fell apart at the seems from the beginning due to unseen (or forgotten) problems. Our plan got a little off-track, but in the meantime we ran our own whole-food baking company from our home in Western Sydney and sold our goods at Farmers Markets, until we decided to sell-up and move to America. As a farewell to Australia we travelled up the East-Coast of Australia for a few months in a Motorhome. Really, not a bad life. Sometimes, I look back and wonder why life was so hard at times back then.
When we finally arrived back in America, we took a little time to find our groove, and now that we have found it, it is full-steam ahead. Without the money to buy land, we managed through a friend to find our 5-acres that we have been hunting for. We will be land-sharing on our friend's land. It's a win-win situation for everybody involved. And thank you for the people who have helped us out financially. You know who you are.
As we are still involved in the monetary aspect of living, donations or whatever semantics you want to play are gratefully accepted. Aside from that, we shall be needing human-power to help build our new life. So if you have an hour, a day, a week or whatever to spare and are willing, we will gladly accept your help. We will make it worth your while with awesome company, great food, the best music, some some-some and more.
Summer 2011 in McMinnville, Oregon. bring it on!
BTW I don't think pictures, photos or whatever you want to call them need captions. I will let you decide who is who. I am not saying I will never caption, just not now.
A little bit about myself. I am an thirty-something Aussie, living in greater Portland, Oregon with my wife, Jen and our three kids, Nate (8), Maya (5) and Eli (3). We as a family have always veered off to the left. We have never really held down a "career," we home-school the kids and we eat a non-traditional "American" diet. I have always preached live to your means, so as a couple with three kids who home-school and don't want to hold down a "job," our paths led us to downsize. And our current downsizing looks like building a Cob House and live a self-sustaining life off the land.
We have moved continents as a family twice. From America to Australia and back to America again. Our move to Australia was predicated on moving in with my family on their newly purchased 5-acre lot and live off the land. That basically fell apart at the seems from the beginning due to unseen (or forgotten) problems. Our plan got a little off-track, but in the meantime we ran our own whole-food baking company from our home in Western Sydney and sold our goods at Farmers Markets, until we decided to sell-up and move to America. As a farewell to Australia we travelled up the East-Coast of Australia for a few months in a Motorhome. Really, not a bad life. Sometimes, I look back and wonder why life was so hard at times back then.
When we finally arrived back in America, we took a little time to find our groove, and now that we have found it, it is full-steam ahead. Without the money to buy land, we managed through a friend to find our 5-acres that we have been hunting for. We will be land-sharing on our friend's land. It's a win-win situation for everybody involved. And thank you for the people who have helped us out financially. You know who you are.
As we are still involved in the monetary aspect of living, donations or whatever semantics you want to play are gratefully accepted. Aside from that, we shall be needing human-power to help build our new life. So if you have an hour, a day, a week or whatever to spare and are willing, we will gladly accept your help. We will make it worth your while with awesome company, great food, the best music, some some-some and more.
Summer 2011 in McMinnville, Oregon. bring it on!
BTW I don't think pictures, photos or whatever you want to call them need captions. I will let you decide who is who. I am not saying I will never caption, just not now.
I cry thorns
I cry thorns, real thorns. Real thorns of the Blackberry type.
Clearing the land which was completely covered with many generations of blackberry bushes with machetes can cause the occasional thorn to fly towards the face. I did not heed the advise from a friend to protect my eyes, so of course I had a flying thorn land in my left eye.
I was passively panicking, but upon examination by another friend, there was no sign of the thorn. We deduced that the thorn had scratched the eyeball. That was until the morning, when Jen noticed in the corner of my eye was the thorn. That was a relief, and kind of cool that I cried out the thorn during my sleep. What do you do while you sleep? I was happy I did not rub, as I am a rubber. Rub-rub-rub. I could have caused damage to the eye rubbing, but I followed advice not to rub. It's not an awesome story, but at least a beginning of many better awesomer stories to follow. I cannot promise, but it seems obvious.
So the next day while I was continuing to clear the land another thorn flew up into my other eye. One time was bad luck, twice was my bad. Did I heed the advise to wear protective eye wear? No. Sometimes it feels right to be foolish. As of the time of writing, I have not cried another thorn, so I can only assume that thorn did not stick to the eye.
The end. I could not retreat from that story any quicker.
Here is a cute picture to take your attention away. Bye.
I was passively panicking, but upon examination by another friend, there was no sign of the thorn. We deduced that the thorn had scratched the eyeball. That was until the morning, when Jen noticed in the corner of my eye was the thorn. That was a relief, and kind of cool that I cried out the thorn during my sleep. What do you do while you sleep? I was happy I did not rub, as I am a rubber. Rub-rub-rub. I could have caused damage to the eye rubbing, but I followed advice not to rub. It's not an awesome story, but at least a beginning of many better awesomer stories to follow. I cannot promise, but it seems obvious.
So the next day while I was continuing to clear the land another thorn flew up into my other eye. One time was bad luck, twice was my bad. Did I heed the advise to wear protective eye wear? No. Sometimes it feels right to be foolish. As of the time of writing, I have not cried another thorn, so I can only assume that thorn did not stick to the eye.
The end. I could not retreat from that story any quicker.
Here is a cute picture to take your attention away. Bye.
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