moving harvest windows

It is official, we are all moved out of our house in the land of Rocks & Trees. We are now a small family band of wandering gypsies. We are currently taking up residence at my future studio with a big tent covering a couple of sleeping tents, a picnic table and chairs. We have some things with us, but most of our belongings are in storage. It was a tough week and a half to finish the move. Tilt was a bit frustrated by the delay in building, but is now back on the job.

K has had some ups and downs with it all. For a few weeks when I would talk about moving he would say "Mmm, let's not do that" or "I am going to live with M & L (our neighbors and the owners of the house we lived in)." When his Dad started moving some big things out one night he seemed to have a big turn around putting on his hard hat and going to work packing the truck and trailer, he even put in some of his toys. The next day he was back and forth on the emotions again. I was relieved on the morning we finished mopping the empty house to hear him ask "can we go back to the camp?." However, when we arrived he was in tears saying he wanted to go home. I have explained it forwards and backwards, but alas he is three and will get it on his own time and under his terms. I offer peanut butter, he wants jelly... I offer jelly he wants peanut butter... I offer crackers he wants peanut butter and jelly.

K: "Hey Mom, that looks just like our toaster"

Me: "It is our toaster"

K: "No, our toaster is at home"

Me: "We moved the toaster here"

...digesting silence

(next day)

K: "That is our toaster"

Me: "Yes it is"

K: Why?

Me: Becaue we moved it here.

...processed

As for the building progress, we have stairs to the second story and some interior framing completed. We have some serious window shopping to do this week! Windows are such a tough purchase. It is a huge expense, but I know that I really need the light in the long (Vermont) winter months. We plan for lots of windows. That means lots of talk about R-value, size, cost, placement etc... My thinking now is to get good windows because it will pay off in the long run, but I have not seen a price yet.

I cannot end this post without mention of the Harvest Moon Party. We are so lucky to attend and be a part of such a wonderful event! We were not able to spend as much time as we hoped this year between some house building and K's head cold, but it was amazing, wonderful and beautiful all at the same time. I am already looking forward to next year!

a roof for 40 shoes

It rained last night. It rained hard. Insomnia (my personal uninvited houseguest) enabled me to hear the rain come down on our rented house. Although I was awake when I wanted to be sleeping, I was able to rest knowing that at the new house rain was coming down on the house and not into the house. Yes it is true, we are now the proud owners of a weatherproof roof! Tilt worked until 8PM Saturday night to beat the forcasted rain. We were fortunate to have some extra hands on the job last week. Jack, Robin, Dale (Tilt and Dad) all played a big part in making the week one full of visual and functional drama. The biggest relief for me is knowing that my husband, father, and friends (all generously donating there time) will not be on our roof anymore. The south side has some serious height to its fall line. Yikes! After I had a bad fall backward off our porch this week (only 2 feet down), I have been extra worried about everyone on the roof. A roofing company will come to put the final layer of roofing material up (metal standing seam) in a few weeks. I don't have to worry for a while.

We are moving into our last week of living in the house that has been our home for the last 6 years. Glenn and I moved in here together in the fall of 2004. It was here that we got engaged, married and had our first baby. It has been a great adventure in a great community. We have been packing up little by little for weeks. We plan to camp for a while at the house site. Our camp will be set up for the month of September (K and I will visit Gramma for a while too). After that we will stay with a friend until we can move into the house (maybe just the basement apartment). As I pack up box after box, I think "why do we have all of this stuff?" I have to restrain myself from throwing things out just to lighten up. This trasition time is sure to be a challanging adventure. I see it as a time for us to refresh and live simply. In a few months I will revisit all of our stored "stuff" and be happy to see it again. Today however, I am sure to wonder why I have so many pairs of shoes... pots and pans... art projects... sewing projects... toys oh my, now there are toys... Ugh Packing.

race hammer crew

There is a mild obsession with the movie Cars going on in my chaotic household. Several quotes from the movie have moved into K's three year old vocabulary. He announces "get me outta here" and I have to readjust my brain to remember that he IS "Lightning McQueen". When he gets in the car he has to do a special adjustment before he sits it is because "Tow Mater" has a tow hook. He used to push all of his blocks together making a stage to climb on with his puppets and pronounce "Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the Show." It seems the show is over, the stage is left behind and the announcer proclaims with great gusto "Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines."

Fortunately we have a distraction. Tilts (not so commercialized) show is starting to take the lead. Last Saturday we had a great group putting up the timber frame. What a show it was! One group of people put the frame up and a pit crew finished sanding the remainder of the milled wood (for the floor/ceiling system). In a little over three hours we made leaps and bounds of progress. We had plenty of time left to enjoy lunch and a full game on the softball field (with another game planned for Sunday at 2).

We have turned a big corner with the frame up. While waiting for the SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) to be delivered (today), the interior framing in the basement and the stairs began. Today we had a great crew to help with the panels. They unloaded a truck full and put them on the house in the afternoon. We now have a closed in, but roofless structure. A great place to watch a meteor shower ...play trucks ...run laps with an air-steering wheel in your hands. Ladies and Gentlemen Start your Engines!!!!!

net crashing, timbers rising

Alas I have returned to my house building blog! I was spending a wonderful visit on the Cape with my Mom when my computer fizzled out. I have been out of Internet contact for two weeks. For me, there are good and bad sides to this. I had to revert back to my books to identify a tree and a bug in the garden (found the tree.. not the bug). The weather forecast has been left to a glance at the sky (more adventurous than watching a storm on a radar). The daily news I merely deleted from my day (ahhh... the world seems at peace). Facebook survived without me checking in. However, I realized that there are many friends I do not have in my regular email and I wanted to let people know we are raising the timber frame on Saturday. We hope to have people there to help, watch, and celebrate. The frame will go up pretty quick and then we will have a potluck lunch along with lawn games in the afternoon. Though we will have Bocce and Croquet at the ready, Tilt, Dad, and Ed have worked together to mow out some field for a softball diamond. Since we finalized this as our house site, Tilt has dreamed about having a softball game on our treeless lot.

Field of dreams references aside, it is always fun to watch a timber frame go up. Many many hours are put in to get ready for this day. After all of the work fitting and squaring the frame is finished. The beams were sanded and sealed; the braces were cut to have a slight arch (also sanded and sealed). I finally helped on the frame with an hour of sanding today. Meager help as it was, it does let me feel a touch of the ownership that Tilt, Dad, Luke, and some others will feel about this frame. To me, a new timber frame home incorporates artistic craftsmanship and structural challenges with visible grace. Many older buildings that have survived hundreds of years because they are timber frames. In most old homes the frame is hidden behind walls. I really like the idea of seeing the frame and its artistic joinery on the inside of the walls. It feels to me like we are being respectful and even showcasing the frame for its ability to hold strong for hundreds of years. Tilt has been fortunate to work on many old barns as well as new construction to learn about joinery and framing. In the process of designing I learned that while I think function, Tilt thinks structure. This Saturday we will take a big step in seeing our design realized. We will also celebrate with friends and family. Oh and if a storm is coming I can track it on the NOAA weather site ...or if we find a butterfly we have never seen I will look it up online ...hmmm I think I will leave the computer at home and just focus on the here and now. I like it better that way.

P.S. Although, I will be back to blog about it all later.