We’ve had a lot to be thankful for this year. We are deeply, deeply grateful for the wonderful developments in our little piece of the world. I remember vividly the feeling of awe we had last Thanksgiving, as we celebrated our first holiday in the Little House. This year, despite all of the wonder around us, I have to say, that the over-whelming feeling among the adult members of our clan was…exhaustion. The end of season building push is taking it’s toll and both injury and illness are coloring our outlook.

B the Builder begins a new job, late next week, and there is no time to be spared, including holidays. Steve and B logged a solid half-day’s work (and then some), while the wee ones and I toiled away in the kitchen.

People are always commenting on the “realization of our dreams”. Which is kind of funny, because this was never our dream! Prior to building becoming a necessity, we had never even spoken of the idea. We were quite content to be keep plugging away on our quirky little fixer-upper.

I’ve always kind of fought the notion that this is our “dream house”. For starters, the path that brought us to it, was nothing short of a nightmare. Also, so much of the process has been by default. This is what we have, therefore it’s what we will use. That needs to be a certain way due to our health limitations. This is where we will build because there are no other options. This project would have been a very different thing, had it been the result of years of careful planning, rather then providence providing us an impromptu shot at ‘now or never’.

B the Builder coming along when he did, in the way that he did was probably one of the greatest blessings of our life. His genuine concern for our well-being and his dedication to this project, at times even to his own detriment, has undoubtedly, been our saving grace.

The process itself has been a whirl-wind, flying by the seat of our pants adventure. For better or for worse. In sorting through some old papers the other day, I found a to-do list of what needed to be accomplished in a 3-4 day period. One side said,

• Call neighbors
• Call plumbers
• Call contact at the electric company
• Call dentist
• Order more compost bags (for our composting toilet)
• Call saw mill

The other side reads,

• Remove trees and logs from building site
• Re-run phone and electric
• Clear path for backhoe
• Get building permit
• Create Elevation drawings
• **Design House**
• Call roofers/get estimate
• Write building summery for permit application
• Prep for interview with building inspector (much needed when you are applying as owner/builders who have in actuality never built anything before!)
• Schedule excavation/coordinate with B the Builder
• Order slates
• Figure out flooring system

And that’s pretty much been our pace all the while.

In the beginning I found myself wanting to explain each and every thing in it’s context. To clarify that the product was an outcome of a certain situation and not the result of free-choice. It was simply what had to be or the best compromise we could find. Somewhere along the way there has been a shift. As the project progressed, I found myself falling in love. And in falling in love, I’ve forgotten to focus on the limitations.

I wonder now if our time-line hasn’t been a blessing of sorts. As someone who’s renowned for over-thinking things, perhaps it’s a gift to be cornered into committing to my first instincts. All the honing and refining that normally occurs in my head will be the work of living in and with it.

The windows are going in now and I am just pleased as punch. They add so much character and charm to the place. It’s starting to actually look like a house! My beloved drove all over creation seeking out these windows. Of the 27 windows (I wanted LIGHT!) in the house 2 were purchased new through a catalog and we had a piece of tempered glass cut for a stairwell window. Every other window came from salvage and over-stock stores

Steve is quick to belittle his aesthetic sense, generally preferring to defer to me in these matters. But would you just look at the beauty that he created here?? I love all of the windows that he brought home. They are just what I wanted. Silly boy! Trying to convince people that he doesn’t know what he’s doing…tsk, tsk.