May got hot

Summer is here with its bugs and hot weather already. We were making fires in the woodstove two weeks ago and last night had a fan in the window.

The kids are adjusting quite well. As I write today they are clawing at sand on the Beach in Big Bay, with a creative energy I can't hope to match today. I'm fighting some kind of bug which has been making its way through the family. Seamus has had it worst, with coughing fits at night. But it's moving right on by, getting better everyday.



















It has been a delight to work in warm weather. The house has the smell of fresh cut lumber seasoned with a touch of toxic glue and mold which brings back fond memories of Summer visits to camps of friends.


This month I picked up where I left off last Fall on hanging a door in our bedroom. It's an old door with a big window which we cut down to function more like a window. It took about a week to get that right.










We've decided against staining the cedar shingle siding. It's a kind of thing you don't have to do.
We have the building process pared down to what's necessary for us to move in: finishing the walls and ceiling of just the kitchen, dining room and one bedroom. The outhouse is working just fine. And floors? Not a prority. It's not that our current apartment is terrible, but it is not our home. We find ourselves going over to our 'big house' even on days when we're not working on it.

Coming soon- water supply and siding!

If you build it... ?

We're back from a two-week-long break from house building. We took a trip down to Lower Michigan last weekend to visit friends and family, and celebrate birthdays, and play some music and dance. Erica took a class in Indian classical dancing. I played a couple shows with my dear drummer friend John Churchville and just last Saturday night, back in Marquette, Erica and I got to sit in on a concert with a big fun band.

Here's a slice of the cake my cousin Rachel made for Erica's birthday.


Aya Jane had the idea to tour waterfalls to celebrate her birthday. She got us out to some wonderful places.



The time away has been great for focusing our vision. When we are working on the house every week for months it gets kind of boring and we wonder why we're going through this. But in my quest for clarity during this break my message was continuous:

You have to build this house.

What comes next I don't know. I guess I don't need to know.

So yesterday I went back to the plumbing, rerouting a pipe in this tree so it doesn't go across the window. And running vents up to the roof, including cutting a hole in the roof. How often do you get to cut a hole in a roof big enough to peek out? It was fun for me anyway.