recently completed stuff

burned that big pile of brush (post rain safety window)
cleaned the gutter (yuck)
put trim around kitchen floor
roofed the chicken coop with aged corrigated steel (help keep the rain out)
cleaned (very little) the garage
confirmed with ben that i'd like the job
i start friday @7:00 am

pond

there is an old pond on the property. it is about 300 meters away from the house & about halfway to the hollow. it has spent the last ten or so years collecting oak leaves. mike & i started digging it out last night. the tractor has a scoop on the back. in theory it scrapes a little of the mud up and gets dumped in a fashion to help divert more rain water in. but it mostly gets stuck in the muck. we got 5 or 6 scoops (the size of a wheel barrow) out last night. it became obvious we were trying to drive out of the pond/mud-hole while the edges were too steep and crowded with scrub trees. we went after the chainsaw and mostly cleared the best egress. the next morning we finished clearing brush and started digging the pond. mike's tractor is an extension of his being he drove that thing in around and all over. it was sketchy a few times and we almost quit but i'd shovel more weight in the bucket and throw dry dirt into the spinning tire tracks. finally after a nerve racking 5 hours we cleared it.

next we went to the farm (where mikes cattle are) to dig one of those ponds. it was easy going mike hardly spun his tires. after the first scoop it became obvious that the moist dirt was excellent top soil. neither of us able to overlook this bounty started to load it into the trailer. lots of hand digging necessary to get the trailer full. we took the load up to the house and scattered it across our garden area (3 cubic yards or so). i decided that i only had another load left in me so we went back to the pond and filled the trailer again. i hung around (resting) while mike dug the rest of the pond and piled the bounty for future access.

the second trailer i unloaded (mostly alone) around the fence for flower beds and more into the garden area.

i am so sore this morning (i guess i shoveled 6 cubic yards of dirt yesterday).

all this activity had to happen before the expected rain last night. YES, it rained and very hard. i'll check the pond to see if we collected any water for nimue this winter.

here it is this morning about 1/3 full.

cow, cat & calk

the cow is really nice obviously someone’s pet or 4H project. tabitha and nimue are fast friends.
the cat is doing nicely, tabitha makes food for her from healthy "known" ingredients. either i'm getting used to her or the diet really does help with pet allergies. thanks margo for the lead & the pet food book. the cat is the great black hunter. no mammals yet but plenty of insects and lots of pride after the kill.
while the girls were getting nimue i had a small window of opportunity to grout the final floor tiles. tristan managed to stay glued to the incredibles almost long enough for me to get it done. calking around the tub really needed to happen. having water babies means a house must be able to withstand torrential deluges.
the chimney and wood stove are my next highest priority. i have an appointment monday with the cool masonry guy from nixa. i'll bring photos and all the proper measurements to have the final consultation. Hopefully, i'll also solicit for a job. tabitha made a good point that she wants me to love my job like i did sunlight and power. this skill would be of such great interest and the guy seems very cool that i'd probably embrace it in a similar fashion.

Nimue the cow

we have a cow. i must admit that i'm a bit freaked out. another family member without the 9 month adjustment period. we are off to take photos & a visit. she looks like a overgrown doe. she is beautiful.

curb appeal

well the fence is mostly in and painted red in remembrance of nineten (big fat hen). once the exterior started to shape up (the new fence) fixing the windows & stucco snarls became necessary--even with the heat beating down on us. mike & i used this stuff called (solarflex) it repairs old stucco by joining to it like magic. it's kinda like doing fiberglass & stucco rolled into one but this stuff is easy easy easy. a person could hardly do it wrong. it cleans up with water easier than latex paint. i'm just blown away by this stuff.

we killed the mold & mildew on 1/3 of the house & power-washed it with mikes new 2200 psi power sprayer. a person has to be careful not to damage the wood with that thing.

curb appeal (house paint) is close at hand

the gate is in and it looks cool

the fence posts are cut and the front is ready to paint. i installed the gate because it can get painted too.
we went to the creek yesterday and had a blast the kids loved it the rocks are very slippery which is a benefit for sliding down the little current. but tabitha fell and twisted her knee. we kinda just rode around in the car this morning and did a bit of shopping but mostly kept tabitha off her feet.
it is too late to get pictures of the gate tonight plus i think it's raining (yeah!)
photos to come
we also bought 5 gallons of exterior house paint (white)

kids are crazy gotta go

the real excitement

my work bench is underway the cabnets are from a kitchen re-model that mike did a few years ago.

