We're in - warm and cosy!

This is the pivotal moment of every build. The moment when the 'project' becomes a 'home'

THE MOVING IN

Ah, what a joy! What a pressure removed! What a relief!

Yes, of course we're not finished, not even close really, but the lions' share is done.

So.... without further ado, I guess a few pictures are needed!

Adeon's cave - soon to have cave paintings on the walls

Space to get out both sides!

Indoor trampoline in Elowen's room - apparently!

and another in Adeon's room

and a climbing frame

beautifully unfinished stairs

best bedroom view. Sunrises galore!

Living here is blissful! Although some of our possessions are still to come down from the mobile home, we can walk around without tripping over stuff and the children are thoroughly enjoying being less restricted and having mould-free rooms!

We're delighted with the ease of use the house provides and the fact that this and pretty much all other aspects of the design are working really well.

The roof space still has less than half its quota of insulation, but even so the Stanley range is doing the job of heating the place. We have one gravity fed radiator in the bathroom and the rest is radiant heat, assisted by a stove-top fan.

more views to die for and very snuggly!

Power is always more difficult this time of year with short days and little solar gain and longer evenings requiring lights etc. The house obviously requires more in the way of lights than the mobile home and we have had to run the generator for a few hours here and there to boost the batteries and avoid them being damaged. The plan is to upgrade slowly though and we'll have more idea what will be required once the wind generator goes up again and the system is fully wired in.

The hope was to have more of the outdoor structure in place before the winter to help better protect the exposed southerly aspect, but this has been lower on the priority list than many other tasks and has had to be put off until the spring.

little boy in HUGE kitchen!

Meanwhile, slating the kitchen windowsill, building kitchen units and working surfaces and other odd bits which help to make the process of day-to-day life tick over more easily have been the focus.

cosy bathtub that we know can do all 4 of us at once!

It's been mentioned that this last push is always difficult, and there is an awful lot to do to get a place habitable. 'Tis true!

We're however really thrilled to be in and are looking forward to the winter for the first time in quite a few years.

We would like to thank everyone who has helped us get this far. This includes those sitting in the background with emotional support and encouragement and those who have had a more active hand in the final product. We could not have done this without the amazing amount of time and love people have offered us. A 'hats off' should go to all the volunteers who have lent their time and energy over the years from the original inception of the idea to date. We are excited at the thought of actually venturing out of our inward looking past few years to explore the wider community and lend our knowledge and help to other people venturing into exciting projects of a similar nature.

Warm winter wishes to you all. Cheers!