house work

I've been on hiatus from the blog for a few months since my family and I have decided to make the final push on our house and MOVE IN. We've been building our house since 2006 -
and I'm certain we could work on it for another 8 years and still not be done.
Bill Coperthwaite has a nice quote about one's house being finished only on the day one dies.

here's an image of the south face from this past February

It's a passive solar design (meaning that its long, thin layout with many windows on the south-facing side allows the sun to heat the house in the winter), and it's just under 850 square feet.
My wife and I have designed and built it together, with some help from two fabulous apprentices for a couple of months over the last two summers.
A big thank you to Nate and Emily both.

We'll be heating it with wood in a masonry heater, which hasn't been built yet - maybe next year?
Until then we have a second-hand Vermont Castings wood stove.
The solar panels and 12v/DC system for lights is also not installed yet, but we're moving in anyway.

some interior shots from last month - wired and ready for insulation

In any case, things are progressing quickly - and time is short, moving day is in a week.
Soon I'll be back to carving spoons and bowls and playing with birch bark and spruce roots.
Right now I have to get back to hanging sheet rock and packing.