Thank God I'm a workin' man!

This picture is almost the most up to date view of the workshop from the east side. I have since sprayed a layer of cement on the bottom three feet as a starter for the stucco. Today I finished the foundation concrete, and started taking the pump fittings apart in preparation to fill the water tank. I kind of stopped half way, since I was tired, and it was supper. Unfortunately, we'll have no water until I finish, which will hopefully be tomorrow : )

It is now quite late in the year, and time is just zooming by! It always does when I'm busy, which is good and bad at the same time. Good, because the very cold winter months will also seem to zoom by, and bad because I'm just not ready for winter! : (

Well, update to our battle with the county people with regards to this second residence...
I will be filing an appeal tomorrow, which costs $300, but we'll get it back when we win. I say "when" because we ARE going to win. The councillor that made the decision admitted to me that they only refused it because we moved the trailers out here BEFORE making the application!
Then, I asked him if it was illegal to have a trailer parked on your own land, and he said "no". I don't think this guy knows anything about law.

I mentioned in a conversation that I was THINKING of making a request when the workshop is finished to live in it for a little bit while we build the house proper. I actually just asked him what he thought of it as an option, and he (the councillor) seemed horrified, or something like horror. Not receptive at all.

Several days later, I had a visit from Permit Pro (building inspectors), and he asked me what I was building. I told him it was a WORKSHOP, not a house. He seemed confused, and left. I phoned the county Development officer, who told me that he was there to look at my workshop, because I had mentioned the idea to live in it! No one called me to ask if it was ok, he just showed up! I wrote a very firm letter to this Councilor, reminding him that this communication problem was the very reason they refused our application in the first place! Now he's sending people over here without so much as a phone call, email or letter, and I'm just supposed to be ok with that?

I've been very seriously looking at the idea of staying in a "Yurt" while we build our proper home. I would only pursue that option if the workshop conversion was a no-go. A yurt is basically a very sophisticated tent, heavily insulated, placed on a subfloor. It has glass windows, doors, and electrical outlets. A woodstove can be placed in the centre, which will heat the entire this with no issues. The only person who isn't keen on the idea is my wife, who immediately heard "living in a tent", and got a little freaked...so I'd need a little bit more research before I could really convince her that it's a good idea. The best thing about a Yurt is that it can be set up in two days with minimal tools! Lack of time is an issue with most things around here, second only to lack of money : )

Anyway, more pics to follow when I get more bales in the walls. I only need to finish some more box beams, wait for the concrete to set, and start putting bales in! I should have a completely closed in workshop in about 5 more "working" days. Those are my days off, so realistically, it won't be until mid-November till it's actually ready.