i installed a doorway air-wall like they use in commercial buildings to keep the flies & cooler house air seperate.

kids & chickens outta the road

our house is going to be so cute with a fence. the posts are currently twice as long as they need to be. i'll cut them and install a top rail this afternoon. fence streching should happen this weekend.
mike's boss has requested a viewing of the crazy hippie-punky-crunchy californians. we will go up to his house for a barbeque this sunday. i guess he's pretty cool & it should be fun.

list of recently worked on stuff

all the 20 or so holes dug for the fence
trench started for sink & bath leach line
garden tilled & sewed with turnips & chard
15 or so of mikes cows caught, moved, doctored & released
half of the closet has shelves
the electric oven is installed in the summer kitchen(the breezeway) in lew of huberts oven thermostat getting fixed (temporary solution)
the huge pile of wood & tree mess cleaned and stacked
all screen doors installed.
quad outlet installed in kitchen for kitchen-aid & friends (the washer and drier tagged along too) with new 20amp circuit from main.

mud bath

we had a chicken killed in the road yesterday and the urgency to get our fence up went to code red. this means plenty of fence holes. the drought in the area has rendered the clay and stone ground almost un-diggable. plenty of water is necessary to soften the area which naturally encouraged the kids to get involved. they loved it only moderately fighting over the largest hole. the fence should be great. it is this old time wire fence with fancy wire work. we plan to paint it white and it should be very cool. tomorrow we'll pick up the chaff quarry stone for the cement work and set the posts. we should have a fence in the matter of a few days.


there is still plenty of work on the house to do. the tile still need some final grouting. the phone line needs to be permanently installed. the front room still needs carpet. the front porch could use a screen. gutters and a wash system would be nice for our cistern. yellow paint in the bathroom and general trim work throughout the house. the other half of the closet needs shelves.

fallen tree

the tree fell on our house and missed all critical hazards. the regulator to the propane tank, the connection from the tank to the gas line, all the windows and even tabithas clothes line survived. the roof is fine minor shingle scuffing and thats all.
thank God for such a lucky catastrophie. we had moved the portable chicken coop a few hours eairlier. we noticed one of the roots had given away after a heavy rain and probably wouldn't survive any heavy winds.



mike and i cut stacked and cleaned the tree off the yard in a couple of hours this morning. that big cement square just to the right (top photo) of the propane tank is the entrance to the cistern. it is huge probably holds 2000+ gallons of water. we are going to collect rain water to use for our garden. the chickens promptly made roost on the branch above the propane tank where their coop was located the day before.
once this heat wave (this fall) is over we plan to work on the exterior of the house. it is just too bloody hot out there and the interior still needs so much work.
we got a break on our chimney flue. the local masonery heater expert, after a chat, explained in detail what i need to do and will sell us the necessary stuff at contractor prices. this is going to save us over $700 from our next option. i'd really like to make friends with him. he is extreemely nice and is considered the regional (midwest) masonery expert. i read about this guy on the internet months before we decided to move. i'd possibly like to work for him and extract some of his expertise. who knows?

bull doze it off

our house was officially a lost cause and scheduled for the bull dozer. the foundation under the back half of the house was gone. lord knows what was holding it together.

tabitha’s father mike and i dug out the old rotting floor joists and most of the flooring. we put in new cement piers & pressure treated floor joist. this was no easy job since it meant slithering around on our stomachs and backs in previously spider infested nether regions. We worked 12-14 hour days for three weeks straight jacking up the entire house and repairing the foundation.

we were so proud of our new floor that we decided to put tile down. Ttabitha and i both love tile flooring and we were lobbying for it heavily. house repairs have progressed quickly and it doesn’t seem like the same place. new life is breathed into this old girl and we now love her.

Missouri

the drive from s.f. to missouri was crazy--never again. the trailer was the worst part. any time i would travel above 45 mph and have a semi pass me it would suck the trailer to the left and then it'd sweep back to the right initiating "the high speed wobble" jerking my overloaded truck back and forth. the first time this occurred it was on the downside of a pass. as i wobbled back and forth across three lanes i was saying to my self "this is it" luckily cars slowed behind me and cleared the way for my eminent death. eventually i down-shifted and braked and got the thing under control.
so my trip was to take much longer than expected at a max speed of 45mph.

