What is wrong with this picture?

(flashback to last weekend)

Here I am trying to add a little excitement to my life - that kind of excitement that one can only experience when knowingly doing something could go really, really wrong. I figured the whole log pile could start rolling, and was ready (hopefully) to jump off if it did. Gracias a dios, my reflexes were not put to the test.

In my defense, I thought this was my only option for moving the logs since the weight had locked in the lower logs. Tim later showed me that it was possible to pry the bottom log out with two people working together at either end of the log.

Don't try this at home.

Progress

Finished framing the exterior 2nd floor walls today. Libby, Halley, and Liam came out yesterday to help me raise one of the walls, then I lifted the final two on my own today. The first one wasn't so bad, but I guess the framing for the 3 windows in the last wall must have added a lot of weight. (Mom, maybe you shouldn't read any further!) It was at the absolute limit of what I could do by myself. There was a moment when it was up to my waist that I wasn't sure whether (a) I could actually lift it and (b) what would happen if I did. The prospect of my pushing the wall over the edge was real and scary, but I decided to go for it and see what happened (surprise, surprise). I gambled that the supports for the east and west walls, nailed to the outside of the rim joist, would prevent me from going too far over the edge. Somehow, it worked. I took a moment to make sure my back was still in working order. I feel like part of this process is discovering what is possible, hopefully without going beyond safe limits.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow and I don't have any idea what I will do. I might have a break from both of my jobs. Maybe I'll sleep late.

I'm one lucky fella

Check out this hot shot! You'd never guess that in her other life she is a stressed out law student. You'd also never guess how tough she is just from looking at her. She works so hard that I sometimes have to beg her to take a break so I can catch my breath! (She's using the cant hook to roll a log onto the mill)

more weekend pics

One of the great things about having so many people help over the weekend (other than the fact that I got A LOT of work done and I absolutely love having people I care about helping me and taking ownership in this whole crazy process) is that there are lots of amateur photographers helping me document everything.

I'm still waiting for the pics from Dad's camera, so there will be at least one more of these posts.

foundation fiasco -- take #? (I have lost track)

Much to my dismay, but not to my surprise, the foundation isn't level. These pics don't do it justice, but there is either a nice bump toward the front, or the corner dips quite a bit. I had to take the chainsaw to cut three of the studs to make the rim joist sit anywhere close to level. Never mind that the whole reason I hired someone to do this rather than do it myself was because I wanted to make sure the foundation was square and level. What a waste of time and money! I was so pissed off when I discovered how bad a job they did (for some reason I thought they would at least get the pour correct) that I called and told them I wanted some money back. They agreed to give me the $250 that I paid above the contact price back (because they underbid and then dug the footers too deep and wide and thus had to order a lot more concrete than they expected). Deborah agreed to that after I played the lawyer card. I was supposed to get the refund on Friday, but of course Deborah didn't return my phone call. I finally spoke to her on Monday, and she started giving me a sob story about how they paid so much, and how it wasn't so bad (without having even seen it). I played the lawyer card again, and she said she would get me the money in order to protect the good name of their business (??!!). Stay tuned to see whether I actually get the money. (can't wait until I'm through with the Foundation Fiasco posts)

The sawdust pile continues to grow

barn raising -- looking back

Some great pics from Peter as we raise the first two full walls.

sawmill, take 2

Lots and lots of great help this weekend! I felt pretty beat up by the end of the day on Sunday, but the combination of great company, seeing so much work get done, and the perfect weather made it a wonderful weekend.
Michele was an all star, working so hard on both days that Tim (the sawyer) commented probably 4 or 5 times how hard she worked and how it was making him tired just watching her. After learning to use a hammer only a couple of weeks ago, she framed a wall all by herself on Sunday while the rest of us moved lumber.
Mom and Peter were out there all day on Saturday, with Peter finishing the floor! Mom was a trooper, carrying board after board, then hopping up on building to help Peter when he needed it. Barry came out on Sat to check out the mill and was so impressed that he returned for a play date on Sun. Larry also paid us a surprise visit on Sat and Mom put him to work. He then came back the next day and brought his gloves with him! Dad commented that Larry was the only one who was working efficiently, sliding and flipping boards rather than lifting them the whole time the way the rest of us did.
Which brings me to Dad, who worked his tail off all day Sunday. That is how I welcomed him to the East coast -- getting him up at 6:45 and making him move green lumber all day. He didn't complain. My goal was to make him as tired after working with the sawmill as I was after hiking Half Dome with him. I wasn't successful.
Kai came out toward the end of the day on Sunday. Having some fresh legs (and forearms) at that point was a God send!
Finally, Ellen, my coworker and neighbor, swung by to check on the progress. She didn't lift any boards, but did something at least as helpful -- repeatedly telling me how impressed she was with how fast everything was going up. It sounded like she even meant it, which was good for my soul since I keep feeling like it is moving at a glacial pace.
More pictures to follow.