I’ve said since the beginning that the current location of the yurt was not permanent. It was in a place convenient to learn what it took to live off-grid in a giant tent with the nearby shelter, water supply, and umbilical cord of power provided by Raven’s folks. And learn we did!

But this spring after two years of carting water, exposure to the baking summer sun, and lack of seclusion we started itching for something more. But what? Where?

We looked around at forested properties and actually fell completely in love with a lot. It was expensive and meant getting right back into the debt we’d sold the house to escape: 30 year mortgage with full time work required to afford it. But somehow, that was okay. I explained to people that it was a lot like having a life plan all mapped out and then falling head over heels in love. Your life is altered and sets off in a direction you’d never considered. We made a business plan to show to the bank, we got our realtor ready and . . . well it is a long and painful story, but it ends with us being outbid – as well as discovering banks are set up to give you loans on no more than 5 acres of property. Anymore than that (like a 40 acre woodlot) was considered insane. By the end of May, we were back at the yurt feeling dejected and stuck.

Raven’s mom, however, had recently purchased a nearby woodlot and offered us a spot. We tromped through the woods, found some likely places, and talked about packing the yurt to the “big move.” That is all the further it went. I never pulled out boxes; we never went beyond what could be taken down with minimum impact to our lives. We wanted to move before the summer sun baked us again, soaring temperatures in the yurt to over 90 for 8 hours a day. So what was the hold up?

For Raven, it was the work. He knew how much time it had taken to assemble the yurt. More than just the 3 day initial weekend, but the weeks and months afterwards of wiring, shelf building, perimeter blocking, kitchen/bathroom wedge. Not to mention the weeks prior to yurt set-up when the deck had been built. The gain wasn’t worth the effort for him.

I was in a similar boat. We’d discussed hard-sided yurts to cabins over the spring. Now, all I could see were the flaws in our structure. None were intolerable, but there were enough frustrations to make packing it up unattractive. I played with internal yurt reorganization as moving would give us the chance to start over. We could adjust where the door and windows fell, move the kitchen wedge or do away with it – but then where would we put the shower? I firmly believe if you have to build a separate facility for necessary bodily functions (especially in Maine where this means a need to heat in winter) then there is something basically wrong with the house design.

Raven and I talked it out. Maybe it was time not just to leave our spot on the side yard but the yurt as well. He started looking at cabins again (having looked at options for the woodlot we lost the bidding war on), showing me costs and layouts. I was underwhelmed. All the designs seemed the same basic “long and narrow with porch.” Just because we wanted a small structure didn’t mean it couldn’t be beautiful. I got out my sketchbook.

I started with a simple sketch of what I was looking for in my heart: a steep roof to maximize space in a sleeping loft, functional kitchen and bathroom space based on measurements of what I really needed in the yurt. What emerged was a 16’x25’ cabin with a screened in porch along one long wall and a mudroom opposite. I showed it to Raven. He looked it over while I held my breath, expecting another dead end and continued search for something. Actually, he liked it.

That began this summer’s odyssey. The design, of course, took more work and a lot of tweaking. It has picked up elements of things we have always wanted in a house and a strong determination to do things right and the way we envisioned the first time. We learned from the yurt that “improvements” to something built and used did not actually happen. Motivated to actually do this, we found the perfect spot and started to work clearing out brush. All the foot dragging from earlier in the spring had dissipated at last!

Check back for updates because progress is well underway! I’ve plans to describe the design as it stands now (we’ve learned half the fun of building your own house is being able to adjust plans on the fly!), and site progress. Cause baby, we’ve made some progress!

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