Demise of the sweater. Hunger.

I finished the sweater-thing.

And my face of awesomeness and joy quickly faded as I realized that it did not fit me, and absolutely would not fit Jon.

The sleeves were too long.  It was too tight.  It was shedding like crazy.  I must have known all along that it wasn't going to work, but I was just too stubborn to admit it and so I made myself finish it.  Jon was really nice about the whole thing.  He told me stories about how he had to take apart art pieces, and nothing is forever.  I threw it down on the living room floor and stared at it for a while before stashing it in the basement for the night.

Yesterday, I unraveled the whole thing.

It took me nearly an hour just to pull all of that yarn out.

It is done.  My mistake was not paying attention to common sense, and gauge.  Now I am knitting Jon a pair of convertible mittens.  They are quite nice.  Jon made a couple of maple wood buttons for them.  The good news is that I now have enough of this yarn to make a bajillion pairs of mittens!

In other news, it snowed.  AGAIN.  I love snow.  I do not love how it keeps pushing back Jon's work season.  And keeps our funds extremely low.  Here is another Day of Food, reflecting our situation (Jon needed extra because he is working).

Breakfast:

Bacon- 1 pack of bacon can last all week for protein needs!

Jon also had French toast

Lunch:

Jon had leftover chicken soup

I had a free sample organic protein drink mix

Dinner:

Leftover chicken soup, stretched out with beans

Homemade bread

I'm soaking some chick peas to make hummus tomorrow, too.  Some days, you're just hungry.  Is it really better to eat a little food well, or eat more junk food?

Things will get better.  It is hard when translating payments come 45-60 days after invoice and it just keeps snowing.

My tomato seeds started to germinate.  Spring is coming.

One step closer. House plans VS building codes!

Have you ever tried to plan a project that seemed completely above your level of skill without knowing all of the parameters?  I try this all the time with knitting (eg. Jon's sweater- I'm frustrated with decreasing the yoke right now, therefore it is sitting in a bag in the corner).  The house project doesn't quite work like that.

We have now not only met with the electrician, but a plumber, a timber framing consultant, the interim building inspector, the energy code people, a bank loan manager, and tonight we will meet with a roofer.

Each time, a new issue comes up or we need to alter the plans...again.  We had a big scare last night after we met with the energy people.  We are now required to seal the house up so tightly that we will need at least one mechanical blower system running 24/7.  This can be a bathroom blower, but it will need a special box with computerized dials and speeds that will be set specifically for our house.  We must also be extremely careful about humidity, because it will be SO TIGHT that it could get up to 80% humidity.  The guy estimated that we would have a usual humidity of 50-60%.  That does not quite work for a timber frame, where we use green wood in lots of places that will slowly dry over time.  He also said we would need to be extremely careful of mold.  *shudder*

This is because the town we will build in has opted to mandate the Stretch Energy Codes.  No town vote or anything, the town council decided this.  Jon's parents didn't even know.

So this information caused a subsequent panic attack for the both of us, that we could die of mold, lack of oxygen (especially in the case of a long-term power outage!!!!), OR of toxic fumes in the case of fire, because the foam board that they recommend to line the house with is extremely toxic and highly flammable.

I do not understand how any of this makes sense.  We can only hope that we can find ways of working around these codes that will allow us to stay healthy and afford to actually build this house.  At least we had good news at the bank.  As long as things check out and we can provide an estimate for absolutely everything needed to build the house, we should get the money to build it.

Thing have a way of working out, and the power of prayer cannot be underestimated.  We have pages of plans to re-draw, heating systems to reconsider, and joinery to research.  We might even consult a structural engineer to make sure that we can defend our timber sizing.  At least we found out that as long as we get a 'species letter', we can mill and hew our own wood.  For anyone out there considering building a house in Massachusetts yourself, it can be done!

Picture from the VT barn raising, but close to what our ceiling would look like.

Beautiful.