Photos from yogan carpenter of his friend Robin’s workshop in SW France, with a zome roof. Again, yogan has photographed a building shown in Home Work (page 49) but gotten better shots. This is really a nice idea: using a dome as roof on vertical walls. It’s in a section in the book on countercultural builders in France. (A friend of ours who lives in Amsterdam says that France is the California of Europe.)
This is a page from a two-volume set titled Everybody’s Enquire Within, a profusely illustrated wonder of the world (compiled in the mid-30s) with tons of interesting stuff. It’s not organized in any logical manner (yahoo!), just 1000s of intriguing facts one after the other. I’m gonna put up a few of the pages with pen and ink (There’s one copy of the set on Amazon for $83.)
Living roof cabin by Lloyd House on an island in British Columbia, Canada, on page 37 of Builders of the Pacific Coast.
An ingenious tool. I’ve had these sitting around for years, and as a result of doing this video, I decided to make a chair, using old redwood fence posts for the legs, with crosspieces of manzanita with tenons. You can get them at the excellent Canadian woodworkers’ tool outfit, Lee Valley, same price as Amazon.
This hit us by surprise. At 8 AM, it was as dark as pre-dawn. Reddish-dark. Thick layer of black ash on cars. Funny, no smell. Nature to humanoids: you’re fucking up the planet, people.
Driftwood sculptures at Native Plant Nursery in Mill Valley, Calif. You can enter it through Hook Fish, the v. cool local fish restaurant at the Shoreline intersection in MV (open for biz, socially distant outdoor tables). A great nursery, with a good selection of organic vegetable seedlings. The sculptures run about (gulp) $10K each.
I was pretty depressed yesterday, so went walking on the beach. I looked at the water, which I knew was cold — well, 56°, not that cold — and went through the same dialogue – thank goodness! — that always works: “I know you don’t want to, but if you put up with the initial shock, you’re gonna feel great once you’re out.”
It always works. Mojo restarted. Chi starting to hum again.
I do this with waterfalls on cold days, swimming in the cove in San Francisco (I’m a wimp next the the Southenders), pretty often when I’m at the beach. Jumped into Loch Lomond on a visit to Scotland a few years ago; boy was it cold!
I feel it also tunes me into the local medium. Now connected with mountain, ocean, Loch.
So I was sort of back in gear today, got my email answered, then and then came across these 2 songs.
Water and music. They never fail.
I gave up skateboarding after a fractured arm a year and a half ago. Mature decision.
But I still had the fever. On the Waldo Approach, I’d fantasize no cars and being able to carve across 5 lanes. Each time I saw smooth and/or fresh pavement with the right downslope, I’d get excited.
Yesterday I got out of the dentist’s and was looking at the smooth pavement, and thought, Why not? Got on my board for the first time in a year, felt a bit creaky, but started rolling and the feeling came back. It was so much fun! I decided to start skating again. Bunny slopes. Not pushing it any more. Better to skate carefully than to suffer the spills that go with the thrills of more aggressive skating.
I must be one of the least-accomplished skaters around, but I love it.
