Labor Day

And labor we did! At least it was a labor of love. Today was our first day of mixing! Pretty darn exciting (and dirty)! And fun, too...did I mention fun?!

Here we are stomping on the first batch. Our tarp is actually a piece of lumber wrap courtesy of our friendly neighborhood lumbar yard. They look at us like we're nuts when we ask if we can have it, but hey, it's free, and works better than the tarps you buy...plus it's recycling! So scratch your head and stare all you like Mr. Lumberyard Man, but dumpster dive we shall!



We even had some help from Jake! Thanks, Jake! Jake was a cobbing natural, and was cobbing like a pro in no time flat...although, as he so graciously pointed out, it's not exactly rocket science. But we sure did appreciate his help (and cold drinks), and were in awe of the fact that he sacrificed part of his labor day to hang with us and get muddy.





Hey look! We've got a little bit of wall!
This is a close up of the "spine and ribs". If you do this to the wall at the end of the day, it gives the next layer of cob something to hold on to. To be honest, it kind of freaks me out a little bit--kind of makes the wall look alive--like Champ, or something. Bluck. But, hey, it gets the job done!


So this is pretty much what our wall looked like by the end of day one! Ya-hoo! I know it doesn't look like much, but I've got to tell you, it feels REALLY good to have started on the walls. It may be only 4 inches, but it's 4 beautiful inches closer to our dream!