Remaining doors and windows in (mostly)

South side with photovoltaic panels and some NON-low-e glass (finally)

Joe and Ben got the windows, storm door, and sliding glass door installed before everyone arrived for Common Ground Fair.

WE ARE DONE

Homestretch

So today is the last day, I think. I kept waking up all night, like you do when you have a job interview or a trip the next day.

As has so often happened since we began this adventure, serendipitous help arrived just when we seriously needed it.

17 and counting

It appears that it is only possible for the two of us to mix and lay six batches of mortar in a day if we have done all of the preparatory putty mixing and log cleaning on a prior day, and if everything goes absolutely perfectly. This means no unexpected livestock management,, no turning off the alarm clock in your sleep, no visitors,and no dogs taking off after some phantom in the woods---

Countdown . . . 25 (ish) batches to go!

Alright, so,life gets in the way. Especially farm life. This morning we had some buckling escapism to deal with, and a bit of fence reinforcement to ensure that our girls don't kid in January. Then we spent about an hour scraping and cleaning log ends before we could start mixing mortar.

There are no shortcuts in cordwood

Well, there are; but they come with a price. Most of the shortcuts we have taken have been caused by the fact that we were in a hurry. Most of them started with a phrase like, "We don't care what the book says" or "we don't need to . . ." and continued with the phrase, "we'll just . . . ." We are here to tell you that the people who wrote the books know what they are doing. Care what they say. And don't "just . . . ."