About 9 months ago I was envying everybody their progress with their house, well, our new home in the country is pretty much complete. It was an amazing experience. It was built by a builder with 3 helpers in about 8 months (in the winter in No Idaho!). This guy was amazing: we had no plans, no drawings, no architect. We had no contract, signed papers and he never took any money up front for materials. He gave me a bill after completion of each phase hand written on a small piece of paper. Everything was hand cut, hand hammered (no power nailers), there is no plastic or even particle board on the house, everything is real wood.