So sorry I am doing a terrible job journaling events, let alone thoughts and reactions to them.  Two months since that last promise to blog.  This past week saw the completion of a particularly pernickety audit at work, and the RS duties consume time and energy as well.  To say nothing about our house.  We masked the interior to paint last weekend and will actually do the painting this weekend.  Will has one more week of school, but on Thursday I go on call for a week, including the Memorial Day holiday.  Things are hectic, all-in-all.  Last night we paid for a new riding lawnmower and our countertops.  I have pictures of the work on the house, but no time to post just now.  The river is over the banks again--it will be muddy when we get to the farm.  At least the garage door is completely in now, and we can lock the house along with thousands of dollars in new appliances and building materials.  whew!

No, the new house isn't finished, but we were out there today, in spite of a bitter wind, and a dusting of new snow.  Updated pictures follow.  This will be the raised hearth for the wood stove.
This next shot faces the kitchen. You can see the beam that allows us to span about 25 feet, and supports a 10-ft ceiling in the great room.
Those of you who know Will, also know that he never met a gadget or piece of heavy equipment he didn't like.  Most people, for instance, would have rented a bulldozer, but as you know, Will bought and repaired one so we could use it.  The next picture is of his latest acquisition.  Don't all your husbands have one in their garage?
Yes, this is a forklift.  He had 2 of them when I married him, along with a street sweeper.  Oh, and a backhoe was also parked in the yard.  He disposed of all of those (although he has kept the components he thought he needed to build a log-splitter for more than 25 years now) when we moved to Montana.  That is a sad saga.  Nevertheless, his shop required, yes, REQUIRED, a forklift, and he got a REAL DEAL!
This shot proves that at long last the entire back wall is in.  I will have a clothes line back here for my low-tech solar dryer.  Here is Missy enjoying the outing: The electrical ditch is still open.  The backhoe won't start because it's too cold, and the ground is frozen at the moment--but at least we don't sink in the mud.
Here is the front of the house from near and far.
Later we will pour a porch and put a roof over it, and also pour an "apron" in front of the shop door.  We have taken delivery on ceiling insulation, which, when installed, will allow our contractor to install the shop door.  We want to be able to lock everything soon.  Lowe's wants to deliver our fridge, dishwasher (whew! haven't had one of those in years!)shower, tub, sheetrock etc.

"As one liberal academic administrator said in justifying his Draconian action in suppressing a Christian viewpoint, 'We cannot tolerate the intolerable.' This self-blinding, superior mindset explains how liberals can accuse conservatives of racism for their legitimate political differences with Barack Obama while demeaning, with racist epithets, Condoleezza Rice or Clarence Thomas. It's how they can mock conservatives for being close-minded while unilaterally declaring the end to the debate on global warming because of a mythical consensus they have decreed. It's how they can demand every vote count and exclude military ballots. It's how they can glamorize Jimmy Carter for gallivanting to foreign countries to supervise 'fair elections' and pooh-pooh ACORN's serial voter fraud in their own country. It's how they can threaten the tax-exempt status of evangelical churches for preaching on values, even when the churches don't endorse candidates, but fully support a liberal church's direct electioneering for specific candidates. ... It's how they can oppose the death penalty for the guilty but protect the death penalty for the innocent unborn. ... If you believe the left is tolerant, open-minded and democratic, you're in for a rude awakening." --columnist David Limbaugh