Fredley Home Designer

If you are interested in an amazingly creative designer and builder, we wholeheartedly recommend,

dbBrad

360 920 8280

 brad@dbbrad.com

Attention to Detail

One can admire our home, without seeing the details.  Details that are deliberately, carefully and brilliantly carried out, with skill and outstanding workmanship.  The materials used were  recycled from old growth lumber.  To not see this home as durable, living art, is missing it's beauty and craftsmanship.    It is sustainability in action.  We often say, "we are living in art", art that will live on and on and on...

Bedroom floor is created with  the milled spruce flooring grooved and slid onto metal strips.  The metal strips are attached to the subflooring, with no nail or screw attachments in the wood itself. 

Seamlessly metal meets old recycled timbers, which meet old recycled spruce.

Joinery is strong, beautiful and skillfully incorporated into all parts of this home.

Ceteis Paribis

I must admit to being confused.  When I calculate my footprint on the earth, based on a number of on line formulas, the criteria consists of things like eating locally and organically; driving little and in a small car, or better using public transportation; purchasing energy efficient appliances; using efficient light bulbs; and turning off lights and turning down the heat.  Ok that all makes sense.  But what about space.  No questions, in the sites I consulted, is square footage included.  How big is the space I heat or light or that occupies the land?   How many lights do I have to turn off since my space is small?  If I only have a  few lights in a small space, but fail to turn them off all the time when not in use, is that worse than having dozens of lights all the time, but always turn them off when not in use?  It seems strange to me that size is not factored in.

Right now we live in a very small home of 870 square feet, yet the questions do not address the size of our home.  

Our big living but very small home of 870 square feet.

Then, when I fill out the same questions about the 100 square foot van we plan on living in full time, I get worse results because my answers are mostly the same but miles driven increase and our windows are not double pane.

Sprinter Airstream Westfalia

Ceteis paribis, every thing else being equal, square footage must make a difference.  There's an elephant in the room -- square footage.  Why are we not addressing how large we live?  Am I really to believe that my good or bad habits of such things as turning off the lights or replacing my light bulbs determines my foot print with no consideration to how large I live?

For Sale

Our beautiful home is for sale.  It's with a heavy heart on the one hand but with excitement and glee on the other.  We will be doing an ultimate downsizing and move into our new 2005 Sprinter Airstream Westfalia van to travel North America.  Click Thistle Adventure to follow our adventure.

Here are a a few photographs of our green home on Whidbey Island, located in the town of Langley, WA.  It is situated on 1/3 acre, fully landscaped with vegetable garden, pond, stream and a mixture of native plantings and ornamental plantings.  If you're a bird enthusiast you will enjoy the vast numbers and varieties of birds visiting the garden.  The three buildings were built by dbBrad using recycled materials.  

carport with office, laundry, bath, storage and workshop

main living and bedroom wing overlooking pond

pond and water catchment system

bed/bath building overlooking pond

bridge from bedroom to living area

west side garden

patio

dining/kitchen

living room

view from bath into bedroom, past library

If you are interested please call Amy Raymond, 206 396 7016, or Shellie Moore, 206 391 1087 at Windermere Real Estate in Langley, Washington.   MSL# 657 460  Offered at $600,000.

New Gate

Our home has a new entry gate showcasing another fabulously creative design by dbbrad.

Mr. Ed looks dwarfed

Fredley Recycling Continues

The lumber left over from the Fredley project has been stored in our barn, but it's now moving on to its new home in Clinton.

Brad loading his truck with recycled beams

As always the load is bigger, longer, heavier than the truck hauling it!

The Fredley construction tent is now Brad's construction tent.  The left over recycled lumber is now residing, once again in the tent,  in Clinton, awaiting the development of Brad's property.

Yessi, Brad & Benton filling up the construction tent

Wow!

Wow! is right!  It's been almost a year since I've posted on Fredley on Whidbey.  I've been doing my blogging on Home on Whidbey instead.  

Brad finished up 2012 with 5000 miles of hiking under his belt and a wonderful relationship developing with Yessi from Xiamen, China, the woman he trekked the Annapurna Circuit with at the end of last year (and my last post on this blog).

Yessi & Brad, Annapurna Circuit

In the spring Yessi came to the U.S. for four months to hike with Brad as he recorded trail miles and conditions for Green Trail Maps.  They started their adventure with a motorcycle trip to California; joining fellow 2012 thru-hikers at the 2013 PCT kickoff party; and then hiking Big Sur. 

Yessi & Brad, California

Brad & Yessi's mode of transportation through Washington, Oregon & California 

A sweet little cottage on Whidbey Island was their summer retreat between northwest hiking trips to the Olympics, Cascades,  Mt. Rainier and Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Brad & Yessi, Mt. Rainier

Then Yessi returned to China and we all mourned her absence. But, woohoo, she returned in two months and she's here still and we're delighted!

Yessi & Brad

  

In the meantime, Ed and Fran are traveling to Cuenca, Ecuador in January to check it out for four weeks in anticipation of moving there permanently in the spring of 2013. 

Fran, Ed & Benton in Garden on Grace

We wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season!

“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings,

 all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white’.” 

~ Bing Crosby ~

Home Coming!

Tomorrow morning (December 25, 2012) we pick Brad up at Sea-Tac.  He is returning, on Christmas Day, from China and an Annapurna Circuit trek.  Yessi returns to Xiamen, her home.  From Brad and Yessi's smiling faces and the beautiful mountains, I can only conclude they are having a fabulously good time.

