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Six Sentence Story--Design

Photo: A wooden house emerges out of a Scotch-broom covered hill

The concept fit more neatly into Middle Earth, or perhaps into a future, more well-received environmentally-conscious age, but regardless of whether it was an old idea or cutting-edge, the point was that the House-Built-into-the-Hillside was a dream come true. The planning started well before the blueprints were drawn up, for in order for a passive-solar, underground home to work in cloudy Oregon, the slope and orientation of the hill had to be just right to maximize exposure to the sun. Once the perfect property was located, and the concrete slab was poured so the only exposed side of the house would receive the sun's rays, the outer shell of the house went up quickly. The family moved in prior to interior completion, but the home was abundantly filled with the most important ingredient--love--so what the house lacked in "finishing touches" (i.e., interior doors) provided personality rather than embarrassment. Even the teenager, who wasn't excited about moving away from friends, was excited to live in the unique home. The parents, whether unintentionally or by design, through the experience of dreaming, designing, building, and living in the hobbit house, taught the children important lessons which would last a lifetime.

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Linking up with Denise for this week's Six Sentence Story. Go over to her blog to check out the other entries and feel free to link up your own!

Comments

  1. What a lovely Six. Wonderful picture and your intro about fitting into Middle Earth - perfect. Of course now I have hobbits on the brain, lol. It's a very cool looking house. I too am all for passive solar and anything that leaves less of a footprint.

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    Replies
    1. My dad has always been a huge environmentalist. He was the teacher/adviser to a group of junior high school students who actually won (twice!) the national Keep America Beautiful competition back in the early 70's.

      The house is now finished, inside and out, and the landscape has dramatically changed. We pulled (and the goats ate) a lot of Scotch broom!

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  2. Great six. Sorry to check in so late. My fancy new phone won't let me comment on your posts. Had to fire UP the computer! If I gain any more weight and get any shorter I'll get drafted into Middle Earth!

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    Replies
    1. You weren't late at all. I know what you mean about having to fire up the computer to comment! There are worse things than being a hobbit! :-)

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  3. Hey, I think I recognize that house! I love your SSS!

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    1. It's changed a bit over the years, hasn't it? I don't think it would be visible from that angle anymore. It took some searching, but I finally found the photo I wanted to use!

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  4. Excellent story! If i could, i would enjoy a house like that.

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  5. What a cool six! There's a family in Nauvoo with an underground house. It was quite the talk of the town.

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