Note: I don’t usually do this, but today I want to share what I wrote in my subscriber newsletter with everyone, because a lot has happened in the last few weeks, even though I haven’t been very active on the blog or socials. So if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, read below to see what I’ve been spending most of my [non day-job] time on, and where I’ll likely continue to spend most of my “free” time for the coming months. So if the blog is slow for awhile, this will be why.

It’s hard for me to believe that I haven’t written a blog post or newsletter since June 9th. But here we are at the end of June and it’s been almost a month since the last time I’ve written. But that doesn’t mean I’ve been sitting around watching the grass grow. Quite the opposite in fact.

As mentioned in my last newsletter from June 9th, my brother and his friend came down from NJ to spend a week with us and help us build the front porch on the new cabin. I took a week of vacation from my day job and the three of us spent each day working together and making more and more progress as the week went on. I was disappointed when the week was over and they had to leave. I really enjoy working with those two, and unfortunately, we don’t get as many opportunities to do so these days.

However, disappointment aside, we did manage to build the entire porch in those 6 days, even though we got rained out a couple of afternoons. We also had a really good time. It’s funny how work can seem less like work when you are spending time with good friends. My brother is already talking about when he can come back for another week long visit. Both he and his friend already know that they’re welcome whenever they want. I hope, for all of us, that the next visit can be soon.

After we completed the porch, my roofer could finally come back and finish up the shingles. My wife and I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. With the shingles completed, the new cabin is finally completely dry. We will no longer have to vacuum pools of water off of our floors when it rains.

This also means that I’m about to get really busy. We were hoping to be able to move in before Christmas. I’m not so sure that we’ll be able to achieve that goal. But nonetheless, now that we’re just about done relying on outside help, we have no one to blame for delays from here on out, except ourselves. Time to get to work. I’ve got lots to do.