Readers Around the World



The big, blue marble

Dear Readers,

Thank you for visiting once—or even twice or more!—to read about our house building adventure. When I started writing this blog, my intent was to keep family and friends informed of our progress. Thanks to the wonders of Sitemeter that tracks and counts the visitors to my blog, I have evidence of readers far beyond that circle of family and friends.

I am truly thrilled to see the range of countries and cities from which my readers come. I only wish I knew more about you and what brings you to read our story. Do drop me a note and tell me about yourself! I would love to know what interests you and whether you, too, are in the midst of building or remodeling a house—or even just dreaming about it!

So, thank you*…

Ode to a Tree

Our wood flooring is arriving in 3 days—yahoo! Not only am I excited to see it, but getting the flooring installed is critical to moving forward with cabinets, and then countertops, and then light fixtures, and then… Well, you get the idea.

Sequencing the work of building a house is one of the toughest parts of being your own general contractor, in my opinion. It reminds me of that old song “Dry Bones” (or Skeleton Bones). “The toe bone is connected to the foot bone, and the foot bone connected to the ankle bone…” Everything in its proper order and timing!

Pantries Past, Present, and Future

Swedish dish pantry

I am not a good cook. Sure, I can follow a recipe and even improvise a little; I can plan a dinner party and have everything ready to serve at the same time; and I’m told the dishes I serve are quite tasty.

But what I can’t do—or rather what I haven’t yet learned to do—is plan meals ahead of time, creatively use all the food I purchase, and whip up meals based on whatever is in the cupboard. Those skills, in my opinion, are the hallmarks of a good cook! And I feel quite sure that one of the keys to becoming a good cook is a well-stocked pantry.