Credits

You know how great you feel when you get a really awesome, handmade present? Well, multiply that by about a gazillion and you'll have some idea of how we're feeling every time we look at/think about our little house (which is pretty much all the time because we LOVE it). Yes, that's right, about a week ago, we got the best handmade present of all time when a bunch of our buddies got together to help build us a house. I know… AMAZING. To the people who shared with us in one of the biggest weeks of our life, THANK YOU for the generosity, compassion, support, cooking, skills, hugs, advice, fun times, tears, power tools, tarps, words of wisdom, endless iphone weather reports and most of all the LOVE you all brought to our new home. It may be a funny little gingerbread house, but guess what? We all made it! Together! With our own hands! How wonderful is that?

Recently-arrived-bales action shot L-R: Little Steve, Nassim, Huon, Louisa, Cam, Tige, Sara, Alf, Deb, Big Steve, Peps, and the indefatigable Morag.

Little Strawbs (the gingerbread house) - an independent production

Directed by Frank Thomas

Written by Tracy Graham

With (in order of appearance)

Awesome and fearless building-lady - Morag

Mistress of wood-carving and kid-wrangling - Louisa

Supplier of tools, composting toilets and camper trailer and generally very tanned dude in a fedora - Alf

New friend and super-bale-stitcher - Bec

Mer and Bec

Master of bale-compression and beautiful hugs and bum-squeezes - Nassim

Beautiful Nassim, smile-making even in the rain

Incredibly talented eyeballing of bale-sizing and master bale-re-tyer - 'Little' Steve

Little Steve and Nassim, bale-trimming like pros

Generally super-enthusiastic and energetic all-round-nice guy - 'Big' Steve

Supplier of many random items that actually came in quite handy and super-gripple-man - Matt

Helpful and lovely lady extraordinaire (and owner of the one-in-a-million Womble Dog) - Deb

Sara, Tige and Deb re-tying custo-size bales

New friends and neighbours, dinner companions and extreme-helpful and lovely types - Mer and Myoung

Tiny but mighty dynamo with a wheelbarrow full of render - Sara

Tige and Sara and a well-earned rest

Master-channel-cutter and general strong and funny guy - Cam

Handsome bearded man in the red socks - Peps

Super-kid-wranglers, food-suppliers, hardware-purchasers, bale-stitchers, truss-attachers and awesome moral-supporters - Nanny and Jaije.

Superb window-sill renderer - Bukhari

With a special thanks to our littlest friends and helpers Luca, Anise, Nelleke, Tige, Olive, Oscar,  and Huon

Jaije, Oscar, Anise, Nelleke, Luca (behind Olive's hat), Olive, Tige and Cam enjoying a little story time on day 1 (when it was sunny)

Catering by Nannies, Nana and Parps, Chani, Pearl, Peps, Linda, Rebecca, Cath, Deb and Meg

Financing by Alfie, Oma and Opa and Gerlinde and Steve.

Special thanks also for the many many words of love and support and encouragement, the good vibes and the site-visits.

Actual cost of all this help and love and support? Absolutely priceless.