confessions of absenteeism

I have been absent from this space for nearly a year now. It started as an all-in, foot-stamping, 4-year-old tantrum of a boycott of the never-ending "spring" we endured last year. I was so tired of the long, grey winter, the outrageous winter storms lasting until after Memorial Day (!), the record-setting seasonal snowfall — so unlike the ordinary winter weather we have here on our mountain.

As snows receded and I relaxed my commitment to the boycott, technical difficulties and more of our hallmark transience made returning very challenging, if not impossible.

Suddenly, the summer was fully upon us once the snow finally melted at the end of June and we were full steam ahead with little time for extra-curricular activities like blogging. It was nose to the grindstone for me and the other builders.

And through it all there was this other consuming, intense Creative Project that heightened all the frustration, anticipation, urgency, and homebuilding madness out of all proportion, making it nearly impossible for me to concentrate on nearly anything else.

Evidence of the Creative Project Underway

The Creative Project culminated in a beautiful new member of the family, Torbjørn Strom Harvey, born on our mountain November 6, 2011 — aka Baby Builder.

A brand-new Baby Builder resting up for the job ahead

We're pretty smitten with this new family member, almost no one more so than his big brother, Boy Builder.

Here's to a new year of more building, more creativity, more family love, and more blogging!