From The Island

Friday night, as part of our big date, we went to Home Depot to buy the insulation we need to keep the heat in the first floor and not in the basement. After loading up one of those huge carts with many rolls of insulation, we were waiting behind and chatting with a friendly man and his teenage daughter. Once outside, they were loading up their minivan and we were strugging with the realization that all of this insulation was NOT going to fit inside the Volvo. As I'm fidgeting with a strap to try to figure out how to get all these bundles attached to the car, the teenage girl runs over to ask where we are headed. When I tell her, she says, "Oh! We're going to The Island! We can take some of that for you!" So we load some into their minivan and they follow us to the gas station and then home. We invited them in to look around and chat some more and they were such nice people.

It's funny that in every other place we have lived this type of generosity and friendliness is unusual. Here it is the norm. It's so good to be here.

Anyway, the insulation is now installed, after many itchy hours. The house feels warmer, but that's surely due to the fact that the average outside temperature has risen a few dozen degrees--to 20.

After those itchy hours and thorough showers, we used the bake oven in out dining room hearth for the first time. After building a fire in the beehive oven and keeping it burning for a few hours to get the bricks hot, Damian swept the fire out of the oven. Then we put a pizza made with thin homemade crust into the empty and very hot oven for three minutes. Out came the most wonderful pizza I have ever eaten in my own house--maybe anywhere. Cooking with wood fire is very satisfying and enjoyable.