In other news, on the subject of alternative housing, I have been reading about cob houses. I know- the very first question is, what on earth is cob? Well it is literally a building material made of earth. It is a mixture of dirt, sand and water. Houses were commonly made of this material in England since the 1500s and are still superior structures today.
There is a lot to learn about this type of construction. Overall I like it because it is a lot more homey and cozy than a dome house. I bought a book today on Amazon called The Hand Sculpted House. Secondhand it wasn't too bad. I can't wait to get it and read and learn more. One other thing that is pretty feasible about it would be that we would also be able to put it partially underground. Travis really wants an underground house - feeling that economically it would be a tremendous benefit. I would have to have the main living area of the house accessible to sunlight and air, so we would make a compromise on this. Part of me thinks that I am pipe dreaming here, and that we don't have what it takes to really take on something like this. The other part of me knows that paying off a mortgage for 28 more years at our ages in the ever increasing economy is not going to be do-able, and we need to come up with a more economic, sustainable, environmentally friendly way of living. It has made me consider things that I never would have thought of before, and get an excited flutter in my heart in the anticipation of it all.
Another tremendous thing we are considering would be the ability to put a small cottage next to us on the same property for Kendra to live in, now that she is older. This would give her privacy and independence and still have her close enough to us so our family can stay close and share our lives, at least until she leaves for Italy.
If anybody knows anything of these alternative types of housing, please share what you have learned. I'll be sharing more here as I learn. For now, I leave you with this video:
