"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook." Julia Child

Pam's home! We agree our visit with the kids was excellent in every way (OK, maybe with the exception of the 1,200 mile drive to/from), but as Pam said on the drive back from the airport through the woods to our place, "The desert loses it's appeal very quickly."
It sure is too bad our family lives so far away, 'cause we enjoy them so much.

I spent four hours this morning working on the last three logs, and most of that on the school marm. I now understand why they're called that, and it's not because they're pleasant to be around or, in the case of a tree, work on. Think of a word that rhymes with witch. School marms.

I don't know why we're wasting money on dog food.
I had Bear out with me while I worked on the goat shelter this afternoon and that dog's preferred food is poop. Chicken poop, deer poop, his own poop. An hour later he'll puke it up. More evidence that this is the dumbest dog in the world.

I've just reserved a log splitter for the weekend. If I pick it up Friday afternoon and return it Monday morning I only have to pay for one day's rental, $60. So you know what I'll be doing all weekend! I have NO idea if I'll get it all split in that time or will need another day or six, but I'll work as fast as I can and see what happens. Part of being Scottish is seeing this kind of thing as a matter of principle.

Do I go to church Sunday, or split wood? As it turns out we're meeting tomorrow with Brett, the pastor of the church we've attended most recently. I'm cautiously optimistic. His preaching is biblical and actually has a discernible structure with real life application at the end. We've been there three Sundays and he hasn't mentioned Andy Stanley once! The church is BIG, not our preference, but if we can get connected to what they call a community group we can still build relationships. The worship is vertical and well done without feeling like a production.
We'll know more tomorrow night.

I spent the day working on the goat barn, aka Casa De Cabras. The morning was picking up a U-Haul trailer (wish I had a truck!) and bringing home 45 2x4's, nine 4x4's, and two rolls of roofing felt. Then I went to work swinging a hammer. Pam was in town doing the laundry so I worked alone, which made this stage tricky. Turns out getting 8' 4x4's set in pier blocks to be perfectly plumb is a job much better done by two people.
I'm documenting the process with pics at each stage, so you'll see those eventually. I'm trying something new for the exterior. I'm going to use cedar fence boards in a horizontal pattern (cheap) and treat them with a method that is *supposed* to leave them looking like aged barn wood.
Dissolve 0000 steel wool in vinegar and paint it on the fence boards. Yeah, weird. We'll see.

Another early night. I can feel it in my bones.