Conversation with interested reader

1. Have you continued to have a good experience with the house? Absolutely - I would never live in a "standard" house again!
2. Have you found that you are using significantly less fuel to heat your home while still remaining comfortable (of course, I can use significantly less fuel in my 190 year old house, but I have been VERY cold!)? We only use wood and a few hours of an electric space heater in the back bathroom. And the Tulikivi only needs to be fired once or twice a day which cuts way down on the amount of wood (and time).
3. Have you resolved the condensation issue? It is much better this winter - the only condensation we have had so far is a small amount on the windows if someone showers at night. No longer an issue.
4. Have you had any problems with leaking? No
5. Do you find that the windows drain a lot of heat at night during cold weather? And do you feel that you need to remedy this with insulated blinds or drapes? Are the windows double-glazed or triple-glazed? The windows are double - actually they are replacement panes for sliding doors. They obviously cool at night, but the concrete holds so much heat that we haven't seen much. We have installed some bamboo blinds for the intense sun on sunny days which makes it nearly impossible to read or work on the computer.
6. How comfortable is the house in the summer? Its fine. Did it get very hot? Not really - we have two attic fans during the day. At night we run the exhaust fans installed periodically through the house to bring in the cool air. Living in the foothills - there was only 1 night that I can recall last summer being overly warm at night.
7. Who was your contractor? A local builder - individual, not a firm. Did he have experience with building this type of home? None Who designed your house? We did.
8. Are you considering including your house in one of the solar home tours? Perhaps when it is finished.
9. And finally, would you do it all over again? Absolutely If so, what would you do differently? That's a hard one as we really love it. Ask me in another year or so.
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The First Loaf

David has been reading about baking bread. Ever since we returned from Germany, we have missed the artisan breads that are available in every town there. You just can't find the whole grains and crusty delights here.
Until today! Today, he tried a recipe he got from Mother Earth News for baking crusty bread in a dutch oven. And is it good. Probably won't do much for the Thanksgiving to Christmas diet, but really - who cares?
sharonbetts
bread

Passive Solar 1; Propane 0

Its November. The leaves have all dropped and we still have not needed any heat - as a matter of fact, I have had to open the window at night.

We have had nights below freezing, but enough sun during the day to warm everything up above 75 degrees. Dave did cut enough wood for the winter (it is in the garage) and the pile for next year is started too. But, so far no need. I am actually getting the urge to light the Tulikivi - but it has been too warm in here. Gotta love the sun.

With these shorter days comes thoughts of starting inside house finishing again. First on the agenda -- wood ceilings in the study and living / dining room. I also want to get that final kitchen cabinet made and hung now that we have a design. Then a little paint - and on to the tile floors that are still concrete. Time changes tomorrow night - that makes it dark during the evening news (or before). Ugh.

sharon+betts
passive+solar
Tulikivi

A great loss

This posting is for Sharon's mother, who we lost on September 18th. She would have celebrated her 81st birthday this December. There are no words for the hole in our lives left by this kind, gracious, generous, loving and downright impressive lady. Her loves in life were many with her family leading the way. She was so excited to see the postings of our home and the flowers in Maine. Here she was napping during her visit.