So Here we are. Hard to believe its been 3-1/2 years since we took the plunge. Life here is amazing and the only regret I have is waiting so long to do it. I just read the entire thread again and all I can say is "WOW". The buildings are gone and have been replaced by a 768 sf 2 bedroom cottage. I was building it as a workshop but as we got going on it I realized the $440 a month I was paying for my building was better suited for other things. Marquita and Norman couldn't take the climate here and returned to South Carolina so now it's just Me, my sister, her husband and my mother. The cottage is plenty for us while we build the house. We have started construction on a 2300sf "U" shaped house with a closed in courtyard. Hoping to have it done by next winter. We upgraded our power system a bit. We now have 4000 watts of panels, 2 Outback FlexMax80 charge controllers, a 1600AH 24v battery, 2 1600w Wind turbines and another I still haven't put up. I replaced the 5000 watt modified sine iinverter with an Ames 4000/12000 watt pure sine inverter/charger after learning the modified was the likely cause for the chest freezer and the refrigerator failing. It's nice to be able to fire the generator up to charge the battery on those few occasions when they get low. We put in a 1550 gallon water tank and an on demand pump. I love having running water and a real shower but I do miss my outside shower in the summertime lol. This year we have been working on diverting the runoff from our sometimes heavy rains. 6 weeks ago we got a taste of just how much water we could get when a storm dug a hole 15 feet long, 8 feet wide and 5 feet deep at the bottom of my main driveway. You called that one for sure Tyler. I have a friend with the equipment to do the earth works we need to start slowing it down and putting it where we want it so this spring we will be working on the swales and berms and a little project we have planned to catch a lot of it and pump it into a 50,000 gal cistern. We have been prepping an acre for the garden for 2 years now and this spring we will start growing a lot of our food. The lack of good soil has been a challenge but I think we have it whipped now. Guess we will find out soon enough lol. When we started working on it 2 years ago, you couldn't push a piece of rebar more than a few inches down. Now we can go down a foot with very little effort so I think its ready for planting. Sis is still hounding me for a few goats but we did add 16 hens and a rooster and waiting for the spring to order turkeys and rabbits. It is a long slow process but we are getting there. I have many of you to thank for where we are now. I honestly believe that the most important tool in my arsenal has been this forum and its amazing members.
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