Some of you may have noticed that I have been a little more absent than usual while back in Canada. I can blame that on a few different things, me solo-parenting for a month (who has time for blogging when you’re chasing after two kids), we’ve been non-stop visiting with all of our family and friends, and reuniting with Eben and making up for missed time. I have been “doing” rather than spending time in front of the computer. But the main reason I have not sat down and typed anything out in a while is because we have been doing a lot of debating, AGAIN!
Remember a few months back when I put it out there, asking for opinions, to help choose our next adventure? Well even though we THOUGHT we had made up our minds and were extremely happy with our decision, spending time in Canada opened our eyes to a few things, like how much we enjoy spending time with our friends and family there, how nice it is to send the kids outside and say “go play”, and how, even though many feel sailing is a crazy adventure, after 6 years of sailing this adventure is burning brighter right now because we have grown accustomed to sailboat life. And this is new and exciting and we are drawn to that like bugs to a blue light!
The cousins playing dressup on the land. Check out that backdrop.
We were back to the drawing board. Literally, notepads in hand, pros and cons lists, options, and bank statements. We were sussing through it all. We were looking at starting a new adventure, building an Eco Home, on the family property in the Rocky Mountains of Golden, B.C. It was exciting, it’s new, it’s an adventure we have never tackled, it was a BIG decision for us, and it was scary.
One thing we always tell our friends is “If there is something you REALLY want to be doing, dive in and do it. Don’t wait because we don’t know what the future may bring”. And as cheesy as that may sound, it’s true. And we’re not trying to be morbid or downers, we’re not talking about future accidental death or accident that causes you to think, “I should’ve done it earlier”, we’re talking about even the minor changes, such as another path may present itself leaving this current desire in the dust…like getting pregnant, or running out of money, or just sailing off in a completely opposite direction. If you have the urge (and the means, or even without the means if you can figure those out after), go do it. We figured, we can’t preach it but not act on it, so we dove in. Eben and I are used to flying by the seat of our pants and like we told his brother, until we commit to something we are maybe 40% considering it (meaning we keep ALL our options open), but once we have committed to it we are IN 110%.
WE’RE STARTING A NEW ADVENTURE!!!
Eben’s family has a beautiful plot of 72 acres in the Rocky Mountains just outside of Golden, B.C. We have purchased a chunk of the property on the Family Land and are planning on building an Eco Home there. We are not naive as to where we stand financially, or where we stand physically (in a country that is getting colder by the day!) and so we had to put the ball in motion quick.
Our Boat Baby being a Woodland Princess
This is what we are up to and what we are foreseeing for the near future.
-Yesterday we dropped Eben off at the airport to head back to our sailboat in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. He will be back there for about a month, finishing some projects and packing up the boat properly as she will be all alone for a couple of months during hurricane season (stressful). During this time the girls and I are staying with friends in Beaumont, AB. I will be doing A LOT of time online trying to line everything up that we will need for the build so that when Eben gets back we can hit the ground running.
-When Eben gets back sometime in September we will head to our new little chunk of land in Golden and start knocking down trees and clearing the spot where we want to build our home. We will work on building said home for about 2 months, or until it gets unbearably cold for us at which point we will have to see if A) is the home winterized enough to spend a winter living it, or B) should we return to the sailboat for the winter where we can stay warm and do a few more boat projects. Right now, looking at timelines and our bank account, it seems that option B is the more likely of the two, but we will see when that time comes.
-If we choose plan A then we will live in the Eco Home for the winter and continue building from the inside. If we choose plan B then we will go back to the sailboat and then return to building our mountain home in the Spring.
In our heads right now we are picturing using a shipping container as the back wall of our 1st floor, which will then have a tire wall semi-circle shooting off the front, and plopping a yurt on top of that to created a 2nd floor. This may seem crazy and confused, but like I said, we are still in the creative phase! We are going to put all of Eben’s experience in rebuilding a boat, renovating homes, engineering, and creativity to the test…and I will be the brute force!
This is not our build site, this is my brother-in-law’s and his family’s. We are stealing the sea-container and tire walls from them!
We’re super excited about our new adventure. We are in the design phase and are overwhelmed with different ideas and options, but in a fun way. We see a lot of our desires having a huge similarity to how we have been living on the boat, small footprint, solar powered, water-conservation, non-traditional, living in the elements (ocean vs deep woods), eco home. We know many of our learned skills from rebuilding a sailboat and living on one for so long will easily transfer over to this lifestyle and help us with our building plans.
This is where we plan to build our home.
And that mountain, framed by the spruce trees, will our view from our balcony.
