At last

overcast, cool, temps 7

Actually, while I say cool, it is seasonable, and has been well above seasonable for a few weeks.

We're back from our retreat to Hovey. Our friends Bal and Linda have arrived and are staying at the cottage, and we decamped - and set up new camp - in our real home!!! Fianlly. It, and we, are covered in construction dust. yes, not great perhaps for the physical health but I can't tell you what marvelous things it's doing for our emotional health.

Home. Home. Hoooommmme. Ahhh.

And what an amazing job the guys have done. Honestly, there's nothing I regret....nothing I look at, tilt my head, and wish we'd made another decision. But like so many other great things in our lives, this was a team effort. Kirk and Jane helped with the decorating and design issues. Bob (our construction manager) is brilliant with his suggestions (often made a few times with increasing insistence, until we finally click in that it's not a polite suggestion, and we finally say yes). The fireplace was designed by Bob - agreed to by us....and executed by two amazing local guys...Mike, the son of a stone mason, and Ashley, a young guy originally brought onboard to just clean up but who discovered a deep love of and aptitude for working with stone. Lovely to see his enthusiasm - and the kindness Mike showed in mentoring him.

The photo is our very first breakfast in front of that fireplace. We look at it and don't see just the stone, but those two young men, working hard to get it just right.

In fact, we look all over this place and see the men who worked so hard. For money, yes, absolutely. It's a job. But we've, in the past, paid a great deal of money and had work done badly. Half-assed. By people who didn't really care. We can tell the difference. Our home is more than just walls and a roof to us. It harbours us. embraces us. And those who build it become special to us. Not that we'll have long term relationships with them - we won't. At least, not with most of them. But we will always see them here...building our safe harbour.

It's still a few weeks away from being finished. Later today Michael and I will carry the chairs and table and other things back to the dust imbedded living room...and cover them. And prepare the place for the workers like our good friend Gary, and Daniel the painter, and Mike and Bob and Ashley, to return tomorrow. While we move out again and back to the cottage. We're inching forward - and trying not to make too many, 'oh we don't care anymore' mistakes. Or the tempting, 'We're tired of paying, let's just go cheap' mistake.

A steady hand on the tiller - and we'll be home again before we know it.

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend....talk soon!