The end of the work day ritual. Manhattans on the patio. (Exception: Ephraim is not drinking a manhattan...) These guys deserve it after their 12 hour work days. The Clark family wants to reiterate how much it means to us to have friends and family willing to donate their time to help us build this addition. You all have worked so very hard and put your heart and soul into this project and words can not express our gratitude. 

The raising of the tree

THe raising of the tree. As tradition calls for. Once the roof has been completed - a tree is placed on the top truss....

Day 9

Day 9 action shots. Today on Day 10 - the interior walls will be finished, he windows will be installed and the plywood boards on the roof will be placed. You will see a lot of progress on tomorrow's pics! 

More "Funk That" photos

Funk That's" Pictures - from a "real" photographer

These are wonderful of the island. Enjoy! 

The "on island" market and laundromat

The "on island" market and laundromat

"The View"

Here is the view from the top of the property. You can see the back of the barn down below and the harbor past the barn. 

Hurricane Kyle changed course...

So we were very lucky last night. Curly and Sarah spent hours "provisioning" in case we lost electricity. Electricity goes out on island with strong winds. We filtered water and made sure we had enough peanut butter for a week. But, we did not need it thank goodness. Hurricane Kyle "swooped" in an eastwardly direction and made landfall on our neighbor, Nova Scotia. We had very heavy rains all day and the guys worked so hard in the torrential downpour putting up the roof. And then it stopped a few hours after nightfall. Today was beautiful and things are starting to dry up but we still have a very muddy job site and damp everything. It seems that nothing is dry from work gloves to wood.  

Today begins the construction of the screened in patio walls and the interior walls. I apologize for such a late blog. Curly and I went "off island" for a provisions run.

Safety First

Joseph, Randy and Chuck playing around with Ephraim. They nailed his pants to the scaffolding....

Hurricane Kyle

We are bracing for Hurricane Kyle. Class one Hurricane with 60-75 MPH winds that we are now officially right in the path of and will probably hit the island late tonight. Hopefully after dark. The guys are working very hard to get the rest of the roof trusses up and the hurricane plates. It will be a push to get done but everyone is working hard! 

This family would get a hurricane in MAINE while trying to build a house......silly! There has not been a hurricane that has hit Maine in 17 years. 

I want to tell all our friends and family not to worry about us though. We are settled a bit off the coast and do not have waterfront property. So the waves are not a worry and we have plenty of solid and safe shelter.  We are taking all precautions and will be totally fine. 

The only concern is getting the  house in shape to weather the storm tonight. 

Day 8 - Rain...rain...more rain

Well, It rained about 3 to 4 inches in the last 24 hours. The guys persevered and hung roof trusses in the rain. The "unnamed" tropical storm hit us and dropped a ton of rain and fog, but very luckily no high winds. And there is more to come. We are now preparing for the arrival of hurricane Kyle arriving tonight. 

Crew Stats - "Randall Danger"

Name: Randy

Nickname: Randall Danger

Where are you from? Kansas city, Missouri

Skill Sets? Dry Wall, painting and underwater basket weaving

Favorite movie? The Matrix

Favorite food? canned raviolis

If you were a tool, what would you be? The toolbox

Lobsters for Dinner

We had lobsters for dinner last night straight out of Normie's traps. Curly has been cooking for 11 people in the tiniest little kitchen and we need to take the time to thank her now. The crew can not stop praising the chef and the food being served on island for the past week. Both Chuck and Joseph  said they will be bummed when it is time to go home because they will miss the wonderful meals.  

The roof trusses are complete!

The roof trusses are complete! 

Day 7

Movie night in the barn and pictures of Stonington and the lighthouse from the lobster boat

Views from the lobster boat and movie night in the barn. Chuck brought his slide show of his Appalachian Trail journey when he hiked 2,162 miles from Georgia to Maine. Took him approximately 6 months. He is a photographer and his pictures of the journey are amazing. We showed to presentation out in the barn. 

More pictures from the evening lobster boat dinner tour

Normie's lobster boat trip to Stonington, ME

Norm, a local lobster fisherman on Swans Island, takes out our family every year on his lobster boat and we all go out to dinner in Stonington, ME. Here are the pics from last night's dinner journey. 

 

The raising of the WALL!

The raising of the wall! Very exciting time for the crew!