January 1779
The turn of the year brought new things for Sara. The first of all these were house plans. Gil and Sara spent cold days looking for the perfect spot to build their home. Uncle Jim had a good size amount of land and Sara was amazed that she could have her pick of any spot.
"Well," Sara said. "I want us to be near the house we can walk and visit."
So they looked at all the grassy spots near the house. Sara found a good spot near a patch of trees, but Gil said the trees were not big enough and would cause problems with the building. Gil fond a spot that almost seemed perfect, but Sara thought it was too close to the house. She wanted to be set apart form Uncle Jim and Aunt Catherine, but not too far. Finally they settled on a spot that was on top of a hill. The top of the hill was flat so that the house would be level and it was near enough to the house.
"You'll be a stones throw away, but at the same time we will have our privacy," Gil said with a twinkle in his eye.
Sara blushed. "I am eager to see it," she said.
As soon as the spot was picked out, Gil and Uncle Jim drew out the house plans. Uncle Jim said when he built his home he didn't want to take any chances, especially since Aunt Catherine was expecting John at the time, so he had made house plans. They measured off the site and then calculated how much lumber they needed. Gil wanted to make a main room, where they would keep the table and cook stove, and a bedroom. With the amount of wood they would need in mind, they took seats out of the wagon and drove to the lumberyard in town.
"There are only a few months until May," Aunt Catherine said. "we need to hustle!"
Aunt Catherine kept white fabric up in the attic. She had been using it to make curtains, but saw she had far too much. She measured Sara and started the process of making a wedding dress. Sara said she wanted the dress to have gathered sleeves and a low neckline. They went to work every night after supper and sewed until eleven O'clock. Gil was staying in town at a boarding house, but came over every morning to work in the cold. Uncle Jim helped him lay the boards out. First they made the skeleton of the house and Sara walked around it everyday. She envisioned the table being in one pace and the water basin in another. Nick went back to join the troops. Aunt Catherine wanted him to stay, but he declined.
"I'll be back for the wedding," he said.
Sara wondered what Gil was going to tell the general, but learned later that Nick planned to make up a story about Gil being ill. Sara thought that it was wickedly funny, but did not say so. Sara still went to work for the dreaded Mrs. Larson and it helped with the expense of lumber. Every day Gil counted out their money and made plans. He wanted to buy Sara a good cook stove and buy more lumber for furniture.
"We don't need a lot of furniture," Sara said.
Gil nodded his head. "We will only need enough for the two of us, " he said.
John helped out as much as he could. He tried to use it as an excuse to get out of school, but Uncle Jim said that if he didn't learn his lessons then he would tan his hide. Sara had her hide tanned only once by Uncle Jim, and that was the only time she could ever recall.
~0~
February 1779
The winter was getting colder and colder. Gil didn't come some days because the weather was so harsh. When he did come he worked on the house until the sun went down. Sara was worried that he would make him self ill, but Gil brushed it off.
"As long as I have a warm place to sleep, I will be fine," he said as he kissed her.
Uncle Jim would help on most days and they would always be hungry as wolves when they came in. Sara made as much food as she could for them. She made apples 'n' onions, Shepard's pie, bean soup, and so much more. One night she even surprised Gil with Birds' Nest pudding. The house was getting to look more like a house every day. One day Gil had one wall built up and then the next week there was another.
"This is where I am going to make a hole for your stove pipe," he said to her as they walked into the house.
Sara was surprised to see another section. "What is this going to be," she said.
Gil smiled. "This is where the pantry will be. We don't have a cellar, but maybe one day I will build you one," he said.
Sara's dress was also making good progress. She had tried it on to find it was too small, but Aunt Catherine said with her stay tied tight it would fit right. Uncle Jim had brought down Sara's trunk from the attic. Before she opened it she smoothed the dust off of the lid and sighed. She remembered when it was at the foot of her mother's bed. Slowly she opened it and saw her old, pink bonnet. She laughed and picked it up. It was too small for her head now, but maybe one day she would have a daughter of her own. Under the bonnet was a folded quilt. The quilt had been spread on her mother's bed and when Sara smelled it, it still smelled like her.
