Just A Warning,

the next person who asks :"When will you be finished?" gets it! We're at that point and others involved in projects of this magnitude will understand-those who don't should get their own shows. (oh wait, that's a "Whad'Ya Know?" disclaimer, never mind).


We've accomplished a lot this week. The last plaster coat is on all the walls except our bedroom. Being on the northeast corner and with the weather we've had it's taking a long time to dry coupled with the fact that the NE corner had a huge hole which had to be filled in layers-you get the picture. Today we're painting ceilings! I can't believe my excitement. I chose a white with a yellow/brown tint to take advantage of the volume the cathedral ceiling provides while adding some warmth. It will also be complementary to the brown tones of the earthen plaster (pictures later). It is such a rich brown and the walls look so beautiful, I've decided to leave the south wall brown and use the white kaolin clay on the west and east walls. I love the look of these walls. The east wall will have the adobe veneer. Rick picked up the adobes this week and they are a totally flat, nondescript gray. I will have to put a coat of brown clay paint on those once they are in place.

I have two new obsessions, the first being the website It's nice to know there are hundreds of others out there involved in the craziness that is home building/renovation. I especially like the bungalow blogs as I've always had a passion for these little jewels and our house is a "sortof" bungalow. They have so much character and personality and were built at a time when those who built them were Craftsmen.

My other obsession: researching limewash/paint. Being unschoolers we have always known that learning isn't linear and usually not triggered by chronological age (Ding!! OK junior, you're 12, time to learn Algebra). I like to think of it more as Bursts and Bubbles. Learning occurs when you need to know something and have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the subject and let it take you where it will. This week I have visited the lime kilns of Italy, England and southern Arizona. Saw the building of a Roman bath, and cob structures in England. Learned why barns are painted red. Found wonderful art and glimpses into the the workaday world of an earlier era. Gained an understanding of the chemistry involved in a successful lime project and why lime has that luminous glow. That led me to learn more about pigments that will work with lime which made me think of that beautiful scene in Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer teaching Griet to mix paints. That of course led to pig bladders and the growth in popularity of plein air painting with the advent of collapsible tin tubes. Whew! was I busy but the journey was made easier by the Internet. (Thanks, Al Gore!)

So, after all that I think I've come up with a doable recipe for limewash and hope my results will pay off with something like this.

But until then, it's on to the ceilings.