Hey Griff, thanks for building me a house.:)
I'd say for me financial freedom played (and is playing) a huge role. The mortgage interest (tax deductible or not) was disturbing me.
As for getting melancholy about being almost done, don't forget the 2 horses you promised your kids and the barn needed to house them .. sigh .. so much for financial freedom.

I like the idea that you can walk around this thing that you made. Of course you spot the area where you were learning and the work is not up to your current level, but its all part of the document. There's that old tradition of leaving a subtle flaw in the pattern (not the structure though), like in a rug, a path to get out of it, leaving you room to work again. There's joy in making stuff.

Building your own place with no mortgage is a great solution. BUT, you could have done that with conventional contruction methods and a lot less labor. You definately chose the hard way and the results are spectacular. I want to visit. As a matter of fact, I want to be adopted. :D
Fine Homebuilders? I subscribed to Fine Homebuilding and Fine woodworking from The Taunton Press for many years. I'd get all these great ideas but everytime I was unemployed for a little while, my Ex would suddenly lose her job. That killed that.
You can say that again...and again...and again. I spent $15k and 3 years trying to get the Twp to be as reasonable/rational as the surounding municipalities and all I got was a christmas card from my lawyer ....from Jamacia.:rolleyes:

More props to Taunton. Threads was but now Fine Gardening is my eye-candy rag of choice.

There must be a full catalog list of Taunton mags on the web. They publish some great stuff, not even mentioning the books they've done over the years. Cool business plan.

Taunton home page. I was confusing some of Rodales publications with Tautons. [hint]My preference is the paper medium but those cds with all the old FHs look pretty interesting.[/pete]

Oooh Back Issues! The Sept/Oct 1999 Fine Gardening is an all time favorite of mine, of great use. One of those issues where every article is good. My copy has been loaned out, dog-eared, and I think I may pick up a fresh copy.

As requested, here the LeClerc. It needs some oil and a few minor parts are missing. I can get them from Canada.

And just 'cause I'm all pic happy-on-a-roll, here's my back garden, a green woodlandy area. The paving is all broken concrete, stone, bricks I scavenged from the area, cause I'm all about the free stuff.

Re: Then and Now
 

I had a feeling that loom wasn't gonna be as big as advertised, but its still very very cool. :)

Hey bub! If motivated, the baby can go 45" wide. (but the quick project in the process of being warped on is a scarf, so only like 14" in width.)

Yes, but you said 45 feet in your post.:D
It's beautiful! Did the bench come with it? Doesn't sitting there for a long time without a cushion get a little tough.
Oh,...it's like church. No wonder you get the raptures while your weaving.:D

BTW, can you tell us what 4 harness means/does without having to teach us the art of weaving? I don't want to make another project for you.;)
It looks like you're busy enough with that beautiful garden.

Doh! Just like the stunning Stonehenge set....only in reverse. The bench actually goes with another loom I use to have, but I did sell that monster. In terms of comfort, I've been blessed with plenty of padding.

"The loom is one of the first computers..." so goes my intro lesson. The harnesses are the four frames through which the threads pass. You program the pattern/structure by deciding which harness holds what thread. The harnesses are attached to the treadles and you hook them up and lift them in a particular sequence to add more variables to the pattern/structure. One of the most basic 4 harness weaves is twill. If you look at your levis you'll see the diagonal- a simple progression from 1 to 4 harnesses and then repeated. The structure is flexible and strong, what youre looking for in a pair of blue jeans. The more harnesses, the more complex the weave. I have yet to fully explore the potential of 4.

And another thing, at the bottom of the Taunton Press page is a recipe for peanut butter/chocolate cookies. I gained 5 lbs reading the recipe.:eek: