Footers soon....

 We'll be moving in a few days, and hopefully things will get a move on. We plan to start on the footers and foundation soon. Of course, the sooner the sale of our current house closes...the sooner it's full steam ahead on the Itty Bitty Cabin Homestead.

Early site prep...

While we've been at our current house attempting to sell it, my father has been hard at work getting the cabin site prepped for ground breaking. More to come soon....

Early Site Selection and Design Ideas

Hoping to start construction in early September. Much of the project will be DIY to add sweat equity, as well as keep the costs lower. To that end, we will be posting individual projects to the blog as they are undertaken to hopefully help others who are on a similar journal of a simpler, more peaceful existence.

A Clean, Simpler, Start...

Chronic illness (especially when it takes 4 years to find someone to identify it and the identified illness has no cure) is expensive. Kristina and I bought in West Milford, WV nearly 15 years ago. We built a life for two young adults with full-time careers and college educations who'd some day start a family. We funded those educations (her Bachelor's  and my Master's) on the implied promise of the 20th century that said degrees and our ambition would supply us with careers,  good lives,  and many decades to pay back student loans. Well,  the universe had other plans for me...and by proxy my family. Best we've tried,  with the gracious help from family,  we can't maintain the life we established with me on the sidelines and now requiring regular trips to Baltimore for observation of my PLS. In addition, my illnesses give me hyper-acute senses making me not only in constant pain but also phono and photosensitive. Life around close neighbors literally hurts. I need some more space.

A change of course is gravely necessary. To that end,  we are pairing down,  simplifying, packing up,  and selling to build a quaint off-grid cabin of our design on family property. I can't run at full steam anymore,  but I am going to put as much of my blood and sweat equity (with the help of loving family & friends) into making my girls a mortgage free home with no public utilities, fees for town services we don't receive, et cetera. We need to sell our house after doing a few cosmetic fixes, but a move to a more rustic and peaceful setting is definitely happening.

We are trying to be as self-sufficient as possible but if anyone feels like giving a moving gift we have an Amazon wishlist of items we're likely going to be purchasing for our new homestead. Believe me,  a lot of what we're doing will be DIY Rustic Cabin Chic. If a package arrives with our name on it,  we'll find a use for it. I intend to repurpose my old blog and document every step of the process.  Additionally, my PayPal account is FrederickBGerwig@gmail.com. There was a time that I thought it a failure to ask anything from anyone. Now,  I realize that there are folks who want to help whenever they can.

Until we get a mailbox of our own: 163 Gerwig Dr,  Exchange,  WV 26619 will be the central command center for homestead construction. 

Hi. Check out this list: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/2CDF6ST9QGKMC/ref=cm_sw_r_an_wl_o_lmaYvb6MATP8J