Starting off this blog entry is kind of like calling an old friend that you haven't spoken to in some time. There is a feeling of guilt and a small knot of dread in the bottom of your stomach as you think that your friend may not even want to talk to you since you haven't called in so long...
But when they pick up the phone and say, man how time does fly I've just been thinking about you! its all good.
Now that we're past the awkward moment, it feels nice to be back.
We are living in the earthship.
There, that was anti-climactic. We really are living in the earthship, though not quite to its full potential. At this point we are nestled in under the subfloor of the second story, backed up against the tire wall. Really, nestled is a loose term. When the weather is freezing we nestle quite nicely. When it gets to raining in December, nestled turns to drippy in a jiffy! Nonetheless, we have our wood cook stove fired up and attached to a 60+ gallon hot water tank so we have boiling water on tap and 60+ gallons of water stays hot for a long time. Now we'll backtrack and let you know where these months have gone.
When we last left off, Kelly had completed 3 of the 7 dormers.. He continued working on the roof through the summer, the welding of the house section of rebar framework was finished in September(2011) The garage roof section has not yet been started as we wanted to focus on the house first..In his vault building project he started on the "easiest " vault, one that had a face and two valleys going evenly back to the lodgepole. There are 5 vaults that have a triangular footprint. 2 of the vaults are more of a barrel vault shape with parallel walls going out to the face. If I just switched to chinese, understanding may come when I put some pictures up of the second floor. Otherwise you'll just have to come see for yourself. The process of designing this roof has been hugely expansive as far as Kelly and my communication goes. Having to talk through concepts that you have only had to face minimally on a high school geometry test some years ago is a difficult exercise at the best of times. Still, piece by piece, it went into place. 4000 feet of 1/2 inch rebar have gone into the structure so far and the garage will use a considerable amount as well. Sometimes I stop and look at the roof and it gives me the chills along with a somewhat fanatical giggling fit as I ponder what could have been and how never in my wildest dreams have I imagined such a home as this one seems it will be.
While Kelly was busy working on the roof, I have been busy with homey things like making dinner, keeping children in line and planting and harvesting a larger but surely more rabbit eaten garden than last year. I also continue to work 2 days a week at a local chinese restaurant. All in all, my house progress has been limited to starting on the bottle walls that will make up parts of our south window wall, and installing the granite sill that runs the length of said wall. We were hoping to be dried in by the time winter came but between everyday life, social activities, Kelly and I both working for money occasionally and October it just didn't happen.
When we found that we were not going to be in the house by snowfall, we started formatting a Lower 48 road trip for the family to head off on. If we weren't going to be in our house, by god, we weren't going to sit and look at it all winter. So we did our best to tie up loose ends and head off down the highway. A few weeks before we were hoping to leave, loose ends began to fray and all of a sudden instead of a comfy, warm woolen hat we had a big tangle of yarn. But somewhere in that tangle is a 1977 Toyota Chinook Motorhome that actually does sleep five, a full year of homeschool curriculum for two students, a well stocked traveling pantry and a sense of unfulfilled adventure that just wont quit. Since we had promised so much to the kids and it wasn't looking good for leaving the state, we decided to take an instate road trip. In November. It was a week of adventure that left us feeling like we'd like to have a nice fire to put our feet up next to. We went to Seward, Anchorage, Wasilla twice, and only as far north as Willow since Alaska had an unusually frigid November. We slept in the motorhome a couple of times in zero degree weather with toe warmers on all toes and water bottles full of hot water. We camped in roadside pullouts, the Wal-Mart parking lot, next to a very actively used dog mushing tunnel and at the trailhead of Thunderbird Falls(which would be more aptly named Toyota Prius falls as it doesn't even make enough sound to tell if it's running). We got to hole up in a couple of hotel rooms(thanks Uncle Harry and T-T-Tia!) and camp at an old friends house(word up. Shannon) during a crazy windstorm with gusts over 70mph.. We ate good food, junk food and almost every genre of restaurant except steak and thai..Our favorite restaurant was Kansha which brought us so many Hawaiian delicacies I got kind of teary eyed every time something new showed up..
Well, I probably better get going....
So nice to visit old friend, I will look forward to next time. I hope all is well in your worlds and that wherever you are, you are warm, dry and nurtured. That is the stuff of life that I am finding to be important.
Parting is such sweet sorrow..
Take Good Care!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Melting Pot
You know that capital(ism) oppresses the worker- the workers in our country bear all the burden of labour, and their position is such that, however much they work, they can never get out of their brutish situation. All the profits earned by their work, with which they might improve their situation, give themselves some leisure and, consequently, education, all surplus earnings are taken by the capitalists. And society has developed so that the more they work, the more gain there will be for the merchants and landowners, and they will always remain working brutes. And this order must be changed.
from Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy 1870's
This post is dedicated to my parents and theirs who have worked so hard.
