Our family- and earth-friendly abode in Vermont--at last!

[ke3]

I am back, after a long hiatus of not posting! Well, there were a couple of random comments a while back, but I am now intending to visit here more often now. Here's the story: After having to miss out on last year's trip to Vermont because I was so ill, and my mother had just had a stroke, I was determined to make this year's trip, to work on our beautiful off-the-grid property that I bought for a song. Well, miraculously, I actually made it there from CA alive (barely; but I revived!) If I had been able to access the internet, I would have invited any of you in the area to come and visit--the whole little winding woodsy road is inhabited by the most earthy, wonderful families, building their own solar-powered homes, living off the grid. Next year we plan to fell some trees (with neighbors' professional help), add another solar panel, possibly dig a pond, and enroll our son in a blacksmithing course at the Putney School.

Now I'm going to post this, and see if the link to the pictures worked. I tried it out on the practice forum until the link worked, so it should work here. If not, I'll just give up until tomorrow. Here goes:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45450734@N02/

Oh, I know this should go in some other forum; but I just wanted to stress the fact that we bought the place to take our kids to, so that they'd have some concept that there are other ways to live than in suburbia, where we're stuck for the moment.

ETA: OK, the pictures as they appear on the link are all in random order; but if you click on the two little "albums" on the right, labeled "Outside the house" and "inside the house" or something like that, it's a more ordered picture of the place. It is so much fun, living off the grid--if only for a couple of months every summer! I haven't been this excited about anything since I "discovered" blacksmithing!

ETA again: And besides the house, there are the wonderful swimming holes! And only an hour and 1/4 away, Old Sturbridge Village, my favorite spot on earth!

One rather sad thing: I noticed that I already have more friends in Vermont than I've made here in CA in 6 years. How did this happen? I mean why do people here in CA just sit in their houses, and people in Vermont talk and make friends? I MUST MOVE THERE! I am convinced that both my physical and mental health depend upon that.

[catherine]

OMG, that house is unbelievable!!! And you've decorated it so peacefully. It's gorgeous. I am so happy for you. Enjoy it!

We are trying to buy something in Vermont, as we go there every year on family vacation--and we also LOVE it. In fact, one of my boys got his masters in Burlington because he had grown to love Vermont so much on our vacations, and has lived there ever since--and two of my other children are moving just next week to live in Burlington, too. They're moving from Hoboken and Brooklyn, and they can't wait for the whole Vermont experience.

Before they get to Burlington they'll be spending August with us at Stratton.

Thanks for sharing your photos--inspiring!

And you are very right about the people--DH and I also have more friends in Vermont than in NJ! And we're only there a month out of the year!

[chrisgermany]

What a nice home!

[herbgeek]

What beautiful photos! I giggled when I saw "unidentified flowering objects". LOL.

Next time you go to OSV, let me know. I live in Sturbridge, and there are several nice coffee shops where we could meet up. Or we could meet in the village itself, as Sturbridge residents have free admission. My favorite area is the Freeman Farm, way out back, where I check out the veggie garden and converse with the animals. Second favorite is the relatively new Parsonage garden.

[earthshepherd]

That's a dream house!! So happy for you. I love the atmosphere you have created there!

[Rosemary]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
My family lived in VT for a year when I was about 9, and it left a lasting impression on it. It was the first place I ever hiked in the mountains, and I loved it.

[Float On]

Beautiful!

[Glo]

This place is georgous! Lucky you!

[Anne Lee]

Beautiful! I belong on the prairie so all the trees make me feel claustrophobic but I can see how beautiful a place it is. I'd love to visit (but I would have to leave after three days so I could see the horizon)

[Stella]

Oh I am so excited you are back! I had wondered where you had gone. Your house is so beautiful! I can totally see how moving there would help your physical and emotional health. Everything about it is amazing.

Is that a picture of you and your son on the last page?

