Just a Phase?

Maybe so, but it may be a phase that we are growing into rather than out of.

One might think that our return to a normal living situation would have spoiled us for the bus, but the opposite seems to be true: a year and a half of living in a small house has made me more appreciative of the bus than ever. When I write, hang out, or eat fondue in the bus, I feel at home. I am inclined to think that bus life may be something we will get better at throughout our lives.

Steve and I talk about what it would be like to move back in. We would move back to the bus with tricks and systems that we learned during our first two years. Perhaps we could make ideal situations that would make bus living even more comfortable and convenient into reality. Could we build a bathhouse/storage trailer? Or a trailer for Steve's tools? There's a double-decker bus parked in a car lot in Wenatchee that we drool over every time we drive by.

But, the first thing we would have to do is get the bus running again. We haven't been able to figure out what's wrong with it, so we will be calling a mechanic sometime soon.

Listen to the Goslings Snore

Goslings 1 and 2.

I'm writing this with two snoring goslings in my lap. Wfooo...eeeeep.....Wfooo....eeep.

Steve has been dying to have livestock of his own for a year or so. He wants goats, but settled for geese after making plans with the Guild's resident potter to build a duck hut by the Guild pond. Geese will, evidently, act as guard dogs for ducks, which is my only excuse for cuddling with them like puppies.

I didn't plan on getting attached, but who can resist baby geese who want to sleep in your lap, preferably with a hand over them. Needless to say, we aren't planning on eating these geese. They will produced some eggs, perhaps 40 per year, assuming at least one of them is female, but in reality they will be pets. I have a feeling that we will forever have difficulty raising our own meat, which  why I cut back sharply on meat consumption a year or so ago.

Still, over the winter I watched the last of the Guild chickens suffer through the cold, only to get eaten by coyotes. In that case, it would have been better in my book to have butchered them in the fall, since they were past their prime egg laying days. Would I have thought the same if I had raised those chickens from chicks?

Socializing the geese in the bus.

Conspire Magazine

If you are interested in faith, social justice, and environmental stewardship, you might like Conspire Magazine. It is put out by an intentional community in Philadelphia. I have an article about our bus coming out in Conspire next month.

Tire Gardens

It was a one-storm winter. After a harrowing December, snowfall has been moderate. And now it is time to think about the growing season. There is still snow on much of the Guild garden, but I have some action going on in my tire garden!

Mini-greenhouses made from tires, boards, plastic, and staples.

I doubt that vegetables grown in tires count as organic, but hey, at least I'm recycling. And, here in the mountains, I need something to lengthen the growing season. The tires are in one of the sunniest spots on campus, but since the soil is like a sand box, I had to fill them with potting mix.


My green onions are coming back and kale, cilantro, and lettuce have sprouted from seeds leftover from the fall. I planted spinach, radishes, and peas a couple of days ago and I expect to see sprouts soon. I wouldn't have minded a longer winter, but once the growing begins, I'm in favor of spring.

Six Things to Consider Before Moving into a School Bus, Part 6: What to do if You Move Out

You may get questions from friends and family about what you will do with your "white elephant" after you get over the "school bus phase." You can always say that you plan to live in you bus forever and for many of you that may be the case. On the other hand, we bought our bus from a couple who loved it, but needed more room for their two year old child. For some, a school bus could be a great first step before buying a piece of property. Once you have the property, you can live in the bus while building your locally sourced home.

If you do need to sell your bus, there are several online forums for doing so:

Skoolie
Tiny House Listings
Craigslist

Do remember that a converted school bus probably will not appreciate in value, but value will come from the joy your bus gives you. We wouldn't mind if we ended up giving our bus to someone in need of a home because our bus paid for itself two times over in the rent that we saved during the two years we lived in it full time.

And the unexpected can happen. As many of you will have read, Steve and I are currently living in a staff house at the Grunewald Guild. The bus is a guest house and studio, but we often dream of buying property and moving the bus to it. Life brings all kinds of twists and turns. There is no way to anticipate them all, just be ready to face whatever comes.

The Little Things

First, I want to thank those of you who have left encouraging comments over the last few days and weeks. Blogger is giving me trouble and won't allow me to post comments on my own posts, so I can't leave replies to each one. Let me say here: Thank you! I've needed the encouragement.

Next, I have some words from Wendell Berry. Steve bought The Unsettling of America for me for my birthday and I've been reading a little bit each night. Berry wrote the book in 1977 and it is interesting to see that in some ways the agricultural and ecological situation in this country has gotten worse, while in other ways it has improved.

For example, Berry says: "The first, and best know, hazard of the specialist system is that is produces specialists--people who are elaborately and expensively trained to one thing...Even worse, a system of specialization requires the abdication to specialists of various competences and responsibilities that were once personal and universal. Thus, the average--one is tempted to say, the ideal--American citizen now consigns the problem of food production to agriculturists and "agribusinessmen"...At suppertime he may eat a tray of ready-prepared food, which he and his wife (also a certified expert) procure at the cost only of money, transportation, and the pushing of a button."

Perhaps it is just the circle I run in, but I do not think that the ideal American citizen eats microwave dinners anymore. We know the importance of healthy, fresh eating. However, we still have a huge problem to overcome: time. We could grow gardens, bake bread, shop at the farmer's market, sprout beans and seeds, shop at the thrift store, mend clothes, raise chickens, and so on, but the time demanded of us at our "specialized" jobs is too much to allow for such food production and resource saving activities. Therefore, we have high-priced organic cafes and, yes, pre-packaged meals, to make us feel better about our choices.

Still, if we can even bake a few things for ourselves, patronize the farmer's market once a month, mend that favorite pair of jeans, and resist buying one luxury we know we don't need, we will have done something to change the tide. Even a change in our attitudes can begin to change our world.

Six Things to Consider Before Moving into a School Bus, Part 5: Are You Ready to Take the Heat?

When you live in a school bus, people make assumptions about you, good or bad. Some people will think you are extra cool, others will think you are a low-life responsibility shirker.  Most will think you are crazy. How will you respond to "society's" judgements?

Steve and I live an alternative life in a small mountain town. Steve is a cabinet maker, snow remover, deck builder, and handy-man. He dreams of building boats. I work at an art and faith community, garden, and write blog posts while working on a novel (that's something else everyone has an opinion on.) I love the life we have made for ourselves, but I am not immune to bouts of self-doubt and envy. Sometimes I wonder  if we can sustain our life style long term, and then I am gripped with a conviction that we must sustain it.

We live in a society that wants us to earn money so we can spend it on things we don't need. In fact, it doesn't want to us to get even the things we need without buying them with certified currency from an official job. How can we stand up to the pressure and live simply? What have you done to fight the tide?