StrawbaleRedux

2008-11-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Moving along

Now that the building process is complete (of course, it's NEVER really complete), I've turned my creative attention to the inside of the house. Follow along at Straw Cottage.

Hope to see you there!

Judy

2008-07-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

VayCay Part II

Los Angeles, city of many preconceptions, most of them incorrect. The younger son wanted to see DOWNTOWN LA. I did my best to smile through clinched teeth and muttered "OK, Honey-sounds ummm... interesting." Now, I'm a girl from the sticks having grown up in a rural area with the closest town having a population of 20,000. I have visited big cities but never downtown in a big city so didn't know quite what to expect. I was amazed! The number of people, the tall, beautiful buildings (although many were aging and decrepit), the range of time periods from art deco to Gehry's Disney Music Hall. I was captivated. I wish we had planned more time for this foray. Another time, maybe.

My favorite structure-The Central Library. What a jewel built when even public buildings were meant to mean something and bring art to people. When you walked through those doors you knew you were entering something special.

So what have I learned? Take a chance, do something you might not choose. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Photo by Dave Parker Wikimedia Commons

2008-07-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

VayCay!

We went on vacation. We hadn’t had one since before we started the house building and with the boys, or should I say young men, being 15 and nearly 19, our time for family vacations is dwindling. Parenting is full of those bittersweet goodbyes as one stage passes but another one begins.

We let the boys choose the destination and they chose LA!!! What??? After all those years of camping and hiking and campfires and nature they choose a densely populated urban area where all you do is drive! I put on a happy face and we began planning. If this is the apex of their teenage rebellion we can live with it.

Let the planning begin. I set some limits on how many things we could realistically do within our budget and the amount of driving we were willing to do and they then made a list of choices. We then whittled that down and came up with a general idea of the trip.

The list:

Pacific Ocean (seems a no-brainer but we’ve been to SoCal several times and not gone to a beach)

Pacific Coast Highway

Santa Barbara

Aquarium of the Pacific

Downtown Los Angeles (?!?)

Universal Studios

I then entered my bargain-hunter mode. The planning started in February when gas prices were still less than $3.50 but we knew they would rise and we were planning our trip for over Memorial Day, when gas prices traditionally rise to their summer high point. That weighed into our decision of mode of travel. Also, it’s an 8 hour driving trip (at least) across the desert which eats into actual vacation time. I didn’t firm up our dates because I wanted to take advantage of the least expensive days to fly. I started watching Southwest fares and jumped on one that was $49.00 each way. $540 for the 4 of us to fly. It is approximately 850 miles Tucson to LA-that’s about $400 in gas for the trip, not to mention the wear and tear. We did rent a car in LA but more about that later.

As we were spending a week there, I wanted to find a cottage or an apartment to rent. Living in a motel is OK for a night or two but a week with 4 people! No way! An apartment allows you to prepare your own meals, a definite cost savings. Early risers (me) can get up in the morning and have some alone time without disturbing the rest of the group. I quickly narrowed down the general area we wanted to stay to Venice Beach or Santa Monica and then turned to the online vacation rental sites and read and read. We finally decided on this cottage found on VacationRentals.com. It was small, clean, affordable and a 10-minute walk to the beach. And who knew (probably everyone but me) that Santa Monica was packed with cute little bungalows and mid-century moderns. I was in house addict heaven just walking the neighborhood. Around each corner was another “Ohh, that is co cool!” moment. My brain would then flip into fixer-upper mode but you might have heard about house prices in California. $7-800 per square foot for a tear-down! It was fun to look.

Next I researched bargains for attractions. We were going to Universal Studios and the Aquarium, and you can get a discount by buying tickets online.

Now about that rental car, we didn’t really need it, aside from the day we drove to Santa Barbara.
In hindsight I should have researched public transportation in the area and only rented a car for that one day. Again, who knew there was such a good public transportation system? We hear so much about the southern California car culture that I didn’t even think about public transportation; I’m here to tell you it’s alive and well in the LA Metro area. We rode both the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus and the LA Metro and were pleasantly surprised with both. We could have also used the train but it just didn’t work out. Santa Monica is a truly walkable community. From where we stayed it was easy to walk to Albertson’s (grocery), restaurants, parks, the beach, shopping on Main St, movie theatres, the farmer’s market, the library and probably more that I’m not aware of. And Venice is just a bike ride away. We could have stayed in Santa Monica and not even been aware of the rest of the LA area. But we would have missed so much-but let's leave that for another post.

pdphoto.org

2008-05-19T07:11:00.001-07:00

Have You Been Stimulated?

Checking online balances last week I noticed a bump in our account which could only mean one thing. Our gift from the government had arrived! (funny, I didn't feel stimulated) While I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, "free" money makes me a bit nervous. The PF blogs have been discussing the stimulus package ad nauseum over the last months and we have the money earmarked for fattening the IRA so it's pretty much a done deal for us. When Jacob's post at Early Retirement Extreme hit I almost deleted it but was caught by the title: Dear Unborn Grandchildren,

Thank you for the generous $1200 stimulus package gift we just received from you. You know, traditionally it’s been the obligation one generation to help the next generation along. Parents help out their children, even their unborn children, by saving a little start up money so that the next generation has enough to start out when they leave the nest. (Read more)

Thanks, future grandchildren!

2008-05-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

Strawbale, Ohio and other Sunday morning thoughts

Blue Rock Station is in Philo, Muskingum Co., OH, not "too fur" from where we're from. Looking at the list of workshops they have a lot going on there, even strawbale building. It's a beautiful area of gently rolling wooded hills and farmland. A wonderful place to spend some time, if it doesn't rain. But, it rains a lot back there and that's how we found ourselves in the desert. But I do like to go back and visit and maybe I should time my next trip home to coincide with one fo their workshops. Lllama Trekking in the Fall sounds fun.

I Love Cob has a post about cob-making with an electric mixer. That would be the only way I would approach it for anything larger than a bench or oven. Dancing in mud is fun for a while, but the charm soon wears off on a large project especially if you have to keep a day job.

I found a page of earthships for sale at Taos Earthships. I like the Finish it Yourself listing cause the tires are already in place.

I've been researching earthen oven ideas for the community here. We may build one at the community garden. I've probably mentioned this before but Kiko Denzer's book is the place for information and instructions on earth ovens.

Scott Calhoun's book Chasing Wildflowers won a GWA book award! Read more about it at his blog. It's a great read, as he describes it: "Chasing Wildflowers... is about botany, gluttony and the open road"

We are fighting Wildfower Wars here in Civano and Simmons Buntin has a great commentary on it at Next American City.

2008-04-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

OLE, OLE! ESE!

I attended a fantastic Flamenco show in Patagonia, AZ yesterday. It was held at La Mision de San Miguel a wonderful venue for this gypsy dance. My teacher Adair, La Candela danced and was amazing. After seeing her perform, how she tolerates my clumsy attempts is beyond me! The opening performances were by Tesoro and Flamenco Sonora all wonderful artists. It was a great afternoon of music and dance, not to mention delicious tapas and wine.

Here's a video of Flamenco Sonora that doesn't do justice to their energy but gives a flavor of their performance.

Upcoming Flamenco in Tucson
05/03: El Ojito Springs 4th Ave: 3-4pm--tickets $15 in Advance or $20 at Door. (sold at Antigone Books on 4th Ave, Tucson, AZ) Flamenco Mystique--a show by Adair Landborn featuring Daniela y Andres!

05/03: Club Congress @ 10pm Daniela will be a featured Flamenco Dancer with TESORO.

05/05: Cinco de Mayo: Daniela will be a featured Flamenco Dancer @Noche de Fuego with TESORO and Flam Chen.

2008-04-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

Rich Luhr Photo

Homeschooling, Unschooling, Common Question: How Do You Know if They're Learning Anything?
When people find out you homeschool your children, you get some really silly questions (including the dreaded SOCIALIZATION question but don't get me started on that). When you try to explain unschooling, they really go nutso on
you. My aunt asked over and over: "How will they learn their ABCs?" To this day, I don't know if they "know their ABCs" but the only clear advantage I see in knowing your ABCs is that when seated alphabetically, usually in school, you know where to find your seat. Since they didn't go to school, this wasn't a problem.

People would ask me all the time how I knew they were learning. This one always gave me pause. How could I NOT know they were learning. Children are sponges, programmed to learn. They will even learn things you don't know. Scary stuff, learning.

Last weekend we went to the home of friends to bid them an Airstream bon voyage as they take off across country for several months. Rich, publisher of Airstream Life magazine and Tour of America blogger decided to have those in attendance write his blog for the day. After reading the blog, I'm thinking that unschooling may just work.

2008-04-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

Check out the beautiful plasters in a Riad posted by Maryam at My Marrakesh.

2008-03-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

Dooced-How Bad Could it Be?

Today at work I read this post from RV-Dreams. Yes, I do occasionally read websites at work. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me there. But today it almost incited an immediate letter of resignation.

It followed on the heels of this post from the one, the only, Dooce.

Death to the man
Power to the People
Viva la Revolucion
Why be Normal
Remember, remember the 5th of November
Live Free or Die

Find the Open Road

2008-03-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

I have been Flamenco-ized!

I love Flamenco! I watch Flamenco movies, I walk around the house practicing arm and hand movements, I listen to Flamenco music and choreograph movements in my head, I love the swishing skirts,I golpe, plante and tacon down hallways (even though I look somewhat spastic), I love the power.
I Love Flamenco!
When I grow up, this is who I will be:

I can't wait for this performance at La Mision Patagonia on April 20.

2008-03-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

More Earthen Plaster Finishing When I repaired the plaster on the south wall back in November, it was better but still not where I wanted it. Being the south wall of course it gets the most sun and that means that any plaster work done will dry very quickly and the thinner the layer, the faster it dries. Not always a good thing for plaster. It dried with some pits and cracks that could cause problems down the road. When I got up Saturday morning it was cloudy but not threatening rain, the perfect day to work on this wall so to work I went. I mixed up a fine clay with a small amount of sand. To that I added water mixed with Acri-Soy purchased at Originate. This is a bit of an experiment to see if it makes the wall more weather-proof. I know some purists out there will say that with a good plaster this wouldn't be necessary but I'm not a professional plasterer so purists, get over it. I will also use this on the west wall. This mixture goes on like a thin latex and application is not a neat process. The stuff flies everywhere. Once it had time firm up a bit, I polished it with a disc cut from a whipped topping container and the finish is smooth and beautiful. The Acri-Soy did not change the color of the clay, which was a concern. We'll see what happens in the summer monsoon.

2008-03-07T18:32:00.001-08:00

I've enjoyed watching the progress of some folks building an earthen oven in Cochise Co. It's made me think of how much I enjoyed our oven, both the building and the using. Unfortunately we never got a picture of our oven but it looked very much like this one.

Check out this cool Earthen Oven Video.

Laurie and Co.'s oven

2008-03-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

When I Dream...

this is where I live. Casa de Barro

2008-03-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

Plastered!

A beautiful day in southern Arizona, perfect for plastering. The west wall with the sculpturing has been calling to me and today I responded. The clay bamboo had never been finished and had worn down by our summer storms. It now has a second coat and the whole wall is ready for a final coat. Before and after photos.

Various stages of plaster completion. I had a little trouble with the mix this time and I'm not sure why. It was soft and dusted when touched. Simple fix, old-fashioned paste: water and white flour 1:1, pour into hot water, bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Did the trick!

Now it just needs a final very thin coat to even the color.

