I think David likes his new pizza oven

Here's how I know:

1. since the day the first stone was laid, he's spent 20 hours a day with it - looking at it, photographing it, videoing it, talking to it.  Its first 3 weeks of life are better documented than any babies I know (even the first born ones).  He uses the other 4 hours of the day to research recipes and general cooking tips for pizza ovens.

2.  when he's standing in front of it, a strange grin comes across his face and then he makes a noise something like this




3.  For the first time in 10 years he's cleaned the space on the side of the house (where the oven is)

yeah, ok, well, you should have seen it before.

4.  He's built it a little friend for it with the left over fire bricks - just to keep it company.

5.  And if all of this wasn't clue enough that David likes his new pizza oven, he did this yesterday

He rearranged all the patio furniture so that when sitting you no longer have this view

or this one

but rather this one

guns, needles and pizza

When I was teaching at an elementary school in Denver, what now seems like a lifetime ago, I had a reoccurring nightmare.  In this dream someone comes into my classroom with a gun and shoots me in the neck.  This was pre-Columbine and my subconscious wasn't so fucked up that any of the children were shot.  Only me.  Right in the neck. In that little indentation, you know, just under the adam's apple, rendering me completely incapable of calling out for help. 

Have a dream like that a few times and you reconsider your career choice.  The job might have been stressing me out a bit.

And then last night, death by knitting needle.  In this dream a troubled young man was watching me knit, admiring my work.  I set the needles down just for a minute to count my rows.  I was knitting a 6 foot long rug...had this been a horror movie we'd all have known already that something bad was coming.  The dude picked those needles up (#9, straight, extra long....I was knitting a 6' rug) and stabbed another young person right in the gut who was just sitting there.

I don't know what happened next because today is Wednesday which of course means that the hunters arrived at 6am with their guns and trucks and dogs, causing our dogs to go completely ape-shit barking, causing everyone within a 5 mile radius to wake up.

If I have this dream another, say, 10000 times, I might have to reconsider my knitting career.  Or just never set my needles down.

In other Maberga news....it won't be long now

Someone added a little cupola art

Can't you just taste that pizza

Viva Maberga

It's a Pizza Oven

See

Mystery House Project - part II

Good guesses so far from y'all but no one has hit the mark yet.

Let's see if these photos can help reveal what we are making:

1. we will be using these....

2. where those two cute Cornwells are standing is where it will be

 3. supplies were delivered yesterday...

 4. ....in a very nice looking tractor

 5. we had coffee and cookies before the work started (that probably isn't such a helpful clue)

6. here's the beginning...

Now can you tell what it is?  New guesses?

Actually, we've all been very busy making things, in addition to the mystery project.  Those Cornwells mentioned earlier did this yesterday while I was out...

Yeah, they made light! Can you see that line of light illuminating the brick vault?  Cool, huh?  For a decade now it's been a little dark in our kitchen.  No more, baby!  And you can turn them on with a switch that is by the door!  Really cool.  Perhaps you all take lights and light switches for granted...don't!  Not having either one is a real pain in the ass.

I finally finished this patchwork blanket ...

which I think turned out just, absolutely Okie-Dokie .

And visiting son Graham got a new pair of socks (David picked out the colors, it's not my fault).

As the italians call their favorite cookies "Butti ma Buoni"  -- ugly but good.