2/10/19:
Building Summary: Today I began the construction process on Wall #5, otherwise to be known as wardrobe-wall. I started off the morning by drawing an even more detailed plan where I could account for little things such as the width of the face-plate on the front of the pull-out and the thickness of the plywood on the wall’s east and west sides. Next, I retrieved the woodcutting tools (saw, measuring implements, and pencil) and the wood itself. After that, I cut up all the wood that will be required to build the initial frame.
Commentary (2:00 PM EST): Though I’m only about half way done with the day, there have been plenty of interesting occurrences to write about. The first occurred right as I was leaving the old house this morning. Because it was fairly warm, I was able to take out the basil plants (my family have a couple of these herbs, and in cold weather the greenlings huddle in our garage beneath a sun lamp). Either way, as I was toting out the second plant, I noticed a black speck on my hand. It turned out to be a mini lady bug larva, so I took care to let the tiny thing crawl back onto the basil. There, it shall feast upon the ever-present aphids.
(Large picture for clarity.)
The second highlight occurred as I was measuring out the wood to cut for Wall #5. I had two 16′ 2x6s available and two 10′ 2x6s. What I needed was four 96 ¼” 2x6s and four 54″ 2x6s. This worked out quite well, because they always make boards a hair longer than their defined lengths. The two 16-foot boards ended up splitting perfectly into four boards 96 ¼” long, and the two 10-footers split into four 54″ boards with very minimal waste. It was so perfect I felt the need to include it in today’s log.
As for the third and final high point I shall include for today, it occurred both before and after working on Jacobhouse this morning. The before portion consisted of making bread dough for lunch (learned a new and quite effective kneading method). The after portion consisted of splitting, forming, cooking, and eating that ‘dough’. I suppose at the lattermost step, though, it would have been considered bread and quite beautiful and delicious bread at that*. I try not to use the term beautiful too often, but I think the loaves I made today were a fine exception – especially with the knowing that they were served alongside a fresh salad and some home-grown steaks (NYS & Ribeye).
*I’m not sure if it was the kneading method of ‘half-folding/rolling the dough’, the way that it cooked over boiling water for its entire duration in the oven, or both, but that was some of the best bread I think I’ve ever made. The crust was crispy while the inside was almost chewy. Here is where I found the recipe: https://gatherforbread.com/easy-perfect-yeast-bread/