The Melting Pot
Once upon a time, there were many thousands of cultures around the globe, each with their own mythology. Their mythology guided the members of those cultures in daily life. It whispered of food and dress, marriage and seasons. Over many generations each culture formed a plan of livability(thank you Barry) for All of its members. The members of these cultures had guidance in what to eat, how to raise babies and countless other pieces of information that were absorbed as life went on. Life was simple and fulfilling.
Fast Forward to 2011...
The children of the culture of capitalism are cast adrift in an ocean of information. We are told from an early age that we can be anything we want to be, yet there is also a pressure to BE something. There are infinite combinations of belief structures, lifestyles, and tax brackets each with their own personal style and form of transportation. It has been impressed upon us that what we do may become who we are and for this reason we are encouraged to pursue livelihoods that will provide a sizable income. Every day life often revolves around money for people of this culture and it is worshipped by many. Acts of horrific violence have occurred in money's name while our planet and its inhabitants are ever in jeopardy from toxic corporate practices happening around the globe.
Growing up in the best of both worlds, I often heard that Hawaii was a cultural melting pot. Many strong cultures coming together providing a safety net of traditions and family life. The fire under our global melting pot continues blazing hotter and hotter as nationalities mingle, bringing a full spectrum rainbow of children of generations to come into this world, information, products and technologies are updated at a constant rate and people communicate across many thousands of miles in an instant sharing what they know and exposing truths that may have gone unknown. Humanities power has never been so great in recent history, but what is all of this power being used for?
Whenever I un into someone at the grocery store or post office or wherever I may happen to run into someone I know, they ask so when are you starting back up working on your house? I am delighted to answer that we have been working on it all winter. When I say we, I mainly mean my husband, Kelly who has been working on welding the rebar structure togther that will be holding our roof. This winter has been an adventure in trimming back expenses in the wake of the insurance settlement for our previous house, I have gone back to work a couple of nights a week at a local Chinese restaurant and am trying to make one huge pot of soup a week for distribution to anyone who might need some.
While I have been bouncing about doing my things, Kelly has been hard at work outside in sometimes below zero weather. He has so far built 3+ dormers of the 7 that will make up our main roof. As an electrician, welding was something he had been exposed to but never had put in any serious time at. We got temporary power hooked up in October and have one year until that has to be taken down. So that worked out well with Kelly and welding and lighting and now that we are movng onto theproperty in two weeks it will be nice to have for creature comforts while we live in our airstream trailer until the house is ready to move into.
from Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy 1870's
This post is dedicated to my parents and theirs who have worked so hard.
The Melting Pot
Once upon a time, there were many thousands of cultures around the globe, each with their own mythology. Their mythology guided the members of those cultures in daily life. It whispered of food and dress, marriage and seasons. Over many generations each culture formed a plan of livability(thank you Barry) for All of its members. The members of these cultures had guidance in what to eat, how to raise babies and countless other pieces of information that were absorbed as life went on. Life was simple and fulfilling.
Fast Forward to 2011...
The children of the culture of capitalism are cast adrift in an ocean of information. We are told from an early age that we can be anything we want to be, yet there is also a pressure to BE something. There are infinite combinations of belief structures, lifestyles, and tax brackets each with their own personal style and form of transportation. It has been impressed upon us that what we do may become who we are and for this reason we are encouraged to pursue livelihoods that will provide a sizable income. Every day life often revolves around money for people of this culture and it is worshipped by many. Acts of horrific violence have occurred in money's name while our planet and its inhabitants are ever in jeopardy from toxic corporate practices happening around the globe.
Growing up in the best of both worlds, I often heard that Hawaii was a cultural melting pot. Many strong cultures coming together providing a safety net of traditions and family life. The fire under our global melting pot continues blazing hotter and hotter as nationalities mingle, bringing a full spectrum rainbow of children of generations to come into this world, information, products and technologies are updated at a constant rate and people communicate across many thousands of miles in an instant sharing what they know and exposing truths that may have gone unknown. Humanities power has never been so great in recent history, but what is all of this power being used for?
Whenever I un into someone at the grocery store or post office or wherever I may happen to run into someone I know, they ask so when are you starting back up working on your house? I am delighted to answer that we have been working on it all winter. When I say we, I mainly mean my husband, Kelly who has been working on welding the rebar structure togther that will be holding our roof. This winter has been an adventure in trimming back expenses in the wake of the insurance settlement for our previous house, I have gone back to work a couple of nights a week at a local Chinese restaurant and am trying to make one huge pot of soup a week for distribution to anyone who might need some.
While I have been bouncing about doing my things, Kelly has been hard at work outside in sometimes below zero weather. He has so far built 3+ dormers of the 7 that will make up our main roof. As an electrician, welding was something he had been exposed to but never had put in any serious time at. We got temporary power hooked up in October and have one year until that has to be taken down. So that worked out well with Kelly and welding and lighting and now that we are movng onto theproperty in two weeks it will be nice to have for creature comforts while we live in our airstream trailer until the house is ready to move into.
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