[Kat]

Just beautiful! I love the way the sunlight streams in to that one bedroom! Wow! How lovely and peaceful. This makes me realize how much I really do want to live in Vermont LOL Maybe someday.

Thanks so much for sharing!

[ke3]

Thanks for all the compliments and encouragement, SL-ers! Looking at my pictures in the cold light of day, I see how silly it is to have so many of the same room, but I went a bit overboard in my enthusiasm. I'm now sitting here in my suburban CA home, listening to the news about Obama capitulating to raising the medicare age to 67, with no tax cuts for the super wealthy, and I'm fuming and longing for the lifestyle and ideals practiced in our Vermont place. If I fall ill again this year, as I try to work, raise the kids, take care of the family and house, and work on keeping my marriage healthy, I'm seriously thinking I might just grab my youngest child and take a "semester abroad" with him. Seriously, comparing CA and VT, Vermont is like a foreign country--a much nicer one than the USA.

Oh well, at least I can now look forward to unpacking all the hearth-cooking implements I got back East. I'm doing a "Colonial Crafts" project with the 4-H club this year; so I can keep the fun alive in some way.

ETA: herbgeek, I will definitely contact you when we visit Sturbridge next year! I love the Freeman farm too; and luckily, it's right across the way from the blacksmith's shop. I was able to leave my son with the blacksmiths (my son insisted on staying there, and since he's gotten to know them all so well, they were happy to have him stay without me for a short while) while I visited the farm and the cooper, and even the tinsmith on the common. I really like what they've done with the Fitch house (was it the Fitch house?)--how you can now lie down on the rope beds and roll around on the straw mattress. Is Purl still on the boards? She used to love Sturbridge, too.

And Stella! Did you have your baby?

[Polliwog]

It is absolutely idyllic. Just a wonderful environment for you and your son. I live in California and I love it, but I can see what you love about Vermont.

[Stella]

And Stella! Did you have your baby?

Yes, I did! He was born two minutes into April Fools Day. Something tells me that kid is going to have a sense of humour. :)


Seriously, comparing CA and VT, Vermont is like a foreign country--a much nicer one than the USA.


I always felt like SoCal was a foreign country. I felt much less of a cultural difference between Canada and my home state of Minnesota than I did between SoCal and Minnesota.

[ke3]

Congratulations, Stella! How wonderful: two girls, then two boys! You'll never have to "entertain" your kids. They'll just play with each other, instead of whining "I'm bored", as our "only child" does at times (his brothers are 18 and 15; he's 8).

And you're right: it's SoCal that's the foreign country, not Vermont. On the other hand, I'd say that the culture in most of the USA is more like Southern Cal's than like Vermont's. Buy, buy, buy; money money money, fame and fortune, and, as Jack Sparrow and Mr. Gibbs said in Pirates of the Carribbean, "Take what you can!" "Give nothing back!"

Still, idealism lives and flourishes in many pockets to be found here and there. The trick is to find those pockets!

[Zoebird]

super awesome! :D

do you think you might live there full time?

[ke3]

super awesome! :D

do you think you might live there full time?

YES!!! We hope to get our older two kids off to college (oldest is going this fall), and then move, assuming one of us can find work. This is the big challenge. But it costs so little to live off the grid; and the culture is so different in Vermont, that we might be able to make it on one income, and some part-time teaching on my part. Assuming my health gets better, and not worse, as my kids grow up.

In the meantime, we're renting the house to neighbors' friends when we can, just to cover the taxes, and staying there in the summers.

[Mrs-M]

Breathtakingly beautiful.

[razz]

Lovely spot and thankyou for sharing those gorgeous pictures!

[baybay]

What a great house in a great green neighborhood! So happy you found your "off-the-grid" simple living homestead.

Have you thought about applying for SS disability? You clearly are disabled by your health issues and getting that monthly income would help bring you closer to your dream... just a suggestion. If you are open to it, you should consult an attorney who specializes in these types of cases as he/she can guide you on what kind of documentation you need to provide.

