Our broke down palace. . .

There is something funny in the air. i have never found myself in the middle of so many predicaments and unfinished projects in my whole life.

The good news is that the roof is one step closer to completion. The outside plumbing is all but finished. The new chicken coop is framed and the roof and floor are started. . . The bad news. . . the roof isn't quite finished, i am still fumbling with outdoor plumbing that should have been finished in May, and the chicken coop should have been finished by early July. The bathroom ceiling which desperately needs to be replace hasn't even been started, the garden is all but hopeless and we took the car (yes the car with less than 17,000 miles on it) in for an oil change and it turns out that it has a bad O2 censer ($375.00) and supposedly has a leaking head gasket. The mechanic says they both need to be replaced (approx $2,000). Life insurance is due, and property taxes are just about upon us. . . . i have never been happier! (Can anyone smell the sarcasm).
i officially hate economics, money and all that governs it.

Ok, but in spite of it all bear season started Monday, and archery season starts next Saturday!!!
That and apple season is here!!!!!!

Speaking of here. Here are some photos from our roofing project . . .


Random Snake gourds growing in the garden. . .


Well, someone had to supervise!


Chuck masterfully engineering the flashing for the crumbly rock monotlith
Subliminal Shroom Shot!!!!!!

The master. . . and his master apprentice!

And summer winds down. . .

i know i will get a reprimand from Renee for this, for she, like me
has mixed feelings about winter. i was in denial at first. The cold
evenings seemed to have come early this year, and the winds during the
otherwise hot days bear a chilling reminder with them that the world
has not stopped spinning on it's axis. But it was the maples, yes
those stalwart watchmen of the woods who convinced me that my denial
was in vain. Not the swamp maple who are always eager to don their
autumn glory, but the old men of the woods. They have begun to change.
. . And so it begins.

We have just survived this last weekend. After nearly two years of
planning we finally put up the new roof. . . mostly. None of it would
be possible were it not for our friends from the south who sent up a
work party to assist. Without our friends Richard, Carolyn, Chuck and
Parren (i hope i got the spelling correct), and Bob, Cindy and Kate
(from the north) we would still be fumbling around trying to get the
prep work done! Thanks guys. And of course i can't forget Jay and Ben
our "experts" with metal roofing, Mark (from across the asphalt river)
who has adjusted our window situation without having to remove them
completely, and of course Ah Kong, and Ah Mah who kept the armies well
fed.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you all!!!!!!!!
i will post some photos here as soon as i can get some quiet time at
home. . . but that is after we get the last of the flashings up. After
all it would be nice for everyone to be able to see the finished
product!
In spite of the coming autumn we will remain dry. And now that our
roof is near complete we can move on to the Taj Mah-Chicken Hall.

. . . and the harvest is next. . . . hallelujah after all! (Thanks Carolyn!)

Some thoughts on life. . . and money

i find myself overwhelmed these days. i try not to obsess about
finances but i bet if you ask my wife she will tell you a different
tale. Truth be told, lately i have been a bit overwhelmed but maybe
not by what i should be. Amy and i have talked a lot about
simplifying, about sustainability. Being a bit of a history addict i
have poured through old books and journals, some famous folk, some
not. Maybe it is the shrinking frontier - no place left to spread our
legs and roam. Perhaps its the ease of transportation and mass
communication and advertising bridging the gap and invading ever last
private space we have.
Folks back in the day seldom traveled more than 20 miles from home. . .ever!
(Save those stoic lads clad in their animal skin clothes out on
the fringes of civilization). Now-a-days it's nigh impossible to stay
home and be content - and that is how i tie this altogether. Traveling
equals money - food, gas, nick-nacks, entry fees, parking fees. . .
money, money, money. Even at home, we find things that we "need", more
money - supplies for school, for candle making, kitchenware for this
or that, clothes. . . .
It's not that the money is the problem, it is that it seems not a day
goes by that we don't talk about buying this, spending that, budgeting
for this or that or the other. . . it's irritating.
i would love to survive a week without a single word being said about
money. Wipe anything related from our vocabularies and spend a week in
the dirt, in the garden or in the river, or in a tree. We are slaves
to what we let master us. i look forward to the day when money isn't
hovering near the center of our lives!!!

Just an update on things -

I have been negligent about posting lately. It’s a combination of just pure busyness and bit of guilt because there is nearly always something better to be doing. With eight kids (plus the extras) running around and the myriad projects around the house there is always something better to do. If i ever lose sight of that i can always gaze longingly into the backyard at the garden and half completed improved chicken coop. . . On the bright side, it is not a complete loss. There is corn and beans, the broccoli did very well, and the pumpkin and snake gourds have made themselves quite at home.
(This is NOT our garden . . . but a man can dream!)

We had a fantastic camping trip the first week of August. One of the other “house church” fellowships had the brilliant idea that as many of the local fellowships should get together as was possible. So they set up the “Summer of Love” camping trip. No agenda, just a time to get together, talk, share, hike, swim and be silly in public. I think our mission of “just getting together was a total success. I can’t wait for the follow up trip next year.

The next big buzz around the house is the roofing project/six month anniversary of the Weeman Road house. Roofing, laughing, friendship, food, a campfire (with s’mores of course) – all the things the church was meant to be.

Here are some photos for all the family and friends who have fussed at me about not posting enough pictures of "the fam”:

Our next thoughts. . . surviving eating only locally grown food that can be purchased for a dollar a day. . .

A tidbit from the Jesuit Priest Berrigan:

"One must urge (to his own soul first) a firm rebutting midrash; bring
Christ to bear. Read the gospel closely, obediently. Welcome no
enticements, not other claim on conscience. Mourn the preachers and
priests whose silence and collusion signal plain revolt against the
gospel. Enter the maelstrom, the wilderness; flee the claim that would
possess your soul. Earn the blessing; pay up. Blessed - and lonely and
powerless and intent on the Master - and, if must be, despised,
scorned, locked up - blessed are the makers of peace."