You know how you always get asked that as an ice breaker?
Some people just bang right on it. They can always think of something. They can turn their tongue inside out or they were downhill skiing national champions in college.
Me? I end up sitting there trying to come up with something unusual that isn’t down right odd (certain food combinations) or too much information (no on needs to know about my underwear) and I usually end up muttering something about Tudor England, the subject of my Master’s.
Which always makes people who do know me in real life roll their eyes and exclaim something like “Jesus Stacey! That’s it? That’s all you can come up with? What about your house?”
Which. um. yeah…my house. But see, it’s *my* house & it’s normal to me. It’s just my house you know. Yeah it’s sort of out in the middle of nowhere but apart from that, it’s a house. I never give it much thought unless prompted to do so.
But ok, it is odd. This is the back view.
and side views
and the front view
It’s an underground home. Also known as earth bermed or earth sheltered. It was build by hippies, who we firmly believe were stoned most of the time (and you would too if you ever tried to find a stud or understand the wiring in this house), in 1978. We bought it in 1997 from the second owners.
I suppose it is unusual, but after 13 years it’s just my house.
I only remember it’s unusual when I get notes from the boys’ teachers asking why they claim we only have one window in the whole house or when I try to give directions to people who never have been here “If you see a house from the driveway you are in the wrong place. You will not see the house from the driveway or anywhere else. Ever.”
That metal tower sticking up in the first photo is a 75 foot eyesore that brings me my internet.
So I love that eyesore & there is nothing odd or unusual about it. It’s WONDERFUL! Though granted, many people are not blessed to have such a wonderful eyesore on their roof.
The building in the background of the top photo is the barn. Though really it’s not a barn, it’s a two story shed DH uses for his projects but it looks barn like.
We do mow our roof. Its sod over about 12 inches of dirt, over a gigantic pond liner, over plywood, over massively over engineered trusses & supports. Technically you can drive a small car over my roof.
No one will ever attempt that in my lifetime however.
Sometimes DH feels ballsy & drives the Kubota tractor over it to mow but usually he drags out the 20 year old barely functioning push mower for that.
No one wants to have that conversation with the homeowners insurance people.
“Your roof collapsed why?
“The Kubota fell in it”
“The Kubota? You mean there was a tractor on your roof?”
”Yeah.”
“How did the tractor get there?”
“We drove it up the side of course. How else?”
“And you did this why?”
“To mow the roof. Why else drive the tractor on it?”
“Hey Sam!!! Lunatic on line one!! You have GOT to hear this!”
And just TRY reporting stray goats on your roof to animal control.
So yeah, that is something unusual about me.
It always generates questions so please leave any you have in the comments and I’ll try to answer them later this week. Tomorrow I’ll share the interior and some of it’s peculiarities.
