More pictures! Yay! Today the cement peeps took off the forms on the footing and put up the forms for the foundation walls. It started out nice for the concrete pour, but 10 minutes into it and we could hear the rumble of thunder approaching. It poured buckets and I felt bad for the men working outside. Once they start pouring they have to keep going. Here's a picture of the beginning of the pour:
And here's the finished product. Well, with the forms still on. Tomorrow they are going to strip the forms and then next week they'll insulate and seal the foundation and then back-fill it.
I put a penny in the cement. Charlie said it was a tradition in construction brought over from ship-building. I have no idea why you do this but it seems like an auspicious thing to do. I googled it and found this quote: "As part of the ceremony, coins were placed under the keel block in a practice which recreates a longstanding tradition whereby shipbuilders hide special coins in the keel section of a ship as a permanent symbol of good fortune and safe travels." So I sealed a penny in the foundation to symbolize good fortune, creativity and inspiration.