Abstract
A few years ago, my life was consumed by a major construction project--building our home on a Virginian hillside that we call "Shepherd's Knoll." Completing the basement foundation and walls provided a place to attach the first permanent pieces of wood that began to give shape to our modified Swiss-Chalet home. The ten months, spanning the time we first cleared trees and brush from our house site in March until the time that we moved into the house the following December, were filled with intense constructive activity. We are grateful for our house, which is functional, attractive, and "ours." I relish the southeast view from our home that catches the first rays of the morning sun rising over the top of Massanutten Mountain.