2008-02-03T05:52:00.000-08:00

Wow, February already!

Not a lot to say this morning, I just wanted to share this very cool video.

Frozen Grand Central

2008-01-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

2008

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”
~Peter Drucker

This is one of my favorite times of the year because it's new! I love to plan and this is the time to do it. Today we will look over our spending plan for the year, talk about increasing retirement savings, decide what things we want accomplished with the house this year and plan some trips.

Our spending doesn't change much year-to-year so that won't take long, but it's nice to have both members of the team on the same page. W needed to use some of the emergency fund for medical expenses, so the first order of business will be to replace that.

I want to retire sooner rather than later so I need to bump up the savings in that area. I received a bit of a raise in the last quarter and want to move that amount into my IRA.

There are still a couple of "big" things we want to complete on the house: solar panels, shade for the south patio, solatubes in 2 rooms. Today we can figure out in what order and when on those items.

Travel & Trips! My favorite topic. Our vacation times will be within the parameters of school vacations now that both boys will be in school but I'm sure we can still manage to find some interesting, not-too-crowded places to go.

Once this is done I will be ready to face the year.

On the house front:

I did some plaster trim work that really needed to be done. It was one of those things that bugged me every time I looked at it but I kept putting it off. It actually took very little effort and the end result was so worth it.

This is the area way back when...

This is the present view...

The unfinished plaster near the shelf and along the side of the cabinet

...and this is the finish.

I also polished the bumpouts framing the patio door with black soap as the plaster was dusting quite a bit. It needs another couple of coats but that's the perfect job for an afternoon with a good movie in the DVD player.Speaking of good movies, we watched Once last night. What a treat! If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it. Great music, great story.

2007-12-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

It's been quite a year for us and we hope next year will be the same. I read the following on a message board and hope to remember it through the coming year.

None of us have enough power to change a world. Each of us has the
power to change our own lives. Walk the talk. Every day. Help
someone who has less than you do. Look to building community within
your apartment building, office, wherever you are right this minute.

We each have only the moment we are in. We lose that if we spend it
in fear and confusion regarding the future. Go hug someone. Turn
the compost pile. Give blood. Commit to one young person to help
them find joy. Sing. Stop worrying about the future, you know you
have no control over that. Concentrate on today.

2007-12-09T13:02:00.001-08:00

Java Jive

I love java, sweet and hot
Whoops Mr. Moto, I'm a coffee pot
Shoot the pot and I'll pour me a shot
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup

Sunday is coffee roasting day.
Rick has been roasting our coffee for 3 or 4 years and has it down to a science. As you'll see further down, he uses a souped up hot air corn popper as a roaster.
The picture above shows the green beans weighed out in 3 oz portions. These are Nicaraguan beans purchased online from Marlton Coffee.

This is the outdoor kitchen he built to have a good space to roast. It's quite a pungent process and roasting beans smell nothing like those ready to brew.

The beans are stirred almost continuously in the beginning because they are too heavy to be agitated by the hot air.

The beans just starting to turn. This is when you start to smell the roasting-something like burnt toast.

The white flakes seen outside the can is chaff-it flies around before first crack.

Then comes first crack....

and then second crack with the smoke rolling. We like a dark roast, somewhere between Vienna and Light French.

The finished product in the cooling pan. Now it smells good.

See the beautiful oiliness of the beans?
The roasted coffee then needs to sit for 4-12 hours in an open container to vent CO2. Then it's stored in an airtight ceramic canister on the counter-NOT in the fridge or freezer.

We grind the beans right before brewing. We brew by pouring hot water over the coffee in a cone filter (Melitta-type) which sits over a thermal carafe. We've had the same carafe set-up for about 12 years-it makes great coffee.

As I sit here typing I can smell the freshly roasted beans-
Mm-mmm good!

2007-12-02T07:46:00.000-08:00

Nothing new with the house this week. We've had some Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs stuff which needed attending and has caused us to stand back, take some time and evaluate our lives at this point.

And as the guys at HitchItch have said:

Sometimes we need to get knocked down, so when we get up, we have a better understanding of life around us.

2007-11-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

B-r-r-r-r-r-r-it's winter!

Forty-six degrees when we got up this morning. Yes, I know, that's not really cold but it is for us baked desert dwellers.

Rick even lit the stove on Friday night but we did need to open the windows as it quickly got very warm in here. We had never lit the stove before so it was a shakedown. It performs perfectly, has a beautiful flame and will provide more than enough heat for this house.

Yesterday we repaired the damage created by that ferocious storm we had during monsoon season. It didn't take long, probably 5-6 hours of actual plastering. Rick also put in about that much time earlier in the week, digging up the clay (we created our own clay mine with what we had leftover) and sifting. And I enjoy doing it so it's not really a chore. Here is a comparison of the surface before and after:

From this..................................to this.............................................to this:

Amazing what a little clay, sand, water and fiber can do.

Me and the trusty companion, Gen.

The finished wall...

We're going to try some soy resin on the wall to stabilize it a bit more. Even though this is not a huge job, it's something I wouldn't want to repeat too often.

These pictures also show the patio. It's done with 8x16 concrete pavers placed in a random pattern with 3/4 minus river rock between. The curb is 3.5" poured concrete. About 3/4 of the pavers we got at the salvage yard, the rest from CABCO block company. I plan to stain the pavers and the curb a light brown so they won't be such a glaring gray. So far we like it but it does make it difficult to place chairs as they tend to sink in the gravel.

And one last picture of some of our landscaping as it matures. The hummers love these Orange Bells.

2007-11-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

Things I'm Thankful For:

Two great sons and the fact that we still enjoy each other's company.
It's 2007 and OCD is no longer seen as being possessed.
Friends and family who are there when you need them.
Being raised in Southern Ohio.
Moving from Southern Ohio.
The house is finished...(well almost).

Hope your day was a good one.

2007-11-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhhhhh.... We went camping this past weekend. Even though it was only 20 minutes from our house it was like being in a very different place. When was the last time you had 2 days with nothing you HAD to do? Think about it.

One problem with camping so close to a metropolitan area is that many people there aren't campers, but partiers. And being so close to a large university only adds to that. But all in all, it was worth it. Just whet my appetite for more.

This is the life.

2007-10-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

North to A Wall-Raising

We traveled to northern Arizona to raise walls for friends. It was beautiful, we had to wear long pants and flannel in the morning, met some great people and had fantastic food. What more can you ask for?

The site is between Williams AZ and the Canyon (uh, that would be the GRAND Canyon) with a view of the San Francisco Peaks.
View Larger Map

Carole and Mike are much closer to realizing their dream of a strawbale cabin. Still a lot of work to do but for anyone who does the Canyon Rim-to-Rim this should be a walk in the park.

We then spent some time in Williams
and visited the Arboretum in Flagstaff-a great weekend!

2007-10-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

October 20, 1978-who are those kids?

2007-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

There's a nip in the air!

65 degrees this morning, not quite frost on the pumpkin but we'll take it.

photo by raelb

Not much house news lately. Now that it's 97% finished there's just not a lot to report. The landscaping is coming along and I have some pictures to post later. I also need to block off some Saturdays for exterior plaster finish and repair.

Here's a blog post I wanted to share from Trent at The Simple Dollar. There's a lot of wisdom in those few paragraphs.

Enjoy your weekend!

2007-09-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz County Fair

We went to the fair Saturday night. Santa Cruz is our neighboring county and the fairgrounds are located in Sonoita. We have friends who purchased property there several years ago and are now planning their "Escape from New York". They were in Sonoita this week planning and wanted us to meet them at the fair and then have dinner later at the Steak Out. Other friends who live just north of Bisbee were also going to be there. Sonoita, bale-head friends, steak-who could resist?

This is a REAL county fair-livestock, 4-H and food. No midway rides. We wandered around the exhibits and watched the team-roping for awhile. Then it was across the road to the Steak Out for great food and conversation.

It's a beautiful drive to Sonoita, all rolling grassland. If shown a picture of the area most people would never believe it's Arizona. The movie version of "Oklahoma!" was filmed in the area. Of course, I forgot my camera! There was a beautiful moon on the way home.

2007-09-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from that grantor's gift.
- Maya Angelou

As I work at getting my financial house in order I read as much as I can. As I noted in the previous post I follow many personal finance blogs and have found that charity is often an item in the spending plan or budget of many authors. The general feeling being that giving can help you prosper in all areas of your life.

Now this ties in with another blog I've followed for quite some time: Hell's Half Acre, a roving, unschooling family, who have spent quite some time in Mexico and even put down some roots there. Due to the recent hurricane season, they've needed to move around a bit, and in so doing have seen, up close and personal, the devastation left in the path of these storms. Now, they could have seen the plight of these people and, as many tend to do, thought "Too bad for them but I have my own problems." Instead MamaHops and the clan decided to do something to help. Through donations they have been able to provide necessities directly to the people. I like this giving at the grassroots level. No administrative costs, no middlemen, no building overhead, just HELP. As she explains, they pay for their own gas and lodging while delivering the staples and provide a full accounting of donations and expenses on the blog.

About now you're probably thinking INTERNET SCAM! Could be but I really don't think so. As I said I've followed this blog for probably 2 years and I found it through MamaHops' parent's blog, Life on the Road. (My other blog addiction is fulltime RVers.) And I'm not advocating that you give, just have a look and see what it means when regular peop le help regular people just because we all inhabit the same planet.
Photo by permission Mamahops

And some say the blogosphere is just a bunch of self-centered narcissists.

2007-09-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

Quest for FIRE

It's been a busy month, looking for a new job. Nothing really wrong with the old one except I decided it wasn't a "good fit", I thought we were supposed to actually show up for work and, well, work. Apparently I was wrong. I had been contemplating taking a per diem position to increase income but when looking at things like my PTO accrual with going to FT at my current place of employment it was a no brainer. So I've changed departments and will be working full time, something I haven't done since Sam was born. It will be a transition.

This is all part of my continuing quest for FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early). My original goal had been 45-whoops, missed that one! Now it's 55; I think I can make that one. But I'm adding a fudge factor of 2 years. My early retirement dreams started about 15 years ago when I first read a tattered copy of Cashing in on the American Dream found in a thrift store. We were already quite frugal in those days as a way to finance my working only per diem in order to stay home with the boys. Little did I know that this book would change my life and was something of a bible for a whole subculture of people moving toward early retirement. Back then it was difficult to find resources, now a Google search reveals over 3 million! Now with this opportunity of working FT, doing something which will be an interesting challenge, and making more money than we've ever before made in our married lives our goals seem closer than ever. While building the house we veered a bit from our spending plan, so now is the time to tighten things up a bit and restate goals.

Retire in 7 years
Pay off house in 7 years.
Revamp spending plan based on new job.
Incur no new debt (right now we have none, other than the house).
Continue to fund 403(b) at 15% pre-tax income.
Fully fund IRAs.
Maintain and increase my Couch Potato Portfolio.
Add future wage increases directly to savings through automatic deposit.

All very doable but we would never have gotten to this point without the help of several books and websites on the subject of frugality, personal finance, and early retirement. My favorites, in no particular order:

It seems that many of the books on early retirement are authored by men making 6 figures. The following 2 books took away my "but I don't make enough money" excuse:

And then there are those people who share their successes, failures, mistakes and spreadsheets through their blogs. Below are 2 I like to read regularly:

And what you might ask, will we do with all that free time once retired? Travel!! But that's a story for another day.

2007-08-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

What do You Do with Eggplant?

