March, 2011

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Make mine a double

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

We’ve gotten the first of the double exterior walls done now. The two 2×4 walls are about 11″ wide in total and will be filled with insulation. It makes more sense to see in a picture. The deep window sills will be especially lovely.

I have a really good appreciation now for why houses make such weird sounds at night. When you build, you want everything to be square, but the materials seldom are — boards are twisted, bowed, and warped; slabs have dips and uneven spots. You do what you can to twist, pry, and cajole everything in place to be square, but it easy to imagine all the pieces cracking and popping as they settle in over the years. Add to that a very heavy roof pressing everything down. If kids knew how houses were put together, they probably wouldn’t be so scared of all those noises in the night.

We’re back

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Ten days away was too long, but we got some good work done and worked a little downtime in as well.

Our plants were extraordinarily well cared for while we were gone and have grown amazingly. I had to repot them as soon as I got home.

plants

Spring has also seemed to have sprung here with temperatures in the 70s and a sudden appearance of green buds on the trees and birds everywhere. I’m glad as I’m more than ready for some warm weather. This weekend I built a new pea trellis in the greenhouse and planted peas, lettuce, and arugula. I’m looking forward to growing more of our own food this year.

Brad found this interesting blog and web site from a guy in west Texas who is doing something like what we are. He talks about thinking about remaking your life and says “Rather than spend the rest of my life busting my ass so I can afford all the modern, pre-packaged conveniences that our ‘advanced’ society provides – I am putting that energy into providing for all my own needs.”