We’ve spent the past two days scrambing up ladders and climbing rolling scaffolding and kneeling in the crow’s nest and dancing on canted top plates – as we haul the beams up and against the center ring and onto the top of the walls. Once the beams were in place, there were many other tasks to take care of : nailing them off the to the hardware on the top plates, running the rafter cable thru the beams at the wall line, cutting and nailing the back-blocks, and a myriad of other tasks that Jonas was able to convey in a cheerful and patient way that allowed each of us to feel like we were contributing something important to the project. And then there were the frustrations of removing hardware (on the top plate: which means everything is done from a ladder- times 32)) and replacing it 1″ from it’s original position, the occasional head wounds ( Sophie and Sarah are both OK), trying to get the walls of a round structure plumb (you push one wall out, and the others come in), looking for nails and hardware beneath the sheets of black plastic everywhere, covering and uncovering the piles of nails and hardware depending on the precipitation…. The truly amazing aspect of this project is that no one has totally lost it yet – everyone is gracious and polite – and the air is full of laughter and jokes and wisecracks… however every once in a while I slip back into my construction worker mentality and yell something- like when the power kept going out due to the rain- and in my frustration at picking up the saw, and not having any juice, I yelled POWER!!! And Jonas turned to me and said ‘Wow, really old school’ and I had to laugh at myself and take a step back from the brink of being a total asshole. We’ve been helped this week by Terry Kelley – who showed up and threw himself into the project with great skill and grace and humor. Dave Leslie worked with us on Saturday and stayed the whole day despite the rain. Kendra and Mia have provided amazing and delicious lunches each day and have pampered us with snacks and mid-morning coffee and tea!! The crew is awesome – so many talented and willing and wonderful folk putting their hands and hearts into creating this great home!! more pics here

Jonas arrived last night while we were all in the log cabin eating dinner – we finally caught up with him around 8:30 PM – after he had taken measurements, checked the squareness of things, and generally gotten a handle on the site. We started this morning at 8am with a little circle and a blessing – asking for protection and health and well-being from the powers-that-be….. and then we kicked butt! Or rather, my butt got kicked!! By lunch-time we’d gotten most of the main floor installed. And by 6pm, when we stopped for the day – we’d stood the walls at the main round part of the house. Jonas is a wonderful manager and a great guy to work with. We were eager to ‘get things done’ and he was great about helping to keep us on track. At noon, we took a lunch break – and Kendra had created a delicious and amazing sandwich bar that all we had to do was show up with our appetites and eat, and she generously took care of the rest! Thank you Kendra for lunch AND cleaning up!! Yeah – one of the many benefits of living in community – lot’s of hands make light work of everything! The day essentially passed in one long adrenaline run – from huffing the floor panels into place, and nailing them off – to hoisting the wall panels up on their ends and nailing them together at the top and then at the bottom. Not much drama or excitement – but verry satisfying and gratifying in the progress department. Well, it’s true that the ‘womens’ team dropped one wall as just a couple of us were trying to do the work of at least 3 – 4… but no big deal… just a reminder to slow down, wait until all of us were able to be there before we stood the wall… By the end of the day – we all stood back, amazed and awed by how much we had accomplished – this pit that we’ve been working with for months suddenly took on the shape of a dwelling – a habitable structure! And tomorrow – we will see all the walls up, and at least some of the beams installed – as the roof begins to take shape as well! Wahoooo! And whewweeee – are we tuckered out!

In the world of construction (and nowhere else does this hold true…) – things always change. I used to tell clients that being a contractor was like being a juggler on a surfboard – the challenge was not only to keep the balls in the air, but to anticipate the next big wave and try to catch it before it sideswiped you. So here we are – having another relaxing day before the BIG PUSH. Our scheduled Oregon Yurtworks team-leader was sidelined by a hernia (ouch!) on Friday – so the start date has been pushed back. His replacement – Jonas – called this morning . We had a good talk about what he’s bringing with him (tools and know-how), what we’re providing here in the way of accommodations (a rustic ‘cabin’) , and when we’ll gather the big crew. Since he’s not getting here until late Wednesday, our official start date will be Thursday – 8am sharp!! This phase of the project has been a testament to the ‘let go let god’ philosophy of construction. In our original version of things (or in revision #56), we’d anticipated jumping on site first thing this morning and getting the floors and possibly a wall or two installed with our gang of 7 or 8. As it turned out, I didn’t get up until almost 8am, had a leisurely cup of tea and then spent all day connecting the rest of the water line up from the pumphouse to the new house (mostly running to the hardware store for parts – it is plumbing, after all.). Therese and Sarah worked on getting the ‘cabin’ ready for Jonas and tending to general Groves business as well. All the delays we’ve encountered thus far have been to our benefit- we’ve learned to not sweat the small stuff, and in fact are approaching the next two weeks of work with a sense of spaciousness and relaxation.

