some old fashioned wall tipping

it's hilarious to stand on the other side and mime pulling the wall UP with a rope. invisible rope! it's hysterical. i mean, you guys are missing the performance of a lifetime. it's genius! we all laugh and laugh and laugh.

i'm not sure what's happening here. probably joren replaying the whole me miming pulling up a wall thing over and over again in his head. he literally can't get enough of it!

walls. entry hole. more stick out things.

lazy lazy lazy

seriously. i'm probably--at this very moment--working my fingers to the bone! making lemonade! from a mix! i mean, it's unbelievable.

in the bottom right corner. notice my flowers drying. it's all part of a seed system. it's got to do with me putting seeds in old washed out country time lemonade mix containers. you probably wouldn't get it. it's pretty complex. granted, they've been lying there for weeks. but look at joren's unfinished work. i mean, you've got to have some follow through.

ha. look at him carrying lumber around. like he doesn't have a care in the world. or a seed project to finish. some people.

i title this one:

"the other big beam that i also did not help move"

and this one: "the other big beam that i also did not help move supported by three smaller, but still large beams also not moved by me." glulam!

this will be the entryway and our "shared workspace". and yes, my spot will be under the roll-y scaffolding. i can put a sheet over it for privacy. roll-y scaffolding fort!

so, what you've got here are some pretty major stick-outs.

and joren! i think he's looking at me! and smiling! oh wait. the mailman was behind me on the street. joren loves that guy.

ha.

i used to think

that our house was built of marginalized hope. or maybe slightly tarnished dreams. but i'm realizing now it was more tar paper and rusty nails and dead birds. which we found three of! yes, i kept them for further investigation. yes, i might have the avian flu.

all that's left.

and through it all joren, will not give up on his dream of a plastic jug band.

also. who gave us that wheelbarrow? about once a week joren tells me it was the best wedding present we got and that he gets it "if things don't work out".

as you can imagine...

there's plenty of cypherin' going on. PLENTY. naturally, i get my brain right up in the middle of the action.

we're staying at our neighbors' this month while they're in jail. it's working out great for us.

stuffed feral cat we use as a paperweight. doesn't she look real?

and like i always say

safety first...

safety second.
you've simply got to protect the mole eyes. and for the record, i think joren had a shockingly similar pair of glasses in grade school. ahead of his time, i guess.

new construction

living room wall where such classics as "Nell", "Roadhouse" and "Saved By The Bell" will be projected NONSTOP.

yeah. sure. joren's building a house. good for him. but look at these delicious snacks!

cousin of the dumpster fairy

the lumber fairy comes once or twice a week.

then we have a blast moving it from the street to the driveway. it's almost like christmas morning.

the kitchen is here

critics said it wouldn't happen. some people threw hard apples from the street. others gave the thumbs down. or maybe that was just me.

again, joren pretending to work hard. weak performance, joren. weak.

some days, just for fun

we get out the giant crank

can't you just picture it?!

no. me neither.

construction squares.

just big enough to hold all the love in this house.

which, despite all the yelling and hurt feelings, is a lot.

get your eye holes open, people

wall!

more wall!

at last. you can really see joren's vision.

a day in the life

checking for weevils and monkey pox.

adjusting the floor joists with his BARE HANDS

and at the end of the day? joren enjoys three quarters of one icy cold beer.

dawn breaks...

...and joren takes down the tarp that is the side of our house.

then he reads the 60 year old newspaper that was stuffed in our walls.

he likes to keep up to date, you know.

the highly inspirational things joren says on an hourly basis to get me to keep working

just ONE more.

here we go!
we're really gettin' it done now.

way to go, sweetie!

and my personal favorite: and that's how you build a house.

joren's a genius.

our new house was designed to operate like a fun house. optical illusions abound. enormous bobble head! super short legs! giant sideburns! oh wait. those are for real.

have you ever seen such a gorgeous glulam?

me neither. i didn't even know what they were until we visited ye olde glulam shoppe. now i can't stop saying it. glulam. i'm throwing glulam around like the f bomb. glulam! in your face!

and don't get me started on floor joists. it's all floor joists this and floor joists that around here.

ladder hole

the ladder hole leads to all sorts of magical lands.

like the toilet and the new basement kitchen.

navigating it in the middle of the night with a headlamp on. it's sort of like a corn maze crossed with jenga.

the neglected garden marches on

i've made approximately 47 loaves of zucchini bread in an attempt to get rid of our fridge full of the lamest vegetable ever.

and seriously. what are the round things? i'm growing them like nobody's business, but have zero idea what they are.