I went to a Farmer's Market (yes, people do grow things other than cacti in Tucson) with my friend Michelle last weekend and as she was choosing eggplant, that was my question. Her answer: Ratatouille. Now, I have bought and been given eggplant in the past and it always ends forgotten in the crisper drawer looking wrinkly and vaguely pornographic. I'm from southern Ohio and I don't think anyone there ate or grew eggplant Of course, we were surrounded by soy beans and I had no idea until I left Ohio what those were used for.
photo courtesy of TinyBanquet

Not that I was totally unaware, just that no one in West Portsmouth, Ohio used soy at that time. We didn't have a "Chinese" restaurant until the mid 70s. And tofu...no way! When she said ratatouille I wasn't too sure, it sounded French and difficult. But guess what? Not! Definitely French but easy and delicious. I used a recipe from Cook's Illustrated except I didn't do anything in the oven. I browned the vegetables in my cast iron dutch oven and finished the dish up in that. We will definitely have it again. Thanks, Michelle!

The monsoon is bringing out all kinds of critters.
This is a tarantula, somewhat camouflaged by the rocks. After a rain, a drive down a somewhat protected road, such as Saguaro National Park, will allow you to see many, many tarantulas. They get flushed from their burrows. This one happened to be right in front of the back door.

On the project front, the wall is finished. Dave and Chris came back and installed the gates. We had by that time, finished filling with the river rock. With all the rain and humidity we've had, the steel is already beginning to rust and the rocks lost much of the grayish gravel dust they had accumulated. We've received lots of positive feedback from neighbors.

I mentioned the rain we've been getting and on last Saturday we got 1.5 inches in 45 minutes. The annual average rainfall for Tucson is 11 inches, with most of that coming in the summer and then a bit more in the winter (February). I wasn't home but Rick said it came sideways. Living in a house with earthen plaster on the outside means that sideways rain will likely cause some damage. It did. But, we knew that was a likely occurrence. We just didn't know how much or where. The greatest damage was on the south wall and luckily much of it is protected by the garage. Now we know where the most vulnerable areas are and can repair and protect. We had planned to put a ramada on the south side anyway-now we know we need to do it before monsoon season next year.

In these two photos, you can see the before storm/after storm difference. The faint lines on the left of the photo to the right is where the bamboo was. But the rain has washed away the damage we had from oil that was sprayed when a piece of heavy equipment malfunctioned and has left a beautiful surface for keying in the next coat of plaster. Everyone chant: Ommmmmmmm...

If you have a minute, check out the Stonehouse Strawhouse blog, as they finish up their plaster. I remember those days!

Until next time...

2007-07-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

It's Monsoon-y!

(monsoony-dew point at 55 or above, muggy, sticky, it's gotta rain weather)

But then the clouds build up, lightning, thunder, wind and the driving rain comes. The temperature drops 20 degrees in 20 minutes-ahhhhhh...

It was a great storm-our neighbors recorded one inch of rain.

Our wall/fence (maybe it should be called a wence or a fall) is almost complete. We're slowly adding rocks from the lot but will have some delivered tomorrow. I can't believe I'm buying rocks! Dave and his crew are working on the gates.
Again, we have stumbled onto wonderful people to work with, and work they did in the 105 degree pre-monsoon heat. Dave's real job is making custom bikes at Bohemian Bicycles.

The mesh will rust (or patina) with time and really complement the other colors and textures of the house.

The beginning of the monsoon also means mesquite beans are ready to harvest. This is a mesquite with some mature pods (the yellow clusters). When dried, the beans can be milled into a flour which is a good source of protein and can assist in regulation of blood sugar. The flour has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor. As a toddler, Sam, our oldest son loved to pick them up off the ground and eat the whole bean .

Right now mesquite are laden with pods that need to be harvested before the rains knock them from the trees. They can then be further dried and kept from moisture and bugs until milling time in the fall.

I dried and slightly toasted my beans in the solar oven. What an amazing aroma, reminiscent of baking bread with cinnamon and maple. I can only imagine what a treat these beans must have been for native people.

A five gallon bucket of pods will make approximately 2 lbs of flour so I have so more gathering to do. So many seeds, so little time.

More mesquite information here and here.

Also milling dates for Tucson area can be found here at the Desert Harvesters site..

2007-07-04T16:16:00.001-07:00

What does Independence mean to you?
Freedom from, for, to, of...
Listen to this short talk by William McDonough on Cradle to Cradle Design
Now that's independence!

With thanks to Ottmar Liebert, I find the most interesting things in his blog.

2007-07-01T18:28:00.001-07:00

The Front Porch on a Hot Afternoon

This is the beautiful slate we bought and have moved various times. It is now set in sand as our front porch but can be taken out and used as something else if the mood strikes. It's a great spot to watch the birds and butterflies but is just too hot right now. We're looking forward to watching thunderstorms from this vantage point.

2007-06-29T15:29:00.001-07:00

It's HOT!

104 today (but it's a dry heat).

This is Gen, the other member of the family trying to get cool. He gets as many parts as possible on the cool concrete.

In our attempt to get cool we trekked up to Mt. Lemmon again to camp for a night. Getting away for even one night is relaxing. I finished one book and started another. It had been so long since I had actually read a book I was worried that I might no longer be able to sustain my concentration for long periods. Glad to know that's not the case.

No Touch Monkey by Ayun Halliday was the book I finished-a very funny account of her travels as a "dirty backpacker". If you can while away hours reading Lonely Planet guides and have traveled in that mode or wish you had, check this book out. (She'd probably rather you bought it) It is, as they say, laugh out loud funny.

I had pictures of our new tile front porch but somehow managed to lose them in my picture files. I'll take more but it's too hot right now-maybe in the morning when it's only 71!

2007-06-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Desert Person

I was doing some computer housecleaning today and found a poem I'd forgotten. It's by an author who just happens to live in southern Arizona, Byrd Baylor. My favorite work of hers is Yes Is Better Than No- a wonderful story for those working with people from a different culture.

Desert Person
by Byrd Baylor

Like any desert creature,
I build my own
safe shelter
with what the desert
gives.

I make thick walls
of mud and straw.
With my own hands
I shape the earth
into a house.

But when I say,
"This is my home,"
another desert person
always knows
that I don't mean
the house.

I mean
the farthest mountain
I can see.

I mean
sunsets
that fill the whole sky
and the colors
of the cliffs
and all their silences
and shadows.

I mean
the desert
is my home.

And now, my home.

This is the view from the bedroom into the bathroom and on into the shower. I love this view, it feels so calm and peaceful.

Then there's the other side of the room...

which actually looks better now that the tile is grouted and the sink works. Now to finish the backsplash.

We're still working on details. Got handles on the kitchen cabinets and drawers and shelves in my office. I'm getting organized!

This week we get an estimate on the wall for the back lot and we'll get started on the front patio.

Until next time.

2007-06-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun. ~Ralph Nader, quoted in Linda Botts, ed., Loose Talk, 1980

Things That Make You Go Hmm

On mornings I don't have to go to work, I walk the dog. 5:30-6:00 is the best time during the summer months but that is just a little too early for me. I need to have at least 2 cups of coffee before I start. Others are up and out at that time and I usually meet up with several dogs and their people on the walk. On the weekends I see many people. I walk from the neighborhood down a dirt road into the wash and then under the powerlines near where Pulte is building their watered down version of Civano. (For more on the history of that controversy see Simmons Buntin's article here). Long story short; the developers always win. And now the housing market is flatter than a fritter and all these houses are being built. Just have to scratch your head-hmm

The houses being built to the right of the walkway shown in the photo are another bone of contention. I will have to say the models are quite mmmmm, what's the word....ugly. But the problem is not the aesthetics but the number of houses, the size of the houses, the wall around the development, segregating them. They're mostly 2 story, which Civano has its fair share of already. A 2-story house in the desert just sort of flies in the face of energy conservation. After our Vail Experience, I've had all the developer controversy I can handle but the builder hype found in this article is just over the top. I guess it's better than Pulte.

On with the walk. These are crosses erected in remembrance of someone killed in an accident on this little dirt road. Roadside crosses are prevalent in the southwest and I've started to see them in other regions. There used to be more information written on a piece of paper there but that has disappeared. There are flowers in the wash bed which is about 15 ft below the crosses. Hmmm

In Memory of John Roman Voytas
June 18, 1956-June 3, 2006
There were fresh flowers there on 6/3/07

Freshly mined urbanite-could be my patio! Hmmm

General, with Civano in the background.

Back in the neighborhood, 7 Generations Way.

Houses along Civano Blvd.

Walkway in the Desert Country neighborhood.
(There are houses on either side)

Just before crossing the bridge to our house at the end of our walk this day.

The only thing missing is the sound of the birds and the darting quail and rabbit families that are abundant this time of year. The bunnies drive Gen crazy, he would so love to take out after one but, he ain't nuthin' but a hound dog, even off leash.

Upadate on punch list items. The solar hot water is now connected and working. It's a Copperheart and keeps the water heater filled with preheated water decreasing the constant heating and reheating of water that just sits in the tank awaiting our use at the turn of the tap.

We can now get a car in the garage. Yeaaa!!

We have the landscape plans and have started some preliminary work.

Examine each question in terms of what is ethically and aesthetically right, as well as what is economically expedient.
~Aldo Leopold

Hmmmmmmm....

2007-05-28T15:35:00.001-07:00

“I AM ALWAYS DOING THAT WHICH I CANNOT DO IN ORDER THAT I MAY LEARN HOW TO DO IT.”
— PABLO PICASSO

La Ducha

When you build your own house you do have certain leeway in making on the fly changes-and I am the Queen of Change. Step back, take a look--"Hmmmm-that's not it. Let's try something else." Now, I haven't quite figured out if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I know it drives the other member of the team a bit crazy but, that goes both ways.

The shower had its share of changes, at least that's how it appears but in my mind, it looks just the way I envisioned it. You see, I compromised early on what I wanted for floor tile and was afraid of the lime plaster. After I decided to go for it on the lime and got the tile I wanted, it all worked but I had to make a few mistakes first.

This is the lime before polishing and staining. I loved the way it looked at this stage. So smooth and level and white.

The next step was polishing with a small steel trowel (it's all about the trowel) and polishing....and polishing...and polishing. This is not a process to start late in the day. You have to be there to trowel at the right stage and for the right amount of time. You just don't know beforehand when that time will be. Working with these old techniques really gives a view into the life of artisans and craftspeople of years gone by.

This is the before tile on the right and the after on the left. The rock tile just fits the rustic look of the shower walls and the colors are perfect.

This (right)then is the finished shower. We use it everyday and so far so good. The only problem we have is the lack of slope on the whole shower floor. A miscommunication or lack of communication with the slab crew. But, we have a longhandled squeegee that we use on the floor after every shower.

It's all good.

We got our landscape plan and are pleased with it. Scott is making a few changes and should have it to us tomorrow so we can submit to the "Design Review Committee". I don't foresee a problem. The concept of the design is a more wild or natural look around the perimeter of the lot with the area on the south side that will be walled in more linear and formal, which suits the style of the house.

The most exciting part is the wall design. I had agonized over this for a long time, going from cob to block to cob to bamboo to... Nothing caught. When Scott was here for the initial meeting we talked about gabions and possibly using the large number of rocks left on the lot in some way. The planets lined up and as he was driving in a neighborhood in central Tucson, he found this:Awesome, just what I wanted!

