FIRST WINTER

The rains are back, so plans for mixing paint to do trim and touch-up will have to wait. Weather forecasts say maybe Thursday and Friday will be a clear day. So ... we adjust. We arrived in Seattle in early May of this year (2008), needing a stretch of time to level off from life on the road and on the run. The seasons have changed and today we approach our first winter on the continent in fifteen years. Building VARDOFORTWO is a huge dream made up of a billion tiny details. We don't exactly fly by the seats of our pants, and yet a precise plan doesn't work for us.

Knowing what IS important is essential, and though it's been fifteen years since either of us have lived with a winter that is not Hawaiian we have collective wisdom that gets us where we need to be.

PETE'S IN...that's one of the most important things about building. Get the walls and the roof up before the rains (and whatever else) come. The picture in this post gives you a glimpse at the inside of VARDOFORTWO.

• If you look closely you'll see the beautiful arch in the roof.

• Notice the WHITE 'walls' behind Pete? This is the vapor barrier, we use a product called TUTUFF.

• Diagonal steel braces(see them against the vapor barrier?) are nailed in to provide insurance against wind sheer when we move VARDOFORTWO, and also gives the home stability when we are 'parked.'

• The vardo is a one room home, no walls will separate the bed(room) from the rest of the space. Like many traditional designs our vardo will have a raised platform at the back of the house, where our Soaring Heart Natural Bed (eco wool and organic cotton futon) will be. The futon will remain open (not folded during the day). A safe sleep on a comforting bed is A PRIMARY NEED. We're building around that need.

• The kitchen and bathroom will be either: outside or shared with the family/friends who share their stationary home and facilities.

• The process of sharing space, learning how to communicate and collaborate, and the simplified style of being together in the VARDOFORTWO is a story in the making. We have two friends who are working with us to be that family who share their land and their lives. These are special people you'll get to know as VARDOFORTWO grows.

For now, enjoy the first peek INSIDE our tiny home in the making. And as Pete said as I snapped his picture this morning, "Welcome to my world."