The pix of my friend’s historic barn-turned-modern Wichita home, plus this month’s Mother Earth News and the feature “Inspiring Handmade Homes” had me thinking a lot about the traditional and nontraditional roofs I’ve had over my head.
When I was a kid, I thought it was cool to live in tents or in tent communities while my dad was off tree trimming or tree planting in Colorado and Wyoming.
My favorite traditional house growing up was in a San Juan Capistrano community. Why my favorite? We had a community pool.
My favorite nontraditional house? It’s a toss up.
This one ended up being a close second:
It was a greenhouse and was still standing, though in disrepair, about five years ago when I took the iFarmer and Future Farmboy for a visit.
Pictured here is my “godfather” Frank Walker and Ukiah. Photo by Hoosier Outsider.
My favorite though was this beauty:
I helped mix the adobe with my bare feet. I also built my own mini wood forms to craft and sun bake bricks for a Barbie-sized adobe. I think that’s Hoosier Outsider in the above pic.
I never saw it in this form, with its second floor. We lived in the library while the rest of the house was under construction. And it burned down after my father moved out and before I could see it completed.
I’m going to have to take the kids to the area soon. They can’t quite grasp what it’s like to live with and sweep dirt floors.
Virtual Farmgirl 