Groundbreaking!  The Cocoon people were at work by the time I get to the house—one with a long wand, blasts the first four inches of dirt around the house with high-pressure water, then another with a thick vacuum house sucks it up.  I was amazed how clean a cut they can make, right down to the footing at 6 feet.

Then they insert a 2-inch thick board of white insulation, and squirt in another 2 inches of foam between the board and the freshly washed foundation wall.  Voila!  The basement is insulated to R-x without having disturbed the flower beds!  Well, in theory.

David Gillette of the “Almanac” series on public television, is there for a first shoot.  He interviews me with intelligent questions, then proposes to come back at the halfway point, and then when the house is complete, to eventually produce a feature.

I dig up half a dozen hostas to replant at our Fargo house, and happily vamoose northward.

Stop for a long and fruitful conversation with a cabinet designer in Plymouth.  Busy two days, on several fronts.  The project is rolling.