So before I get too far into the new developments with the bus, I think I need to clarify something first. Namely this: We aren't leaving yet.
Or for awhile.
It seems I accidentally gave the impression that our family is flying the coop for parts yet undecided in the next few months. And when people tell me that, I laugh. Not because I'm a jerk (though I'm sure I can be at times), but because it's just funny to me; the earliest we think we can leave is the summer of 2016. There's a few reasons for that, and since the Internet and I both like lists, here's another list. I'm going two for two here...
Research!
The best place to start is at the beginning. But when you're learning via the internet, you start somewhere in the middle, sort through reams of information, and assemble it into something you can learn from. There's definitely some great resources out there for learning how to turn a school bus into a skoolie (try here and here if you want to learn more), and we hope that in time this blog can serve as a valuable tool for others looking to learn. But you don't know what you don't know until you start looking, and boy, there's a lot we don't know yet. So we need to cobble together what we're learning into a cohesive plan for this bus, or we're doomed before we even start.
The hard truth of the matter is that we need to turn a bus, meant only for getting kids from Point A to Point B, into something that functions as a home for five people plus a dog. That means we need to learn how to integrate plumbing, power, and heat into our plans; we're learning about solar power, making our own composting toilet, how to run propane systems, and about the actual mechanics of the bus itself. There's a pretty steep learning curve for this...and we want to do it right the first time, since our time and money are at a premium. We can't afford to mess this up, so we better learn it right the first time.
Work!
The more research we do on this bus, the more we grasp just how much work it's gonna take til it's all done. (Side Note: I was going to write "til she's all done", because in my head the bus is definitely a she. But in deference to poor Nathaniel, the bus is a he. If he wasn't stuck in a houseful of women, I'd probably insist on naming the bus Mavis.) So while we're learning about solar power, plumbing, propane, et cetera, we also need to DO those things. Ourselves. Not totally by ourselves, though; we've got some awesome friends, including some who have offered to help wherever they can. But good things take time, and even with help and good planning this is still going to take a long time. The floor needs to come up, the wall and ceiling panels need to come down. Insulation must be added. Tanks - potable water, grey water, propane - need to be integrated. And then we need to custom build almost every bit of furniture going in. We're hoping to be done by next summer, but we realize that it could very likely take even longer. And we're okay with that.
Money!
Duh. Everything takes money, unfortunately. We're scouring the internet and local stores to find deals on what we need, and we're certainly not the types to turn up our noses at used items that work just as good for half the cost. I refuse to allow credit cards in this house, so that means we're paying for stuff as we go along. So right there we have a huge limit on when we can accomplish certain goals.
And last, but certainly not least...Drumroll, please!
Time!
Just as precious as money, and infinitely more so. Nathaniel works full time at a paying job, and I work full time here at home with the girlies. We simply don't have the time needed to turn this bus into a house in a few months. Winter's winding onward, and the days are slowly but surely getting longer. There's going to be more time to work on the bus as the days lengthen, but our girls are small; there's only so much I can do to help right now, and only so much time Nate can take away from the family. So we'll make time to work on it as much as possible, but it's still going to have to fit in around our schedule.
The last clarification I think needs to be made, is that we aren't planning on being nomads. We want to travel, yes. We want to have the flexibility with our work to leave our home base for periods of time, yes. We want to do the craft/art show thing, yes. But you can't homestead without a home. The bus affords us an insta-home whenever we find the right plot of ground for us, but it's not our permanent home. It's not even a home to migrate in. It's a starter home on wheels-slash-camper.
Ultimately, I think this is all about Home for us. It's the start of our search for a place that's ours, and creating a home that comes with us, wherever we finally end up. We've been telling people that the only thing that's certain is the bus is our starting point, and that's true. But we only mean our final destination - where we decide to put down roots - is in flux. We aren't 100% sure where we want to homestead, only that we want to do it, and this bus is where we start. We're praying, planning, and dreaming right now.
