Sorry to keep going but I'm excited to finally be able to share my experiences with
people on the same path! My neighbors were taking bets that I'd never finish or it wouldn't work, HAH!
To all of you planning or building if you haven't considered or decided on an exterior earth plaster I say go for it! We live in Vermont and just experienced the snowiest winter in ages and a super wet spring and with our overhangs (around 30") our plaster is absotootely 100% FINE. It's been hit very little by moisture and even in the driving snow/rain the one wall that got hit is totally fine, no erosion. Earth plaster is so much fun to play/work with and there is NO gloves needed and it is the least
energy intensive of all the plasters.
Whatever you decide is what will be right for you and whenever you have decisions to make while in the building process my advice is to always go with what your "gut" is telling you. There were several times I listened to so called "experts" in different fields where I listened to them and REGRETTED it because they weren't familiar with straw bale building.
Have fun!