We put the roof on, which took a while, and it got a little colder too - you can just see some summer snow on the mountains behind.
Took the camera up the tree when hanging prayer flags - looks quite Japanese from up here, eh.
Meanwhile, fitting weatherboards outside, new and ever higher standards were set: all natural finish timber, stainless steel nails, no putty, no filler, no covers for these external corners, so the joints had to be just so!
I heard later that when the police came to check out the place (as they were responsible for HH Dalai Lama), they spent more time looking at these mitred joints than discussing security :-)
Sunset.
Magic light.
Simon and Jake fitting the soffit - 2,300 linear meters of tongue and groove timber we got for the walls and ceilings. Behind / beyond Simon you can see a corner - a compound mitre joint, not the easiest thing to do upside down..
Jake (that's his head on the left) was a 'nother WOOFER (willing workers on organic farms - there's zillions of 'em all round the world) who turned up at the right time to help Simon with these soffits. He is a taciturn Californian (no, that's not necessarily an oxymoron), and extremely skilful. Soon he had graduated to being in charge of the compound mitres. Not only that, he had a pet parrot. How cool is that?
Looking up at Jake's mitre joints. Be awed, be very awed.
Especially when you learn the man in question is only 18, and an artist. A really *good* artist. Came to NZ straight from California, to check us out, and by now has had as many adventures hiking around this little country for 4 months as many of us manage in a whole lifetime. It will be hard to go back and start school after this.....