It’s been an exciting week here at the Groves! Therese and I made a languid return from a sweet camping retreat in the Olympic Mountains on Tuesday evening. We received a call Wednesday morning at 7am from the truck driver saying he was in Poulsbo and would be at our place in 1/2 an hour!! Whoa!! We weren’t expecting the truck until sometime later in the day…. And in fact, two trucks arrived by 8:15 Wed morning!! We called David K – who valiantly jumped out of his morning schedule and into the forklift – and masterfully managed to unload all the bundles and pallets without mishap. We are so grateful to have him as a neighbor and a friend! What a gem! It was sooo hot Wednesday that when Kendra( our Grovesmate) arrived with a plate of watermelon I fell into it and gulped watermelon with both hands!! Delicious and much appreciated! Thursday we expected 2 trucks – but after an easy unload with the first truck – David and Troy went back to their ‘real’ work – and we made several calls to Oregon Yurtworks concerning the whereabouts of the second one. Turns out, there was a big accident on I-5 that shut the free way down for hours, our trucker was stuck in it – and decided to call it quits and make the delivery on Friday. ( I thank my lucky stars that I’m a carpenter by trade, and not a truck driver…) This morning, the truck showed up, David performed his magic on the great Genie reach-lift -and the trucker was on his way by 9:30 am!! It feels like Christmas in July out here!! Dozens of huge packages wrapped in black plastic with my name on them- all waiting to be opened and assembled! (see more pics)

Wahoooo!! We’re ready for the house delivery! Sarah and Eddie and Therese and I cleaned the site up, moved material, spread pea gravel, and generally tidied things up for the big day. Since the trucks are not due to arrive until Wednesday – Therese and I are heading into the mountains for a few days of chill-out. I haven’t been out in the wilderness at all this year – and I know I can use a little bit of ‘not-doing’. I feel so much gratitude for all the help that has come our way ( Eddie, Austin, Sarah, Gordon, Francis, David K, Troy, Josh and crew, and many many more friends), for the weather, gratitude that we’ve all been safe and healthy, and that we seem to be getting things done in just the right amount of time. I’m excited and looking forward to working with the big crew that will assemble on July 16!!! (more pics!)

Sarah and I celebrated the 4th of July by installing the ring of beams in the main house. It was a hot one – and we really felt it in the pit. We also finished the center platform where all the pie shaped floor pieces will come together in about 2 weeks! Eddie ‘gets’ to hand mix and pour concrete into the ‘cosmetic curb wall’ ( it ain’t gonna be pretty…) that didn’t get filled the other day. Sarah and I are going to finish installing the center platforms for the two small yurts. I feel the usual aaahhhhh out-breath of post-concrete pour. The fawn made an appearance yesterday, the crows-chasing-hawk-troupe made several noisy splashes across the deep blue sky, the water in the round tank is getting close to perfect dunking temperature… ahhh – summer! (PICS) Tomorrow we’re getting a truckload of pravel for the pit – and then we’re pretty much ready for delivery!! The trucks start arriving on Monday – and Oregon Yurtworks has scheduled one truck a day for three days to head up to our little island. Therese and I hope to take a short camping trip to the Olympic Mountains after the third truck is unloaded – to catch our breath, do some intensive relaxation before the BIG PUSH – which starts on July 16.

We poured the sonotubes and footings for the smaller yurts ( we’ve dubbed them ‘Cedar’ and ‘Plum” for the trees and shrubs nearby) yesterday in a chaotic frenzy of unwieldy hoses, splooging concrete, and a willing crew. Yes, it took us forever to clamp the hoses together that delivered the miniscule amount of concrete to the far yurt ( Plum – in honor of the Indian Plum that hangs over it) – and we slopped more concrete on the ground than actually made it into the forms. And we did a much better job of delivery into the forms for the Cedar yurt. By the time we trained the hoses on the cosmetic curb inside the main house ( this is designed to keep the dirt from spilling from one level to the other) – we were more or less experts. Most of the mud made it into the forms – and then, there was no more concrete! Half of the curb wall remained empty!! A contractors nightmare ( # 305 ). Shit! I was pissed off – but tried NOT to take it out on the great helpers who were sweating and straining to move the hoses and concrete under the hot summer sun. I yelled “GOOD JOB” and then scurried over to ‘finish’ off the forms at Cedar – where the concrete was globbed and piled high covering the formboards and braces and everything!! Francis left without saying goodbye – and I feared that he was upset with me for not masking my frustration adequately – and I feared he thought I was pissed at HIM! When in fact, he had done a heroic job of pulling this very green crew together and getting them to help him with the very physical work of hose-hauling, hose-control, hose-lifting, etc. BOO HOO! Therese corroborated the notion that Franics was upset ( ‘he said he heard you say ‘fuck it’ and then you ran off into the woods..) which made me feel even WORSE. As soon as I finished working the stiffening concrete away from the forms and attempting to smooth it out – I called Francis. ‘Sorry for being such a pill’ says I. “WHAT? I LOVE working with you guys and gaias and feel honored that you called me to help out! I WAS JUST KIDDING!!! In fact, Dave elaborated on what I had said, and told Therese that you didn’t just run away – you ran CRYING into the woods!!!” Oh – I guess Therese did not get the JOKING part…. Anyway – we ran into both Francis and Dave at the Bainbridge Island Downtown 4th of July street dance that evening – and we all had a great laugh. Who knew we’d get so much mileage out of a ‘measly’ 6 yard pour. (more pics)