tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32315286418908309282011-11-27T18:02:16.397-06:00In a wealthy society such as we have in the US, the amount of usable building material that gets thrown away is almost criminal. Using gleaning methods, one can build a safe, sanitary, and healthy house at a fraction of the cost of a 'conventional build'. This blog shows you one such journey.Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.comBlogger441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-43024319971138414042011-01-04T18:18:00.000-06:002011-01-04T18:18:42.111-06:00

Nephew and brother in law plus me on a nice day in Tennessee equals a full coat of paint on the inside of the house. Plus, we finished the tin ceiling inside as well. Cool. Attached are the pictures of the work today. We'll do a second coat in the A.M. and I'll post. Laters.

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-37762981116038392052010-11-22T13:18:00.001-06:002010-11-22T13:42:21.093-06:00

Fundage is a bummer, man, so I got the brilliant (with desperation being the mother of invention) idea of putting up a tin ceiling. I'd gleaned some old barn metal from Rafe next door and am installing it as my ceiling over the insulation. It's like, hep cat daddy-o.  All the cool kids are doin' it. And by 'it' I mean putting in tin ceilings.  So my poverty has finally made me trendy.

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-59702057717064825912010-11-19T17:25:00.002-06:002010-11-19T17:29:38.348-06:00

My sweet sister and my mannishly sweet brother in law helped me finish painting the house today. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! It looks mahvellous. Pictures tell the tale.   South Side--My late fall sunshine/heat! John 'mans' the ladder, 'cause I exceed the weight limit.

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-24104539374505050552010-11-18T15:49:00.001-06:002010-11-18T15:50:50.770-06:00

Yeah, I busted out the CMB reference.  Deal with it. Paint was applied.  There was much rejoicing.  There shall be more painting forthwith tomorrow.  More pix ditto.. The green is a sagy color and the blue will dry somewhat darker. Door will need a primer and then get the full blue treatment.

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-718164067235430162010-10-28T20:09:00.001-05:002010-10-28T20:11:25.308-05:00

When my less than powered tools gave out this evening, I had 1/3 of my wood floor finished. On a complete whim, I stopped by Terry Garrison's Home Pro in Westmoreland on my way out of town this morning and asked Poochie (not to be confused with Squeegie, who used to work there) if he had anything out on the lot that would supplement my small number of pine wood boards for my flooring. Poochie

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-2789977601620473422010-10-21T18:17:00.001-05:002010-10-23T10:04:00.847-05:00

With apologies to Dickens, here's what I mean by the title. I'm worn out!  Pooped!  Dawg tired!  With fatigue--as one is with child.  I've been put through the wringer.  I've been run ragged.  Run down, exhausted, and, if you don't get it by now, I'm tired. (Cue Lili Von Shtupp in Blazing Saddles) And "Why are you tired?" one might ask.   Simple answer:  I dunno.   All I did today was bring in

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-55474714059331961272010-10-19T20:07:00.000-05:002010-10-19T20:07:19.518-05:00

Today saw the installation, at least on a temporary basis, of electricity at Charlie's Chottage (or Carlie's Cottage?).  I got a slightly damaged solar panel set (15 watts x 3 panels), a power box, and two 12v, 5w fluorescent light bulbs. Also, I began the installation of the paneling (donated from Ralph, the next door neighbor) in the, uh, whatever I'll call it ultimately. Also, I happened

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-38998800013784639492010-10-15T19:09:00.000-05:002010-10-15T19:09:35.824-05:00

My sweet sister next to what she calls, inappropriately, "the doll house". A long day of working--in fact, two long days of working--has yielded this: --exterior trim and caulking doing --interior insulation finished --itchy eyes and arms All of which leads me to say that by November 1, 2010, I should move in. Green house with white trim, anyone? Anyone? R-13 plus the styrofoam plus the

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-34699167811396235402010-10-07T18:48:00.001-05:002010-10-08T17:18:04.157-05:00

