6 months

All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one... characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers.
~~Henry David Thoreau

We have now lived here for half a year. Six months and the house is not finished. In our fast food world of instant gratification, living the life of a modern day Walden is teaching me patience.

We have the long drive.
We wait for a fire to warm the house.
The rooms are finished slowly when they are finished.
We wait for sunny times to use electrical appliances.
We shovel the long drive by hand. Our exercise use to be biking to work.

The water heater froze due to a downdraft caused by a house built too tight; the house consumed more air than was available creating the downdraft. Nature finds equilibrium one way or another. Greg makes a fresh air intake vent which provides the needed fresh air, but also lets cold air in. We buy an industrial grade tank hot water heater. We will consume more propane, but this constant burning will also add a little heat to our utility room.

I love this hot water heater. One less thing to wait for as the hot water it right there, and the water is actually hot. The tankless hotwater heater did not heat to the piping hotness I love for dishes and baths.
Like nature, I hope my children will find equilibrium learning patience and perseverance. These qualities are the keys to success and happiness; the tools of finishers. Our daughter is bothered by the unfinished home and rallies her father with her intense helpfulness.... she has persistance mastered. Our son doesn't even notice when a major project is completed. It doesn't matter to him.... but he is innately patient.


Sometimes we are tired, sometimes things don't go as planned, sometimes this lifestyle is more difficult than we want at that particular moment. And this is the perseverance.
The darkness of this time of year hides many of my pleasures of living in the country. I leave to work in the dark and return home in the dark. Patience will bring the sunsets and sunrises back. For now I dazzle at the stars and the milky way that dominate our sky, and honestly and truly I do not miss living in the city.