Weekly Update: 8.26.23
While some weeks have felt so long they seemed like months, this week felt fast -- with each day on repeat. Get up. Sweat. Work on joist blocking. Sweat. Swim. Plan for next phase of build. Sweat. Soak in the pool until it's time to cook dinner.
The heat has been almost unbearable -- hot and muggy, with mornings thick with fog. I thought it couldn't get any worse than July, but I think this week topped it. Our heat index (according to Weather.com) was 120 one afternoon. I ordered supplies while using my computer outside, sitting under a canopy with a mister spraying my legs. It was that hot.
That really sums up the entire week. Sunday was different of course -- we enjoyed church (after missing for two weeks due to storms). After church, we went grocery shopping. In the evening, we made homemade ice cream -- this time, the flavor was banana.
But the rest of the week was Monday on repeat. We had a little excitement here and there. One of our folks' vehicles acted up, followed by our brother's. A couple people had dental work done. It's interesting how the mundane parts of life carry on, even in the midst of adventures like the one we are living.
Despite the weather, we got lots done. We completed our joist blocking. We had short work days due to the heat or other chores getting in the way. We ran out of nails on Wednesday, but thankfully our brother Levi was already making a trip to Springfield on Thursday, so he picked up more.
I ordered our exterior wall supplies on Wednesday, and they arrived on Friday. I learned a lot while making the order -- like the pros and cons of plywood versus OSB, the best nails for framing with a pneumatic nailer, and the various types of house wrap available. It's exciting seeing all the 2x4s stacked out here, ready to build. I'm planning on reading up on framing over the weekend, as well as watching some YouTube videos. I'm especially thankful for Deep South Homestead's Off Grid Cabin Build series. Danny's tutorials have been invaluable.
While we all melted under the Missouri sun this week, we had some fun with the extreme temperatures. We tried dashboard cookies -- and it actually did work. We also made some sun-roasted s'more's (I couldn't believe how good they were). Our new favorite sunny-day treat is Sun-Kissed Chocolate Almond Bark. Look out for a post featuring the recipe soon.
The weather looks better in the days ahead. We are at least getting a break from the upper-90s for a few days. I'm looking forward to finishing up our floor and starting on the walls. It feels like the pace of our project is ramping up, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we accomplish this week.
