Hi Friend,

Things are moving along here. The outside walls are totally framed out and sheathed. We decided to frame for 3 big windows upstairs, even if a bit of the rafters show. If I had my druthers, I would have sized them a wee bit smaller for better proportions, but the design with the medium-sized windows wasn't quite to my liking. So I'm making the best of it.
Dolan and Judah were swinging from the rafters to install the roof sheathing.

Hi Friend,

To go along with my "all hands on deck" theme, I want to mention some other team members who are integral to this project: those on children/house/kitchen duty.
Let's face it - it's hard enough for me to run this household under our "normal" circumstances. And there was certainly no way that I could manage this project - understanding each step in the building process, making design decisions, checking the site, calling the architect, making headway with the next stage in the project - while increasing my household duties with extra people living here, all of whom need adequate nourishment to sustain their hard physical labor.

Hi Friend,

It's been a good week up here on the hill. The form of the house is taking its final shape as the rafter trusses are built and hoisted up one by one. The truss itself is strong, but it felt pretty top-heavy once it was resting on those little posts. So everyone had to come up on the deck once Dolan and Isaac had finished assembling one to steady, attach, and brace it, while making sure it was straight and level.

We got another big shipment of materials: foam boards for the walls and roof, strapping, and 1x8 lap siding.

Howdy!

There's so much going on that I wanted to write an extra post this week.

First, the kids finished the staircase, and I love it. Judah routed the edges of the treads, and I think it'll look really nice in our open sitting room.

Second, now that Dolan and Isaac finished framing the windows and doors downstairs, they moved on to building the roof rafters. This was a much more complicated project because boards of different lengths are sandwiched together, with the collar tie between them, and the angles and dimensions were a bit tricky to get perfect. But these guys were tenacious, even through blistering heat, and they worked out the kinks.

Dear Friend,

This past week, everyone worked on the 2nd floor 2x6 tongue-and-groove spruce decking, which is both the 1st floor ceiling and the 2nd floor floor (we'll need some thick rugs for soundproofing!). The crew measured, cut, and the installed the boards using mallets and a bow wrench to get them fitting tightly together.

Then Dolan and Isaac moved on to framing the 1st floor windows and doors, while Judah, Eden, and Tait worked on building the stringers, treads, and risers for the stairs.

Dear Friend,

It's been three weeks since all the kids have been here

.Week one was spent wrapping our heads around the magnitude of this project by taking in all the details. We are building a 24' by 44' timber frame-style house - except that instead of erecting and joining heavy timbers for the posts and beams, we are making the posts and beams with regular lumber that's nailed together.

Dear Loved One,

I have been in my own crazy little world these last two years since Anna (baby no. 6) came along, especially since it also happened to be right after Eden moved out to join Jordan at college. Life has been so much more demanding having little ones again, and we've also had big house projects, as usual. So, instead of barely communicating with anyone about what's going on in our life, I thought maybe I could start sharing about it a bit - and I'd love to hear more about what's going on in your life as well!

Two and a half years ago, we moved out of the village house where we homesteaded for 8 years to embark on a new house project 20 minutes north. This "new" house is a Colonial built in 1780, set on several more acres, and it happened to come with a buildable 3 acre lot right across the road.

We are blessed to be in a community that appreciates old-fashioned living, and consequently, where kids have little access to electronic devices. This has fueled the continual practice of letter writing, even to friends who live a few miles away. On any given week, there are five to ten handwritten letters sent from our home, and just as many are received. This makes the arrival of the mailman a much-anticipated event! We spend quite a bit on the purchase of stamps, but keeping this old form of communication alive is well worth it.

I love seeing little country churches dotting the landscape. Of course, in New England many of these houses of worship have been repurposed. Directly next door to us in our little village is a beautiful 19th century church and grand steeple which was converted into a town club in the early 1900s and then into a residence in the 1980s; the old Baptist church down the road is now a residence and showroom for antique dealers. While I am very thankful that the buildings are still standing and being used, it makes me sad that they no longer serve their original purpose. But they do bring to remembrance the communities of God-loving people who brought their tithes and offerings together to build a space to gather and worship. It is my prayer that the Good News will be proclaimed in these edifices once again!

I'm embarrassed to say that I was never really interested in history until I realized that it involved people from my family. It was only about 12 years ago that I discovered that I had some notable ancestors, so I started digging into my genealogy to have a record of names and relationships. It was learning about these men and women and their stories that then spurred my interest in the larger events that affected their lives. Just yesterday, I was reading about the Connecticut colony, officially formed in 1638. They wrote a revolutionary document called The Fundamental Orders - basically the prototype for our federal Constitution that would be written 150 years later. I recognized the name Reverend Thomas Hooker, and I quickly searched my records and found that he is my 10th great-grandfather! He preached that "the foundation of authority is laid firstly in the free consent of people" - a radical idea at that time. It inspired freedom in that colony, and it inspires me today!

