Summer Days, Weekends and Walls: Construction Update #2

The bright light creeps into the ceiling vent in the back end of the bus.

We heat water for coffee on the picnic table.  I sheepishly greet the crew of workers that show up as I shuffle through the yard in my slippers and pajamas to grab half and half from the fridge in the garage.

The summer work weeks are broken up by a weekend trip down the Bitterroot Valley.

Logger Days in Darby Montana

Jumping High at Logger Days

Jump Jump Jump

No Hands Water Melon Eating Contest

Cooking Dinner under the Big Sky

The days are marked by stops at the river, impromptu back yard slumber parties, movie marathons and games of hide and seek have expand to cover the whole block. 

We pick huckleberries, cherries show up in our CSA delivery, the apricots on our tree are sweet and juicy,  the plums are turning red but still hold firmy to the tree.

It is the first time this tree has fruit.  Red Plum Surprise!!

I am reading our way through the stack of Madeleine L'Engle books I tucked into the limited bookshelf space.  With dirty faces and feet we crawl into bed when it gets dark and the air cools.

The height of the walls doubles, and in half of a day the roof takes shaped. It looks like a house. I can't stop smiling.  I cover my face with both hands. I feel silly and giddy and my cheeks are sore. 

Sylvan and I sleep in a tent, in our house, under the big sky. 

The roof is decked.  

We choose paint for exterior trim. A dark, clear blue. 

The porch and balcony are beginning to be framed into place.

Compared to our old house, and in contrast to the bus, the new house is big, almost enormous.  The four of us have never slept far apart.  In one room or two connected rooms, and now stacked on top of each other in the confines of the yellow bus.  Sylvan and Ivory fight over the two kid's bedrooms.  They heard one framer say that a room is bigger, ever so slightly.  It is true, but the kids are wrong about which room it is.  There is a loft.  There are extra rooms.  There is a plan for a dishwasher.  It feels extravagant, excessive, decadent.  I waiver between excitement and guilt.  "It's okay,"  I tell myself. "We will have room for family, for whole family slumber parties, for neighborhood potlucks and pie breakfasts." We accept a friend's invitation to the lake.

Breathing and gentle snoring fills the air.  Sylvan giggles in his sleep.  I click of my light and tuck my book away.  It is dark and close and comforting.  I miss this already.  

Current Construction Status:  

Street View of House (14 ft wide)

The house faces east:
the beginnings of the Porch and Front Door

Facing the Back Yard, future green house site???