Scott's doing an interesting experiment this summer. Going without air conditioning and evaporative cooling. Got my goat because we buckled early on turning on the air, so now I'm back at it. Our biggest problem is the blast oven heat produced by the sons and their computers! Sizzlin! So I just close their doors and give a hearty "Good luck with that!" Right now at 4:20 pm it's 95.2 outside and 82.6 inside. Not bad. Just have to do most of the cooking outside, which we do anyway, watch the lighting (no incandescent or halogen) and don't leave windows and doors open. We'll see what happens. I once tried to eat only foods produced within 100 miles of Tucson-not an easy task. I lasted about 10 days. My inspiration was Coming Home to Eat a fascinating look at food and why we eat what we eat.

So, I'm off to check to solar oven-Blueberry Crumble.

And lest we forget-All gave some, Some gave all. Memorial Day 2007

2007-05-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

Midnight at the Oasis

The hall bath. This is where we started, a decidedly minimalist look. Pretty bleak.

Then we progressed to this. This is the plywood stained rosewood-nope, that's not it.

And now we are here. Not sure of the style, funky, eclectic, flea market-whatever, I like it. I painted the wood with a Chocolate Raisin (or something, who comes up with these names anyway?) and then dry brushed black over it. The back splash is hardiboard painted and stenciled. The bottom shelf has baskets to hold whatever supplies need to be there.

The color of the border and ceiling-awaiting me to get up on a ladder and stencil. The difficulty in this room is it has a very tall ceiling and is very narrow with a toilet at one end and the vanity at the other making placing a ladder near impossible. But, I will do it someday when I'm feeling really rested and adventurous. And I'd better love the outcome because it may never get painted again.

So, that's Bathroom Number 1. Next installment: The Shower.

2007-05-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

More kitchen photos...

Here's the beauty of the pantry by Rev-a-Shelf. It holds a lot of stuff and moves in and out easily. Right now it has some items which will go into the yet to be built baking island. In the Rita Ranch house we had a pantry closet that was always full but we were never quite sure with what. It had those deep shelves that allow items to hide. It also had a really high shelf and the floor-where things went to die. This is much more convenient and you can see everything.

This, of course, is the spice rack.
We opted for the drawer and door hardware with Blumotion-that means they close silently when you give them a firm push. I thought it was a bit over the top but the spice cabinet doesn't have that feature and we miss it. Spoiled already.
The dish rack. People find this fascinating, I guess because all of our dishes fit on this rack.
Our LG fridge, which is a big improvement over a side-by-side. Again, things don't get lost on the lower shelves.

And the stained concrete floor in the kitchen. I used the same combination of colors on all the floor just varied the proportion. The kitchen has a bit more green.

So, that's the kitchen.

2007-05-13T17:51:00.000-07:00

House For Sale

The minute we moved into the Civano house we started working on the Rita Ranch house to get it ready for sale. After much painting, floor installation, new sink and counter tops, it is listed for sale and can be seen here. Know anyone who needs an great house in SE Tucson in a good neighborhood with EXCELLENT neighbors? This is the house.

And what else have we been up to? Well, way back at the end of March (???!!)we had a great dinner with fellow HouseBloggers from This Old Crack House
Really, Gary's not as bad as everyone says.... and who else would listen to my stories of mixing paint with powdered milk, lime and pigment and not glaze over and run for the door? We had a great time and it was good to connect with o-Hi-ns.

Then we moved-y'all know what that's like-grueling.

We also took time out for a couple of days in Puerto Penasco-fabulous-as we cross the border (S to N) I always have to ask, "We are going back because....?" We ate shrimp, read, beachcombed, napped, read, beachcombed and ate shrimp. What could be better? Thank you, Kathy and Tom. This picture is the essence of the trip.

Now we can work on finish details at this place. Finish, you say! What could possibly be left as you've moved in? Plenty, I say, plenty. Trim details, landscaping, garage or as we like to call it-Disaster Area! All in good time, all in good time The Civano house is performing well, it stays about 5 degrees less than the ambient external temperature without air conditioning. It hit 100 Saturday and we turned on the air; with the thermostat set at 82 it keeps the place comfortable.

Rick and I went camping on Mt. Lemmon last week. Just an overnighter to check out our "new-to-us" Starcraft pop-up truck camper. No pictures as I forgot the camera. It was a cool, green respite at the beginning of a long hot summer.

Now for house pictures. I'm starting with the kitchen because it got the most questions at the Nosy Neighbors home tour. I'm also going to give things a Do-Again Scale, 1 wouldn't even think of doing it again and 10, in a heartbeat.

This is just after the lime paint had been applied and the kitchen sink is in its CoA mode.

And this is Nick, mid-cabinetinstall.
And the completed (well, the handles aren't on yet) kitchen. To the left, under the stovetop is a spice rack. Didn't think I'd like it and I don't--I LOVE it! Holds much more than I imagined it could. Drawers directly under stovetop hold pots, pans and lids and right now the silverware as the island which will hold the utensils is not completed. Under the sink is the garbage and recycling with a little curtain. I find that much easier than a door for places that get accessed frequently. then it's my Craigslist dw which works beautifully; quiet and actually cleans dishes. Amazing! Placement of the dw allows things to be put away when clean without moving much at all. The only difficulty, and it's a function of space not design, is the lack of space to the left of the dw. You can also see the built-in cutting board on the counter above the dw. Very handy.

The wall oven with a cabinet above which holds the microwave and cookbooks. Below are 2 huge drawers for crockpot, small appliances, plastic storage container and various miscellaneous articles. To the left the crowning jewel, costing a king's ransom, the pull-out pantry. I agonized over this purchase but it was definitely worth it.

Do Again Scale on the kitchen-10. Anything I'd change? I would have measured the diameter of my glasses so they would fit more easily on the shelves of the dishrack. I might have had a bin type door on the front of the undersink-but maybe not. I would have come up with a viable idea for the backsplash sooner. Sooner than, I still don't have one... The lime paint is fragile and not easliy cleaned, so I may just put a coat of latex on it, just not sure yet.

Really, once we get the island built this will be just what we need.

2007-05-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, it's been over a month since I last updated this blog. Nothing bad happened, we're all OK but we did MOVE! and move...and move... Even though we got rid of a bunch of "stuff" we still have alot. And it just seemed to grow. But, we are in now and even were part of a Nosy Neighbors tour here in our neighborhood of Civano. We must have had 100 people through checking out the house that many of the visitors had watched evolve. I will post some pictures at a later date but wanted to share this with you. If you remember, last October I went to a workshop at the Canelo Project for a week to learn more about earthen plasters and other finishes. I got an email from Bill and Athena Steen with a link to a film made while there as part of Nora Naranjo-Morse's sculpture project for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Always Becoming Two films are on this page-I'm seen briefly in the second one (No autographs, please!) (Warning-the films would not work from Mozilla Firefox but did fine from IE).

2007-03-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

Before and After

Not everything you do when building is good. This might be a surprise but I'm here to tell you, feces occurs.

Here are some examples:Shower floor-not bad looking but would never have drained the way it should. Thanks to Chris (one of the Gumbatis) who bailed me out, we now have this:
...a beautiful riverstone that is complementary to the walls and concrete floor. And, it's what I originally wanted-which just goes to show-go with your gut. The book Blink explores the mysterious, complex thinking process that occurs in the first 2 seconds after we encounter something new. Looking back, decisions made "in the Blink of an eye" have probably been my best decisions.

2007-03-22T06:46:00.000-07:00

Cabinets-kinda, sorta... This is Nick working on the cabinets. The photo is blurry because he's moving so fast, all the time.
I haven't been to the house since last Saturday as I've been working (I do have a J-O-B) and packing. But I understand that the cabinet drawers are finished and the pantry is in and it all looks wonderful. The countertop will be poured tomorrow. I'll take a field trip later today to check progress.

I really dislike moving but it does give me chance to look at things and ask:
"Do I love you enough to go to the time, trouble and expense to move you?" Funny how many things don't pass that test. I've found that as I get older, I need less and less "stuff" cluttering my space. I want to really enjoy what I really love and not have to be burdened with things "just because". It's interesting how many people will try to talk you into having more stuff. I have really whittled down the kitchen and people are amazed but we only keep things we use-and we cook everyday sometimes twice a day. All I can say is, less stuff feels good.

Anyway-here's my progress-this is probably 50% of what needs to be packed, minus clothes:

The photo reminds me-that chair has got to go!

2007-03-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

We're still at it

but so busy I haven't taken time to post.

Cabinets-50% finished.
Floor-sealed but don't like the sealer-really strong odor and left unsealed spots.
Shower floor-done and beautiful.
Office-painted.
Sam's window-finished and trimmed.
Our bath-cabinet built, stained and countertop surface done.
Our BR window seat-built and stained.
Wood stove-in the house, not fully installed but it's in the 90s now, installation not a priority.
Exterior-cracks repaired and paint color chosen (for cement stucco skirt and garage).

I'll post pictures tonight. As I have no new pictures-here's a link to The Small House Society
Enjoy their pictures.

And, Site Meter is Back!! Now I can learn more geography-I'm off now to look up Wollongong, NSW...

2007-03-10T04:42:00.000-08:00

Feeling a little Sisyphean

Everytime we leave the house at night we have six more things to finish. EVERY NIGHT! That means these details are replicating.

I know that we will never be "Finished" (with a capital F) but it would be nice to be finished.

Progress was made on the landscape front (and back). We met with Scott Calhoun from Zona Gardens (and also a neighbor) who will be doing the design. We read his book, A Yard Full of Sun and attended a reading he did awhile back, so were pretty sure of our choice. Meeting him only made us more sure of our decision. Our first priority will be to get a wall on the south side and then we will work on the other elements over time.

Back to pushing that rock...

2007-03-10T04:29:00.000-08:00

Oh no!

My SiteMeter isn't working. How disappointing! Part of the fun of keeping this blog is checking the stats. I've had visitors from Australia, Bulgaria, Russia, Morocco, Korea, South Africa, Portugal-quite the geography refresher course. Anyway it feels lonely not seeing those numbers increase.

I checked the SiteMeter weblog and they are indeed having problems-...upgraded server...working to correct...aware of delays...no data being lost... yadda, yadda, yadda.

Hope the problem is solved soon, they're killing my stats!

2007-03-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

It's all in the details...

The south windows trimmed with leftover bamboo flooring.

Transom above hall bath door.
Door into shower.
Color in hall bath.

Light fixture, hall bath.

Window reveal in MBR-reed mat with lime plaster washed back then frescoed with ochre pigment.

2007-02-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

Serendipity

Need I say more? I found the Gypsy Girl's Guide through a comment on My Marrakesh (ahhhh Rumi). I was feeling like the proverbial bridesmaid, not getting something that I didn't even know I wanted. But, life is truly awe-inspring at times. Those moments when the universe speaks make me happy to be alive.

Those who came of age in the 70's will surely remember Desiderata
The line that comes to mind now: No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

I leave you with this by Rumi,

Two Kinds of Intelligence

There are two kinds of intelligence: One acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.

With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more
marks on your preserving tablets.

There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it doesn't move from outside to inside
through the conduits of plumbing-learning.

This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.

Mathnawi IV:1960-1968
photo by tinou bao

2007-02-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

Here's looking at you, kid.

I'll keep the commentary brief, lots of pics to post.

NaNan (Rick's mom) cleaning...and cleaning...and cleaning. She's a whirlwind and such attention to detail. Can't thank her enough because at this stage neither of us have the gusto for cleaning.

