Do you have jobs? How do you work on the island?
Yes. We own a small company called
Common Craft. We produce animated educational videos that are used by educators to teach technology and related topics. The business is an online subscription service that gives us the freedom to work from almost anywhere. It helps, of course, that Orcas has fiber optic internet connections.
How can you do this?
We were fortunate to buy a home in Seattle in 2003, just as the city started to grow. We remodeled it significantly in 2010 and eventually sold it as we moved to the island.
Are you building the house yourselves?
No. We are working with an architect we’ve
known for years and a
builder on the island. We plan to work on the house in the future, when our limited skills can be more productive.
Where are you living during the construction?
We originally planned to live in a fifth-wheel trailer on the property during construction. A kind neighbor heard about our plans and offered a
guest house over their garage. We will probably live in the guest house for over a year.
When do you expect to move into the new house?
We hope to be in the house a year from now, in the fall of 2020. I plan to keep writing about the process until it’s done.
Where is the project today?
We have finished the excavation and are pouring the concrete foundation. Soon, the framing will begin and the house will start to take real shape.