It's gettin' there!

The walls are getting higher, and it's getting chilly! We were forced to bust out the winter attire (Hence the hat that I made for Brian and then stole. It's times like these--when I look like the Little Dutch Boy--that I miss my long hair. Sigh.). But once we got started, it didn't take long to warm up, and if you wear gloves under the rubber gloves, your fingers stay nice and toasty! So that's good!

Look! I can barely see over the wall from the outside!

And the mud is higher than my left elbow on half the house on the inside

Now I need "scaffolding" to trim!

And look how tall the wall is next to Brian (who is also tall).

Well, I guess that's all for show and tell! I'll try to post more soon!

Howdy, Buck-a-roos!

So we're finally up to window height! Yippee! Well...actually...I guess we were up to window height a while ago, but just didn't know it. Oops! But that's ok...we like spending our free time undoing things we've already done.

Anywho...

So we had to saw part of our wall out! We thought this was going to be a huge pain in the gluteus, but actually, it was pretty easy. We just drew chalk lines on our wall, and went to town!

Tah-dah!

(Using a screw, tape measure, and some string, McGruber...er Brian...found a way to center our window.)

So now we've got a window buck (a rough opening) for our window, and part of a sill, too!

This makes it a little easier to "play house".

Grass soup and mud pies, coming right up!

These are some pictures of our house as of Friday.

We've got two window bucks in, and about 3 feet of wall.

And I know 3 feet doesn't sound like much (and trust me, I wish we had more than that), but it took a LOT of work to get those 3 feet. So instead of getting discouraged about how much we have left to do, I try to focus on how much we've done.

The good news is, that I found out from Kindra (Workshop Instructor Extraordinaire), that we can keep on building until a bucket of water freezes to an inch thick over night...which might not even happen in Oklahoma. Which means that we can keep on building indefinitely! This is a huge relief because we thought our building was going to have to come to a screeching halt for the winter. So I guess we'll keep on plugging away! It's great to not feel so rushed (it makes building that much more enjoyable), but now we've got to make sure to stay motivated (oh, wait, we're living with our grandparents...motivation found!). Also, I guess we can put our roof on 2 to 3 days after our final course of cob! So it looks like we might have a house sooner than we thought!

Footloose and Fancy Free

Here are some pictures of us gathering our building materials! Most people go to the lumber yard...we dig ours up! Fortunately for us, our friend, Chris, has mountains of clay out on his land that he lets us help ourselves to. He also has a Kubota, which comes in real handy....and it doesn't hurt that Brian operates it like a pro! Hello, cute farmer guy! I help out too, by driving the truck a little bit, taking pictures, and fretting.

Watch those shoelaces, Wren!

I need a hero...I'm holdin' out for a hero 'till the end of the night...




After doing an angry drunken high-bar routine, Brian picked up some straw bales. These are actually for standing on...they make for good scaffolding for us shorties...plus we can add them to our cob should we run low...


...and they make pretty prom decorations.

Aerial Shots

How cool is this?!!! Our friend, Jake (who also happens to fly a plane), was doing a little espionage the other day, and decided to fly over our land and take some pictures while he was at it! So, just in case any of you thought we were kidding when we said we were out in the middle of nowhere...

Kinda purty, ain't it?!

Some of my Favorite Things

Here are some more pics that I like that, for one reason or another, I hadn't been able to squeeze in yet!

I told you he had some weird sort of fire skills!

["By the power of Grayskull--IGNITE!"]

Zac Christian, Gravel Warrior

Meme, having a quiet marshmallow moment

Me trying to stop Tyler from catching "snowflakes" on his tongue--snowflakes being floating ash from the fire (not so yummy).

Our "workshop" weekend finally arrived! After much anticipation the big day was finally here! Heather and I got up bright and early, and headed out to the Hollow for some preparations. Keep in mind, it was freezing cold out, and everything was soggy from the rain the night before, so starting a campfire was no easy feat. We tried burning paper plates, and paper towels--even our precious straw--anything that looked even slightly dry. We huffed and we puffed...but to no avail. Of course Brian showed up and out of nowhere miraculously produced a bag of crispy dry newspaper, and of course all he had to do was look at our soggy logs and they immediately flared up into a blazing inferno. I would have been ticked if I hadn't been so happy to get warm. Anyway, Heather then proceeded to construct a "ladies room" out of shower curtains, and I threw together another luggable loo. We laid out all of the yummy food we had bought for the people who signed up...but wait a sec...where were all the people?????

I'm sad to say they were a no-show, and Heather, Brian, and I were left feeling like awkward pre-teens at a middle school dance--hair fluffed, jeans tapered, and dancing the Roger Rabbit in the corner of the gym because--despite all of your hopes--no one has asked you to dance. Well, that's more hot dogs for us! 48 of them to be exact...which really goes a long way between three people...especially when one of them is a Pescetarian (that would be a vegetarian who eats fish...not a Calvinist Protestant). Fortunately for us, good ole Jake and Abby eventually showed up to help us eat some dogs and s'mores! We can always count on Jake and Abby to make us feel all warm and fuzzy! And Brian, Heather, and I were still able to get 3" or so all the way around the house...and had lots of fun all the same!

Now Friday was a little better! Our sister Laura flew in for the event, Heather's husband Jon got into town (with Andy and Darcy--their English Sheepdogs--in tow), and Rhonda was able to come! And we had some surprise guests, too--Meme, Papa, and Sharyl! And, of course, Jake! And with our crew of 10 (plus two dogs), we were able to make some serious progress--on both the house and the hot dogs! We lapped the house twice, and I think we were able to get between 6 and 9 inches all the way around. Pretty good! but the best part was getting to spend some quality time with the family all together outside on a beautiful day. I just love that so many memories are being made right along with the house. Brian and I are blessed! So to all of you who came (some of you from quite a distance), thank you so much--it really meant a lot! And, Heather, thank you so much for putting this all together for us! You're the best!

From left to right: Jon, Laura, Heather, Sharyl "Sewing Machine" Braddock, Meme, Me, Brian, Rhonda, and Papa...Taking the Picture: Jake!







Laura found her calling: Professional Mud Stomper! She saved the day with her stomping skills, and had a ridiculous amount of fun doing it! Wish you could be here every day, Laura! Your "hopetimism" is contagious!


Here is our house at the end of the day on Friday. This is by far my favorite time of the week...when our work is done, the tools are put away, the sun is setting, and we get to take a look at how far we've come.

It's a Family Affair

Work it! Work...it!

Well, just when Brian and I were starting to feel sorry for ourselves, reinforcements arrived! On Friday, Meme, Papa, and Rhonda showed up bearing lunch, lawn chairs, and enthusiasm, making that three generations of Harrisons working on the house! Papa was in charge of the bucket brigade, Rhonda was a stomping queen, Brian manned the mixer, Meme was all thumbs, and I pitchforked the cob with a devilish flair! Later, Everette showed up, and so did Jake (who might as well be family), and assisted all--making it quite the productive day! It was nice to feel so loved! It's quite the thing having people willing to get all muddy for you! Needless to say, we all had Ibuprofen for dinner.