a long thank you - the rebuild

You're looking at the base of the new kachelofen - masonry heater - that will heat the new house. This is the part that will be in the basement, holding up thousands of pounds of brick and stone and plaster. William laid these bricks only minutes before this picture was taken, and then Raymond took away the wooden form. Here, William is dressing the bottom edge of the brickwork, cleaning up the mortar lines.

Thank you to all the folks whose generosity and kindness are helping us rebuild the farmhouse -- we hope some day you get to see it.

Don't forget, this weekend is the Women Homesteaders Retreat at Polyface - grab your ticket at the Homesteaders of America website and I'll see you there.