Bye, bye, blackbird...

Raven's Nest a.k.a. Huckleberry Hill is a home on hiatus: most of our stuff is pretty much moved over to the cabin, and we've settled into our home-away-from-home, with some final details to work on before heading into Vancouver on Sunday night for Monday morning's major op. Our house will also be undergoing major surgery: all rather nerve-wracking but a big adventure, too!

Side view

Excavation has revealed the rocky (a very appropriate word in both senses) underpinnings of our home. Thank goodness we didn't have any seismic events as the foundationless part of the house rested on an eclectic combination of cement, bedrock, and tree stumps--yes, tree stumps... yet further confirmation (as if we needed it) that we've made the right decision to do a major overhaul of the structure. Can you dig it? We sure can!

Transplanting ourselves

Below is a tulip--actually a "Miranda" tulip--from our side garden. We don't usually cut flowers from our yard, but the grounds of old Huck Hill are seriously compromised by construction these days, so we thought we might as well salvage what beauty we can... and this variety is a little top-heavy anyway, so the stems were all bent over. Still in the process of packing up and relocating, we hope to be settled at the cabin next week--with all our house plants, of course--and whatever will survive in outdoor planters!

Stumped!?

Pictured here is one of the massive stumps removed from our back yard in preparation for new construction. Note that we are still in the "prep" phase: we have not yet moved into the cabin or started the renovation... and the clock is ticking (less than 3 weeks until my c-section)! However, I just take one day at a time and try to be philosophical about it all. Time to pack up a few boxes before my nap...

Demolition derby: from burnin' wood to "That's insane!"

Tearing down the walls and tearing up the lawn: these are pictures of the house and grounds being "timely" ripped apart as we start to make some major changes around here (we're doing everything that's permissible so far, as we await a building permit). The woodshed and side deck are now history (some of the wood is burning in the fireplace as we speak, thanks to a dip in temperature and a power outage); the new septic system is a reality, duly certified ready for the new construction. If baby decides to make an early appearance, we're in biiiiiiiig trouble (or at the very least our lives will become much more complicated--which is bound to occur in any case) : our friends all think we're crazy to be so ambitious as to be doing all this at the same time. Lay on, Macduff (or, in this case, Steve's new buddy Nelson, the guy with the digger)! And damn'd be him that first cries, Hold, enough!