Good morning, Mr. 11 Degrees!

Our first wall…is not quite up. But it is fully framed and ready to go when we get back to lift it.  That probably won’t happen until next week, as we’re on the road for a Thanksgiving Tour d’Est. We’ll return to (actual, paying) work and other obligations when we get back and won’t be able to move the project forward for a few days.

Once framed, we check to make sure the wall is square. If it’s not (and it never is) we rack it into place with the sledgehammer, until the two diagonal measurements are identical. This small window in the foreground will be in the bathroom.

Sheets of plywood are applied. They provide a great deal of lateral rigidity and strength by keeping all the framing members in line and resisting “shear” forces. They help block the wind, and give us a place to hang the siding. The larger window shown here will be in the living space.

Here, Jamie tacks a small nail into place between the sheets. Plywood does expand and contract a little; spacing the sheets by 1/8″ or so gives it some room to do that without buckling.

As we left, we draped the project in heavy plastic to shield it from the coming storm.  I set the top of the wall (that part laying closest to the center of the floor) on blocks of scrap, making a slight incline I hope will help to shed water. I’d forgotten just how heavy a 2×6 wall with sheathing is — and half of this one is 12 feet tall! It’s going to take some thought before we try to raise these up. I don’t want to drop them and I don’t want to rupture myself, either.

Covering up. In the foreground and under the platform is the rest of the lumber for the other three walls. Wood is surprisingly expensive — and we haven’t even gotten to the really expensive wood: rafters and shakes for siding.

I don’t count “blessings” on Thanksgiving. I don’t believe in a god but even if I did, I really object to the idea of blessings. If I have been given something by a deity, that means others have not. How would I know I was blessed without comparison to others’ misfortune? Why would a god give me the ability to have a ski cabin while blessing the people of Sierra Leone with ebola?

On the other hand, we do have a tremendous amount to be grateful for — including the blind luck of circumstance. Shelving fortune for the moment, I’m happy to thank a few of the people to whom we owe this chance: My parents and Jamie’s family for their many gifts of context and material. Our friends and family members who have donated their time and effort. To each other for patience and grace. To everyone who, by following our story and replying or commenting, gives us the gift of enthusiasm and appreciation.  We owe you each so much; this work is your product, and I invite anyone reading these words to visit and share in the world your love and friendship has helped to create.

It’ll be done by then, I promise.

Domain-name owner and site supervisor, displeased with the weather. Also our single biggest donor of moral support.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  Travel safely.