Final (for now)clay paint on the hearth wall. This is Lincoln Fireclay (thank you MarJon Ceramics, nice, nice people). Recipe 1.5 parts clay 1.5 parts 60 grit silica sand mixed with 1 sm pkg wheat paste in 1 gallon water (approx). Mix and add just enough powdered milk to get the consistency you want. Go slow-the reaction is amazingly fast.

This is the corner of our bedroom. The wall to the left is the bale wall with final clay paint (2 coats) over earthen plaster. The clay is Lincoln Fireclay with some yellow ochre pigment. You MUST experiment to get what you want as there are no absolutes. The wall on the right is EPK (same recipe, no pigment); more of a gray. This is over dry wall. If you have a ceramic shop nearby call and see if they have broken bags they will sell. However, we spent less than $20 on 100# of clay and about $8 on 100# of sand. Wheat paste can be really inexpensive if you make your own but we opted to buy (arrrgh the guilt). Still, the total is less than a gallon of "good" paint.

I plastered the window seats in the living room with an earthen/lime and they looked great but cracked like crazy. I think 2 factors came into play-I didn't wet the substrate before applying the plaster and they dried too quickly. Lime is weird. I like the way they look but will have to redo.

Transom (fixed) above the hall bath. This bath has a SolarTube so will have lots of daylighting. The transoms are Plexiglass painted with frosted glass spray paint with a tape stencil and have yet to be trimmed out. They will help to share light in these small interior rooms. This idea came to me after we had framed and I saw those very regular openings above the doors. Hmmmmm.....

This is the door from our bedroom into the WC. Pocket doors allow more light sharing and easy access for a wheel
chair if ever needed in the future.

Tiled shower floor.

Poor Woman's Tadelakt

Now I in no way do I think this is authentic tadelakt; my lime didn't come from Marrakech, far from it. But it has the "stone" look I wanted and it's not bad for a beginner. These are the shower walls, a mixture of type S lime putty with 60 grit sand (1:1) laid on in 2 layers and then polished and polished and polished then stained. Next will comemore burnishing with black soap to make it waterproof. You can see the sheen in the photos-it is quite smooth. This is a very tactile finish that just begs to be touched. I believe I read somewhere that the word tadelakt means to "massage".

For my Canelo workshop buddies-remember the first night when we all said what we came to learn-this was it for me. Now to go to one of those tadelakt workshops in Marrakech or Provence or Italy.

Maryam in Marrakesh has a beautiful blog for those who have ever yearned to travel to exotic locales. I so wanted to be a 1930's foreign correspondant, with the Ingrid Bergman look in the airport scene in Casablanca.

Her blog is filled with photos and snippets of her life in Marrakesh.

A lot accomplished again this week. Just a bathroom vanity to build and trim work to complete. Fussy stuff. The patios to build. I can see the light!

Sweeping cobwebs from the edges of my mind
Had to get away to see what we could find
Hope the days that lie ahead
Bring us back to where they've led
Listen up to what's been said to you

They're taking me to Marrakesh

~Graham Nash

2007-02-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

The Journey Continues
Painting is almost finished and the clay paint has been a joy to use. The most difficult part of painting is the clean up and with this you just hose the brushes and buckets off with a little water and call it good.The recipe we settled on is a cross between paint and plaster and is looking beautiful. (pictures later) While looking for more information on clay paint, I stumbled upon a Nova program about restoring ancient clay paintings in Tibet. It's fascinating to think people have been doing something similar for hundreds of years and to learn more about the possibilities.

With the experience we now have I've thought it would be interesting to look for volunteer positions restoring lime and clay plasters. Some options I've found: National Trust, Passport in Time, Heritage Conservation Network (this one looks especially interesting). If you know of any, please leave a comment. Maybe next year we could be helping to restore a chapel in Italy!

2007-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

Of Clay Paint and Chocolate Pudding

Another busy weekend with much accomplished, there's just never enough time! Rick finished the bamboo floors in the boys' bedrooms and they are beautiful. We bought this spur of the moment at the evil empire-Home Depot. Spur of the moment except we stood in the isle of HD and discussed it for about 30 minutes. It was a close-out, it was beautiful and seemed easy enough to install (although not as easy as we thought) so we went for it. So far we are very happy with the purchase. A bit dusty but so worth the effort. We then got started on clay paint for the walls we want to remain the original clay color. So tell me, doesn't this look good enough to eat? Finely sifted clay and sand (sifted by me through a kitchen strainer) with wheat paste, a bit of powdered milk and some straw-Yummo!! I think all food groups are represented and talk about your fiber... Me selecting only the finest straw sort of like a Brewmaster selecting only the finest hops. And we're off! The west wall drying-looks like it has some type of dermatitis. And the hearth with it's coat of paint, not quite dry and looking a little one dimensional. When dry I think there will be more variation and depth. We also finished the final plaster coat in our bedroom and what a relief. I thought it would never dry. All in all a very productive 4 days. Of course dilemmas did arise over the weekend. I had decided to clay paint the rest of the drywall-the drywall that I had requested be hung brown side out and not taped. That would have been great for my original plan to plaster (back when I was full of energy) but for clay paint maybe not so good. So now I have to decide if I want to plaster or come up with a solution for the taping and use clay paint. I have a feeling it will be plaster but you never know. Sometimes you just have to step away and let the answer come to you. But not much can compete with surfaces like this.

2007-02-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

Little Egypt

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I went and bought myself a ticket and I sat down in the very first row
They pulled the curtain but then when they turned the spotlight way down low
Little egypt came out a-struttin wearin nothin but a button and a bow
Singing, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying

She had a ruby on her tummy and a diamond big as texas on her toe
She let her hair down and she did the hoochie-coochie real slow
When she did her special number on the zebra skin I thought shed stop the show
Singing, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying, ying-ying~Leiber & Stoller

I remember this Elvis Presley song and most of the words even after not hearing it in probably 30 years. To a kid growing up in smalltown Bible belt southern Ohio it was bordering on scandalous. Enough to make you wonder just what this Little Egypt did and you knew it had to be good when adults would look uncomfortable when asked. I recall my Greatuncle Bill, he of the checkered and well-travelled past (he was into horseracing, also somewhat scandalous because of the gambling) talking about seeing Little Egypt and getting stern looks from my mother when he brought it up. Wow, this must be good!

Fast forward-My sister-in-law began studying Middle Eastern dance in the from of Tribal Bellydance several years ago and was here this weekend to do a performance at the University of Arizona. Through her I've learned some of the history of bellydance and the importance of dance in many cultures. Having been a labor and delivery nurse for almost 30 years I'm intrigued by the origin of the dance, or Raqs Sharqi , as a dance by women for women to prepare young women for childbirth. What an empowering ritual that must have been for women facing the rigors of bringing forth new life. Bellydance also brings women a better awareness of their bodies and the beauty of the female form.

The dance was introduced to the US at the 1893 Chicago Exposition by a dancer known as Little Egypt. But America was scandalized and the dance became sleazy sideshow or nightclub "cootchie-cootchie" act as immortalized in the Leiber & Stoller tune.

Dancing looks fun-that's probably why so many people are against it. There's that great scene in the movie "Monsoon Wedding" with the women sharing dance and song, it made me want to get up and join them. Those people looked so happy, how could that not be a good thing? I wish I was part of a dancing culture.

What does this have to do with strawbale building? Not much but we all have art in us, it's up to us to find it and lose ourselves in it.

Now, pictures from the weekend. Lots of painting accomplished and little details that have to be done.
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Hearth finished-check!

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Joe's room painted-check!

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Sam's room painted-check! The green boxes contain bamboo flooring "acclimating".

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Shower painted-check!

The End Is Near!

2007-02-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

Aliens!

"They're coming outta the walls. They're coming outta the bleep walls, we're bleep!"

After a short battle with the alien creatures, the planet is again safe.

(This is a little green sprout searching out the light.)

The west wall-this one is staying brown

Truth window/niche in process. (photo taken in low light so a little grainy)

First coat of lime paint on the kitchen walls. I like it. The recipe I settled on is: 1 cup nonfat dry milk rehydrated, about 1/2 cup lime putty mixed with a bit of water to make it the consistency of sour cream, approx 4 tbls yellow ochre pigment. This is very watery and flips everywhere when you brush it on. Cover everything if you ever use lime paint. I found another recipe that uses plaster of paris to make a thicker consistency and I want to try that this weekend.
I'm anxious to see it when I go back tomorrow after it's had a chance to carbonate. When looking closely at the painted wall you can see the crystals catching the light. I've done a lot of faux painting with latex but this is the REAL thing-what I was aiming for with the faux.

Beginnings of the hearth and adobe wall. The blue lines show the planned shape of the wall.
The 2 blocks that look more brown than gray are painted with clay paint-that gray has got to go!

Hearth day 2.

2007-01-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

Coffee and naprosyn,

Breakfast of Champions

another day begins...

2007-01-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-01-24T06:04:00.000-08:00

Click, click, click

When it snows in Tucson you can almost hear the sound of thousands of camera shutters. Everyone gets out to take pictures. Luckily our friend (and soon to be neighbor) Casey took some pictures of the Civano house. It looks so...finished. Thanks, Casey!For more desert in snow pictures go to Simmons' blog Riverfall.
He always has beautiful photos.

The temperature did get in the 60s yesterday! Can spring be far behind?

2007-01-22T05:51:00.000-08:00

So Much for Subtle Signs of Winter

Yes, that's snow!

And this is my backyard 1/22/06 at 0730.

The last time we had an accumulation of snow was Easter Sunday, 1999. We were building the strawbale house in Vail-hmmmmmm. The good part is, this time we aren't living in a drafty 5th Wheel. The forecast says 60's by the weekend. Keepin' my fingers crossed.

2007-01-19T05:14:00.000-08:00

Winter in Tucson

Some years most people can't really tell it's winter in the Sonoran desert. After you've lived in the desert awhile you begin to notice the subtle differences that signal the changing of the seasons. The angle of the sun, different smells in the air, a slight dip in temperatures and sometimes water falls from the sky. Rain!-in a location that averages 11 inches of rain annually, rain is an event.

On the negative side for us this year is the fact that the lower tempreatures and damp air have significantly slowed the drying process for the interior plaster. On the plus side, it should be a great year for wildflowers. Even though many people think of the desert as a barren wasteland and some are even surprised to see things growing here, the desert has seasons, you just have to pay more attention. But in years with good rain, there is no missing spring as wildflowers literally burst forth and paint the desert with yellow, orange, blue, purple and white. It's an amazing site. It's such a big deal that there are Wildflower Hotlines and sites dedicated to keeping the public advised of the wildflower situation.

The other thing that bursts forth in Tucson this time of year is the Gem Show which draws people from all over the world. It's also an amazing site as all motels/hotels and any open areas around the I-10 corridor become the venue for sales of gems, minerals, rocks, jewelry, beads, jewelry making tools and supplies, rugs, furniture, clothing-you name it, someone there is selling it. The Show is quite an adventure and has to be seen to be believed. There is something for everyone.

But, back to the plasterwork.

Working in the bedroom. This wall had some really deep holes and took a lot of mud. Some areas I had to fill in as much as 3 inches! No wonder it's taking so long to dry.

This is an attempt to show the depth of the second coat but that's only an inch or so.

This is the window in the dining area. If you ever do a strawbale house, come up with some other way to finish the top of the window. Filling that area in is so tedious and half the mud ends up on the floor, 1/4 of it is on you! I'm using reed mats on the other windows and will slather on some mud and then sponge it back for a more textured look and a lot less frustration, I hope.

