Friday, August 25th 2006
Windows and rocks!
NO! Don't worry, it's not what you think. The windows are fine, they're waiting patiently to be installed.
The week-end was quite busy considering it rained all day Sunday. ALain finished installing the wiring and spent the afternoon in the rain mixing clay, dirt and straw. We were able to do a fourth coat on the walls of the front section. They're now almost even with the tire tread. The next coat should complete the base on which we'll apply the lime plaster. We're eager to hide the black walls. We still have to visit the pigment store to decide on the color but we're thinking of shading from blue or green to a pale yellow.
The tinsmith from heaven and his two teenage sons were there to help with the mud. Stephan took all the measurements to make the flashings for the windows. He will even do the ones for the inside with a gutter to divert the water from condensation into the planters! He also left with the two air turbines we found in the garbage to fit them with a pipe long enough to clear the vegetation and snow and a flashing with the proper slant for our roof. They'll be back this Saturday to install it all. I'm really impressed with the beautiful craftsmanship of their work. You probably noticed in my chronicle of August 4th, the chimney cover and kitchen photos. They also make beautiful campaniles for weathervanes and copper roofing on old churches.
Early this week, we finally started building the rock walls. I read in one of our reference books on the subject that the first day was the hardest. They actually start the explanations on the second day... which is identical to the first anyway. We'd spent many days carrying rocks, looking at them and reading all the passages on making mortar and the choice and positioning of stones. I have to admit I prefer filling tires. It's true that I have only 2 days of experience in stone laying under my belt and I found the whole thing quite stressful. I hope that with more practice, I'll gain confidence because it takes me forever to choose the stones and I always have a doubt that it will all fall apart.
Luckily, Veronique my niece was there to cheer me on and to clean the stones with Christian, her brother. It's the last week before school starts and they spent 3 days camping with us. They were adorable and gave us a hand with everything. Veronique kneaded the dough for the bread and Christian learned how to bake a stovetop cake, a recipe I came up with last year because the oven wasn't working properly. With all the berries we've picked lately, it's now a favourite around here. The kid's didn't even complain of the cold: when we woke up Thursday it was 4C (39F).
And finally, two new volunteers showed up; they're investigating the various construction choices for their future home. They filled some tires and started the stone wall for the planter while I toiled on the ones for the staircase. They also helped ALain to do the roof on the shed where we'll work on the ceiling boards. A well spent week I'd say!
Attention all regular readers! From now on, I'll be writing every 2 weeks only. The next chronicle should be online on September 10th, in the meantime I have to get ready for a presentation for Énergie Solaire Québec on the September 9th.