Time for some Before/After - garden addition!
Although this is a bit more like Before/During as we're still watching this beautiful garden grow while enjoying alllllllll of it's bounty along the way. Nature loves abundance :) and so do we.
xoxo KP
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
RMH
Stranger Things
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Product Placement
Cosmic Funnies

izzy's playlists!
Claire Keane
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH

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Andulka
Peter Solarz
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
Not today Justin
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Kaledo Art

JBB: An Artblog!
trying on a metaphor
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@thebreakawayblog
Time for some Before/After - garden addition!
Although this is a bit more like Before/During as we're still watching this beautiful garden grow while enjoying alllllllll of it's bounty along the way. Nature loves abundance :) and so do we.
xoxo KP
Ok, we're ready for summer.
Behold - the new Pool-gola! Add one 300 gallon stock tank, some patio chairs, a table, pool toys, sunshade on an awesome structure - something like an Airstream girdle?! - and you have summer fun!, yeaaah, baby!
xoxo KP
These two fine gentleman installed the door of the Earthbag House. Doesn't it look great? And aren't they a handsome pair :)
Last week Zak installed all the windows too, so now the building is looking more 'house-ish'!
xoxo KP
Three pictures of beautiful NM from this winter. There’s a sunset, a moonrise and a sweet view of the Cabin House in moonlit sky. I was just thinking about the sky and colors and the magic that is New Mexico. Ahhhhh.
xoxo KP
Annual Picture Time!
The Silver Bus House and the Earthbag House in 2021(with little Sumi the cat walking through) and the previous years’ leading up to it.
Cheers!
xoxo KP
New Mexico update! Photos: 1 The solarium in its current state! Roof on, windows in (gotta clean off that paint!), snug and waiting for our return in the fall. Doesn’t it mesh so nicely with the cabin?! 2 Early on in the process. Before getting to this point we laid out the footprint, dug holes and poured concrete footers. Once cured, we built a beam and installed posts on the long wall. 3 The wall framing is complete, with Luna modeling. The long wall will feature four big windows, but the end Luna is in will be an enclosed utility space, 3 Star Studio work space and future laundry room. 4 Roof framing has begun with the help of our wonderful neighbor and friend, Jim. Nothing too tricky, but so nice to have someone to work with on this part.
5 At this point the roof on the utility area is finished, allowing us to move the solar panels up on top, so that the rest of the roof rafters could go in with purlins. The utility area has a metal roof but the entire rest of the structure will be covered by clear panels to let that beautiful NM light in. 6 Another shot at the same time as the previous one, but giving a good idea of what the view will be like from inside the space through the big windows. Such a nice southern facing picture with two big, beautiful, old (probably 300-400 year old) junipers framing the whole thing.
7 Looking east to west. The utility end has walls now, will give us some extra protection from the strong western winds we often get. Eventually this open space in the foreground will be our front door. Oooooo, we can’t wait to get to that. It’s going to be something!
8 The clear roof has begun! Pretty nice place to work in the late winter, with all that beautiful sun and sky above. In addition to letting light in, this roof will double our rain catching, giving us about 750 square feet total. We got a second 1500 gallon tank which sits at the western end. Eventually we hope to have 15,000-20,000 gallons of water storage.
9 Our little cat, Sumi, getting an idea of what it’ll be like when the solarium is done. Just to tease, think Mr. Miyagi’s home in the Karate Kid.
10 Hi from the worksite on top of the world!
- Zak
The Earthbag House has been coming along in 2020! Last year we finished the roof and in the spring it was seeded and grew. We now have a luscious carpet of wild flowers and green plants up there. It’s a little meadow on top of the house and inside is the quietest place to be in a rainstorm for sure! We also removed all of the tarps... FINALLY! Since the bags will degrade in UV light they can’t stay unprotected long though, so we had to paint them. We chose a gray to match the other buildings on our land, but that color won’t show for long as the earth plastering will begin soon. The most recent project is the skirting around the base of the house which will provide a water break between the ground and the earth walls, gives us something to have the earth plaster fall onto as we do the walls and frames it beautifully! Stay tuned as the wall mud work begins!
Annual picture - 2020
Starting at the top, it’s June 2015 through June 2020. In there, four years of tarps, a few piles of earth growing and disappearing and now . . . HELLO HOUSE!! The Earthbag House is now fully visible with it’s adorable green roof.
Yayay!
xoxo KP
Journey of a dandelion.
:)
xoxo KP
Love me some BEFORE / AFTER pictures!
After much deliberation about tile backsplashes, wood slices, new materials and other usual ‘upgrade’ options - here is the kitchen counter with simply a fresh coat of paint all around. The color is dark gray/brown gloss which well coated everything in one go. New gray curtain above pulls it together and shows off the kiddo’s amazing drawings.
BAM! :)
xoxo KP
The Green Shed and Avi-Edna in the late summer sun. Here comes autumn!
xoxo KP
Here are some of the blooming stars of the Flower Garden this summer. It was a joy to watch them grow and we gushed about each and every one of them.
We’ve been impressed and delighted with all the beauties this year. And the bee balm, cone flowers and Joe-Pye weed were simply pollinator magnets. There was so much activity in this space all season!
xoxo KP
The Flower Garden from June through September.
xoxo KP
Earthbag Building, interior shot and layout as of 9/2019.
In the photo of the interior, use the stove as a reference point to see how we plan to lay out the furniture and built-ins. I love this part of the process where you can really envision the space with everything in place. Also note, the pink line in the photo. That’s where the earthen/limecrete floor will eventually rise to.
xoxo KP
Just a snapshot of how lovely it looks here in early September. The glorious goldenrod and golden sun of late summer.
xoxo KP
The Roof!
Here are shots during the building process of the earth roof. You’ll see the layers from the rafters to rocks. All built to handle the weight of soil + plants + water + snow. The 2 openings on top are a small dome skylight and the stovepipe.
In the spring, Zak will put 2 - 3″ of compost/soil and sedum seeds to complete the green roof / living roof.
xoxo KP
Let’s play a quick game of BEFORE and AFTER!
Avi-Edna has new cushions and curtains, a floor upgrade and a new composting toilet has been added.
I love seeing transformations, even these modest ones.
xoxoKP