2023

We snuck out to Mexico City for a few weeks to avoid cold, flooding, and storms. We still found time to work on the shower in the Cottage.

We planted lots of daffodils and other landscaping to remind ourselves that the cold, rainy winters won’t last forever. After growing up in Alaska, I get a perverse pleasure from complaining about California’s brutal cold.

We prepared the Back House for stucco with an inch of foam and chicken wire. The windows and doors were all in.

The harlequins (Sparaxis tricolor) went nuts in the spring. We finished the stucco, too.

We trenched the water pipes and electrical conduit for the Back House.

We installed the breaker boxes for the Back House and Shedville.

Mmmm... blackberries...

We started insulating interior rooms. Storage had filled the Back House and made it hard to work, so we finished two rooms quickly to empty the rest.

We went to Burning Man again and had a blast in the mud and dust.

Among other things, we built a bench from broken pieces we found beside the road.

We had a big Friendsgiving party. Friends painted a mural designed by John for the Back House.

We built the Cottage’s back deck. It may actually have been in October, but this was the first complete picture I found. Most of all, we won a court judgment against our neighbor, ending a grueling lawsuit.