Over the past few days, with the weather holding steady in the 70s for highs with no precip, it's been perfect to get the exterior almost completed in time for the raindrops to come.  When they do, I'll be snugly ensconced inside, working on the insulation, paneling, and the pine board flooring. Here are the pics from the progress over the past days.  All done by widdle ol' me. Some of the

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-14346306633880191722010-09-30T22:08:00.003-05:002010-10-02T00:50:40.289-05:00

Attached are pictures of the two doors up and framed in. Also, you see the east wall taking shape, including the only operational window in the place. Doors come for free; one from Ralph (neighbor) and one from Tim's sister (Tim worked with me a couple of days last month.). They included the frames, so that made things so much easier. The window was a find in an abandoned storage unit.  It's a

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-69241209803738535022010-08-31T17:39:00.000-05:002010-08-31T17:39:21.368-05:00

Tim and Josh returned to the house site for a second day--and what progress was made!  Fantabulous amounts thereunto.  Siding on the north and west; roof OSB plus outside insulation on; a stationary glass window installed.  Wow! See pics below.  We (the lads and I) hope to have the entire outside finished (sans painting the exterior) by Thursday of next week. Josh inside; Tim uptop Enjoy!

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-28667992409405650312010-08-24T21:15:00.000-05:002010-08-24T21:15:49.539-05:00

Tim (left) and Josh Affix the Styrofoam(tm) Barrier on the OSB Well, after a long, hot summer, I finally got my OSB up and some foam insulation on the outside in preparation for applying the Hardie Board later this month. Greg S., my friend and church brother, 'loaned' me two guys from his work crew, Tim and Josh, to help me get the framing work I'd done in May squared and leveled.   They did

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-52713161882667869012010-05-08T20:59:00.000-05:002010-05-08T20:59:30.405-05:00

Got two other walls up today.  Will get the last one up on Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Note that the wall to the right has the large header and three openings for the windows/doors that will be fixed sliding glass door/french door/fixed sliding glass door.  Yes, I know I have to add another 2x4 stud at each door opening. Following that, we sheath the skeleton with 1/2" plywood, wrap the

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-82170195049879431432010-04-06T20:05:00.005-05:002010-04-06T20:12:12.810-05:00

Ran down to the house site this pip emma and threw up the wall seen in the previous post.  It be brace-ed and relatively stable, and, with my imminent departure to worlds unknown for the next 10 days, it'll be quite the feather in my construction hat if The Thing still stands upon my return thereunto--if my construction hat has a place for feathers.  Perhaps I'm getting my Village People

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-22418920166477066502010-04-02T21:39:00.000-05:002010-04-02T21:39:05.185-05:00

After finishing the last small section of subflooring in the northwest corner of the bedroom, I began laying out and marking for the erection of the west wall of 10'4".  The walls will be 8' up to a ledge where the 1 in 12 shed roof will start.  The area between the top of the wall and the roof will be glass in a large, low angle triangle to the taper in back and have glass in the about 12" of

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-47968450123874986952010-04-01T18:05:00.003-05:002010-04-01T18:19:02.587-05:00

My NAPA chum Jerry Kirby took me down to Lebanon today in his 1957 Cessna.  Jerry has a late 1940s Swift in which he does aerobatics, but we didn't take that one, sadly. Anyhoo, Jerry had told me to take my camera and we could get some shots of the land from the Eye in the Sky. And hairrrrr they are: You can see that Jan's house is almost done, whilst mine has the subfloor on the left (and you

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-10667458537768007312010-03-27T16:35:00.006-05:002010-03-27T19:08:31.481-05:00

 "My God, man!  You've struck sub-floor!" While I'm not sure Hawkeye said those exact words to Frank Burns, the sentiment fits my work today.  Bucky and I spent five hours on a clear, warm March day, working on my sub-floor. The 3/4" T&G was supplied by Terry Garrison of Homepro(tm).  Mucho appreciado.  Now I'm channeling Col. Potter for some reason. Anywho. 12'x10' means four sheets of

