Building has started

Wille and the guys arrived at 8, the helicopter a bit after 10. The copter was as quick and professional as Janne promised; a round trip to pick up a beam, deposit, and return, was about 2½ minutes. The weather held nicely and we were done by 2, with about two hours' actual flying time. Dave was the loadmaster, attaching the slings to the copter's hook, and he did that job like a pro.

All the stuff is on the building site, spread around more than we'd like but we didn't have too many choices with the space available. The first floor beams are in and level, and the house is square. There are problems with a couple of the foundations (one is a smidgen too far south, one is too short due to our error) but that'll be fixed tomorrow.

Wille has three helpers:

• Mats, his older brother. I said to Wille that Mats got the looks in the family and both brothers agreed.
• Per, a friend, fairly small and wiry but strong as hell and also fairly vocal with what I gather is a salty version of Swedish.
• Michael, a friend of Janne's son, who's 20 and played hockey in Medicine Hat last year.

Photos of the strapping Swedes to follow. We're making progress now and I hope to share lots of images of a house tomorrow. Today, you can see helicopter shots, plus a cool little video, by clicking the gallery.