The last few weeks have been busy with getting our old barn repaired/renewed. I didn’t do any of the real work but I paid the bills, went for missing material and wrung my hands. Lol.

Here is a before picture taken in 2013.

Pictures of progress—use of Gene Manlift and front-end loader on tractor in order to get the top pieces on.

Not quite finished but close. No windows yet.

It’s been an experience to watch the repairs to the building and then see the tin replace the old siding. The amazing thing is the most important, the most time-consuming work is not visible unless you know where to look. Things like straightening one wall, fixing the footings, bracing the leaning wall, etc. I couldn’t help but think taking a story from first draft to finished product is so much like that. Readers see the book with its beautiful cover and the printed pages. They do not (one hopes) see the twisted, confused raw material that had to be untangled, sorted out and constructed into a solid structure.

I remind myself of how much work went on beneath the surface and find encouragement as I struggle to take the tangled mess of my current story and create a shiny, well-formed book.