Today, I’m hiding. It’s like 400 degrees in the shade up here! I’m inside, which will probably not improve my container garden, but there’s no way I’m leaving the air conditioning.

We seldom, if ever, have a heat index over 100 degrees. We’re almost as far north as you can get. Not much farm work will get done today. It’s not recommended to exert yourself in this kind of atmosphere. That’s okay. The Boss has completed many tasks so far this spring/summer. He’s ready to debark the logs for our new home ……….. but not in these temperatures.

We hover, from time to time, on the margins of being a self-sufficient farm. There are some things though, where doing it ourselves, making it from scratch, or growing something from seed means we are much less efficient.

As we look to the build of our new home (as Alden looks to the build of our new home, actually) we both agreed that most of the house will be rustic. It will be built with timber framing and cordwood walls. We have the material for the walls and for most of the beams. We may need another load of logs, but we might not.

Our heating system will be in the form of a masonry stove. These are excellent in a cold climate and will mean that we can burn fires with twigs, not logs. Being the protective man he is, my husband is building this home so that I can handle everything myself. I appreciate the effort even as I reject the thought!

This is similar to the home he has designed, although not exact.

We don’t need a large home, and in fact the one we have is just one floor too large for us. We both need a large-ish kitchen, a pantry, a decent size sitting room and I need a “studio” which is our fancy name for a sewing/art room.

I have the responsibility for the interior decoration. LOL. I cannot wait until we get to the point where I can decide on colors and flooring (flagstone) and the million little things we need.

I have told him that I won’t take anything except a soapstone kitchen sink. I must have my sink. A nice deep one with a front apron! I will put Rubbermade tiny shower mats inside it ………. because he keeps telling me I will break all my dishes/glasses. I am careful. I don’t break things. He just doesn’t want a $1500 sink. LOL.

We plan on being totally moved into our new home by 2027. That sounds like a long way off, but time flies around here. Just a few years ago, I was 15.