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Woes of Hard Wood

8/24/2015

The other day I fitted the countertop and made a template for the sink, marking it out I left the job of cutting it out for the day after. So next morning I find my cook top being ready for pick up. Great then I can cut both wholes today, I was thinking.

Dear Lord, I nearly killed Georgie my Jig Saw. Turns out she could barely handle the hard wood which in turn demanded more of me than I had easily available. So after Georgie and I had fought our way through the whole for the sink I couldn’t bear the thought of the 2nd and bigger whole the same way. I did the corners with Georgie and put Stella my Skillet Saw on the job for the straits. That wasn’t child’s play either, of cause. Trying to sink the blade down from the top it grabs and kind of wants to kick back. And did so in 2 instances creating gouges, one of which would be showing. This was leaving my sense of perfectionism in disgust. I packed up for the day, played a few tunes on Lenea that is my Harp, and took myself and Indi home (for those who haven’t meet Indi yet she’s my K9 side kick).

Some time in between getting home and setting back out the next morning I remembered what Roger taught me while we were building my harp, to mix wood glue with sawdust to fill gaps with. Proceeding thus I filled the gouge, sanded and polished the whole countertop and it looks actually just fine, could have been any of the character marks of old wood.

Finally got the outside cubys insulated and doors hung.

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Light the Beacon – Running on Vapor

8/19/2015

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I’m SO tired. And there is a bunch of stuff coming up I feel I can’t do by myself and, heck, I don’t Want to do by myself!

I’m 8 month into my build now and it’s catching up with me. I basically started financially exhausted and that state has now been joined by physical and mental depletion. A combination less desirable. It still amazes me what I keep manage to accomplish.

On our way to the build site I usually stop at a regional Park to take Indi for a gentle 50 min walk. Earlier this week I was taken with the boohoos sitting in the car park sobbing and I was composing a mental S.O.S. e-mail calling for help with allsorts. This pressure has been building for weeks and also been a coming and going sensation over the months. But then isn’t this all part of the journey.

Thats same day I saw the energy going up again, the scale tipping, and creativity flowing again. Saying ‘Yes’ to every sensation, grudgingly at times, and doing my best to go with it all. To stop fighting and resisting what I’m experiencing is maybe a bigger challenge than building this house.

Oh and getting pissed off at waking up with an aching body and going to bed with the same is also just an experience. Is that what feeling alive is all about then? I’ll share my findings when I’ve found out what that one’s supposed to teach me. I don’t like how hard seemingly simple processes turn out to be and asking for help isn’t getting easier either. However I can’t imagine doing anything else, so I keep putting one foot in front of the other. And know it’s all going to work out. How do I know? Well it has so far! And most evenings I’m leaving the site feeling with a sense of accomplishment and love for the place.

My friends Jan and Geoff started their own project of building a yurt the same time I started with my Kalina. A couple days ago Geoff helped me cutting and gluing the counter tops, I’m making from an old Hardwood table, in his workshop. We compared notes so to speak on the state of our beings and he said ‘yes it’s like running on vapors’ and I found that rather aptly put, that’s exactly what it feels like. My request which I thought of as very strait forward, being approached by Geoff from a carpenters view, was way more involved. On top of that it threw him a challenge. There was I feeling equally sorry for adding to his work load and reassured that it is not just I who’s experiencing these stupid little challenges where things should be plain sailing. Well in my humble opinion they should be.

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West coast Engineering

8/7/2015

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At times rough and ready, rooky style and what is perfect, without the right tools and or knowledge, anyway. I love curves, walls, ceilings, from an early age I wanted to live in a round house. Curves are sexy, warm and playful and I love the look and feel of them. However I’ve had the privilege of finding out that they are a damn nuisance to build with. Shaping the pieces of my furnishings to conform and fit my curved wall and ceiling was a pain in the behind to say the least and pushed me once again to my limits. I’ve used a template with little to some success and yet each piece needed adjusting. Once having fitted one shelf using it as template for the next above no such cooperation and more adjusting. Hurrah! Same thing with leveling, with or without level the shelving either side the window kept looking slanting up here and down there and I had to go against the level at times winging it.

I have months of building still ahead of me (no complaining I’m just feeling the wear and tear at present), taking 4 days to get the shelving up above my desk I’m saying good is good enough. By no means perfect it is looking cute never the less.

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Woes of Hard Wood

Light the Beacon – Running on Vapor

West coast Engineering

Linnaea Saleem

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﻿Woes of Hard Wood

Light the Beacon – Running on Vapor

West coast Engineering

Linnaea Saleem

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Woes of Hard Wood