Best of luck! :)

[Dharma Bum]

The house is very nice, but what I like to see even more is the positive buzz you have going these days:)

[EarthSky]

ke3 - Any updates to share on your life in Vermont? Are you still intending to eventually live there on a full-time basis?

[CeciliaW]

I finally got to look at the pictures. I love the layout. I love the trees. I am so happy for you and your family and hope you can move there full time very soon.

[HumboldtGurl]

I'm back at SL after a long hiatus and want to say I think your VT house is just incredible!

And, I don't know if you've found the answer to your question about SoCal versus VT attitudes, but as a SoCal native who escaped for good after college graduation, I can say that yes, there IS a huge difference in the friendliness factor of both areas. I never found a real neighborly attitude in SoCal, everyone seems to be in it for themselves. I return each year to visit family and each year I'm amazed at how much more people retreat into their castles without even so much as a hello to their next door neighbors. It's sad. When I was in Vermont, people actually waved to strangers! I was blown away and fell in love with it. Would've moved there except I'm a weather wuss.

I hope you enjoy your new life there! Vermont is awesome.

[jennipurrr]

Very cool house! I guess I missed it when it was posted.

[gail_d]

I missed it first time around, too. What an inspiring place, so simple, uncluttered, and inviting. Makes me want to do some serious decluttering.

[mamarazz]

I have to tell you that in Vermont--we WAVE to everyone!! In our cars, from our porches,and any time we just feel like it!! Living in the Silicon Valley ( where I am presently working) is like living in a foreign country at any time. I have worked all over the US and many cities/towns in Cali, and this is by far the strangest.
One thing that really upset me when I came out here to work, was the lack of environmental friendliness. Ca has long touted that it is the greenest state,I beg to differ.Vermont has long been far ahead of the game in environmentalism,recycling, bottle bills and the yankee attitude of use it up, wear it out,make do or do without!There have been many secession rumors in the past--it could one day happen.
I only get home to my house and family twice a yr. I will be so glad to move back in a couple of yrs!! There is a farmers market somewhere every day in the summer. You can drink your water straight out of the faucet,and we have some of the cleanest places to swim.Healtcare is one of the best in the US--but jobs are sorely lacking!
Enjoy your home in the woods of southern Vermont, and when I drive by --I'll wave!:D

[EarthSky]

ke3 - Where in Vermont are you located? (Sorry if I missed it.) I may be transferring there myself... Please send a PM if you feel more comfortable with that. Thanks!

[Tussiemussies]

Wow! What a cute house, it almost has a storybook cottage feeling to me. I didn't get to see the inside though.

So glad for you that you have a haven of happiness!

[iris lilies]

This thread is a fun time from the Wayback machine. All of the posts from lontime members here were interesting.

[razz]

But the pictures mentioned in the posts are no longer available, sad to say.

[iris lilies]

But the pictures mentioned in the posts are no longer available, sad to say.
Razz,
I saw them today, the Vermont house. Photos still there on flickr. Maybe you have to have a flickr account to see?.??

Here are a few, my screenshots

257125712572

[catherine]

ke3 just posted on another thread--so maybe she's lurking here now--if so, ke3, I'd love to know about your VT experiences, as I have moved up here as well. You were going to eventually move up full time--have you? We are absolutely loving it.

IL, yes, it's fun to look at the old names from WayBackWhen, but also makes me wish they were still around. It was a post from mamarazz that helped me decide to move to the islands instead of downtown Burlington, and we are so glad we did.. so if mamarazz is still lurking these days and reads this, thank you!

[Float On]

I didn't notice they year when I started looking through the photos and thought "I've seen this house before." Then realized I already had a comment on the thread so it must be old. Good to see again though, such a cute house. Would love an update as well.

[KayLR]

Thank you for sharing! I'm so happy for you! I would totally love to have a place like that. It looks calm and cozy. Best wishes in your new home!