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In 1983, I was thirty years old, the mother of five and half-way out the door. For five years, we'd been living in a 600/s.f. cinder-block barn with no running hot water and outdoor toilet facilities. After Neal was born, my inlaws gave my husband a 5-acre living-trust inheritance and I began designing my dream home. I was obsessed with Bucky Fuller at the time and my first design was a geodesic dome which gave my husband a headache.
After some discussion, I became a member of the The Log Home Builder's Association of North America and took a weekend class from the founder, Skip Ellsworth, in Monroe, Washington. According to Skip's site, he happily winters "on a beautiful tropical island in the Philippines" these days. I especially loved the monthly members potlucks and all that yummy valley food.
We started construction on the log house in 1986 with hand-felled douglas fir and a 55-foot ridgepole. Two years and another baby later, we still weren't finished with the house but we were with our marriage. I never had a chance to live in my dream home but I did stay there overnight a few times during our divorce. My husband continued to live there and the children spent their visitations in the home I intended for them.
In 1993, my husband rented the house out to a production company for a few months and they shot an American Playhouse movie based on "The Beans of Eqypt, Maine" by Carolyn Chute. The film was considered too mature for PBS and was later released on video as "Forbidden Choices," starring Rutger Hauer, Martha Plimpton and a handful of my neices and nephews ... those Zucati babies!
Unfortunately, my ex-husband died in 1994 and the house and property were sold, adding to my childrens' trust fund. I haven't seen the house since its new ownership, but I hear they've finished the place in an honorable fashion. In my heart, I know I'll do this again ... build a cabin from my heart ... and maybe I'll get to live in it this time.
Since we officially begain buiding our log house in 1985, by falling the wall and support logs, this seems like an appropriate moment to update. I've come across a few more photos and have a better scanner these days. You'll likely remember the clan we built this house for: the Zucati kids. This photo was taken in the hole we cut in the log wall for the front door. Top row: Annie, left; Neal, middle, Sara, right. Bottom row: Kirsten, left; Merri, right; Ziggy on Merri's lap. Below are some thumbnails [click to enlarge] to give you an idea how much time has gone by and what they look like now.
Annie is married, the mother of Ian and Amber, and expecting her third child in a few months; Neal is still single and the father of Kenpo Kenny; Sara is a young widow, the mother of Elyja and my gracious roommate; Kirsten is married, the father of five girls and Uncle Sam's Red-headed Step-Child personified; Merri is married, the mother of Raven and a moderately successful DJ for an online Industrial Radio station; Ziggy is currently living in Alaska with Kirsten and finishing up school before he strikes out on his chosen path. Of all my children, Ziggy is the most like me, philisophically. If I had to chose a building partner, and if he was willing to learn Skip's style of log home building, it would be Ezekiel [Ziggy] Dan.
I've been thinking alot about building another log home. My first project was designed for a family of eight so I'd be scaling it down a bit. When I finish my new set of plans, I'll post them on a new page, same with pics of the model I'll build. Whether or not the cabin becomes real depends on several variables: rebuilding my health and strength, finding free land to build on, and gathering the necessary tools and equipment. Thanks to Skip Ellsworth and the Log Home Builders Association of North America, I have all the expertise I need to build my cabin, by myself, from scratch.
The reason I specify free building land is because I don't believe in land ownership. I've tried it before and it has turned to disaster each time. My spiritual/philisophical viewpoint is that we are merely passing through this existence and the Universe always provides everything we need. It's our wants that get in the way. We WANT what isn't ours to have, sometimes. I've learned other lessons on life's path from some very unlikely individuals.
One of my teachers was my son-in-law, John. He was a remarkable if troubled soul that came into our lives when he and Sara were in Job Corp together. She would often bring various corp-mates home for the holidays and John was a frequent visitor. I loved his humor and intensity about the things that brought him both joy and pain in his life. He played the sax and was a Karate Blackbelt.
Sara and John were married and lived in Oregon for a while before John joined the Navy, mostly for financial security and the baby they were planning. Sara was planning to move to the Everett Navy family housing but her husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver as he walked home from a San Diego bar one night. Our loss is great but our gratitude is greater for having known John in this lifetime. Recently, I came across one of John's books from his training days. The book was written by Jesse R. Glover in 1976; Jesse was Bruce Lee's first student and assistant instructor.
I met Skip Ellsworth when my late husband and I took his weekend seminar in 1983. I didn't really appreciate Skip's standing in the Pacific Northwest community, either as an instructor or as a martial artist. I enjoyed watching his kids dart around and I had a sense that there was alot about Skip that I'd like to know if I had the chance. Well, I really didn't. I was too timid to approach Skip on a personal level and more than a little in awe of him. Face it, I was a little afraid of him :)
Very recently, I recieved an email from Skip's son, Ellsworth, inviting me to attend the next alumni potluck at the school in Monroe:
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2005 From: Ellsworth at loghomebuildersdotorg To: technohippie at mywaydotcom Subject: Invitation from Log Home Builders Association Hello Judy, My name is Ellsworth, I'm one of Skip's sons :) I came across your website today while surfing google and I enjoyed reading about your experiences. In case you hadn't heard, Skip has retired to the Philippines. The Association is still around and going strong though. Myself, and a good friend Steve White, have taken over teaching and running the Association. When I read how much you enjoyed the monthly meetings I thought I'd write you to say that we are still having them. Well, actually they are every 3 months or so now, but we're ramping back up to having them every month. We'd love to have you come down for one :) Tons of log home freaks still show up, with scale models, stories, 'good valley food,' etc... Bring some photos and be ready to swap some log home building stories :) We announce meetings about a month in advance on our main page www.loghomebuilders.org. We also have an internet forum that we just got started. You can find it at www.loghomebuilders.org/forums It's neat that some members of the forum took the class back in the late 70's early 80s, and a few have come to the meetings too. We hope that more old friends of the Association come around as word spreads that were back to running full steam. I hope you can make it to a meeting sometime. Your friend, Ellsworth
Ellsworth's email was the icing on the cosmic cake! Suddenly, after twenty years, I get the notion to build another log house; suddenly, four years since his death, I rediscover John's Bruce Lee book and read about my own mentor, Skip; Then, all of a sudden--out of the blue--Skip's son Ellsworth contacts me and I'm back in the groove again. Since I don't believe in coincidences, I consider this string of events the Universe's way of making my path clear, showing me how to accomplish what's in my heart.
There's one more connection that I haven't mentioned yet. Neal's son, Kenny, has been in Karate for nearly a year and I have seen him mature immensly during that time. Three months ago, Elyja joined the Little Dragons and is nearly ready to earn his second belt. Five-years-old seems a little young for such a demanding discipline but he's learning the basics, getting a good foundation and coming to terms with respect for self and others.
Copyright © 1996-2005 by Judy DeNeal-Zucati
