15 May 2002 It's been a cold and rainy spring season so far, but there's always gardening to do. Neither of us are gifted gardeners, but we figure that getting a handle on the weed situation right now will make things easier for us later in the season. They say that pulling weeds can be enjoyable and therapeutic. We disagree.
Is Alain digging a grave? No, he's digging another veggie patch. It's still too frosty to plant anything, but we'll be ready soon enough. We'll add some topsoil, peat moss and manure later this week, then we'll fence the garden in to protect it from our resident groundhog. We'll try living harmoniously, but if he even sniffs at our veggies, there'll be trouble.
	Another task we had to look after right away was to cut down a couple of trees. One of them was badly damaged by the house fire a few years back, the other was leaning at a precarious angle. I was a little apprehensive at the thought of chain-sawing two 80-foot trees, but they fell where I aimed them, and I still have all limbs intact.
Just in case any of our friends and family have this idea that we are destitute and living the "Little House on the Prairie" life of Laura and Mary Ingalls, fear not. Here's Alain holding our satellite dish aloft, trying to get a signal from outer space. Later that day, he affixed it to the side of the cabin, and now we're the happy recipients of more channels than we know what to do with. Ain't technology grand?
	In another nod to the modern world of technology, we now have a telephone! And in tribute to Lisa and Oliver Douglas (Green Acres) the phone is firmly attached to the utility pole. All you have to do to call us is dial the operator and ask her to patch you through to the Hooterville telephone exchange. Green acres is the place to be... Farm livin' is the life for me... Land spreading out so far and wide... Take Manhattan, just give me that countryside!
Here's the inside of our straw bale cabin. To the right is a picture of the west wing, home to the TV cabinet and the computer centre. Things are pretty cramped right now, but we have (almost) all our creature comforts packed tightly inside. Below is a shot of the east wing of our lovely home, complete with gourmet kitchen.
	Okay, so it's a bit squalid, but later in the summer, we'll give the cabin walls a final coat of plaster, which will make them look and feel better. We'll add a few other finishing touches, but we're quite happy with our funky little house. And the best part? Monthly mortgage: $0.00 Monthly rent: $0.00 Monthly condo fee: $0.00 Monthly property taxes: $26.00.