Window Frames!

The past week has been another week of variety. Monday we came home from Bethlehem after a fantastic weekend there. A guest speaker from Bethel Church in California was at Bethlehem Christian Center that ministered in a fresh, new way. Liked his Healing Meeting. He didn't pray for anyone, so it wasn't about getting prayed for by the special guest. He named off several issues, people raised their hands. Then he asked those people to stand, and the people seated to find someone to pray for! Then he asked the people requesting prayer to try something they couldn't do before. Four people got healed even before we prayed, including Corné! Anyways, got home half an hour before Tshepo, so quickly unloaded our shopping, and then took Corné over. I then went and got the Wii from storage, took it home and set it up. The children were very chuffed!! Sad thing is, the next day had to change the voltage transformer, I had to use it, and used an older, small one. It burnt out the power chord! So just after they got a taste of playing Wii again, it was gone. There is a happy ending- Andrea found a 220v Wii power chord in Bethlehem and our new friends, Jeremy and Linda, brought it with them on Saturday. It is very nice to have, especially because Micah and Shiloh play together on it so nicely.

Well, regarding the house, Tuesday we started on making frames. These are rough frames that are basically to hold the cob back and leave an opening into which later we can insert a finished window. I wish I had a carpenter here to help us. The smaller ones are easier to get right, but the larger ones are challenging. One reason is that my carpentry skills are just ok, not great. Another reason is that the boards aren't perfect. They are a little twisted or bowed. We do our best.

I visited a local builder for some tips on making these frames, and he was actually quite helpful. He lent me a tool that will hold two boards together at a right angle, so you can then nail or screw them together by yourself. He also lent me a draw knife (I think that's what it's called). It's a blade with two handles at each end that you pull toward yourself, as in to cut the bark off trees. Needed one of these! I actually had asked him about making one, he makes knifes, and he just offered it. Do like how people help each other out in a small community. On Thursday the guys trimmed all the bark off two large Popular logs I had cut at Mosamane. Will do the same to the boards going into the walls for the door frames.

Popular logs.  One will be used to hold up the loft at one end in the living room.

I tried making a larger frame myself on Thursday. It ended up very askew. Took it apart the next day and replaced a board, it looks better now. What I think is that with the rough frames being wood, and the windows also made of wood, if the window doesn't fit, we can sand one or the other to get it in there. Truthfully, this is another part of the building process that I'm not crazy about, but I do enjoy it much more than building the stem wall! It has to be done anyways. We don't have crusher dust at the moment, and until we can afford a load, we can't do any cobbing. So, we'll take our time making these frames and spend a little time getting the spring garden in. Actually, Thursday, Lerato and I got 4 beds ready. The last compost pile I made turned out pretty well, mixed that into the soil, should get decent results this summer!