Slow Progress

Sometimes, when you work mostly alone, you just need a supervisor. Here’s mine. His name is Ninja and he’s the feral cat who takes care of our workshop/shed. He’s a lovey-dovey and almost always wants hugs and rubs. Except when he wants to wrestle, which can involve claws and teeth, since you are just a bigger kitty like he is, right? (I’ve learned to wrestle with gloves on!) He supervises most anyone working in the yard, in addition to keeping our workshop clear of mice and birds. He’s a hunter, too. And, dogs… did I mention our two dogs? After an initial period of sorting out who was boss, he started thinking he was a dog. They rub noses, sniff the privates, run up to cars and inspect newcomers… as a group. I’ve taken to calling him our puppy-kitty.

Meanwhile, back at the house we are slowly building in the winter when it is cold and often wet and muddy:

• Cross bracing continues. Every set must be custom manufactured, and sometime I must get very creative in order to get it installed, since they should have gone in before the roof was framed (but I didn’t realize it).
• Scaffolding – can’t stack and plaster the outside walls without a safe, solid place to stand. I’ve owned this scaffolding for over 20 years, knowing I would use it one day and am thankful to have it.
• Straw bales – the horse farms got me on this one. I had two suppliers last fall and thought I could put bales in a large haybarn we aren’t using… but then decided the mice would be a problem during the months of storage (they cut the strings with their teeth when they burro in to make nests). Recently I checked back with my two farmers – no straw for sale anywhere. There is straw available – in Ontario! I continue to search around here. If you pray, say a prayer that we can find some soon…