NW Summer Life

June

 July

 Our home!

 So beautiful!

 Popsicles at the lake

 summer fruits for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

I have lived in the moment and enjoyed the entire, unbelievably beautiful summer..but I just started worrying about it coming to a close. Did I enjoy it enough? The pictures show I did. Sadly, I was a little excited today when I though of chili, stew, hot tea, jackets, and Halloween :)

24 hour home update

Adam and I had a 24 hour marathon to tidy up our garage in hopes of achieving "Additional Living Quarters" status (very important for legal reasons).

First, Adam removed exhaust pipes from our rocket mass heater (coincidentally, the power was out). 

We wanted to make the place look more "normal" and since we want to modify the exhaust flow anyway and don't need the heat for another few months, it seemed worth it. Stay tuned for the all night re-installation of those pipes as the weather cools...

Our builder friend Jake graciously accommodated our short notice and came to weld the remaining counter top frame. He also did the sink frame back in December. I bought him: 

1" x 1/4"  square bar for floor supports

1" square tube 1/8" thick for vertical supports

1 1/2" angle iron for counter top supports

He welded everything onsite, which was educational for the whole family. After he left and the kids were all asleep, we bolted it to the floor using a drill hammer and wedge anchors.

 It was thrilling to see the beginnings of my kitchen finally take the shape I have envisioned for months. It really will look wonderful when all finished.

 (decided to not remove the RM barrel)

For the "long term temporary" counter top, Adam cut nice quality 3/4" plywood. My jaw dropped when the sink hole was cut out...it looked so beautiful :)

midnight visitor:

I helped Adam with the construction but also rearranged furniture and cleaned out old refrigerator to move food into the new garage fridge and freezer. We wanted to make the space look like our hobby/game/office space.

 Then, we used an interesting plywood called Iron Ply to cover the faces, anchored with self-tipping screws and washers. It gave an overall IKEA / plywood / wood veneer look that was more pleasant than expected. In the end, I want a light white and grey marble or other swirled stone counter top with either stained wood or sheet metal facing. Our little firehouse is going for the white and black vintage industrial look.

 A little D&D in the early morning light.

 ....And, 10 am we are done.

Birthday Yardwork

For my 28th Birthday last week, Adam and I and some friends fixed up our yard!
Before (actually, during):

After:

I was tired of looking at the giant yard debris heap built up from last year (below),

and wanted more flat, usable space in our slightly sloping backyard...so, I decided to use the logs and sticks as walls for terraces, supported by re-bar. It worked quite well. We used every scrap in the debris heap to build and shape the terraces. Now I just need to finish the top with plant-able soil/compost and we are in business!

In just 2 hours, we made 2 "terraces" on the right side (above); and then Adam and I spent the rest of the day making  one on the left side (below); making a compost area using a pallet; and washed the Argosy. It was amazing.

Thank you, friends! We could not have done it without you!

We (Cydney) also found a secret egg nest of 16 eggs! we water tested them and they were all good :)

 Elliott had the time of his life running around with our friend's daughter, digging in the mud with shovels, and eating jelly beans.

I love how it turned out; you wouldn't guess how drastically it has improved my quality of life...and the chickens'.

Rocket Stove

Adam built a 16 brick rocket stove so we could enjoy our summer dinners outside.

We've made several pans of zucchini (from our garden box!) and hamburgers wrapped in kale leaves from our garden, too :)

Elliott loved the zucchini

And teased us with his new standing tricks: