Different Days

Tuesday- Michelle's
The boys were gone and, for the first time, it was just Jessa and I working. And it went rather well. We went to Michelle's to finish taking the topsoil of the un-dug part of our foundation. (This is something that we asked the neighbor to do before digging the foundation, but somehow, it was not done.) Jessa had come out previously and dug for five hours, only getting halfway across, so I was afraid that this was going to take the whole day. I started digging while Jessa finished laying the drain tile. It wasn't bad- it was just a matter of removing the top 8 inches or so. Once Jessa hopped up and helped dig, it took no time at all. We were done by noon. Having nothing else to do on that site, we went home.

Wednesday- John's
Jessa and I were expecting a slow moving day, since it was just going to be the two of us and John. However, that was not the case. Many of the neighbors stayed and helped fill bags for a while, Jessa's mom came back out to help and we got nearly two rows layed. I filled bags some, layed barbed wire, placed bags and tamped. (A lot. I now have blisters on my hands. Tamping is still the least favorite.) At the end of the day, some of John's family came to visit and Thom Price came to visit (and bring us Italian chocolates. Yum.) It was a good day, and was far more productive than we imagined it would be.

Thursday- Jessa's
Jessa and I were on our way out to Michelle's to strip timber. We called Michelle to let her know that we were stopping by Lowes, so we'd be later than expected. When we called, Michelle informed us that the trees hadn't been delivered yet. Having nothing else to do at Michelle's, we turned around and headed back into Berea. Instead of going to John's (since he wouldn't be expecting us,) we went to finish up an example solar house for Jessa's previous job. The house was probably five feet tall at the highest point in the roof and had solar shingles and a floppy solar panel. The house just had a few finishing touches that it needed- it had a few screws that stuck out a tiny bit, the floppy solar panel needed to be attached and the floor needed to be waterproofed. The nails were tiny and only stuck out a little, but we were afraid that a kid walking through the house might scratch their finger, so we cut off the tips of the screws. (We started using little wooden biscuits to cover the tips, but it didn't seem extremely sturdy, so we decided to cut the tips off.) We then used some sticky tar-like substance to make the solar panel stick to the roof. Then we painted a thin layer of sealer onto the floor (discovering that it gets the sticky tarlike substance off our hands. Interesting.) I think Jessa was glad to finally have this project done, and I was glad for a change of pace.

Friday was supposed to be (and was) rainy (and the fourth of July), so we didn't go out.