Cheering For The Sun

You remember the story. It starts something like “The Sun and the Clouds were having an argument.” Well, we’re still watching the battle – cheering for the Sun – and basking with Jupiter when the good stuff happens. We’ve gone to the back forty...

A Stair Is Born

This is fun. Three videos. We’re stepping back in time a bit today as it took most of the summer to imagine, design and build these stairs – from the vehicle parking level down to the front entry of the house. In this first video Sven is skiing down the...

The Tame Side of Fire.

Hi. Our updates are less frequent – but there are loads of details that don’t seem worthy. Today is different. Our friend Matthew Kroeker has been coming down from Onanole, three days here, two there, etc. to work on our masonry heater. We’ve been...

Earthen Floor Adventures

Hello, from Turtle Mountain – and our Solar Powered, Rammed Earth house build. Time to reconnect. Our family lost this wonderful house and the home we lived in for the past 25 years to a fire. 1 June. Yes, it was a big blow. But fortunately we have an amazingly...

Capture Breadth

Travelling through central Europe a few years back we were encouraged to visit castles and cathedrals. Built by lords and popes with riches either taxed or stolen, they seemed self-aggrandizing, to me. Well, (swallowing judgement here) I’m changing my mind. We...

That Warm Feeling

Every day our faithful Jupiter escorts me on the 5 minute commute to work. When it’s warm, she lays on the south side of the house, basking and watching. If it’s cold, she comes inside finds a window – and changes it up by watching and basking....

Well, Windows and Doors

A while back I reported on the house being closed in for winter. That was premature. We assumed the doors and windows would arrive as planned. There were some bumps in the road, let’s say, but we’re happy to say the installation was completed a couple days...

Tin’s on. Thanks be.

In the nick of time it seems. About a week ago Robert and Minnie pitched up – wanting to help for a day putting on the house wrap. On Saturday, just past, more friends appeared. Also, sister Vicki and friends John and Barb came by with edible delectables to...

Roof is (mostly) On. Yay!

The temptation is to invite winter as we’re so much nearer having the house closed in. But, or course, that would be foolish at any stage. It will come when it comes and hopefully the cupola (Cue-pa-la) will be on – we’ll talk about that next update...

Keeping it (Relatively) Simple

The job of erecting the rafters was meant to happen with a larger crew today (Tuesday) –  but the forecast was for rain so we started putting up rafters yesterday, thinking we’d get a head start. This is what came of our efforts. The rafters had to move...