This is the living room west wall, the light areas are unfinished niches. This room is drying more quickly but gets more sun and took less plaster.

We now have a fully functioning toilet at the house and the little blue outhouse went away. Hooray!
The solar water heater is on the roof.
I've chosen some paint colors and tile for the shower.
Adobe veneer goes on the LR wall next week.
Will the details never end?

Click the photo for some more great flowers-but I can't take credit

But then I recall the Chinese proverb: He who finishes house, dies.

And I won't complain about the weather cause it could be this:

This is the house of our former neighbors in Colorado taken just last week!

2007-01-11T04:38:00.000-08:00

The world is mud-luscious e.e.cummings

The drywall is finished and I hear it looks great. I haven't seen it yet as I've been working at the paying/healthcare providing job. Today I get to start on the final interior plaster. Of course the weather has been beautiful and warm all week and today the high will be 60s (not bad) but 30% chance of rain. However, that does mean 70% chance of sun! (I know I'm weather-spoiled!)

The correct springs arrived for the garage door and it is now operable.
The kitchen cabinets are "in the works".
The gas line for the grill is finished and we, at long lost, have no trenches!
On to the mud...

(Here's the complete poem: In Just )

2007-01-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Thought for the New Year

The Station

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision.
We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent.

We are traveling by train.

Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways,of children waving at the crossing, of cattle grazing on the distant hillside,of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat,of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills,of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.

On a certain day, at a certain hour we will pull into the station.
Bands will be playing and flags will be waving.
Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.

How restlessly we pace the aisles,damning the minutes for loitering - waiting,waiting for the station.When we reach the station, that will be it!!We cry, "When I'm 18..." "When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz...""When I put the last kid through college..." "When I have paid off the mortgage..."When I get a promotion..." "When I reach retirement, I will live happily ever after!!
Sooner or later we must realize there is no station,no one place to arrive at once and for all.
The true joy of life is the trip.
The station is only a dream.
It constantly outdistances us.
It isn't the burdens of today that drive people mad.
It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.
Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.

Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream,go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets,laugh more, cry less, life must be lived as we go along.

The station will come soon enough.

Author Unknown

2007-01-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

...and the final steps to get there

a functioning bathroom

(Toto DualMax)

and an operable kitchen sink (Granite, I don't need no stinking granite!)

Obviously this is not the finish work but now that we have the CO we're finished with inspections and can focus on finer details.

This is the garage door installed. Looks great but we can't open it-they sent the wrong springs.

We've had freezing temperatures at night so the stucco isn't finished.

The taping should be completed today.

I've had a bad cold.

It's always something!

But,

it's a new year and a new day.

Onward and upward!

2006-12-24T15:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

We've been busy! Someone stopped by the house today and said she hoped we would be finished with the house by next Christmas...arrgghhhh!! I said something clever like " We will be unless...uhhhh....we're dead or something." People just don't understand the time it takes to build especially when it's not a production build. Oh well, some just don't get it.

Here are the exterior lights I painted yesterday. They were a powder white and we wanted them to look galvanized. There are some excellent spray paints on the market now and you can get just about any finish/look you want. I LOVE paint! I think the lights look great-they will be on either side of the garage door, one on the people door of the garage and 2 on the south entry.

These I found on eBay for the ridiculous price of about $9.00 apiece. They are very sturdy lights and came with compact fluorescent bulbs-GONGA deal.
Here are the "stoops" we made in order to be able to get our CO. This is the slate I found on Craigslist and will eventually be the front porch/patio but for now it's appearing as the door stoops. The coloration of the slate is beautiful.

My project for today was to tape the joints on the brown walls. We asked that the rockers hang the rock wrong side out so that I would have a unsealed surface to apply the earthen plaster. When Rick asked the contractor if he had ever hung drywall brown side out he replied: "Not on purpose". I taped the joints with the standard mesh tape and homemade joint compound. To make this I used clay and a bit of sand sifted through a window screen. To the dry ingredients I added water and allowed the clay to hydrate. I then added a bit of homemade wheat paste (cooked flour/water). When combined it looks like chocolate mousse, almost good enough to eat. I taped the seams and applied the mud as usual but didn't have to worry about smoothing it as another layer of earthen plaster will be applied. One bright note, if you've ever drywalled you know you have to be careful of the "mud" drying because it leaves "rocks" in the mix which makes the knife work difficult to say the least. With the real mud this is not a problem, it all just mixes together and re-incorporates beautifully.

This is looking into our compact kitchen-it will be so efficient. Lovin' it!

This is a shot of one seam mudded, one seam just taped and the brown side of the drywall.

Cooking lunch in our solar oven.

We may work some tomorrow-or we may just sit, listen to Christmas carols and drink coffee. No matter, we wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year!

2006-12-22T05:32:00.000-08:00

Another week has passed

and things are rockin' and rollin' at the house. The drywallers are hanging the "rock" today and will come back next week to tape. Drywall really changes the look of things.

The garage door has arrived, the garage is being wired, the lot is being graded, the furnace will be tested today...lots going on. What's left to finish? Here's the To Do list:

Kitchen cabinets
Bathroom cabinets
Sinks
Toilets
Exterior lights (I'm painting those today)
Interior lights
Interior plaster
Paint
Adobe veneer on LR wall
Seal floor
Carpet in boy's bedrooms
Hang doors
Install sola-tube
Install WB stove

Quite a list! Onward and upward.

Most importantly- today our younger son, Joe, turns 14! Happy Birthday Joj!

2006-12-15T05:51:00.000-08:00

Playing in the Mud
Plaster Party

Last Saturday some friends came to help celebrate my birthday and apply the first coat of interior earthen plaster. We had a great time and thanks to Sam, Connor, Dave and Shayne, who kept us supplied with mud, we were able to get the first coat done by about 1pm.

Amy and Olga

Sam and Shayne

Connor

Thel...errrr Loui......uhhh Robin!

New acquaintances, Phyllis and Mary, who hope to build a strawbale cabin in NM.

I must have been tired, because the camera shook. This is Mariel who came with her husband Bill and MIL Elsa. They also helped with the wall-raising and Bill helped put the roof on.

Casey, Me, Donna

Karen and Victor

Rick, Michelle

Lunch time!

Finished wall-we had to leave that space above the first course because we hadn't had the electrical inspection yet.
We have now been inspected and we passed! But not before having to run out and buy and install fire alarms....duhhh!

We were so busy we didn't get pictures of everyone but we sure appreciate all the help and encouragement.

We now have the garage roof finished and the "driveway", all 4 feet of it, poured. Victor will begin the stucco on Saturday.

Kitchen cabinet decisions have been made-they will be Plyboo! I was having a difficult time deciding what to use then picked up a copy of one of those glossy home mags and there it was, The Answer. I was drawn to the mag because our neighbor's house is on the cover. This issue is dedicated to "green" building and living.

2006-12-08T05:15:00.000-08:00

In search of Red Clay in So Arizona

If you know of a spot where there is reddish clay that I can dig-please leave me a comment. I want it for the window trim so don't need much.

In search of other colors, I went to Originate yesterday and bought some pigments. The store has a nice variety of natural building supplies and if she doesn't have what you need she might be able to find it for you. I bought yellow ochre and green pigments. The finish plaster in the living areas of the house will have the yellow ochre added for just a bit of color. Our current house came with an old gold paint in the living room and it is such a cheerful, warm color. I love it, but I would probably never have painted any room yellow on my own. The sparkly stuff is mica-I'm going to add that to the dragonfly wings and also some of the interior plasters. What fun!

Be on the look-out for red clay!

2006-12-04T17:11:00.000-08:00

What We Did This Weekend...

Coated burlap with clay slip and hung it for the wood to bale transition...

added bamboo to a corner transition (stencil will come later)...

cleaned up the cement stucco...

and took all that disgusting plastic off the windows and doors and stood back and admired!

But then I realized "Yikes, (I hang around Olga too much) it's December!" I'm one of those who likes to have the Christmas cards (I love Christmas cards AND the newsletters) done by Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping mostly completed by my birthday (Dec 7, the Day that will Live in Infamy). So now it's the 4th and nothing, zip, nada. But, NPR to the rescue! As I was driving to Civano on the weekend I heard a story about Mighty Goods. I'm saved! I'm off to cyberspace to shop, I can be finished by the 7th!

2006-12-02T07:01:00.000-08:00

The Garage That Ate the House!

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You

Looks huge, huh? It is pretty huge but remember, this is the BACK of the house (but probably the side most people will approach the house). We had to have a garage so might as well have a decent sized one. It will provide a place for the freezer, w/d and tools, so it is utilizing non-conditioned space for things that don't require conditioned space and/or produce heat. Also you might notice the slope on the roof beams. When it rains, this will provide water for landscape purposes and the solar panels will live up there.

Remember, this the front of the house. (before plaster)

That's Sam and me finishing up the plaster on the south side. The blue tarps are to keep the sun from drying out the plaster. I worked without one the first day and what a mistake. It's just too dry with the intense sun to be able to finish it the way it needs to be done. Luckily the temperatures were only in the 70's during the day.

Now I just need to complete the west wall. And I have the tools to do that now!

2006-11-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

Final Plaster...

looks good! We were able to finish about 1/3 of the exterior yesterday but boy, were we tired.
But it was a good tired, as Rick likes to say. And the results of the labor are beautiful.

2006-11-23T05:09:00.000-08:00

For this, I am Thankful,

My Mom doesn't have to spend Thanksgiving alone,
My family,

A 17 yr old who dresses in black but has a smile that lights up the room and a sparkly wit,

An almost fourteen year old who asks the most soul-stirring questions,
That I have the time to listen and to discuss those questions (they are often unanswerable) ,
A husband who builds and doesn't mind my "change orders" (not much, anyway),
All the trades we've encountered who still take pride in their work and see it as a craft,
All those who have stopped by during building and given us encouragement,
The friends who have helped with the building ,
A vocation I enjoy, an avocation I love,
That I still feel excitement at hearing the cadence of a marching band,
Things that are so beautiful they bring tears to my eyes,
Books that I want never to end,
Tucson sunsets

2006-11-22T04:56:00.000-08:00

The garage floor is poured!

Things are moving now. The garage looks like it takes an enormous amount of space-but it's all relative to the size of the lot. It's a normal 2 (1.5 usually!) car size. It will also house our W/D and freezer.

Here are some more photos of The Big Pour. Framing next week and then Victor will come back to stucco it.

2006-11-20T04:08:00.000-08:00

Some work did happen over the weekend

A friend came over and helped me hash out the design for the west wall. And she brought me chai, she fielded questions from curious passersby and we laughed alot-what could be better?

Kiko Denzer does beautiful work in clay. I can learn a lot from his style. He has a great book on building earthen ovens which I used for the oven we had at our previous home. The book is much more than the mechanics of building an oven-it's about the importance of bread, "the Bread Cycle" and our relationship with the world around us. A quote-"Life doesn't ask us to buy, it asks us to participate-to watch, to learn and to create."

Still working on the buildouts around doors and windows-fun stuff!

This is my bamboo scene-wanted something with plant life but not cactus and coyotes. Digital cameras are so useful because I can study this and see what, if anything, needs to be added. There are also 2 dragonflies that are very hard to see at this angle.

The dragonfly.