"So many memories," she said to herself.
Next she saw a stack of dishes that had been wrapped in newspaper. She picked them up and unwrapped them. She had eaten off of them so many times, but now they were to belong to her and Gil. She set the dishes aside and pulled out a white mop cap. The cap had a red ribbon stitched to it and it brought back so many memories that she cried.
~0~
When Sara woke up the next day there was snow on the ground. Gil didn't come to built that day, but he came by to see Sara. Uncle Jim lit a fire in the sitting room and they sat together talking. Gil told her not to worry, snow or no snow he would finish the house.
"I am going to have start on the roof soon," Gil said.
Sara nodded. "I am very pleased with it," she said. "I hope we are happy."
"Well," Gil said. "are you happy now?"
Sara smiled and nodded. "I am very happy," she said.
"Good. I want you to be. The house may start off small, but I will add rooms to it," he said.
Sara leaned back into him and smiled. "We will make new memories," she said.
Gil pressed kisses into her hair. "We will make a many good memories," he said.
Gil boldly placed a kiss on her neck and Sara closed her eyes. She felt good all over when he kissed her, but more so on her neck. She bent her head down and Gil took it as a motion to kiss her again.
"I have to stop," Gil said. "but I will love you well when we are married."
~0~
March 1779
Snow continued on for a while, but Gil was still building. He came in when got to be too cold and Sara gave him hot soup to drink. Sara offered to help, but Gil declined.
"It is far too cold," he said.
Sara watched out the window as he finally built the last wall and started on the roof. This roof wasn't going to be slanted, but flat so that they could build another level to the house. She hated to see him climb up onto the roof, but it had to be done. With Uncle Jim's help they hammered the roof and it was finished in no time. Next came the floors. Gil and Uncle Jim laid board flat onto the ground and used wooden pegs to hammer them. Wooden pegs were harder to hammer, but wooden hurt your feet like nails. To Sara the house looked finished, but they still had to put up the pantry shelves and Gil wanted to whitewash the outside. Whitewashing would have to wait until it was warmer.
"You must have windows too," Gil said.
Gil had built the house with four holes cut for windows. There were two in the big room, one in the bedroom and one in the pantry. He bought glass at the store and he carefully set glass into each hole. He but a frame for each one so the glass wouldn't fall out. When he was done he covered Sara's eyes and took her into to see it. When she stepped in it smelled of wood. Gil uncovered her eyes and she saw her finished home.
"I need to put the doors on, but that will soon be done," he said.
Sara walked farther into the house and was amaze at the size. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big. It seemed just right for two people who have just married. There was room for a table and chairs, a cook stove, a wash basin, and her rocking chair. It still left room to walk around without bumping into things. Gil took her into their bedroom and she saw that it was smaller then the one in her Uncle's house, but it was theirs.
"I have found some part time work and soon you will have a cook stove and a wash basin. Are you happy with it?" he asked.
Sara nodded. "I am very happy with it," she said.
Gil patted his pockets and pulled something out. He took Sara's hand and slipped something cool onto it. Sara looked down and was surprised to see a gold ring. It was simple, with a garnet setting.
"It is so beautiful," she said. "you are spoiling me!" she laughed.
Gil laughed. "A little spoiling is good for everyone. Especially for my love," he said.
Sara smiled and kissed him. "I love you," she said.
~0~
April 1779
Since Gil was now busy working, Sara had the task of moving what she could into the house. With Aunt Catherine they hauled her heavy trunk up to the house. The unpacked the dishes and set them in the pantry, along with her oil lamp.
"Sara, this white fabric will make for good curtains," Aunt Catherine said.
So they made curtains. Every night Sara sat up with her needle and thread, sewing the curtains. When she was done she tacked them up and admired how bright the little house seemed. She hauled her wicker rocking chair up to the house after Gil had put the doors up. Since they were both working every day, they didn't have the time to do as much as they wanted.
