I have a small business, I mean, really small. No partners, boards, employees, no office, just me. It is like the “atom” of the business universe, unable to be further reduced, split or simplified. It serves its purpose of providing my economic livelihood, with a simplistic ease. As with any business, the dollars and cents of it flow through a bank, my clearinghouse for income generated by my little enterprising atom. In technical terms I am a sole proprietor, cash accounting, a minimalist of capitalism. My simplistic approach to my business extended to banking, just the basics–a checking account to move dollars to and fro, with a savings account to accumulate the occasional bounty. All is handed over to a very gifted and thorough accountant. Credit was in the form of a credit card. The credit card is where my simple world became a lot more complicated. I have had credit cards from an early age. It took me till after college to truly understand the advantages and consequences of having credit and using it wisely. Mortgages, loans, and the other credit depending activities have been relatively painless to obtain despite being self-employed in the arts.

Then the banking crisis hit last year. I watched CNN and a host of others explain over and over the credit crisis we were going through. I heard what they were saying, but had no direct tangible evidence of the world of banksters and billions moving about like galaxies of which my atom was a smallest part, seemingly unaffected, until I went to buy a fancy new hard drive at my favorite retailer. Card declined is what Les said. My atom was about to have a bumpy ride through the universe.

The next call was with the bank, Wells Fargo. Four phone transfers and about an hour later I learned a new term, underutilization. It sounds like I am not using my credit card enough, but it really means that the bank is not seeing enough of a profit from my atoms credit activities. I was told the decision was final and that I was welcome to re-apply for a credit card. Surely this was some sort of glitch or error. I had used that card, paying off the balance every few months, occasionally using half the available balance, but sometimes not using it at all, and never late or over balance. My atom takes little to function. This was not what the bank wanted. I need to speak to someone in person, explain the situation, review my years of bank records, show them how happy and productive my little atom has been. I went to the local Wells Fargo Branch, with a plan. First I would request to close my accounts, to get their attention, and it did. I sat in a chair explained the situation to a young, professional banker, the reason for my unhappiness and pointed out the various qualities of my atom. He sympathized, and sincerely showed frustration over my account-closed situation, but could do nothing, except take it to a higher power, like a Cardinal of Disputes. I felt optimistic in the review of my case. I gave them til the following Monday to resolve the issue with my atoms’ credit card. I also gave the young banker another option, instead of closing my account, just cut the high credit limit they have given me back to my original credit amount, thus improving my utilization of balance verses available balance. Didn’t seem to take the Cardinal very long to decide…no. Back in the car and back to the Wells Fargo, I closed the accounts.

Chase Bank is where I had some of my personal accounts and on occasion they have solicited my business accounts, somebody wants my atom in their galaxy, feels good to be wanted. The fanfare for a new business account at Chase is full of choices and options, advantages and privileges and rewards, all explained with graphics and smiles. It started to remind me of buying a car or talking to an insurance or real estate agent, did they really want to help or just assimilate my atom? I explained what had happened over at Wells Fargo, and that I was looking for something elementally simple, checking, saving, and a credit card with a reasonable limit similar to what I originally had with Wells Fargo before they had upped it into the utilizationsphere. The young banker had bank speak down, “we will do our best to serve your needs”, “we want your business.” He stopped short of saying anything about the credit card, other than the need to fill out the application. Decisions, it seems are to be made not in the branch, but further up the banking food chain. I left with my temporary checks, fancy folder, pages of agreements, and the hope that soon, my atom would have its credit card back.

A week later I sat at the counter in my condo sorting the days mail. It was here, my shiny new credit card for my atom, not exactly. My new credit card had a limit of only $1,000.00, twenty-four percent interest, and was not a business card but another personal credit card. I decided the banking crisis was now trying to split my atom. I also received a letter from Wells Fargo informing me that they had cancelled my credit card, how timely.

What next for my atom? How can I get credit for my business when two, too-big-to-fail, banks said no? Several independent things seemed to line up for my answer. My accountant told me to look at non-profit banks, or credit unions. Huffington Post reported on the “Move your Money” movement. Basically, don’t put your money in big, too-big-to-fail, banks, but local banks and credit unions. It was time for my atom to take charge.

Call it providence, luck, or coincidence…the defunct taco place on the corner had morphed into a BECU (Boeing Employee Credit Union). It is an entirely different banking experience, and happily I felt I was never being sold anything. This is just what I needed, business checking and savings, and a credit card. Two weeks later I had all three in my hand, including a credit card with a reasonable interest and limits. My atom does have a place in the universe.