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-79334730026114941592010-03-24T23:53:00.001-05:002010-03-27T00:47:18.517-05:00

So sorry for the pop music reference in the title, but with rain fast approaching tomorrow, I thought I'd better try to get some work done on the site.  So, today, I put the screen mesh over the floor joists (first pic) and then added the vapor barrier over it all (second pic). Notice the gravel now spread under the framing's footprint. Thus, if all goes well as far as drying out over the

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-82429788667090071322010-03-21T22:36:00.001-05:002010-03-21T22:38:48.208-05:00

After spending Friday working with my parishioner, Greg Starnes, with his crew that drains farmland, I worked some Saturday on the house. Work accomplished, as shown in these pictures, was: 1.) Finished cross-bracing the floor joists in preparation for the 3/4" T&G plywood subflooring 2.) Put down pea gravel under the joists to keep down weeds 3.) Brought another load from the storage shed in

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-59590085405712932672010-03-05T21:57:00.000-06:002010-03-05T21:57:29.335-06:00

With the shed sorta finished, I started on the floor joists and the supports. Again, the joists are 2x6s 10' long and the end caps are 2x6s at 12'.  2x6s act as cross supports. What I did was (temporarily) nail down some 1/2" plywood in one corner as a work area and staging place--I'll take it up later. After all cross supports are in place, I'll put down some gravel under the structure,

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-19759140198786441332010-03-02T17:09:00.004-06:002010-03-02T17:20:31.138-06:00

It's now March, and these photos detail some of the work that's been done since the New Year.  The Dek Block has been set and leveled for the floor joists.  Mike Compton of Compton's Sawmill in Macon County gave me some great poplar floor joists--2x6 size ten feet long and then two twelve foot 2x6s for the end caps on the joist structure. Also, the photos reveal that an ersatz shed has been put

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-80455703660946291972009-12-29T22:17:00.002-06:002009-12-29T22:22:42.261-06:00

Ah, poor me!  Once again, my plans are waylaid by issues.  New wheeze:  the FIRST building on the site built by me will be...wait for it...a 12x10 guest house with a 10x10 deck.  Conventional post/beam on concrete pier footers. Ergo, the pix attached show the footers dug this day by moi. Also, a large cache of free wood from Craigslist is welcomed!  It's on the site, too. My xmas gifts

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-83777111737502523662009-12-07T17:04:00.002-06:002009-12-08T20:24:42.109-06:00

There is, on this rock outcropping, enough space so I can build my house literally on the rock.  Look closely at the second picture and you'll see a small stack of stones--that marks about the middle of where the house will be. I shall drill holes and put rebar in the rock, seal it, and then pour a concrete foundation in a 2'x4" form around the perimeter with reinforcement in the form.  Once

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-41333149397632421832009-11-04T10:47:00.001-06:002009-11-04T10:48:15.657-06:00

Again, Bessie Fromm has been generous.  As she was leaving on her cross-country trip to Montana, Ms. Fromm called to say she'd left a Craftsman(tm) tool chest and some cresent wrenches and other tools in the storage shed behind her house--for me! I flew on gossamer wings (and I don't even know what that means) over to her place to get the tool chest before the evil new landowner could swoop in

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-72393375105113107002009-10-29T00:56:00.000-05:002009-10-29T00:56:18.835-05:00

With apologies to all fans of Friends, this is the blog post where I gloat over my most recent freebies.  In fact, next to the free truck I'm driving (at 230,000+ miles and still going), this may be my best haul yet. Bessie Fromm and her sweet granddaughter, Desiree, are moving from Westmoreland to Montana.  Bessie had been living on 90 acres.  She'd been using a Craftsman LT2000 to mow the

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-15227124646795955392009-09-24T12:55:00.003-05:002009-09-24T13:04:15.091-05:00

Clicking here or on the link above will take you to the Country Plans site where you'll see an idea of what type of place I'll be building. The major changes from what this shows to what I'm planning are the south-facing wall (the one on the bottom in the layout or on the left in the drawing) will have several sliding glass door windows and the overhang from the roof will also be longer for

