{about our home} ode to concrete

I took these photos a week or less ago, of our beautiful new walls being washed and cleaned in preparation for floor boards to be installed. {Mishi sure did have fun spraying the walls down, and any people who got in her way. I do think those gumboots maketh the outfit!}.

Both Sam and I whinged and complained about the making of these walls. Anyone who asked about the house building was met with the same "oh" and "ughhhh" about how horrible concrete making was. And indeed it quite is. Combined with the fact that it rained in between making, and often during mixing. And the concrete mixer broke one day, which meant we had to finish a section mixing it all in the wheelbarrow. And one day the wheelbarrow broke, so we had to carry it full of heavy concrete. Oh this really was a labour of love, that's for sure. 

My hands still have the scars to show for it - the lime in the concrete isn't so gentle, even with thick gloves on. 

We had to climb ladders and pour the concrete in ice-cream bucketful by teeny bucketful. This was totally a hands on job; made possibly more difficult by the fact that neither of us knew what we were doing. 

But.... but. 

Oh my. Look at those walls. Just LOOK! Aren't they something. Oh yes oh yes. 

They are totally imperfect, with errors and mistakes on every single wall. But I love them all the more for that. For being able to look and not flinch, but stroke those walls that we worked hard on. Those walls that took us so much longer than they should have. Those walls that haven't broken this marriage - only made it stronger through our having to work together and solve problems and get the wall done before the concrete goes too hard, and fix the problems. And know you'll take the frame work off the next day with gaping holes, and more fixing work to do. Those walls. The ones that made us drag our feet every morning, and almost wish for rain as it meant we could stay inside and crochet a little longer....

Yep - I love them!

I love the way they are still now changing colour, with mottled shapes and patterns moving through as they go through the drying process. The way the concrete is going from dark to pale. The way the shadows catch across them throughout the day - in unexpected and wonderful and joy-inducing ways. I love the way they are so photogenic, even now in their rough unsealed state. I love the way we can stand there and say 'we made that!'.

There is floor there now, where this little one is standing. Glorious floor that I will show you next week. This morning Mishi wrote a special note to put up at her bed, to remind herself, 'every small bit makes a differents (sic)'. It's true. It's true. This home of ours is taking a long time to build, but as it happens slowly bit by bit, we are also building ourselves.