12/11

The roof is done!!!!! Matt's dad and Ed came up last weekend to help wrap up that darn metal roof. (BIG THANKS TO ED AND BILL!!!!!) We rented some scaffolding and that really helped reduce the risk of bodily injury. Now that that is done we should be able to plug on with the 2nd level. We had some R value issues with the 2nd level insulation, but we have our game plan together and the material should be delivered tomorrow.

Life has started to shift for Matt and I. We have no electricity which means no TV, computer, Stereo etc. So the big events of most days are... 1- the weather. The coldest it has gotten is
-20. I check the thermometer 3 times more often than I check the time. We have had some snow and it really is breathtaking clinging to all the evergreens. Also, it is much easier to see the tracks of all the animals in our area. We continue to see very little wildlife. But the tracks don't lie and we have deer and moose all over and they seem to come very close to the house. 2-food because we are cooking everything from scratch on our woodburing stove much of the day is centered around meal time. We are eating like kings!!! Fresh baked bread, cookies, pumpkin bread, banana bread!!! We have also started making pizzas which turn out really good in the oven. We have done some amazing pork roasts and look forward to some wild game (maybe yet this winter??) Both Matt and I like to cook and trade off on who cooks and who cleans. Matt and I also fill our days reading . I'm currently reading Walden by Thoreau which obviously has some parallels to what we are doing. Matt is reading some books on American Indian cultures. We also borrowed a bunch of books from the library on animals in the area and their tracks. We also listen to the radio on Leslie's crank radio. We primarily listen to NPR or a classic rock station. Other than that most of the options are country (not my cup of tea). We are also playing chess. We are both new to the game so.... we are learning.

The rest of the day is chores and projects. The chores take up maybe 30 minuets. Bringing in wood and water. Cleaning the house, taking out the humanure buckets, walking the dogs etc. The projects are all building related and vary depending on what we are doing. We generally get 2-3 hours done a day.

We are really enjoying it up here and I hope to have pictures soon!