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-39031292460153567312009-09-24T11:25:00.004-05:002009-09-24T12:17:26.934-05:00

Here is the latest update on the building site.1.) My sister's house is going up (see pic, right). She has the foundation ready for infill so the slab can be poured. The two maples to the right of the truck in the picture (that's my truck!) have to be 'negotiated' and protected with berms, levels, and an odd assortment of beds and plantings. But they'll stay! They are on the south side of the

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-51013026033559796672009-03-12T20:42:00.004-05:002009-03-12T21:08:35.684-05:00

These photos show the cleared area where a potential house site could be for my sister's place.This is the same location that we are standing in on photos taken last May where my sister is trying to hear the noises of the woods while her son wipes the allergy tears from his eyes.Hard to believe it's the same place, but at least now there's some cleared area where one can at least picture a house

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-37989310934187469892009-03-10T20:43:00.007-05:002009-03-10T21:03:03.121-05:00

Today, I worked on the house site. Pictures are attached. These show the house site for the slip-form stone place (approx. 20'x14'). These show the area before some clearing of small trees and brush with a chain saw, and one shows the area roughly from the trail area.Chain saw? Borrowed. Gas? Donated. All it cost was the gas in the truck to drive there (about $5 r/t).

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-8805123207006112692009-02-17T20:14:00.005-06:002009-02-17T20:49:45.267-06:00

After spending the day last Saturday with my sister and brother in law, we've arrived at a conclusion.We know where their house will be. We know where the garden shed will be. We know where the garden will be. We are pretty sure where the chickens will be.Now we know where I will be.The weekend of March 7th, I will begin clearing the land for the build. Then, I must trip back to Mississippi to

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-20154787260159540452009-02-10T01:07:00.006-06:002009-02-11T10:00:50.593-06:00

After a round of disc golf at Cedars of Lebanon in Wilson County, Jer, Bear, Bk and I trekked far south of there and scouted the land Saturday for possible disc golf course basket placements. The photos here are from the top border of the land looking south towards town. We'd only just finished a wonderful lunch of catfish and huge as your head hamburgers plus scrumptious desserts at the Local

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-79674644216167210222009-02-05T19:19:00.003-06:002009-02-05T19:22:30.666-06:00

I'll be goin' on up t' th' land come Satiddy. It'll be warm like that day, so's I can stomp 'round a bit and pick me out a good place t' build muh playce.When'n I be gittin' back, I'll post sum pitchers hair fer'n y'all t' see.Preeshadit.

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-32892744577571227142008-11-25T17:05:00.004-06:002008-12-03T10:28:37.480-06:00

Today, we took tape measures, hammers, and stakes, and made a preliminary outline of the house my sister wants to build.We tramped about the place, looking at several possibilities, but settled on something that a) is above the 'perc' site, b) is not too near the dry 'wadi' or gulch that separates the woods/rocky area from the large field, and c) was accessible to the crude driveway the farmer

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-7357384944082358752008-10-16T22:30:00.008-05:002008-10-16T22:42:55.499-05:00

We finally got the 'gang' together today for a meeting to discuss the house build for my sister at the property.The contractor, his sister (who runs the business part of the thing), my sister, her husband and I met for the first time all together after much back and forth and phone conver- sations.For our part, my sister and her husband were mightily impressed; they realized that A.) these guys

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-27407525485363916912008-10-13T16:36:00.003-05:002008-10-13T16:43:25.573-05:00

Well, it turns out that my sister and her husband, in light of the recent economic turmoil, have decided to build without bank financing.This is good news for me. This means I can build without having to worry about how my dirtcheapbuild will impact their bank loan and inspection.We are gathering for a meeting with their builder this week; this is a company I have found for them, the owners

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-28028541320020524412008-09-01T12:51:00.002-05:002008-09-01T12:58:59.348-05:00

"When they was no meat, we ate FrogWhen they was no Frog, we ate CrawdadWhen they was no Crawdad to be found, we ate sand.You Ate What?We Ate Sand.You Ate Sand?That's Right."-Raising ArizonaBy great good fortune, I stumbled across 4 tons of bagged sand--for free.My friend, Bob Luttman, called me and said he was cleaning out a warehouse and had over 100 80-lb bags of sand--where did I want them?

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-79227848142804895042008-08-12T14:21:00.010-05:002008-08-13T08:13:49.074-05:00

We've been to the Mountaintop.And we've seen The Promised Land.On a bee-you-tee-ful August day, 8-8-08 at 8:08am, to be exact, the four of us met the former owner of our land and our new next-door neighbor to start carving out a property line through the thicket and woods.It began with our finding four deer in the field/clearing part of the land. my sister exclaimed, "Those are MY deer!" Yes,

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-27742246914636300602008-08-05T15:48:00.003-05:002008-08-13T08:14:28.212-05:00

After months of toying with the ideas surrounding a more experimental project, it seems we are moving inexorably towards a more conventional build.My family have it in their heads that what they will have by way of housing should be more of the 'normal' house and are questioning possible alternative building methods--which is fine, 'cause it's their money--but with every eschewing of a

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-7632543299579426782008-07-15T16:27:00.003-05:002008-08-13T08:14:54.105-05:00

As the summer wears on, the economic forecast for the near and long-terms calls for fiscal storms of Noah-like proportions.What does that mean to us?That means that our attempts at a dirt.cheap.build could not come at a better time. Our method and manner of exploring ways to cut building costs could quickly become the norm, not the exception.The link connected to the title of this piece can

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-64764370971681869742008-05-22T10:53:00.006-05:002008-05-22T14:08:46.825-05:00

Dumb Stir Dye Vyng--There's Gold in Them Thar Skips!Remember how I said I'd tell you more about the cheap stuff I'm gathering to build the house? Here's the fulfillment of that pledge.While much of the nation languishes in a housing slump as of this writing, northwest Mississippi, along the Tennessee border, has over five families--that's families, not people--moving to it daily. The housing

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-62485284071538488482008-05-21T13:52:00.006-05:002008-05-21T16:17:58.543-05:00

Part 2 of this blog concerns 'Cheap'.Perhaps growing up po' meant that I learned how to make do on less from an early age; now that I'm in my 'peak earning years', I still don't pay full price for anything if'n I don't have to.Ergo, what do I need to build a house? I need lots of materials, a place to keep all that stuff while I get ready to build, and something to haul all of that stuff around

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-33776344493711481942008-05-20T12:49:00.006-05:002008-08-13T08:19:18.554-05:00

Which one is the farmer in this picture?After our last, unproductive trip to Middle Tennessee in search of land, we decided to redouble our efforts to find land--even if it was a smaller parcel--closer to the friends my sister's family had made two decades earlier.I knew that the people in that area had several large land holdings but didn't know if they would be willing to part with any of it.

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-45968976942882011192008-05-20T11:36:00.007-05:002008-08-13T08:19:40.671-05:00

Off the grid, scrubby trees, and mud-caked tires--if you want cheap land you gotta go here!So, with a general idea of wanting to be somewhere within the triangle of Nashville, Pulaski, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, we struck out one weekend after perusing the interweb to take a look at some land.Now, we were wanting somewhere from 20 to 60 acres--and didn't want to pay more than $3500 an acre for

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3231528641890830928.post-56161744082082732002008-05-20T10:04:00.001-05:002008-05-20T15:07:50.894-05:00

We've lived in urban or suburban areas most of our lives. My sister, who is 16 years older than I, is nearing retirement age (beyond this information she would kill me) and was looking to get away from cities and back to a more simple, more efficient, and more 'robust' lifestyle in retirement.I wanted that, too. There is something good--a good, in fact--about building your own building, about

Charliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18290225363728160044noreply@blogger.com0