Tomorrow we'll hear the details.  I so very much am looking forward to seeing Brad.  

Happy holidays to all of you dear friends and family and unknown followers of this blog.  Peace!

Brad & Yessi and THE mountains!

Yessi

Brad

Yessi

Annapurna Circuit -- One last Trek in 2012!

2012, a year of  life-changing adventures:   First, Brad tramped the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand, then he hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in the US, and now he's trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.  He's hoping to put 5,000 miles on his walking feet before year's end.

Brad travelled to China in November to visit a friend, Yessi, sightsee in China and take care of some medical needs -- mostly getting much-needed dental work tended to.  The quote for the dental work in the US that  he needed was $5500.  Yessi researched dental work in Xiamen, her home, and discovered he could have the same work, plus more, done for $1100.  The difference paid for the trip and is rounding out Brad's 2012 year with one final thru-hike.

Brad and Yessi touring the Hong Kong area:

Yessi & Brad

View of Hong Kong from hotel room

Hong Kong street scene

Brad & Yessi sightseeing in Hong Kong

B & B

Brad visiting Yessi's family in Xiemen, China:

Yessi and her mom provide spreads like this three times a day

Yessi and her family -- mom, nieces, sister-in-law and brother

Xiamen:

Xiamen 

Xiamen

Arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal:

Brad and Yessi at Kathmandu Airport

Experiencing Kathmandu:

PCT Finish!

Freestyle completed the PCT from Mexico to Manning B.C

Congratulations Brad!!!

PCT Finish - 2012!

Freestyle on the PCT, 2012

Freestyle at 2500 PCT miles

.

PCT into Washington

Brad has returned "home".  Well, not really, but he's back in Washington after 10 months in NZ, California and Oregon, hiking, hiking, hiking.  First he completed the Te Araroa Trail in NZ and then the California and Oregon sections of the Pacific Crest Trail.  Crossing the Bridge of the Gods yesterday put him back on home soil, back on the soil of his birth.  He's now hiking in Washington and plans to finish the Washington Section in early October.

Via skype and chat and e-mail and telephone I've been able to "travel" along with him.  He's blogged his journey and I've blogged his journey.  The double perspective of Brad's direct experiences and a mom's experiences through photographs, research and the occasional direct contacts, has been fun and enlightening.   I have felt pride, envy, love, loss, fear, worry, and happiness.  A son's growth, resolve,  and self-examination forces the same in a mother.  

As Brad's trip has unfolded, I've needed to continue to use the different names he's taken on.  Before he left he was Brad to me, his family, and his local friends, but his business was dbBrad.  Once he got to New Zealand he called himself dbBrad and so did all of his NZ hiking companions.  Then on the PCT his trail name became Freestyle so all his PCT friends call him Freestyle.   I find myself moving from Brad to dbBrad to Freestyle with more ease than I thought possible.

Brad, dbBrad, Freestyle

One of the happy results of spending almost a year alone, or with contemplative hiking companions, in beautiful new territory is self-examination.  In this self-examination, Brad has reached a desire to return the gifts of the trail.  He is wanting to raise money for exercise's contribution to health so selected a fund raising goal of $10,000 to be given to The American Heart Association and the Pacific Crest Trail.  Please, dear friends and family, go to Heart on the Trail, and help Brad or is it dbBrad or is it Freestyle, reach his goal.

Hiking for Health ~ Get your Heart on the Trail

PCT into Oregon

The PCT unfolds on dbBrad's blog and Home on Whidbey's blog, if you want more details.  Fredley on Whidbey is hitting highlights only and Crater Lake is always a highlight  for everyone, Freestyle included.  For the most part Freestyle is anxious to complete Oregon.  It's mostly easy trails through forests and Freestyle much prefers challenging trails high above tree line.  California starred in the high elevations with the steep and difficult trails Brad loves.  Washington does too, as he knows, having done much of the Washington PCT in 2011.

Sisters, OR was Freestyle's stopping point yesterday. September 1, 2012.  He expects to be at Chinook Pass in two weeks.

Crater Lake, Oregon

Freestyle (aka Brad) on top of the world at Crater Lake

PCT South to PCT Central

Another transition happened today with Brad crossing from California's Southern PCT to the Central PCT.  He's traveled from predominately the hot and dry desert to the high Sierras.  From very hot to the strong possibility of snow in the land of the giant trees and mountains plus the extremes in elevation and weather.  The rattlesnakes will be consistent but the bears a bigger problem.  Bob cats, mountain lions, coyote and fox could be sighted. 

I've heard about the Pacific Crest Trail for years and years, and with a great deal of interest have noted the trail signs from time-to-time when I've been in the mountains.  But, I must admit, I never really focused on the "crest" part of the trail name.  Now that I'm looking at a PCT map daily, the meaning of "crest" is being driven home.  The trail does go through the desert, but on the crest not the flat, and so the trail continues on the crest all the way through California, Oregon and Washington.

trail overview

What a national treasure we have and how lucky we are that the PCT travels through our state and from tip-to-tip of our beautiful Pacific coast.

PCT - Another Day; Another Trail!

Brad checks out the Pacific Crest Trail from the PCT monument at the Mexican border as he prepares to start hiking.

Brad 5/5/12