Bob Pennington is a freelance photographer and frequent contributor to Ecozome and Rhizome Images.
Photographs copyright Robert J. Pennington.

Last Thursday, January 21st, a panel of business leaders spoke at Antioch University to a full room of entrepreneurs, students, faculty and members of the business community. Each gave a great presentation on how their company is working to create social and environmental benefits through innovative practices.

NBIS presented the program as part of Antioch University’s Center for Creative Change series on Global Issues and Perspectives. Karl Ostrom, Co-director of the Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability (NBIS) moderated the discussion with Seattle-based executives from a variety of businesses with global footprints.

David Basson, CEO of Greensource Organic Clothing

Valerie Bone, Director of Quality/Corporate Social Responsibility, PMI

David Okrent, Brand Director for Environment for Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Dennis Gawlik, Faculty Member at Bainbridge Graduate Institute and Director of Purchasing Services for the University of Washington

After the presentations the panel joined in a discussion on what sustainability means to each of them. Questions were taken from an enthusiastic audience, and Antioch was pleased to see so many people stick around afterwards to converse with the speakers. It just makes you realize it’s how we harness people energy that will make the business world a better place.

Our holiday disaster was just last year, 2008. We drove through snowstorms from Seattle to Salt Lake City to get to our small 600 sq ft., 1-bedroom condo there. The condo was previously being used by my Mother-in-Law, who had recently gone into a living assisted home. This meant my husband and I would drive with all our tools and begin to renovate the kitchen and bathroom at the same time around the holidays. We had one week to do it.

We got there about a week before Christmas and the first thing we did was dissemble the kitchen cabinetry which had been there since the 70s and was in disrepair. Our routine was go-to-dump, visit with mom. Go to Home Depot-visit with mom. Go back to Home-Depot, visit with Mom. It was insane. We were not going to spend a fortune on this place but wanted it to look nice and be functional before we tried to sell it. We opted to go the IKEA route.

Now it should be said that when one opts to go the IKEA route, it is not just one trip to IKEA, it is always several. (Which as it happens is always located somewhere out in the sticks and takes about and hour to get to get to each way.) So we measured everything, ordered all the cabinets, picked up everything we could and what didn’t fit inside went on top of the racks on our Toyota RAV. There were about 4 trips made and the last one had us in a blizzard trying to get home via back streets as the top of the car was piled high. The straps were whistling and the noise of the ends flapping was maddening.

Now since we had torn everything out, we really had no place to sleep. Our bed was one small rectangle of clear space on the floor of the living room with the back of the refrigerator at our heads, and the stove at our feet since we had moved them out of the kitchen. We were boxed in on all sides with IKEA cabinet packaging.

In all the commotion, we wound up working on Christmas Day and had completely forgotten to go shopping for food the day before. (It’s not like we had any place to cook it or even store it.) Now Salt Lake is an interesting place to be on Christmas. With a mostly Mormon population, the entire city shuts down. No open grocery stores, mini-marts, nothing. Except a Thai and a couple of Chinese places. Unfortunately, I am supremely allergic to peanuts so that was not going to work.

We spent about an hour looking for open places to eat. We finally found the only place open that catered to all the heathens. A Kentucky Fried Chicken downtown. It was snowing pretty hard by the time we got down there and we thought, well how long could it take to get a bucket of chicken? Well apparently on X-Mas Day it takes almost 1 hour and they just couldn’t keep up with the orders fast enough. The merry sounds of screaming children, whining parents and every new hand held gaming device complete with obnoxious sound effects would send the likes of Perry Como over the edge. By the time we got out of there, there were 3 inches of snow on top of the car and the roads were icing up terribly.

When we got back to the condo, we sat on the floor with a table made from an upside down bucket and just looked at each other and shook our heads. I think I may have even cried. It was then we made the vow, not to ever do this again.

So here we are a year later, in the process of building a house and all we want for Christmas is a roof. However this year we’ll probably take a couple days off from building. The monkey learns just a little bit.

Since I’ve been writing about efficient alternative vehicles and recently with coverage of the November SEMA 2009 show, it’s probably only fair that I share some of our own auto choices. While purchasing a hybrid would surely be nice, it was not practical for us at the time nor affordable.

