Super Human Strength

Imagine a roof in this photo... 

Some of my readers know I have been without a phone for several weeks... Some of my friends and family want to rip my face off because its annoying as hell to try and get a hold of me. Personally, I am loving it! A wonderful new friend of mine gave me a phone to use, but I have been putting off hooking it up to service. I am simply loving the feeling of being disconnected from constant contact. Those who know me well, know where to find me. Others, message me where I can respond within a few days. One downside is I haven't been getting pictures of my progress on the house. Since this last photo, I have added the second top plate, all the roof rafters, the facia, and all the plywood accept a small strip I need to measure, cut and nail in place. I also floored the boys loft this evening. 

Let me tell you about my day. I spent the entire day, after a pit stop at the beach following my morning school drop off, nailing up facia to my roof rafters. For those of you who don't know what facia is; look it up. For those of you that do, welcome back after looking it up... I used some grey reclaimed barn wood cut against the grain that was given to us by Nick's kindergarten teacher and her family. It was such a loving kind gift, and I was so happy to use it today and instal it on the house. It is officially the first piece of the house that won't be covered up. Everything else so far that I have built will be covered up. 

After finishing my facia, I did another school run, and then picked up some plywood for my roof. My Dad scored some beautiful cedar tongued plywood from PenPly (a local mill) before they shut down, and was gracious enough to let me use it on my home. It is going to save me so much money, Ill be owing him favors for a long time! Grass mowing for eternity? I guess its worth it. Any who, my friend helped me load up about 9.5 sheets in my trusty beater of a truck and the boys started in on some roller hockey while I worked. I lifted 8 sheets up onto the roof by myself. Let me share some insight with you all. Im a stubborn fuck. Sorry for the language Mom... I know she reads this sometimes, because last week she asked me why I was feeding all my friends soup on the weekends...lol 

So... I am so stubborn I built the entire roof myself. I had friends offer to help, and even want to help. But, I felt that I needed to go at it alone. And, I said to someone the other day, its not like I can do it all alone... its not like I can hand a sheet of plywood up to myself. Well, I have proven myself wrong. I can do that. It wasn't too hard, just heavy. It was a great workout. Each sheet is probably at least 30 pounds, and I lifted each one up the latter 13 feet and onto the roof. Bam! Then as the sun set, I began laying them out, fitting the tongues together and nailing them mostly complete, and got all eight nailed down, most of the way (the circumference mostly.) There was minimal grunting. 

At around 7:30, Nick found me a head lamp and I decided to cover their loft too. After finishing that, I invited them up there and told them it was their room! We then talked about a ladder or stairs or a cat walk or sliding ladder - still trying to figure that part out. I was able to see the stars so bright when I was up on the roof. I cherish the clarity of the country. I could see so many constellations, and probably planets, who knows... I was able to be still and imagine climbing out the sky light in my loft and laying on my roof to enjoy the night sky, without a care in the world. I can't wait! Actually, I don't have to, maybe Ill head out there right now. 

It sure feels fantastic to build a roof over my families head. This is a magnificent labor of love. And, I must love my family a hell of a lot, because I felt super human with all the work that I accomplished today. To finish off such a wonderful day, I fed the boys the rest of my weekend soup, made them a fresh smoothy with frozen bananas pineapple and peaches that were all preserved from the warmer weather, and fresh lemon poppyseed almond muffins. Take that Martha Stewart. 

Framing Walls and Getting Strong

Why work out?

When you could build your own house. I'm getting really buff doing this. And, I guess I am pretty stubborn. It isn't always a bad thing, depending on who you ask. I have been working away on my tiny house, hans solo, and having the very best time. All day yesterday and into the night, I lost track of the day and missed at least one meal, maybe two. I had forgotten how much I loved to frame until I delved right into it, and relearned my passion for it. I have laid out four walls and build two so far. I am being very meticulous, thinking about all the little details of what I am doing. I am considering which way my front door is swinging, and trying to plan ahead for mirrors recessed into walls and stain glass windows that haven't been but yet, and privacy through the garden window I framed up to sit right next to the toilet. Hee Hee

It is so exciting to watch this all come together, and I can see how fast it is already going and almost wanting it to slow down a little. Before you know it, it will be all done, and I will be off to a new adventure. Hopefully, it is something as fulfilling and exciting as building your own home, exactly the way you want it. I know the second I get my home done, I will be planning my next big trip. I haven't figured out where it will be yet, but that's the whole reason for this lifestyle change; traveling, among other things. 

I am so fortunate to have a warm place to work on my home, with a wood stove to take the crisp out of the air. Im a lucky one. My kids have been very helpful, snapping chalk lines, pulling nails apart so I can hand nail the walls together. (I'm old school) They also hand me things and help me clean up. Today Nick watered the ginger plant that lives in the shop with my tiny house, and filled all my water bottles for me. We are a great team. Gibson gets really excited about helping. He really likes snapping the chalk line and making marks and running the drill (with my help.) And my folks have been great too, letting us camp out in their basement, feeding us and being supportive and encouraging. My Dad has been letting me use a lot of his tools and it makes the job a lot easier to use the right ones for the job. 

I look forward to building up all the walls and getting the siding and roof on within the next week or two. Im hoping while the kidos are gone for the holidays I can crank this thing out and get it done, or at least most of the way. 

Check back for more progress, and if you are local and have any wood around you aren't going to use, get a hold of me, Ill come get it and give it a good home. Thanks!