Introduction

The 57 acres that comprise Cedar Ridge Farm are located in the beautiful rolling hills of South Central Kentucky. My wife, our four children, and I are on a homesteading adventure as we work toward increased self-sufficiency. We grow much of our own food and enjoy being in touch with the agrarian roots of our lives.

One of the major projects we have undertaken is the building of our own home. The house we're building has three major distinguishing features: 1. we're building it without incurring any debt; 2. it is a timber frame structure; and 3. the exterior walls will be plastered straw bales. We live debt and mortgage free, and building our house with that approach makes perfect sense. Large timbers in a home possess a beauty and project a sense of strength, stability, and warmth that we want in our home. Straw bale walls provide insulation and make ecological sense. This blog is a record of our home-building project.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

This is a house blog

Some people have complained (mainly my sister and brother) that I haven't updated my blog in too long of a time. They are correct, of course. However, this is a blog about my house project. When I work on house-related projects, then I have something to post about. When I don't work on such projects, I don't have something to post about. Sure, I could post some non-related things, but I've refrained from doing so.

Over the summer and into the fall, my attentions were directed in other directions besides the house. We raise a lot of our own food, and this takes time. There were other projects to complete and limited funds to spend on the house. So, there wasn't much progress on the house. I am hoping that this will change as we progress into next year. I've made arrangements that should allow some funds to be made available for the house. My goal is to be able to move in by Thanksgiving 2009. It's an ambitious plan, but we greatly desire to realize it. Arrangements are being made that will free me from some of the food-production responsibilities so that I may devote my time to house building. So, keep your eyes on the blog in the coming months. God willing, there will be a lot of activity and progress on the house in 2009.

Since house-building is not the only thing occupying my time, I have started another blog focused on some of the everyday adventures and activities that are part of our lives here on Cedar Ridge Farm. If you're interested, you can check it out at New Kentucky Homestead. My new blog will allow this one to remain specifically a house blog.