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Another Gorgeous Fall Day....

10/28/2014

What to do on a day when the weather is impossibly gorgeous, the leaves are turning and falling, and the whole thing is capped by a wonderfully blue sky?
Well, like a few other people around town, I spent a good chunk of the day painting!
I don't really care for the way the cedar stain/sealer smells, so I am happy to be able to do this job outside. The color,

TURN ON IMAGES to see painted cedar boards for tiny house.

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Closing in

10/18/2014

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As autumn closes in, we're also closing in my tiny house--the ceiling is going up! Because it was designed to feature the beautiful curved rafters, the construction of the roof is sort of inside out or from the bottom up.
With the rafters up, the ceiling can go on, and then the layers of waterproofing, insulation and roofing. The tongue and groove car siding we're using for the ceiling should provide a nice firm surface for all that activity to take place and I'm looking forward to getting this baby ready for the weather. But in the meantime I'm also enjoying the view from inside--take a look!

TURN ON IMAGES to see curved ceiling of the tiny house.

A view from inside: The curved ceiling of the tiny house.

TURN ON IMAGES to see changing leaves against a blue sky.

TURN ON IMAGES to see curved ceiling being put up on gypsy style tiny house.

TURN ON IMAGES to see autumn leaves on green grass.

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"You Nevah Write, You Nevah Call...."

10/4/2014

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Yes, it's true. I've been a bad communicator. It' not just the blog, it's also the coffee dates and the Skype dates--all have been neglected. Mostly that's because I've been busy working and building. But also there's the storytelling issue. I like a story that has a beginning, middle and end. You know, a conflict resolved, a problem dealt with. But right now this house-building is a story with multiple ongoing plot-lines, only a few of which have begun to show any signs of resolution.

TURN ON IMAGES to see nearly finished wall inside tiny house

Here's one: it's the story of the interior walls that were going up at a great pace until I ran out of wool and had to decide whether to order more and have extra, or try to sub in something else.
I ordered more and waited for it to arrive. True, there was plenty to do while I waited for it to arrive, but I was still annoyed

by the "not quite done" appearance of those walls, taunting me while I did other things.
Oregon Shepherd got the wool out quickly, I went to work on installing the paneling, insulating behind it as I went, and then--sand, and brush, brush and sand--today I put on the last coat of finish, Yay!

There's also the story of rafter construction, an involved process, described here and revisited repeatedly throughout the build. Each one had to be constructed individually, concurrent with our other tasks. Then sanded, finished, notched to fit on top the walls, checked, adjusted and installed--phew!
Yesterday we installed the last one!
A friend had stopped by to see how the build was going and I got a picture of her looking up as a very satisfied builder looked down from said rafters.
So those are two things that are showing some level of completion, but really, until those two things happened, I felt adrift in a sea of ongoing sanding and finishing and painting and discussing and decision making.

TURN ON IMAGES to see builder and friend admiring curved rafters

Last rafter in-- Jim breathes a sigh of relief!

Each day we arrive at the house and one of us will say, "What do you want to work on today?" And then we're busy all afternoon, sometimes together, sometimes separately, chipping away at whatever's next.

TURN ON IMAGES to see curved rafters complete

The lack of landmarks at this point in the process, the sheer number of individual tasks, and the onset of cooler weather, have combined to give me occasional fits of anxiety. But then friends will come by and comment on the progress that has been made, or someone will text to say they're proud of what I'm doing. That helps.

So does standing back and seeing the rafters all in place, like a set of giant, prehistoric ribs. When you stand under them they define a space that is both archetypal and uplifting.
I like to watch visitors as they step carefully into the house, survey the interior space, and then look up. Most stand there for a moment, eyes tracing the contours of the barely defined overhead space, and then try to put words on what they see and feel. Very often it's a simple, "Wow! I like the curves!" Although things will naturally be more closed in when the floor is raised and the ceiling is up, the curved rafters will still be visible and I'm sure that some of that feeling will remain.

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Another Gorgeous Fall Day....

Closing in

"You Nevah Write, You Nevah Call...."

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