For a few years now, we've been part of a group of families who sing folk songs one night a week in a living room or around a bonfire. Many times, there's a person or two accompanying with a guitar - or mandolin or accordion. Sometimes we just sing a cappella (I especially love rounds that harmonize). Whether we sing Irish ballads or sea shanties or traditional hymns or Bob Dylan, this practice makes me feel more connected to my current community and to generations past. The essential book that has made it easier to practice during the week and to expand our repertoire into different cultures and genres is Rise Up Singing. What a gem. I hope to keep this tradition in my family .... forever. And I'm so happy that music streaming services like Spotify have playlists dedicated to these songs to encourage more singing round the campfire.

In the last several years, I have come to appreciate the craft of needlepoint. Originally known as "canvas work" in the 17th century, because of the canvas backing upon which the stitches, usually of wool, are done, it is so sturdy that it can be used for furniture upholstery and other items that can actually be used day to day. I was never attracted to the frillier Victorian designs that came to mind when I thought of needlepoint, but when I found this pet portrait pillow at an estate sale, I finally found an image and color palette that worked for me. I have since picked up needlework kits for one of my daughters so that this craft can live on in our household.

I grew up in Texas, and wood stoves were not something with which I was familiar. But once we moved into our 1830s New England farmhouse, I knew it was something we needed to have. We replaced the non-working fireplace with a 500+ lb. cast iron wood stove, and it is one of my favorite things about our long, cold winters. Its truly warming radiant heat attracts us to it; we gather around it most days and nights that it is lit. And not only is firewood is a fraction of the cost of oil, it is a renewable resource that can be harvested sustainably and locally, and we do not fear losing heat when the power goes out. Stacking wood also provides great exercise (okay, maybe I have my kids do it most of the time ... ).

When it was time to replace the high, narrow Craftsman-style window in our kitchen that was not in keeping with our Greek Revival farmhouse, we found this pair of 1830s sash windows at a salvage shop. Not only are wooden windows beautiful, but old ones are often made of dense, old-growth, rot-resistant wood, they are easy to repair with glass and putty, and they have been proven to be at least as energy-efficient as modern double-pane windows when paired with a well-fitting storm window. I love the way that the light is reflected through the true divided-lights - and that it was inexpensive to replace one when our son's baseball went through it.

It took me a while to figure out that my very favorite paintings are oil portraits of people with serious to semi-serious expressions on dark, neutral backgrounds, in a Rembrandt- or John Singer Sargent-style. I was elated when several years ago I found this 18" x 21" portrait in the upstairs of a consignment shop, even if there was a little damage to his head. The black, frameless painting pops against my white walls, and I never tire of admiring his face and the artist's skill in capturing it.

I taught myself to knit when I was 23, and it felt empowering to take a ball of yarn and turn it into a hat or a scarf. My children learned how to knit at a young age while attending a Waldorf school, and I believe that this simple interweaving of threads is an important connection to our pre-industrial heritage. The fine alpaca sweater worn by my baby here was designed and knit by the skillful hands of my eldest daughter's 19-year-old friend. It's now a family heirloom.

When it comes to medicine, I'm all about purity of ingredients, gentleness on the body, and effectiveness in uprooting conditions so that the result is true healing and health. The best answer I've found this side of heaven is homeopathy. This 250-year-old form of medicine has saved us literally thousands of dollars in doctor and hospital visits, many hours of worrying, and untold side effects of a myriad of drugs. Once you understand how it works, it's quite easy to use, especially when you have a remedy kit and a materia medica (an explanation of the remedies and their uses) at your fingertips.

I've had a latte every morning for about 12 years now. It's a daily ritual that I used to have in cafés - oh, how I love a beautiful café. Visiting new ones might be the thing I miss most about living in a city. But these days I'm enjoying the short commute downstairs to use the best, small-batch roasted coffee beans I can buy close to home, with raw milk and maple syrup from local organic farms.

I did not have any dogs growing up, but I knew that once I got one, he would have to be as handsome as he was useful. I was attracted to the deep browns, ticking patterns, and elegant composure of German Shorthaired Pointers, in the family of huntings dogs, also called gun dogs, bird/duck dogs, and field dogs. My prayers were answered in Strapping Noble, whom we nicknamed "Strap," our German Shorthaired Pointer mix. Since we're not hunters, he's turned out to be more handsome than useful, but I'm happy with that!

I had no idea I could enjoy a book so much with "plastic" in the title. Of course, the positive way to describe the book is living with authentic, sustainable materials: wood, glass, steel, linen, cotton, sea sponges .... Not only are the photos beautiful, taking their well-laid-out suggestions make for surroundings that make you feel better, too.