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...

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

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!