sixty miles or so past santa fe, nm i blew a tire (the trailer again). with thirty miles to the next (gas) exit i unloaded the kia (our car) and drove toward it. with lightning spiking the ground in the desert ahead of me i looked for signs of the city lights ahead. it was completely black. my low gas light was the brightest beacon in view. as weariness turned to fear a blackened town popped up before me. it was creepy-dark like some post-catastrophe horror flick. i found a phone (sheer luck) in the headlights of my car. and called penske truck service. after providing them with the little information i knew--not able to read most of the road signs. they patched me through to the local tire repair man. after disclosing that the lightning had knocked out the power he said he be there shortly. i mentioned that i was past empty and could not follow as requested. given that gas pumps need electricity to function--he said he might have some gas in a can somewhere around. i offered to purchase the gas, the can and any fumes therein.

my messiah (the tire dude) took a while to get there (being the 4th of july). meanwhile, i met his father-in-law, in some strange twist of the cosmos, hanging out next to his apartment building and pay-phone. as tony/messiah drove up he said "that's my son-in-law." wierd! tony was great and literally saved me! a few hours of driving/repair/reloading and i was on my way again. the city lights ahead were back on and i drove through town and this 30mph construction zone which would have been my undoing if i had been allowed to attempt it in the previously darkened condition.

the flat tire was a blessing....

more later

Three more days

This is my last day at work. I have to go through seperating my tools from SLPs. What a pain that'll be. Most of the tools are mine. But, I am really going to miss

SLPs dewalt kit.
-- saws-all
-- hammer drill
-- impact wrench
-- grinder
-- skill saw
-- light
This kit is such a well rounded tool suite that my tools will be left with a gaping hole. No need to mention the ease and flexability of 18v power.

ho hum:(

There is too much to do in the few short days left, whew--it's daunting just to think about.

un-hook the washer drier
pick-up the radial arm saw
pick-up the 4 solar collectors and boiler/water-heater

things to remember...
solar collector & tank on roof
wagon in stair well
rug on roof

Happy Fathers day to me

My magical beautiful daughter was my fathers day gift last year. Having her is like a huge piece was added to my soul. I feel so much joy from her everyday that sometimes I can hardly stand it.

This year gets to ride last years coat-tails as far as gifts go. In fact, there are several years credit in there somewhere.


My Wonderous Angel
Kassiopeia Saffron Rose O'Melay

Why we are moving

Our two angels need need need a home--not a studio appartment. Tabitha and I both grew up with grass between our toes and climbing trees. These kids deserve the same kind of freedoms. The internet is great. The world is truely flat in its wake. We are finding like-minded people near where we plan to move and that is comforting.

dewalt radial arm saw

somewhere in time i recall my father telling me that if you endeavour to build a house and were to own only one saw it must be a radial arm saw. well a customer just gave me a 1968 dewalt radial arm saw. this is a gem, there are huge user groups and books published about this no longer manufactured item. i wouldn't be supprised to find a sonnet about it's precision. they re-manufacture these and sell them for thousands of dollars. this one has been dormant in the garage of one of my clients for ten plus years and he gave it to me. i am so excited.


this is what it looks like.

strawbale construction in action

I have been installing radiant heat in a huge house in los altos hills. strawbale construction earth/lime plaster, i'm installing radiant heat in slab in the basement, in gybcrete on second story and thermal board on the third.

it has been great to see professional contractors use these alternative materials. the lime plasterers are especially cool. lime is amazing stuff. it cracked like hell on the first application but within 24 hours they came back with a spray bottle with water & a little filler and repaired every crack. then in 10 days or so they put on the 2nd coat only a few slight hairline cracks arose. likewize within 24hours they sprayed & troweled out all the cracks. none of which were in the same spot as the previous cracks had been. finally i'm going down to see the color coat this next week.

the house is enourmous, easily cost 3 million to build. it seems odd to take a grass-roots construction method taken to this extreeme. i'm sure it isn't saving him any money but (in my opinion) it will be a very cool example of what can be done with natural materials.



this shows the gybcrete pour it went on like leveling compound (soupy) and was hard within 90 min. just on the left is the initial scrach-coat over the strawbales.

The packing has begun

food storage solution
yes, we know it's just plastic buckets--but the lids screw on.


can you buy organic bread in missouri?
hopefully we won't have too. our first batch was a complete failure. organic yeast is total crap. we got this little guy at a garage sale (cheap, new in box)


and we are only 1/4 packed

initial expenses

chest freezer: absolutely critical to our living on the cheap

air conditioner: highly recommended in southern missouri, esp. with tiny children

refrigerator: a definite need

wood stove like this one: better get one before winter!