A few years ago before we started our house project, we asked ourselves, “do we need a pickup truck when we begin to build our house?” Seems like everyone we knew had one, but we just couldn’t afford it, and we needed a high mileage car for other reasons. Sure we could fit a lot more things in a pickup truck and get them to the job site easier, faster, and minimize the cost of having deliveries sent to the site, but where’s the fun in that?

Over the last few years I have come across a series of pictures of the strange things we have done to our poor 1998 Toyota Rav and 2005 Matrix. They have been filled with both the heaviest and lightest of items, carried bales of hay, stacks of cement blocks, bags of garbage and recyclables, been used as a short distance logging device and carrier for a few SIPS panels. There is even a platform set up on top of the Rav for Bob to photograph wildlife. The same rack was used to recreate a scene from an IKEA commercial by strapping large boxes to the top while listening to the straps whistle and thump for miles in the middle of a snowstorm in Utah. On one Whidbey trip, over twenty 3-inch pieces of electrical conduit were affixed on top and performed incredibly like a sinister organ as we traveled 45 mph down the road. More recently, I cinched a series of Styrofoam forms equaling a mass of 2’ x 4’ x 8’ ft. block and drove it from Seattle to Whidbey Island. I was convinced the car would lift off the ground and become a bad Disney Flying Nun/Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang moment. People tend to move out of your way, it’s amazing how that works.

So if you’re thinking about buying a big ass pickup truck before starting a big project, obviously it would be more helpful. But I say, cowboy-up, save some gas, look ridiculously like Jed Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies and stuff that little vehicle to the max. Be safe, cover your load, cinch tight, and embrace the embarrassment.
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The little trailer than can by Adventure Trailers. Notice the rollout solar pad on top of the tent

Reminiscent of an oversized Swiss Army knife that folds out into all kinds of useful tools, it was even hard to tell there was a little trailer sitting underneath everything. What really made the trailer attractive is its ability to follow a 4-wheel drive light-truck or SUV across some of the most treacherous terrain. It’s built tough with a unique trailing arm suspension system with air shocks that protects itself from coming apart on back country roads. Not only that, but it easily protects the fully loaded contents inside it.

The Eezi Awn Globe Trotter tent on top of the trailer model I saw was fully loaded with all the bells and whistles and while compact, it may set you back about $20K. Mario Donovan, an owner and the designer for Adventure Trailers described ordering a trailer much like a pizza. Get just the toppings you want or order it with “the works.”

Mr. Donovan also talked about his experience living in Africa, and I could see where one of these trailers would come in handy. Of course all I could think of was that a set up like this with a tent off the ground away from less than desirable critters and snakes would certainly make for a better night’s sleep.

Adventure Trailers are made to be custom ordered with the amenities you want

While not exactly less expensive or truly lightweight, when you compare the footprint of the trailer to that of larger campers or an RV, the amount saved in gas alone may be worth it. Beyond that, its flexibility to go into remote areas or leave the trailer behind as a base camp item makes it a great off-the-grid research, relief aid, or camping alternative.

To find out more about the different models of trailers visit their site at: www.adventuretrailers.com

This year at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (SEMA) 2009 show in Las Vegas, there seemed to be a great gathering of beautifully customized and enhanced Mustangs and Camaros. All I can say is, what Mustang or Camaro isn’t sexy with a body like that? But to most motorheads what makes a car sexy is what’s under the hood, and in some cases, what’s in the tank. So we thought we’d pick five of our favorite alternative fuel cars from elegant EVs and beefy biodiesels to hybrids with horsepower. And for you Birkenstock-wearin’-moss-growin’-between-the-toes-greenie folks, feel free to indulge some secret lust after these “husky pups,” as my Dad used to say. These independent builders are definitely on the right track to foster the kind of sustainable technology we need for the future.

Sexy is Classic – The 912 “911E” Porsche
This 1976 Porsche was modified and restored by Sunshine State Restorations. This little blue beauty is powered by a NetGain Warp11 series-wound DC Electric motor. The car offers up the classic refined Porsche style with a robust 280 volts/1000 amp lithium ion battery bank (85 x 3.3 volt/100 amp hour). Fast, furious, and fabulous.

1976 912 (911E) Electric Porsche--elegant outside and in.