April was a rainy month and every day Sara feared the house would be flooded when she came in, but Gil had put a good roof on the house and it did not leak. Gil put two solid doors up for the bedroom and the front door, but the back door had a glass window. It was beautiful and when the rain hit the glass Sara felt pride because it was her glass. One day Gil brought more wood home to their house and stacked it up the bed room. He was going to make table and chairs. To make a table you have to fasten wood for the flat surface, then you connect its legs. To connect the legs you nail them to the face of the table, but carefully or it will crack. Gil spent his free time sanding the table with rough paper and when he was done with the table he sanded the floors.
"I don't want a splinter in your pretty foot," he said as he worked.
The days were starting to get warmer, but they were very wet. When ever Gil came into the house he tracked mud from the front door to the back door, which was still in the big room and was more like a side door. Before the wedding she would give the floor a good scrub so that it would be clean. When Gil was finished with the table, Sara spread her mother's checked table cloth on it and set the oil lamp on it. She was glad everything was starting to come together. With her money Sara bought two wash basins. She planned to put one in the bedroom and one in the big room for washing dishes.
"The wedding will be at the end of next month," Aunt Catherine said as they tried on the wedding dress again. "do you have plans?"
Sara nodded. "We asked Reverend Tucker to marry us in the church. We want to have a nice supper to celebrate," she said.
Aunt Catherine nodded. "Every bride must have a wedding cake," she said.
Sara smiled. "I feel there is so much to do. Gil is working on making a bed frame and I am afraid he is going to exhaust himself!" Sara said.
Aunt Catherine shook her head. "He needn't make a basin stand. I have your mother's in the attic," she said.
"Well," Sara said. "We still need two. A least he doesn't have to make one."
"And tell him to take your bed upstairs. I don't know of anyone else who is going to be sleeping in it," Aunt Catherine said.
Sara smiled. "That saves wood," she said.
~0~
The next day when Sara saw Gil in town she told him about the bed in her room.
"It will save us wood and it has a good mattress," she said.
Gil nodded. "It will save us time," he said. "I doubted I would have had the bed finished."
Sara gave him a kiss. "We will be married in three weeks," she said. "then all this hard work will be done."
~0~
May 1779
On a sheet of paper Sara counted the days until she was Gil's wife. For each day she drew a stick and slowly she crossed each one out. The day they had planned was May 24th and every day it drew nearer and nearer. The cook stove had been bought and Gil had set it in the house and attached the stove pipe to it. Sara swept the floor with her mother's willow broom and sighed. Everything was almost ready. In the pantry Sara had been calculating what food was needed. They would need flour, sugar, cornmeal and beans.
"I will have to start my own garden in the spring," Sara said.
The wash basin in the kitchen had been set up and the front room was finished. Gil was working on the one for the bedroom and soon it would be done too. From her mothers trunk, Sara pulled out three braided rugs. She put one in front of the front door and one in front of her rocking chair. The next day Gil brought Sara a gift in the form of an armful of books.
"Where we will put them?" Sara asked.
"I will build you a book shelf," he said with a smile.
So Gil fastened wood to the wall and Sara lined her books on top of it. It looked beautiful there in the bedroom.
"Sara I have been meaning to ask you," Gil said.
Sara turned to her future husband. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
Gil shook his head. "I was hoping we could move the bed in now so we don't have to hurry. I can sleep here until the wedding and then you can join me," he said.
Sara nodded. "I can sleep on the couch in the sitting room," she said. "It is comfortable enough."
So with that Uncle Jim and Gil moved the bed into the house and set it up. Sara was then able to put the braided rug on the floor in the bedroom and set her trunk against the wall. Now her home was finished and there were only three marks left until she was married. The next day was spent stocking the pantry with food and adding little things. Sara put her inkwell and paper on her bookshelf and Gil used the rest of the wood to make a wood box. They gathered all the wood chips in the yard and Gil burned them at night. When it was dark Sara looked out the window and she could see the faint light coming from the house.