While we await the eventual conclusion of our battle against the builder who delayed my project and stole my money – in fact, intentionally defrauded me out of money – let me keep this blog, and the dream, alive.

First, an update.  The original plan has been shelved.  If and when we do build the house it will be a bit smaller and even better thought out.  In some ways, the whole imbroglio might even prove to be a boon.  By sinking my original plan, and reducing the means at my disposal to get it accomplished, I may end up back on the original track and maybe better off for it.  Assuming, that is, that I do win some of my money back.

All is not lost.  Rather than embarking on the large project now, we will take on smaller ones.  There are other improvements we can do out on the land, and there are other things now afoot.  By which I mean the temporary resolution of the dilemma of living quarters.

When we started this project our hope was that we would be living in the back of the gallery for some 6 months or so.  Keeping in mind that we started on the house in July, and moved into the gallery in November, you can do the math and see that we hoped that the new place would be at least finished enough for habitation by May.  Of course, we realized that some delays might be expected, but we also anticipated living in the house while the finish work was still being done: all the earth plaster, probably the kitchen cabinets, and the installation of the final doors.   And obviously any landscaping that we might decide to do, though these would be minimal in any event.

With 8 months past and zero progress on the house, and the looming legal battle needing to be resolved before we can even consider starting on it, it has become abundantly clear that we need other arrangements aside from living in the gallery.  With the two of us, the two dogs and the fact that it is a one-room with bath but without kitchen, things have been feeling a little tight.  There is also the fact that we had planned on converting the rear of the gallery into additional gallery/retail space by the time the summer season (and the hordes of tourists) starts.  That, at least, had always been the plan.

So we’ve had our eyes out for other accommodations with the hope that we could find a cheap place nearby that we could use as housing for a year or two while everything else gets resolved.  After that time, we might sell such a place, or rent it out, or do whatever with it.

We had a couple of leads that did not pan out because they were already off the market by the time we got to them.  Then we heard a rumor that one of the older cabins was coming on the market at a reasonable price and we tracked down the agent before the sign could be posted.  The story gets a bit long from there, but it looks likely that we will soon be in possession of a 500 sq ft cabin just a couple of minutes walk from the gallery which will become our living space until we’ve decided if we are to proceed with the project on the land.   It could very well be that we decide to do something entirely different altogether but for now we will have a somewhat larger base from which to weigh our options.

The cabin is in bad shape, but it is habitable.  We will renovate parts of it even before we spend a night in it and hope that that does not take more than 6 weeks from time of purchase.

So that’s where we are.   As we get closer to buying the cabin and it looks likely that that will, indeed, go through, then I will post a photo or two and start a period of blogging about that rather than the main topic at hand.

After 7 months of almost no progress, no estimate for the cost of my project, no statement of my account, and being kept out of the loop, I finally demanded an update on everything and discovered that my money was being wasted through double charges and unfathomable costs.  I ordered a stop to everything and decided to terminate my contract.  

I would like to end this whole thing amicably, even forfeiting money that I am clearly owed, just to get away from this fellow and his scheming but it seems that he wants to get everything he can out of me.  He has even threatened to seek damages from me if I cause him any trouble – in an obvious attempt to scare me into accepting more pain.

I will go to court if I have to, but if so I will seek what I am owed and won’t settle in the manner that I offered to him.

All this mess is why I have not been posting.

So now I have to reconsider the whole thing.  As of this writing I am most likely to go back to the original plan: the building of a small casita – a guest house if you will – that can serve as a shelter if we get lucky enough to sell our former B&B.   The main house will be something different if we do decide to build it at all. 

I will continue to post, I will continue to build something out of straw bale…  but now I will go back to only trusting myself to run this whole thing.  If I need extra help, I will be the contractor. 

But it’s back to me, and back to square one.