Sexy is Muscle – The SS Chevelle Biodiesel
If muscle is more your style, check out this restored and rebuilt 1970 SS Chevelle with a modified 6.6 Duramax Diesel GM Engine by Pacific Performance Engineering. PPE calls the car remarkably easy to drive with about 20,000 proven miles on it. Painted metallic green with black racing stripes this buff body is pumped up with biodiesel and ready to flex some new greener biceps.

Modified 1970 SS Chevelle Biodiesel

Sexy is Beefy – The Pangaea Expeditions Land Rover Defender 110
This Land Rover is part of the Bio Bonatti Project by Pangaea and it’s setting out to prove that not all full-size SUVs need to be gas guzzlers. Starting with a military spec frame and drive train, the vehicle was built from the ground up with a focus on environmental responsibility. In fact the majority of this daily drive expedition vehicle was built using scrap parts. The fuel system was modified to run on a variety of fuels including diesel, biodiesel, synthetic diesel and waste vegetable oil. Of its many attributes, a Plant Drive Vegtherm heater allows the Land Rover to run waste vegetable oil below freezing and B100 (100% pure neat biodiesel, no diesel) down to about 20 degrees. What makes the Land Rover unique is the 1,600 mile round trip to SEMA from Colorado drove on a clean burning synthetic diesel/biodiesel blend. The company is hoping it will become a next-generation, completely sustainable biofuel. We love that this beefy off-road beast carries with it a low impact footprint.

Pangaea Bio Bonatti Project - Landrover Defender 110 Biodeisel

Sexy is Shocking – The “Big Green” Regen EV Shocks
Sometimes it’s not the outside of the car that’s sexy, but a unique feature that draws all the attention. Such is the case with Physics Lab’s Regen-EV-Shocks on their “Big Green” Chevy Blazer. The SUV uses its shocks to generate electricity to the battery from the up and down motion of the vehicle as it travels down the road. A former X-Prize contender, the company’s mission is to retrofit heavy vehicles like, Suburbans, Rams, F-150s, military vehicles and railcars with renewable, regenerative technology on electric drivetrains. Creator Jim Stansbury was there to demonstrate the technology by using a light bulb and volt meter attached to an EV shock. A handle extended and contracted the shock up and down to generate voltage that lit a lightbulb. And oh yeah, did we mention the Blazer also had a Wind Turbine Inlet underneath and a solar Thermal Collector on top?

Chevy Blazer with Regen EV Shocks

Sexy is Racy – American Le Mans Hybrid Racecar
This American Le Mans Zytek hybrid GZ09-SH by Corsa owner Steve Pruitt of Utah hopes to prove that hybrids make a whole lot of difference in the world of racing. The 4-liter gas engine/electric motor with a 70 lb battery translates into a bit more speed out of turns and less pit stops. With promising finishes against top competitors, the real race to watch is how this technology can turn the corner from the rigors of racing down to our lowly daily commutes.

American Le Mans Zytek hybrid GZ09-SH

Find more SEMA 2009 pictures at www.rhizomeimages.com

Today at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association (SEMA) 2009 show in Las Vegas, in the midst of some very sweet cars, parts and accessories, it’s easy to get sucked into the shiny beauty of gorgeous machines. An unveil by color master/designer Chip Foose and builder Peter Klutt on their Super Cuda collaboration was stunning. The guys from Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) and Ford rebuilding a 69′ Mustang live for the MTV crowd had all the right glam. But what was really disappointing was the fact that SEMA’s “Making Green Cool Zone” might have referred to the Siberian-like space it occupied at the back of the South Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center. This was a shame because this area was the most exciting in terms of design, innovative engineering, and new eco-friendly automotive products.

X PRIZE from Progressive Insurance Automotive was the key sponsor for the area and a selection of cars from competing teams adorned the area. The X PRIZE awards 10 million dollars in prizes to the teams that win a multi-stage competition for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 miles per gallon energy equivalent (MPGe).

Rick Woodbury in his Tango at the X Prize showcase

HP2g's 1987 Ford Mustang hybrid gets 110 MPG

Azhar Hussain on the new Mavizen TTX02 electric racing superbike

With all the great new ideas being set forth, it was unfortunate that the press conference background for some of these innovators was some leftover green cloth with an 18 x 24 inch sign with a tiny Making Green Cool logo on it. In one area all the other exhibitor cars were so closely put together, it was tough to maneuver around them. You just felt bad for these guys. Like they were put in a corner and told not to make a fuss.

