Stealing someone's coffee is called mugging.

Before

After

Except for the skirting that will come in a day or two, Fred's new foundation is done. I raised the west side 1.5" in order to get the floor level from one side to the other, and as confirmation of the improvement the door now closes perfectly.
Instead of rotting fir tree rounds sitting on tilting pier blocks I've got three pressure treated 4x4's in a row resting on cement-filled 6x16 cinder blocks that rest on cement slabs that are 2'x2'x6".

We went into town this afternoon to buy galoshes at the feed store (they didn't have them) and visit Hammer Lumber, a throwback local business with some of everything. They're  50+ years old, huge, and primarily serve contractors, but also take time to be very helpful to amateurs like me. The guy spent 30 minutes showing us options for both the skirt and the wainscoting I'll use inside. So many cool options that I'll have trouble deciding. Vertical or horizontal? Cedar, pine, or birch? V-groove or flat? I'll be going back there to choose when the time comes. For now I'll get some cheap T 1-11 at Lowe's for the skirting.

Had our first fire this morning and another tonight. As I type this we're a cozy 71 degrees inside (50 outside and headed for a low of 40), and enjoying it the more because the electric meter isn't spinning like a top.

But the biggest news of the day: it appears the trucking company is ditching their promise to pay the body shop. Today I got the $165 check that reimburses me for the parts I bought, but the $550 shop bill will have to come out of my pocket. I'll spare you the details, but after an update from me the broker sent them an email this morning that said they had until noon to resolve this satisfactorily or he would be posting a "damage loss, non-responsive" rating on the site used by brokers booking jobs.
They didn't.
In fact, when I returned the owner's call at about 1 p.m. he insisted he knew nothing about a promise by his employee to cover that bill and painted himself as the victim, with the broker and me leaning on him for damages that weren't his responsibility.
Here it is 6:30 p.m. and the only communication I've rec'd is a cc on an email my broker sent them mid-afternoon. He was clearly furious and said he'll be "pursuing full complaints with the FMCSA" (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) using the documentation included in the emails that have gone back and forth which document their reneging on the promise to pay the bill. Also, they booked a transport company without a brokerage bond. (I think that refers to their arranging another trucking company through another broker to get my truck here after their guy bailed, and doing so w/o appropriate bonding.)
Tomorrow we'll drive up to Junction City, I'll pay the bill, then drive my truck home. Am I happy? No! But I need this to be done - it's been one month today - and want my truck back. I've got work to do before it's usable but now I can get started on those items.
Sometimes you just gotta eat it and move on. Life works like that sometimes.