Progress!

Jordan has really been working hard over the past few weeks. For instance, the exterior is done! Actually, it isn't quite finished, but it's as finished as it's going to get until the spring. Jordan is going to build french style doors and windows later this winter, and then install them in the spring. In the meantime, we are going to be living in a house with makeshift used doors and mismatched (not to mention some plastic) windows. Hey - whatever it takes to keep warm! The roof on the addition proved to be a challenge, but I think that it came out really well (note the cool curve on the bottom of the roof).

All of the interior walls have been framed, and we now have stairs to get to the second floor (no more rickety ladders). Jordan and his Dad will be working on the well this weekend, and the electrical work will be done next week. We are still hoping to celebrate Thanksgiving in the house - we'll keep you posted!

Three Little Pigs

It would have taken too long to continue building stone walls up to the roof of the house, so we decided to build the second floor and library walls with straw bales. Don't worry - once the bales are placed and the walls prepared, we'll cover the walls (inside and out) with plaster. We'll cover the stone with plaster as well, so the outside will be uniform. I know what you're thinking - straw will attract rodents & bugs, it's a fire hazard, what about insulation, etc. Not to worry. The plaster cover keeps out any critters, and the bales are packed so tightly in the walls there is no oxygen present to fuel a fire. Wood homes are much more flammable. Lastly, straw is very dense and consequently has an insulation value of 42 (the standard home's insulation value is 18-22). Building with straw bales is actually not a new technology - there are homes made of straw in Europe that are several hundred years old. Since the straw is dead and covered from the elements, it won't deteriorate. So, now we are officially the three little pigs, living in a house made of straw, wood, and stone.

Food! Glorious Food!

Annabel loves food. In fact, eating seems to have become one of her favorite pasttimes. I don't mind because she likes healthly food, and she eats pretty much everything that we do (ground up, of course). Speaking of "ground" food, Annabel recently acquired a tase for dirt and rocks. YUM! (Notice in the photo above how Dad and Uncle Jon are diligently watching over her as she tries this newly discovered delicacy). Her favorite food, by far, is the pear. The bigger, the better. She prefers her pears whole, and she has learned to gingerly clasp her pear under her chin where she manages to gnaw away all of the flesh, spitting out only the seed pod in the middle.


Thanks to her healthy appetite, Annabel is growing like a weed and is almost 10 months old now - YIKES! She mastered crawling, but only rested on her laurels for 5 days before she decided it would be much more fun to try to walk. Now she stands, cruises around holding onto furniture and consequently falls down all day long. She has also gotten more teeth - 3 on the top of her mouth, and she "talks" from the time she gets up until the time she goes to sleep at night. (I can't imagine where she got that from!)


She is a real goof ball, and we are enjoying her immensely.

Better Late than Never

I apologize for the delay in updating all of you on our progress, but I have been a bit busy over the past month. In addition to building the house, working part time and raising a 9 month old, I've been busy canning. Yes, it's true. I am officially a country girl now. So far, I've canned 52 quarts and 137 pints of fruit, jams, chutneys, pickles, pie filling, relishes, sauces, etc. And we still have to can tomatoes, apples, beets, pumpkin, picallili and beef stew. We have been given a lot of fruits and veggies (in addition to things we have harvested from my in-law's abundant garden), and we felt like we should do something with these gifts instead of letting good food go to waste. Just call me Suzie Homemaker.







While I've been busy in the kitchen, Jordan and my brother-in-law, Jonathan, have completed quite a bit of work at the house. Jonathan was able to fly out here for 3 weeks to work with Jordan, which was a great blessing. Together they finished shingling the roof, framed the roof on the addition, installed radiant heat, poured all of the cement floors, and installed windows, the electric framework and plumbing. The men worked very hard and had no problems sleeping at night, that's for sure!