Okay so maybe you don’t need big fancy graphics, but when some of the most innovative work in the automobile industry is not showcased with the enthusiasm it deserves, how are we ever going to expect people to get excited and on board with greener, smarter alternatives?

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Find more SEMA 2009 pictures at www.rhizomeimages.com

If you’ve recently picked up a newspaper, browsed through a magazine at the doctor’s office, or watched football games on the tube, you’ve no doubt run across ads or articles about green computing, or “virtualization” of computer systems. You may not have given this topic much thought, or maybe dismissed it as techno-geeky speak that doesn’t apply to you. However, the virtualization of computer technology can be an incredibly powerful tool for both your wallet and the planet, and it’s worth learning more about.

The web defines virtualization as “the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as an operating system, a server or desktop, a storage device, or network resources such as applications and shared folders.” But what does that really mean? In its simplest form, virtualization is taking one physical (real, you can touch it) machine and turning into two virtual machines. This is something like a picture-in-picture function on a TV, where the main picture is displayed on the full screen and one or more secondary channels are displayed in inset windows. If you are watching two different channels on the same TV, you only need one TV for the resources such as power and display.

Other services that help to “green” our computing include virtualizing computing resources over the internet—allowing you to use the internet to access resources that aren’t installed on your computer and could be halfway across the world. Here you pay for someone to provide you with all the resources you need to run your business without the large upfront investment for hardware and software.

How can virtualization help protect the environment?

Figure 1

• Reduced waste – If your company has 50 virtual servers running on 5 physical servers, when it comes time for replacement they are only throwing away, or recycling, 5 machines. This will help reduce computer waste that goes into our landfills. This concept also applies to the additional laptops, desktops and phones you will not need in a virtualized system.
• Use less power – 50 virtual servers running on 5 physical servers will only consume enough power to run 5 machines, not 50. This clearly benefits the environment by reducing energy consumption. Every opportunity for energy conservation eases the pressure on our power grids and reduces the need for more electricity generating facilities, such as additional substations, dams and power plants.
• Cut down on harmful emissions – Server environments tend to run hot and use a lot of cooling to make it run efficiently. If you generate less heat, you require less cooling and less power needed for that cooling. If you can work in a virtual environment from home, you would cut back on the emissions of your car and keep it running longer—further reducing waste.

How can virtualization save me money while increasing productivity?

Figure 2

If your company supports your working from home, they can save money on office space. And you personally can save time and money by skipping that hour long commute to the office, and log in right from home! Virtualization means that working from home or your business trip doesn’t interfere with your ability to get things done effectively and efficiently. If your boss needs you to revise a spreadsheet that’s on the company server and to print it on his printer, you can easily do this—from home, while traveling, or even from your phone while running an errand. Because with virtualization you can work from anywhere, any time, and from any device.

For you, this means more flexibility and productivity. And this technology is so secure that major insurance companies, medical records companies, and law firms are some of its main users, due to its reliability and secure firewalls.

As you can see, virtualization is not a gimmick but a real solution that can help companies of any size-—not 5 or 10 years down the road but right now, today.

Integral Consulting Inc. is a national science and engineering firm providing multidisciplinary services in the fields of health, environment, technology, and sustainability. We are a member of the NBIS sustainable business community and we look forward to sharing best practices and innovative solutions with you. To learn more or to share ideas, please contact DeJay Noy at Integral Consulting, dnoy@integral-corp.com, or 206.957.0350.

When you first start to think about building a house, you think in large sweeps. How you move about a space, what it should be made of and how it should breathe. A concrete floor, radiant heating system, energy efficient windows, doors and appliances, good room flow, the use of natural materials and for us a main structure made from SIPS (Structural Insulated Panel System). But then there’s a whole mess of stuff no one tells you about that finds you making decisions on the fly all the time.

The first big decision was how to dig our 400 ft. utility trench. Because we were going to pass through part of a wetland, the utility trench was restricted in width by the County. It had to hold our propane, phone, electrical and water. Since we could not lay each line out side by side, we had to separate them by having two on the top and two on the bottom. That meant hanging and pinning two of the lines on top to make the trench less wide.

Walking the trench from Jen Pennington on Vimeo.

Then there’s figuring out the cut and fill for the foundation pad. The top native soil had to be banked for future use. Sounds simple enough, but finding space accessible in the forest that was not in the wetland buffer was not so easy. Piles were placed on the East, North, and West sides of the house, above the setbacks. If you have to bring in fill, what type of fill gets used? Our local landscaping company supplied some County certified pit run for our low spots that came from just 3 miles away.

