“A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being
useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not
accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of
some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor —
such is my idea of happiness.”
~ Tolstoy,
Family Happiness
In the past week few weeks there have been many changes. In fact, it's been a whirlwind of brainstorming, trial and error, zen, community, celebration, and focus. I have two friends, both named Dave. One Dave is a master craftsman/builder, the other a rebel engineer. Together we started having conversations about the ideal life. A life on some land, with space and freedom to create. We all agree that this paradise of ours does not include landlords, expensive rent, or limitations to our freedom of expression. We are all interested in projects that include the need for large outdoor spaces be it for sculpture, building experiments, painting, playing, or enjoying. We all would like to be around other people to have a sense of community and family. So after much meditation, communication, and day dreaming, we decided we should work together to attain this lifestyle.
We are fortunate to have the support of a generous loan through David's family. For the past many days we have been seeking, finding, and ruling out properties. We almost settled on a rural bit in Wilberforce. We liked the rawness of it and planned to pull up my camper and live in that until a living structure was built. However, it was then that we found a modest, but large house with a large barn behind it. It sits on a lot of land in Clifton, 100 feet from the Clifton Gorge. In fact, from the front steps, you can hear the water rushing.
The inside needs love, but the land/barn/house combination is ideal for us. We will have a place to store our building materials and room to build. I will have plenty of space to renovate my caravan and experiment. The catch is, it's a foreclosure and we are going through the bidding process. Today, at 4pm, we will know if our bid was accepted. If not, and the property is still for sale then we will have to bid higher in a last attempt to win. It's a frustrating and drawn out process. So, I thought I would take the time to catch up here and inform everyone of the new direction this blog will be taking. I will still be working on my caravan, designing caravans, and occasionally living in one- in the yard of the house that I will be living in.
One of the Daves will be building mobile houseboat pulled by a motor bike, for long distance river exploration worldwide. The other Dave will be designing and building small homes and other masterful works. We will help each other in our endeavors. We have even tossed the idea around of starting a weekly farmers market out of a section of the barn, which would allow us to sell baked/homemade goods and our produce. We intend to have multiple greenhouses for year round growing.
So in short, this blog will now be expanding beyond caravan life to encompass communal life among like minded housemates, and some of our works/projects, experiences.
Additionally, I finally committed myself to become fluent in Spanish.
cómo se abre la vida rápida como una flor. esto es para seguir adelante, con esperanza y alegría!
how fast life opens like a flower. here's to moving forward, with hope and joy!
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| Chris on this lovely Spring day |
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| I'm excited!! But sad that The Little Art is stepping away from film :( |
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| Allen, working on his arches. |
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| Spring has arrived |
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| River time! |
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| Dāwūd, One of the fab 3, making community life possible. |
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| Echo with her new b day bag, writing in her tiny journal. Soaky in her new b day dress |
