Green Living

I think I’m going to designate Mondays as my official blogging day. I never blog anymore, I just can’t seem to find the time. It doesn’t help that I spend eight hours a day staring at a computer screen. The last thing I want to do when I get home is stare at one some more. On a similar note, I think to help with the whole techno stress thing, I’m gonna designate Sunday’s No Technology Day. That is, no computer, no t.v. and no car. If I need something at the store, I’ll walk to Wal-Mart. Chances are I’ll be too lazy to do that so whatever I need will have to wait. I may, however, make an exception with the t.v. thing in case Mike wants to watch a movie. I’ll claim that as me and Mike time.

Now that I’ve gotten myself all organized I guess I should blog about something interesting for once, and what could possibly be more interesting then my son. I’ve had some time to reflect on this past year, which has been full of changes both personal and professional. So far, I think Mike and I have it pretty good when it comes to finding the balance between work and home life. We’ve been doing the mom work full time, dad stay at home thing for about two months now. We’ve worked out a flexible schedule (note the emphasis on flexible). Liam still wakes up at night. I have a feeling this probably won’t change until he’s finally got all of his teeth. There are dozens of different schools of thought on this. Most people say he’s supposed to be sleeping through the night by now and that we shouldn’t respond to his crying/whines because this will help teach him to self-soothe and put himself back to sleep. Although there are times when Liam will wake-up and fuss himself back to sleep without any assistance, there are other nights when he simply won’t and needs help. Sometimes he just needs some rocking and a sip of water. Other times he needs a full bottle, especially here lately since he hasn’t been eating to well (probably a combination of teething and growth spurt). When nothing else works, we bring him into bed and co-sleep with him. Those nights are cozy, sometimes too cozy…for some reason he likes to sleep sideways so I usually end up with a foot in my ribs by morning. To help each other out, we rotate the night time responsibilities every two nights. That way we can ensure a few nights a week where one of us can sleep through the night without interruption.

I always come home for my lunches. Depending on how Liam’s nap schedule is, I’ll get at least forty minutes to see him before heading back to work. Mike will often email me throughout the day with short little updates. This helps since it makes me feel like I’m still participating in his daily routine even if I am at work. Most nights I get off at 5:30, drop my stuff at the door, change clothes and eat dinner. I have about three hours with Liam before his bed time routine starts. Most people might consider this a tiring task after eight hours on the job but it is honest to God the best way to unwind from work for me. I love it. I miss him so much throughout the day, I can hardly wait to get home and see him.

I think, maybe, the only time I have difficulty is on the weekends. Because I work all week, I feel a little guilty about taking time to do things for myself. I feel like I should be spending every waking moment I have with Liam. Not only that, but Mike has Liam all week. He needs his breaks too. Then of course, Mike and I need time together. There’s only two days in a weekend, it’s hard to fit all of that in. But all in all, I think we’re doing pretty darn good. If we could just keep our house from falling apart, we’d be in really good shape. I’m still trying to work on Mike with the whole yurt idea. I have a feeling I can swing him when he finds out that plumbing is completely optional.

I am, by nature, a “Green”, “Crunchy Granola” kind of person. Although I am a firm meatasaurus, in my house anyway, I am the Eco-Warrior. Much to Carleens annoyance at times - I follow her around, turning off lights, reach around her to turn off the faucet the second a dish is not under the stream of water. Recently, I’ve started recycling, even though Bartlesville has no recycling program (we take our stuff to Tulsa, a 40 minute drive, but Carleen is there once a week for Yoga anyway). I even had a manual reel mower (you know, one of those old fashioned kind) for a while until the crabgrass that grows so profusely in my backyard, beat it into submission. The next car I own will be a Hybrid; I have Compact Fluorescent bulbs in all my lamps; I clean with only vinegar and baking soda; I have a compost pile; the list goes on. But I am nothing, nothing compared to these people. My house is a toxic waste dump compared to them. They are my hero’s. It’s a Low Impact Woodland home, build with oak timbers and walls of hay bails covered in Lime Plaster.

Combine that with the fact that I’m a huge Tolkien fan, with a strange love of Hobbits (of all the Fantasy races out there - I’m probably most like a Hobbit, god I’m such a Geek…), adds up to me with a desperate need to build this Low Impact Home. Check it out:

It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 [about $6000 USD] put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).

Now take a look at some of the main features of the house:

• Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
• Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
• Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
• Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
• Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring…)
• Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
• Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
• Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
• Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
• Water by gravity from nearby spring
• Compost toilet
• Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.

The main tools to build it? A chainsaw, hammer and a 1 in. chisel. I want a Hobbit Home. I’d even make a round door, painted yellow.