All That's Necessary

Finished at last.

For one summer, the Stringams lived in a quonset.

Between moving from one ranch to another.

And waiting for our house to be finished.

You can read about it here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here.

(It was a long summer . . .)

We had electricity, but no indoor plumbing or heat.

It could easily have been an ordeal.

My ultra-organized mother made it an adventure.

But even SuperMom couldn't control the weather.

And summers must end.

Especially in Canada.

It had been getting colder.

Noticeably colder.

We could lay in our beds and see our breath.

A fact that made us reluctant to leave said beds.

And we were setting new records for getting dressed.

Mom was starting to gaze longingly at her nearly-finished house across the field.

The one that didn't yet have any indoor plumbing or heat.

Rather like the place she was living in.

But it did have one attractive attribute.

One modern convenience.

It had a fireplace.

Okay, well, maybe not such a modern convenience.

Moving on . . .

Mom had been nervously studying the weather forecast every day.

And eyeing the house.

Which crept all-too-slowly towards completion.

Which would come first?

Winter?

Or her beautiful new home?

And then, the day arrived when all discussion became moot.

Because no one tells winter when to arrive.

Which it did.

With a fury.

A not-so-rare September blizzard.

We had a little lead time.

Schools were quickly closed to give students time to bus home.

Anyone who's ever been caught out on the shelter-less prairies in a blizzard knows that that is something to be avoided at all costs.

When we arrived at the quonset, it was to see Mom and Dad frantically packing.

For the next couple of hours, we carted carloads of necessities from the quonset to the house.

By late afternoon, though, the time was definitely up.

One could no longer see to drive.

Even in the barnyard.

We would have to make do with what had already been hauled.

Mom started organizing.

A few hours later, everyone was quite comfortably settled in the one room of the new house that was inhabitable.

The downstairs family room.

Mom had bedrolls laid out.

An electric stove set up.

And ropes strung to hang things on.

The kids were soon fed and in bed.

The dishes washed and stacked.

Mom still didn't have indoor plumbing.

In fact, nothing in the house worked.

And there was a monster storm was raging outside.

But Mom was doing something she had been dreaming about since she first set foot in the quonset, months before.

Sitting in front of a fire.

With every part of her warm at the same time.

Life was good.