Although it has been almost a year since we stopped work here, I want to write in some details of what has been going on in this latest period. January and February we worked on finishing up the laborious details which helped to finish the house. We did final plastering, we cut moldings, we painted the living room for the fourth time, we fit the windows with locks.

In march we went on to another house and only occasionally returned until May when the mud house was offered to the public through David C. Hildreth Realty. There was little fanfare, and no public response. By June we were happy with Mr. Hildreth’s “wait and see” attitude and by July we took it out of his hands and gave it to Nothnagle. They held 3 or 4 open houses, took photos, and printed a lovely brochure, but still no response.

Of course all this time, the mortgage payments were still due (both of them) and water, telephone, gas, and electric bills still come in. Finally we decided in August to rent the building. No go. We advertised and showed in interminably but no takers. Finally in September we decided to sell our city house and move in the mud house ourselves.

Our city home sold in three days. Then we moved in mid September and were totally in The Mud House by October 1, 1982.

We soon discovered a number of new needs. We bought a new fridge + stove and had a new dishwasher installed. Next we installed am stereo and fire and smoke alarms. Then we poured a cement floor in the basement, had cable tv installed and installed two phone lines. Next we had a washer and dryer together with a wash tub and a sump pump installed. Then we put a dimmer on the dining room light, sealed the doors for winter and finally built a sauna bath. This work took two weeks - maybe 3 really. It is amazing how much can be accomplished when you are living in a mess.

In late September a crew from channel 8 did a 100 second spot for the 6pm news. It took 3 people 3 ½ hours to record it, but the end product was rather nice. It was a sensitive statement of the aims and ends of the project. I love its balanced presentation. Best media coverage to date. Finally November 1 1982 we fired up the Sauna for its maiden voyage. It is heavenly and very finely constructed – if I do say so myself. So often American saunas are hot houses of sweat with no style or class. This sauna is all wood with a wood stove and a kerosene lantern for light. It is heated by a small pot belly stove which glows red hot and achieves temperatures in excess of 150 degrees.

On Nov 5 we got a thermometer so we can gauge the temperature better. I was surprised at how little wood it takes to make the sauna glow with heat. Sauna bathing is much underrated in the US.

Now that we are settled in the house we have discovered a number of startling things. First, it is not a small house. We had a Victorian home of over 2000 sq ft. This house with less than 1500 sq ft has every service provided by the larger structure and then some. The distances between these services is somewhat less but that room, we now discover, was not really needed. The house provides very high quality space for three people and gives us better service than we received from our Victorian home. It gives off a good feeling of home-ness. The lifestyle catered for by the house is family oriented and back to basics. We find ourselves with a fire in the fireplace nearly every evening. Many is the evening that are end up eating by the fire or reading instead of watching tv – or playing checkers or writing in a journal. These activities seem to suit the house.

They are low gear and relaxing. They require less harsh light and past pacing. I enjoy this style much better and I think all of us relax more in the evening than we used to glued to the boob tube 3-4 hours an evening. We do have a tv here with cable hook ups even but the house beckons us to other more interpersonal activities which have caught our attention.