A Castle in the Woods

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Our first task was to list our priorities and to make necessary purchases. The most important buys were a chain saw, a two-wheeled dolly, a small concrete mixer, a garden cultivator, and a kerosene refrigerator. (We'd already picked up a woodstove at a flea market in the city.) These and all of our other possessions, which the movers eventually brought to the foot of the mountain, were put into temporary storage under plastic sheets weighted down with stones.

As we cleared the forest and built—by hand—our house, we celebrated each achievement with a bottle of homemade wine. The following list defines a few of our most memorable days:

Relying upon a tripod of logs for a makeshift "derrick", we installed the entire pumping system in the well casing. Our first burst of accomplishment came when free, clean, cold, and delicious mountain water began gushing out of the hand pump. (Water Day!)

After a good bit of experimentation, we set up the kerosene refrigerator and actually got it to work. (Ice Cube Day! )

We dug trenches and installed pipes for sinks, a tile field, and the chemical toilet, which was later enclosed in a round, brick outhouse. (Privy Day?)

Using only hand tools, we dug the excavation for the house's foundation, lined it with bricks, and filled it with concrete and boulders. We used 45,000 bricks to raise the walls of the house... placing them three layers thick with two-inchwide air spaces between the layers for insulation. Even so, the cost was quite low and the results pleasing, though I'd never laid a brick before in my life!

By the end of the first summer, we were able to move into the first floor, which contains the kitchen, dining room, and living room. During the second year, we put a roof over our two upstairs bedrooms, which are reached by a circular stairway that's illuminated by my own stained glass window.

And of course, we celebrated Foundation Day, Beam Day, and—at long last—Roof Day!

A COUNTRY ESTATE

Within two short years, we were living in an elegant mini-castle. Our small country estate boasted a circular rose garden at the end of the drive ... fruit trees and grapevines ... a vegetable garden that produced fresh corn, cabbage, carrots, turnips, and other edibles ... and a brick gazebo topped by a sun deck, overlooking the garden, where we take tea. We use many homegrown and foraged food products and our meals must certainly be among the best in the world ... after all—as Joe instinctively knew—nothing compares with woodstove cooking!

In fact, we live in a grand style on a little over $200 a month! Of course, we have no electricity, no phone, and no television set ... but we don't miss those things: We also have no electric bill, no phone bill, no water bill, and no fuel bill. We owe no one!

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