Then came the retaining wall. Before we could continue with the foundation pad, stumps in the back of the house and a dead tree I was trying to save as a wildlife snag were moved and placed elsewhere. Large boulders were brought in to start the wall because getting behind the house once the panels were up would be a problem. It became a series of dominoes before we could even start on foundation causing us more delays in the project.

Once all this was settled we were ready to move on to foundation forms. As luck would have it, our contractor Ted met Eldon at All Whidbey Topsoil. They were talking about what type of dirt and gravel would be needed to fill the inside of the stemwall cavity when Eldon noticed we hadn’t yet started the bottom footing form. He suggested we use a product called Form-A-Drain. It was the perfect solution for us since drainage was a big issue.

The Form-A-Drain is an eight-inch high channel about two inches wide that runs continuously around the perimeter of your building. It has slits in it that allows water to collect, run and exit through a drain-pipe on our south end that will eventually lead to a cistern. It’s made from 100% recycled pre- and post-consumer PVC, including common post-consumer containers such as shampoo bottles. Using it saved us the cost of wood forms and filling the stemwall cavity with very expensive gravel. Pea gravel was used up against the drain areas and landscaping cloth was placed on top of that. Then fill sand/dirt was used in the interior of that. It was an inexpensive solution, that was more functional and eco-friendly. Additionally, we did not have to disturb yet another area of soil in the back of the house to put in a curtain wall drain which was part of our original plan.

Ted called us immediately, completely excited by the idea. I’m not sure if the economy has anything to do with it or not, but Eldon gave us a great quote, and had two of his guys there to install it the next day. He even loaned us the use of his metal stakes. It took us completely by surprise and we couldn’t be happier.

At the heart of all this is what I think about a lot. How do other people do it? When people say they are building a green home, unless they are crazy enough to be part of the process everyday, my guess is most homeowners rely solely on their contractors or architects to make these decisions for them. And no matter how eco-friendly we try to be, we still struggle. To give credit, there are great builders who do know these things. But do most homeowners care or know how dirt on their site is moved in relation to building their house or do they only see the box on the hill? Are they willing to look beyond the myriad of eco-friendly interior finishes and scratch beneath the surface to uncover the most important connection a house has to its environment? The very ground it sits on.

Now that my husband Bob and I have built two small sheds and a 110 sq. ft cabin, it was time to take on the Big House. A term generally reserved for a jailhouse, the locked in feeling to this project both financially and physically has us doing two to five with some time off for good behavior. But first a checklist: Marriage intact…check. Costco size case of Ibuprofen handy…check…Constant overwhelming feeling of chaos and confusion…check.

Now that we had that sorted out, it was time to move some dirt around. The back of our house site has a slight grade to it. With the help of Jim Lux, our amazing Bobcat acrobat/landshaper, part of the slope was cut and brought down into the lower areas to flatten out the grade. (See Jim’s Bobcat Ballet video below). Big boulders were delivered, and Jim artfully placed them behind the house for the beginning of a retaining wall. We then got some fill to even it all out and a couple of weekends of renting a JBC front-end loader and dirt compactor from Double R and we did the rest. Most people think we are crazy to do this, and far be it for us to let them think otherwise. This is not for everyone. And most people hire it out which is way smarter. But then again digging is in my husband’s blood and part of his DNA makeup. His father was a mining engineer in West Virginia, Wyoming and Utah. He once made Bob help dig a swimming pool. But that’s another story.

As for me, I got good at the front-end loader. Must have been from watching Jim all those times. Never thought I’d say that or have a reason to. Then Bob and I would switch off and I’d walk around with the dirt compactor. Two-hundred-fifty pounds of a vibrating, shaking plate that compacts dirt in six to eight inch layers. While tedious, it is not that hard. My husband in his own charming way found the only bright spot about me using it had more to do with the jiggling movement of certain upper body parts. “Yeah, keep laughing clown boy, you won’t find many wives that will do this.” But hey, if it keeps him motivated, so be it.

After that was finished, we spent two days measuring out the foundation and setting pins in the ground. Then the batter boards were set in. We even used lime as opposed to spray paint to make our markings. When we were done it looked like some new field game played on a square court. We were now ready for the arrival of Uncle Ted, our builder and setting up the forms for the stemwall.

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Above: Images from the foundation pad in progress.