August has been quite the month. We had what can only be termed as a scheduling ‘bottleneck’. Several jobs that had to be done but were all interdependent and required some very fancy footwork to fit it all in. We had to rough in the electrical, finish the rough plumbing, put down the heating pecs on the main floor, pressurise the heating system, pour and level a concrete floor (so that it is ready for polishing in September and allows…
We’ve hit a seminal moment in the build, we have windows! This is a moment we have been waiting for since Stephen first designed the house. The windows compromise something like 10% of our budget (which is much higher than average) and are central to the design of the house. Stephen wanted to create the feeling of almost being outside when inside, to blur the division between our inside home and our outside one and I think he has succeeded….
Today was cool with a brisk wind, the tail of a hurricane brushing past us. The cooler weather suits me, I can walk the fields in jeans, the wind taking away the heat of the walking. The boys ran freely, jumping on a fallen tree and gathering flowers to be stuffed in pockets and given as a gift to the big oak tree (in exchange for wishes). A cosy afternoon at home, the house smelling of granola, my arm tired…
It’s only been a couple of weeks since my last post, but it feels like an age. Why is it that when you’re say relaxing on the beach, or pottering around the garden, time slips past as quickly as a German in a sports car. But when, just for example, you’re stressing about concrete floors, delivery of windows, construction loans, build costs and whether your children have finally and irretrievably broken your wife, it goes about as fast as a…
Yesterday Canada said goodbye to one of its true greats. Jack Layton was a man of integrity, grit and honour, not words usually associated with politicians. His last words, a letter he wrote to Canadians is something that can move and inspire all of us. There is a big hole left without Jack to fill it. We’ll miss you.
It has been a rainy and cool Sunday, allowing for some enjoyable kitchen time without the risk of melting in front of the oven. I’m making the most of it. I’m now in the habit of collecting scraps for the chickens as I cook through the day, they love these fresh treats and give us wonderful treats in return. This weekend I’ve tried two new eggy recipes, a hand made mayonnaise and some lovely mini meringues. I love the bright…
In an effort to begin clearing out some of the extraneous stuff that is hanging around our house and cluttering our cupboards, I collected a box of said stuff for donation. A new thrift store has opened in town so this trip afforded the perfect opportunity to peruse and drop off. Guilt free perfection. Speaking of perfection, on my way to the cash desk I did a last circuit and found this: The perfect aqua green and in as new…
When we first bought our land we were struck by the sheer beauty of the natural world here; the trees, the sky, the rotting vehicles rusting in the sunset. Ok, not so much with the rotting vehicle love but unfortunately there were plenty of them. Despite there being way more lovely I couldn’t quite get past this sort of thing. It would hurt to see this stuff all over our beautiful land, it felt like an affront. Now when I…
It would appear that an August sunset can make even the most innocuous things seem beautiful. At our farm last night I was struck by the beauty of everything I looked at, bathed in the golden fire of the retiring sun. The sunlight washed our newly finished concrete basement floor and kissed the walls and land around. Even a humble bin bag reflected its glow. Progress is being made on the house (an update soon I promise) and we are…
It’s now three months since we broke ground on this build way back in May. Half of the time we’d allotted has been consumed with the big stuff: earthworks, wells, foundation and basement, framing, roofing and chicken coops. The remaining months are, to put it poetically, like a fat Geordie in a lycra dress: squeezed in way too tight and at serious risk of collapsing in an ugly mess the minute things get too funky. Or, to put it another…