We’re also excited that starting this dream does not mean ending our other one, of sailing. We will be keeping Necesse, for the time being, and hopefully getting to see her and sail her again quite soon. (Eben has now made it to St Thomas and is getting settled back in). With Plan B, we could be back on the water in a few months and enjoying the calm sailing of the end hurricane season in the Virgin Islands.
Being that we are still at the drawing board for this new home, we are completely open to suggestions, ideas, opinions and expertise. We are aiming for an eco-friendly home with a small footprint. If you will happen to be in the Golden BC area in Sept-Nov. and want to get your hands dirty I am sure we could use the help! If you will be in the VIs November-March we could also meet up there on our floating home! And if you are nowhere near us, we could still use the moral support, excitement, and ideas you may have to keep this adventure of ours moving in the right direction.
Very exciting, but I would definitely spend one more winter in the warmth if you can:)
It may very well end up that way. I have the tropical weather in my blood, so we will never stray too far from it!
I saw some really great ideas on a youtube channel called (living big in a tiny house) check out the video called (Boat Builder’s incredible 20ft shipping container home). I just watched it and it was amazing. Another one you might like is called (escaping the rent trap – simple living in a lotus belle tent) then he did a follow up video on what it was like living in the tent in the colder winter months called (what it is like to live in a belle tent). He has lots of great videos on eco friendly tiny homes that you could get some great ideas from. His name is Bryce Langston, his is in New Zealand. Another one that I really liked is called (stunning DIY cottage – style tiny house revisited) and (Two years in a modern, off grid tiny house) this one is also built by a boat sailor/boat builder.
Thanks for all the links to check out. I am pretty sure I have seen the Lotus Bell Tent a year or so back, but I have not heard of the rest of them. Fun video watching to come!
http://www.fictionfactory.nl/home.php?p=whouse it’s you!!!!!
so cool! thanks!
On this site (english also possible) again someting really “you” I think. They even teach you how! http://www.wastedlab.nl/nl/
Congratulations on your new adventure! How exciting! I love that you’re building your own place. Now that we have made the leap to RV living, I find myself daydreaming about other “unconventional” lifestyles, too, like living in a tiny house on a beautiful plot of land :-). Everything seems so much more possible and doable now. The sky’s the limit, right?
How exciting!!!! So many questions. But so excited for you all.
We are gonna be in the Caribbean long during the winter so we shall find you, somehow! 😉 we would love love love to pick your brains about so many things.
I grew up in a log house my dad made in BC, and my husband and I have always wanted to try to build our own little home, eco style. What an adventure. I’m so glad you’re just going for it. Boooooyaaaaa!
For sure come and find us when you are in the Caribbean, if you are in the VIs that is. We can do sundowners and answer all your questions!
Super exciting! Have you considered a shipping container and straw bale combination construction? Straw bale home are so fabulous (and warm haha)
A friend has a great little home made from 3 shipping containers in a U shape. Its makes the most wonderful home.
Sometimes plans changing is the best thing. We are in the exact same situation and are making huge changes (and hemispheres) but I think its the most exhillerating thing haha
Also Lotus Bell tents are fab!
Yes we did look into straw bale houses a while back but the fear of moisture and then mildew wrecking all your hard work is too much for us. We like the comforting idea (although much more work) of packed tires. Same concept, different material. We are thinking ours will incorporate a 40ft container and then a semi circle of packed tires jutting out from that to create the first floor, and the second floor will be a yurt on top of the container and tires, with the excess space creating a large outdoor patio.
What are you guys making the big change to?
Hi!
I just discovered your blog at the recommendation of a friend! Change is always good- but one more warm winter might be lovely.
Me, my husband, 2 kids and dog are leaving the prairies and moving aboard out on the Sunshine Coast (BC) in a few weeks. I’m looking forward to reading your previous posts for some inspiration!
Best of luck on your new adventure!
Hey, nice to have you following along. I honestly think that we will end up on the boat for another winter. We are not yet quite acclimatized to the Canadian weather, it’s the end of August and it’s already getting cold for us! And if we may be coming to a close with the boat chapter then it could be nice to spend a few more months out there on her. All the best with your upcoming move.
Hello Necessity! Great to get caught up with all your summer adventures, and hear about all the exciting future ones! We just finished our blueberry harvest here on our farm in Ontario. Looking forward to following your little family’s next chapter into the Fall and Winter. It will be 2 years in Sept. Since we met you at Joel and Phil’s wedding in Banff and shared our boating adventures, at Tim Hortons. Sending our Best Wishes, Chuck and SherylLynn Powell from trawler JENNA. Port Dover, On.