Recently I was talking with a friend about our crazy adventure of selling our home in Massachusetts, buying land in Maine and building our own home. I promised to share pictures with her, so here’s a look at the journey we’ve had building our home.

We started in June of 2004, moved in to our uncompleted home in October of 2005, and over the next few years completed the house room by room. There’s still more to accomplish. We’re not exactly speedy. It’s taken us so long to build the house that Paul is worried I’ll be ready for a remodel before we actually call things finished.

This house is truly part of us. I designed it and Paul, my engineer, figured out how to give me what I wanted. It’s not grand, but it’s my dream house. We did everything on this project from land clearing to pouring the concrete foundation (that almost did me in!) to putting up roofing trusses by ourselves (in the middle of winter!). Only when I saw Paul on the roof trying to install steel roofing did I call a halt to the “do it yourself” plan and hire roofers. Paul and heights don’t go together very well.

I’m not sure if we were brave or foolish to sell a perfectly good home in Cape Cod and move to Maine to follow our dream without having another home to move in to. Goodness knows that I never anticipated living in a 27′ camping trailer for 18 months. I still get the heebbie-jeebbies thinking about that. A 27′ camper with the two of us, a kindergartner, and a dog fondly nicknamed “Psycho Beast.”? Frozen water lines, frozen poopsicles (another story), a 2′ x 2′ shower cubicle, no oven – just one gas burner and a toaster. Still, I look back on it and the adventure was worth it. Life rarely happens as we plan it and it certainly hasn’t been dull.

I hope you enjoy our photos. Click on an thumbnail if you want to view the images in a slide show with just the titles and no commentary.