The forming for the garage floor is completed and the pour will be tomorrow. We can get that finished quickly. (i know we can, i know we can, i know we can)

And the Gumbati Cons. guys came over to discuss the kitchen, which meant I had to get a final drawing for what we want where. It's such a small space it's imperative that we use it efficiently and I think I have a pretty good desgn.

So things are happening!

2006-11-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

Ohio State over Michigan 42 to 39 - 11/18/2006

Just One More

2006-11-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

The Victory Bell rang at the 'shoe!

There were a few tense moments with a couple of heart-stopping turnovers but the Bucks persevered! Buckeyes 42-The other team 39.

2006-11-19T05:06:00.000-08:00

Hang On Sloopy at OSU vs Bowling Green game

Hang On, Sloopy-the Bucks are comin' to Arizona!

2006-11-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

Script Ohio

Across the Field

Fight the team across the field,
Show them Ohio's here
Set the earth reverberating with a mighty cheer
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Hit them hard and see how they fall;
Never let that team get the ball,
Hail! Hail! The gang's all here,
So let's win that old conference now

2006-11-18T05:21:00.000-08:00

OH--IO

Work will knock off early today in honor of a special Ohio holiday-the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes will play that team from up north, in Columbus....mayhem will ensue.

Go Bucks!! And just to get you in the mood, enjoy TBDBITL

2006-11-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

Great Week for Plaster

Only the finish coat to go!

2006-11-11T05:02:00.000-08:00

Moving Right Along...

Ever have a great day? Ever have 2 great days in a row? Not just a good day when nothing catastrophic happens and you slog through your job and come home and have meatloaf (your favorite) for dinner and then it's NCIS (your other favorite) night on TV and you get to bed before 11. I'm talking about the kind of day that makes you glad you have been given space on this earth for a period of time. The sky is blue, the birds sing, rabbits romp, butterflies float, the plaster practically jumps on the wall (and sticks), and the strawbales begin to disappear under that coat of beautiful mud. If you've had a day like that, you have an appreciation for my last 2 days.

I used to get nervous when things would seem too "good". Did you know that's a carryover from "evil eye" myths and superstitions? Envious people would cast the "evil eye" on someone for whom things were good and then bad things would begin to happen. And it wasn't an intentional thing-those looking weren't witches or evil, just envious. Good to know it's a myth-now I can enjoy good things when they happen.

The plaster is about 50% complete. And that's just 2 days of work. We still need to build up the base coat a bit because I want smooth walls, not lumpy-bumpy this time. Then it will be time for the finish coat. I'm also thinking on the detail work I want to do around the windows to provide a frame. I think windows look better with some type of frame. Nothing fancy because the house is small and the windows already have some detail. At the moment I'm seeing a curve at the top with straight sides and perhaps a slight curve at the bottom. The curves will tie in with the other curves and help soften all the strightlines and angles of this very linear house.

This is Jose from Rite-Way Ventilating. There are some jobs that may seem like not much but are back breakers. Lots of bending, stooping, up and down the ladder, small space work. He worked really hard getting that duct work up.
Above is the west wall after the slip was applied. Below, same wall with first plaster coat.

North wall, almost finished with first coat. How about an arch over the glass block window?
I'm working on this corner to get it plumb (or at least close). It's a good one to play with because it's on the northeast corner and not many people will see it.
Still not liking the color-too pale, too beige. Haven't found any darker clay. May have to cruise the washes and roadbuilding sites looking for a darker material. Have shovel and bucket, will travel.

Sun's up, gotta get to work!

I asked her what she planned to do with her life & she said she was way beyond that point already. I'm just happy I remember to be there when it happens, she said. storypeople

2006-11-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

Testing, testing...1, 2...testing....

Plaster samples-this is very sandy clay as it is actually adobe MIX from an adobe block company. It will need almost no sand added. I'm not excited about the color but will play with it.

This is the scratch coat under with a sample brown coat over-too sandy!

The slip is going on with the help of a sprayer-pictures of that coming soon.

2006-11-02T05:27:00.000-08:00

Changing Landscape

The orientation period for my new position at the hospital has ended and I am back to working 24 hours/wk and am finally able to get started on the plaster. I screened some of the clay in order to make clay slip and some more straw-clay (more holes to fill). I'm screening the clay for the straw-clay and the first coat of plaster through 1/4 inch hardware cloth. The clay will then be mixed with water, long straw and a bit of sand. This clay is pretty sandy as it is. I made a test mix and put up on the wall yesterday and will see how it looks when I get back there on Saturday. The number of cracks should tell me how much sand is needed. All clay is different in its composition and requires testing.

When I get to the finer finish plasters the clay will be put through a 1/8 inch screen and then for really fine stuff, a window screen.

For the slip, I took some of the leavings from the screening, soaked them in buckets of water then screened that mixture to remove the larger bits of rock. This will have no straw added and is applied to the walls to create a bridge between the straw and plaster. One of the best things I learned at the Canelo workshop was to let all of the mixtures to sit, at least overnight. The slip becomes "slippier" and the plasters and light straw get gooeyer and easier to work with. It a also takes on a very, shall we say, earthy, aroma!

Sam, installing the box for the ceiling fan.

Rick with his thinking cap on. The knee is about 85% at this point and he will be finished with directed physical therapy next week. From there it will be up to him.
Beautiful curve created by Victor who is doing the cement stucco. The plan is to stain this a rusty orange-red. I got an excellent deal on some cement stain at the Habistore (how I love that place). The original plan had been to use ferrous sulfate and we may still- have to test the stain colors to make sure the color is right.

The lot was graded this week so we no longer have to jump trenches and we were able to do a rough layout of the garage. The HVAC guys will come next week and get the ductwork up. Then the floor will be stained and it's on to drywall. On the outside, the slab for the garage is to be poured next Saturday and then the framing will go quickly. A large part of our lot will be swallowed up by the garage but it will provide us with some privacy to the east and create a nice winter patio area looking to the greenway.

Things will really move from this point!

(ed. to remove "shoulds"-our language creates our world)

2006-10-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

The North Patio

I love Craigslist. This was listed on Friday evening, I emailed "The Guy" about it on Sat morning and within 30 minutes we were the proud owners of this beautiful slate. We went to pick it up yesterday morning. Did you know slate is quite heavy? And this is all about 3/4"-5/8" and 12" x 12". We figure it was about 1000 lbs of stone, loaded into the truck then out of the truck. And we'll have to do that again at the house. But it will be worth every sore muscle.

"The Guy" we bought it from was very nice and helped us load the stone. He's had this laying around in his mother's backyard for years and she finally said "Get rid of it". Thanks, MaMa!

I have met the nicest people through Craigslist and eBay. I hear stories about all the stinkers and cheats but that has not been my experience. Kind of restores your faith in humanity.

The house with it's stucco skirt. All that above the stucco is mine to Create with Clay. Plans are finalized on what to do next. We are going to finish the outside and get the garage up and then be able to move to the inside for finish work.

We're probably about 6 weeks behind our dream schedule but what building project ever goes as planned?

2006-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Return from Canelo

…return to reality (kicking and screaming all the way). What a great week I had at the Artistry in Clay workshop at The Canelo Project. At an elevation of approximately 5000 ft (Tucson is 2400) the temperatures were near perfect, making for beautiful autumn camping despite an unexpected late season shower. Canelo is a green oasis with a running creek, the sound of which lulled me to sleep every night.

The other workshop attendees were fun and interesting, people from all over the US,all ages, all walks of life. We enjoyed eating our delicious meals together, sharing bits and pieces of our lives and discussing our projects and plans. I hope to meet up with some of them again in the future.

This workshop spans a week, Saturday to Saturday with lots of physical labor-I don’t know how Bill and Athena do it. To have a group of strangers (16) take over your house and property for a week and keep smiling (most of the time) is a feat, but they do it and do it well. I learned so much, if only I had more walls!

Some samples of my work in clay and lime. Look at the sheen on that first one! My greatest accomplishment-successfully using a hawk and trowel!

And just to add to the mix, Athena’s aunt, the artist Nora Naranjo-Morse visited to work on a prototype for her sculpture
to be installed on the mall at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. We all got to have a “hand” in that and it was quite an honor to be involved and to hear her speak with such passion about her work and about life. The creation of the process was being filmed and there were visitors from the Smithsonian. Life is interesting even in little known corners of Southern Arizona.

This is a picture of the outdoor shower, my favorite place! Taking a shower at dusk, looking at a beautiful sunset, priceless!

2006-09-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

StrawbaleRedux

We're still around, just haven't done much work due to the trip to Ohio and Rick's fractured kneecap. Things are looking up though. We got the LAST window in and I will have more pictures by the end of the week. Thanks for checking in!

2006-09-02T05:23:00.000-07:00

Chicken Wire, Stucco Wire-
What's the Diff?

It's been a very busy week getting the walls ready to plaster. Like most jobs, it always turns out to be more than you thought. But with every little bit we do it only looks better and better. We have a bit more lath to do (and then I will find more I want to do to tweak it). When we have all the wire up it's time for another inspection and then we can get the plaster on. I found a website called Bad Stucco (Iwas looking for information on diamond lath and ways to apply it). Wow, what a scary site that is! It's a wonder any cement stucco houses last. But, it also brings to light that there's a lot of art and science to building and that to get quality, you have to search out people who do quality work and know what they're doing. Anybody can slap stucco on but not all of them know how to keep the water from getting behind that stucco and ruining your house. You have to look at a house as a system and all the systems have to work together.

The doves hatched and this is the only one left in the nest.

And the boys and I are flying the coop for about a week, back to Ohio to visit family. Rick will be holding down the ...nest.

2006-08-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

Construction Halts for Birth

We've been busily filling in the bales with cob and light-clay but had to take a break for the dove who has nested at the top of the wall.

As you can see by the photo, there is quite a bit of room between the top of the bales and the roof plate on this end (west). This is all to be filled with light-clay.

The rest of the pictures show the filling we've done. I probably didn't need to do that much in some places but I get carried away and it will just make it easier to plaster.

Same corner after light clay.............................................and before light clay.

The dove nest is to the left of the small window on top of the bales.

2006-08-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

It's Winter in Australia

Here's another site I've been following for awhile: an adventure in sustainable building. The Cockburn/Wittmer family will be building in Tasmania. (How many of you flash on that whirling Looney Tunes character whenever you hear that word?) In the July post there is a graphic of their house plan.

LindaCockburn has written a book Living the Good Life, detailing the her family's experiences with suburban sustainability. Many people think you have to have 40 acres to live sustainably-not true. We can all do things to decrease our ecological footprint, it just takes a little planning. One family has practised this on a city lot in, of all places, Pasadena, California (flash on Rose Bowl parade-I am a visual person) since the mid-80s. Check out The Path to Freedom, but take your time, there is a lot to learn in those pages.

A Reading

Last night we attended Borderlands: A Reading of Prose and Poetry at our local coffee house, Javalinas. The authors who read both live in Civano. Simmons Buntin, is the author of Riverfall a book of poetry and Scott Calhoun wrote A Yard Full of Sun which details his family's experiences building and gardening in the desert Southwest. (check the Riverfall link to the left). It made for an enjoyable evening-what was truly great was seeing the wide range of ages who came out to enjoy the reading.

2006-08-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

You can now receive an RSS feed of this blog. I know I was spending a fair amount of time checking for updates on blogs I like to follow. So, just click the orange icon and you can subscribe!

I've also added a link to another Strawbale Owner Builder, this one in Canada, Stonehouse Straw House. This will allow you to see a project in 2 very different climes. The Stonehouses are having a wall-raising soon, so if you are in that area you might want to check it out. The site pictures are beautiful!

2006-08-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud

Mud! Mud! Glorious mud!
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud.
~Swann & Flanders

The clay arrived! Now I can get to some serious work. The walls need to have some holes filled and be evened a bit and for this I will use cob. The recipe for cob is simple and very flexible. Sort of like making bread, a lot of it is done by "feel". I will lay a tarp (like the blue one in the picture) over 4 bales arranged in a square to make a well in the center. This will be the "mixing bowl"; to that I will add clay, sand and some chopped straw sifted through a screen. This will then be mixed to incorporate the ingredients throughout. Then add water, take off my shoes and "dance like no one is watching"!
Cob has been used to create shelter for centuries in many cultures. Two great books: Built by Hand and Home Work, have beautiful examples of people creating their own shelter from what they find around them. These range from the simplest mud hut to intricately embellished castles.

Speaking of embellishment-I'm going to the Artistry in Clay and Lime workshop at Canelo the first week in October. Canelo is SE of Tucson in the hills. It's a bit cooler there and October will be beautiful. I'm so excited-I've wanted to do this for a couple of years and it's finally going to work out! The plaster work at Canelo is beautiful beyond description. I will come home chock full of ideas-but we only have a few walls, hmmmm maybe we could build...

These are 2 shots of the doors in place. These were taken on August 6 at approximately 10am and as you can see, the sun falls about 3 feet up on the south wall. Inside, the sun only hits about 6 inches inside the wall. Even with all the openings (front door not in, utility closet not closed in, the inside temperature is very comfortable.

This is the walkway going north, showing all the green after our summer rains.

2006-07-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ventanas, ventanas, ventanas!

We have windows!

I'm very happy with our choice of windows. This is one area we decided to spend more money on this time around because we know what a difference quality windows can make in the long-term comfort and efficiency of a home. The last time we got medium grade windows from a salvage yard. Returns from building projects around Tucson-they were all new windows but somewhat mismatched though I doubt many people ever knew. Our current residence has a south facing patio window and in the summer if you get within 8 ft of that window, you can feel the heat. These are Jeld-Wen windows (the front door is Pella) in a Prairie style and I think they add more character to the house.

This is a light fixture I picked up at the HabiStore because it goes so well with the windows! Yes, that's the price tag-$25!

Those are storm clouds you see in the house photos. The monsoon has arrived in full force and are we ever glad the roof is finished. It has rained for about 16 of the last 24 hours here, which is a bit unusual, even during this time of year. We're not complaining because all of the West needs the rain. When we were harvesting water, the rain was always exciting because I knew the culverts were filling. I hope the rain is helping with the fires and potential for fire that is so great in the summer. Rick used to fight forest fires in Ohio and during fire season, I never knew when he would be home (this was pre-cell phone). I can't imagine fighting a fire for hours on end in 100+ degree heat.

I've included a picture of our sodden backyard with overflowing bird bath and the wash behind our house running bank-to-bank! Our backyard was xeriscaped to keep much of the rainwater on the property for the plants. It is quite lush right now, even though we cut all the shrubs back completely in late winter. We have lantana, verbena, Mexican Bird of Paradise, 2 types of mesquite, sweet acacia, rabbitbrush, Texas Ranger, Texas sage, Mexican honeysuckle and cat claw vine. This backyard is probably the #1 reason we bought this house.

Rain is the main topic of conversation at this time of year. "Did you get any last night?" means RAIN! "What time did it start at your housee?" "Did you hear that thunder?" "Yeah, lightening woke me up about 2am!" "It was dry as a bone at my house." The discussion of the amount of rain, the force of the wind, the loudness of the thunder goes on and on until the end of August. I guess we get so little "Weather" we have to make the most of it because it's "Forecast: Sunny and Dry" the rest of the year.

2006-07-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be with the following post.

2006-07-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

More roof pictures.
I know you probably think I've gone dotty over this roof-and I have. I think it's just beautiful. And I've wanted this roof for a long time. Hmmmm a diamond would have been cheaper but would have given me no more pleasure that looking at this roof.

And here's another with Monkey Boy climbing on the gable end doing all the meticulous finish work. He's so good at those detail things; comes from years of intense LEGO interaction, I'm sure. He's always been able to take a pile of LEGOs and turn them into something fantastic or just to bring order to any chaos. We were camping in Colorado 5-6 years ago just outside Pagosa at a little campground that had a laundry room and lounge with a TV. We were in the 2nd week of a 3 week all camping trip and the TV was very popular with the boys. The lounge also had a big magazine rack similar to what you see in stores. People would bring in magazines and leave them for others to read. Well, that rack was a mess-so Sam, then 11, organized it for them. All the National Geographics together chronologically, all the Time, all the Trailer Life, etc. He had such a great time doing that. And to think when we decided to homeschool people were worried about the boys learning their ABCs.

And how often do you need to recite the ABCs as an adult? It wasn't on any college entrance exam and it has never been on a job application nor have I been requested to recite them in a job interview. I've never understood "learning the ABCs" as an important gateway to future learning. Aren't the things we are expected to learn in the artificial world of "school" derived from the real world? And wouldn't it follow that those things could be learned from the real world when it becomes important to advance to the next stage of our development. And by being forced to learn prescribed things that may or may not have relevance to us at that point in time what things are we not learning that would be much more beneficial? Simply put, I believe we learn what we need to learn when we need to learn it. The most important concept is to be active and interested in many things. Learning never happens without the spark of interest.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a wonderful book and in it there is a passage in which Miss Brodie, a teacher at an all-girls school in Scotland in the 1930s, compares her view of education with that of another teacher at the school:

"To me education is a leading out of what is already there
in the pupil's soul. To Miss Mackay it is a putting in of something that is not
there, and that is not what I call education. I call it intrusion. "

I have no bumper stickers on my car and think it interesting that people seemingly sum up their whole philosophy of life, political ideology, sexual habits and/or religious dogma in a 9" x 3" space on the back of their car. That being said, I do love to collect quotes, so here is one from Thoreau who seemingly has a quote for everything:

"What does education often do? It makes a straight-cut ditch
of a free, meandering brook."

Henry would have been the Bumper Sticker King of his time.
And one last quote, then it's back to building:

"What makes people smart, curious, alert, observant,
competent, confident, resourceful, persistent - in the broadest and best sense,
intelligent- is not having access to more and more learning places, resources,
and specialists, but being able in their lives to do a wide variety of
interesting things that matter, things that challenge their ingenuity, skill,
and judgment, and that make an obvious difference in their lives and the lives
of people around them."
~John Holt~ Teach Your Own

2006-07-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

It's a Roof! And a beautiful one, it is.

Let the rains come-however, now that the roof is on, we will probably get no rain. We have had a couple of good gully washers, but nothing the past few days. Some people asked if the rain was a problem for the bales-the short answer, Can Be. Rain that lasts for hours for several days in high humidity areas would be very damaging. The water then has time to penetrate deep into the bales and does not have a chance to evaporate. Here in southern AZ where the summer high temperatures are consistently in the 100s and the humidity low, bales will dry out quickly. One (of many) reason we've chosen earthen plasters is to allow the bales to "breathe". Many old adobe buildings (unstabilized) have failed after having portland cement stucco and elastomeric paints applied. The Mission San Xavier del Bac has undergone extensive restoration, part of which included removing cement stucco and reapplying the traditional earthen plaster.

Those of you familiar with building know that no matter the wall material, housebuilding is pretty much... housebuilding. It follows a sequence, site work, foundation, walls, roof, windows doors, then we move inside. The doors and windows have arrived so we can get that started. Things are going well, we're pleased. It will be nice for the guys to get out of the sun and work inside. We are still trying to find a source of clay but have a few leads. We'll find the right people.

One cool thing I found-Tucson now has a HabiStore where they sell construction leftovers and salvage! It's a wonderland of possibilities. We used to have a ReStore in town but not quite sure what happened to that. We bought several things for the previous house there.

I'll leave you with more pictures.

2006-07-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here's the roof with the paper on and some of the metal on the fascia. A few of the panels are up on the north side. Progress! Cutting those triangular pieces for the corners is proving to be a pain-as we knew it would and that's one of the reasons Rick didn't want to do this type of roof. But, when it's finished it will be worth it.

2006-06-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

It's getting closer to the roof!

Starting Monday it should be ON the roof. Then we can breathe a sigh of relief. The next "drying in" step will be getting the plaster on the outside.

This is the view from the kitchen window.
Haven't used this company before. Will let you know.

View fron the dining room window.

2006-06-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Dia de San Juan is coming-get the roof on.

It rained last evening. Not just a sprinkle but a pretty significant downpour. Enough to have the wash run for a couple of hours. And it cooled everything down. That's one of the reasons we so enjoy the coming of the rain. Just when youthink youcan't stand another degree of heat, the clouds roll in, the heavens open up and it drops 20 degrees in a matter of minutes. Then the whole cycle repeats the next day. The boys and I took Gen for a walk along the wash. He loves running through the water. We enjoy the rain but it does signal the beginning of the monsoon. Luckily the roof material was delivered on Monday evening so that will be the next big project. Hopefully the arrival of the doors and windows will be next.

2006-06-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day 2006!

Don't let the salmon burn!

Studying the pizza situation.

He builds houses, cooks and is a great dad to his sons!

2006-06-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

All we need are some rocking chairs...

This is the porch on the north side. Eventually it will have a flagstone floor. This opens on to the pedestrian walkway and will have a bit of a view of the Catalina Mtns. This will be a great place to be on hot summer evenings.

Same subject taken from the walkway.

2006-06-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Guess they did publish, finally!

2006-06-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

I thought the blogger issues were resolved but I guess not-created a post with several pictures which would not publish nor save so is lost. Will try again later.

2006-06-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Finally, more pictures....

Apparently Blogger was having serious issues.

Right-that's the shower between the 2 "throne" rooms! The whole room will be "wet". I plan to use a product called Milestone and create some mosaics on the walls. Part of the floor will be a pebble mosaic.

Below-The hallway. At the end will be a small "office" with a window to provide cross ventilation.

Center-the lav will go in the alcove under the window and we will suspend a mirror in front of the window.

Bottom Right-The Master BR. All windows are operable, again for cross ventilation. The space under the large window (which is North) will have a window seat with built in storage under.

Today the front porch is being built-that should change the look of the north side and provide a space for a favorite Tucson summer activity-thunderstorm watching.

Still awaiting clay, windows and doors...

Barn's burnt down
Now I can see the moon~Masahide

2006-06-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Update

Wow, it's been awhile since I last posted. Lots going on but much of it behind the scenes work. Finding a source for clay in Tucson has proven more difficult than we thought. Previously, we obtained our clay from the Pascua Yaqui Adobe Company which has since gone out of business. That's too bad because we found the company to be great to deal with. We have another adobe company that we are waiting for a delivery from but that seems to be a problem for them at the moment. We know we only need what is a relatively small amount but an order is an order and a customer is a customer. I suggested we could go to the wash and dig our own but Rick didn't think that was such a good idea. Stick in the Clay!!

The metal roofing is still to be delivered-that'll be a hot job as the temps are now reaching 100 degrees daily. We need to have the roof on by beginning to mid July, as that is when the monsoon should start. But now that we seem to be creating our own climate in southern Arizona, who knows.

And we are still awaiting delivery of windows and doors. All thing in their own time.

Here are some pictures:

South Elevation

Interior looking south,
this is the living room.

Kitchen window and front door.