Going Deep

 Joanne is drywalling the Deep Wall (the studs are 10")!

We decided to go straight across. While it slightly diminishes the size of the kitchen, it accommodates everything very tidily: drains, vents, wiring, the lot!

Any Old Iron

 In this case, any old brass valves scrounged from the workshop to act as temporary test shutoffs for the new kitchen lines. Everything's tight; nothing leaks. That is almost the end of the original copper; there is still an old section about four feet long left in the cellar, but everything else, water lines and drains alike, is new.

Product Endorsement

 This link belt system actually works. I slipped it on the table saw and INSTANTLY the rumble that has haunted me for the last 18 years vanished. I discovered that I had ordered a little too much; this may be handy if I ever get around to renovating that second saw.

Vent

 The bathroom sink was close enough to the stack not to need backventing, but the kitchen sink certainly required it. This was unpleasant, but it's done. There will be no gurgles in our future...

Drifting

 Deep snow this February--but I haven't had to shovel off the garage roof yet. We'll see. Pat's plantation looks very orderly in this shot. 

Icicle Weather

 The study window is just below the attic gable facing roughly NE, so I do get some tremendous icicles--ones that I can reach out and break off.

New Year's Demo

 We've started the year with destruction. After moving Howard's Hutch out to the sunporch on New Year's Eve, we spent New Year's Day demolishing the kitchen wall. Here it is--and yes! they did cut a pointless window into the dining room right through a wind brace (which one normally sees only on exterior walls, so what the heck?).