Sheep Come to the Homestead-Warming Party

Reader Contribution by Ilene White Freedman
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Back in July, I went blueberry picking right near my friends Shannon and BJ’s new property where they are renovating a dilapidated house on some nice land. It’s the kind of house that people in their right mind would tear down and build something new. It was valued accordingly in the purchase. A new house would take less time and less money than BJ’s plan. But BJ often does the unthinkable, building high quality timber-frame structures that are made to last with beauty, strength and artfulness. And he’s done crazy renovation projects before.  BJ couldn’t resist this one after he found a log cabin with a stone kitchen underneath layers of drywall and plaster.

So it’s July, and I’m dropping off blueberries to Shannon.  I knew she wouldn’t get over to pick blueberries, even though she lives four minutes from the blueberry farm. She ate blueberries and shared with me this week’s homestead-building fiasco. We’re standing in front of the trailer that Shannon and BJ and their two kids have been living in for two years, during the renovation, and Shannon tells me this story. Renovation is always an adventure and fodder for stories.

A Little Toilet Humor

Shannon has a friend over with her two kids and they are playing with Shannon’s two kids. The kids are playing in front of the trailer while Shannon and her friend are in the house, talking about the next step in renovation. They check on the kids at the trailer, to find them happily playing, but Shannon sees water pouring out of the trailer. The kids don’t notice that.

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