Visitors

It's been awhile since we last had visitors who weren't relatives and, therefore, under some sort of moral obligation to see us.  So you can imagine our delight when we had not one, but TWO, unexpected visits this summer.  First, we got an email from the author of a book that really helped us when we built our "unconventional" home.  We had communicated with Tom Elpel, the author, several times during the building process, and he continued to follow our house progress via the blog.  Tom has a great website on sustainable building and living, and he features homes that have been built using unconventional materials.  In June, Tom happened to be meeting friends in our neck of the woods, and he asked to stop by and take a look at our house.  We had a lovely visit, and Tom later asked if photos and information about our home could be included on his website.  We approved, and our house is now on the web for all of the world to see.  If you are interested in seeing Tom's website, please click on the following link:  http://www.hollowtop.com/cls_html/Strawbale_Stone_Home.htm. Don't worry - we won't let this go to our heads.  My only concern is that someone might stop by one day to see the house- only to discover that it's not quite as neat and tidy as it looks on the web!

Several weeks later, I received a surprise phone call from my dear, dear friend Polly Hill.  It turns out that her husband, Brian, and a friend of his were on a cross country motorcycle trip.  While biking through Yellowstone, they decided to drive an extra 8 hours or so to stop by and visit (since they were in the neighborhood!)  Brian always did warn us to watch for him if we ever heard a motorcycling rumbling up our little lane...  They arrived a bit dusty and travel weary, but we didn't care.  It was such a kick to see them, and we got to catch up on news during a lovely dinner at Jordan's folks' place.  They got to sleep in warm, comfortable beds for the first time in several days, and they even got to take showers, for which we were all grateful!  After an all-too-brief visit in the morning, Brian and Wayne left the way they came, waving goodbye as they continued on their journey.  Unfortunately, their trip was such a whirlwind that I forgot to get pictures.

The last visitor we entertained was not unexpected, although I somehow managed to forget the camera during most of his visit, too!  On the contrary, we'd been anticipating this visit for a couple years.  Johnny, Jordan's buddy from high school, last flew out to see us 2 years ago.  Johnny's demanding schedule (he's an ace student at the U.S. Naval Academy) hasn't allowed him much down time, but he was able to manage a weeklong visit here in August.  The kids were instantly smitten with their other "Uncle Johnny".  Thane, especially, was thrilled to be included in some of the more masculine events of the visit:  wood splitting, pipe smoking (calm down- pretend smoking on Thane's part), hiking, telling tall tales and other b-sing in general.  I did manage to remember to bring the camera along during a hike shortly before Johnny left.  Poor Johnny - as you can see, he got suckered into hefting Thane around, all while trying to keep up with Annabel's incessant banter.

We were very sad to see Johnny go, and we can't wait until he's able to visit us again.  When he left, Johnny strongly stated that he would not be back to see us for another 4-5 years.  Funny, I could have sworn when he arrived that he promised to be here next summer.  Hmmm...