Rose Cottage Puts Down Roots

HELLO!

I am so excited!

During my year off from work, while trying to figure out to do when I grow up, I am being allowed to build a fiber arts studio on the rental property owned by my in-laws next door to my house.  It took awhile to get going,a s these things are wont to do. Then it snowed and froze here for a week (which is highly unusual) so that slowed us down, but now we are really moving along.

Step 1:

Find an empty corner in the neighbor's yard:

Try not to worry what that old slab might be covering up.

Step 2:

Spend lots of time making plans and getting a permit the with help of Architects, friends relatives, engineers, City of Eugene Workers etc.

Step 3:

Hire some big guys with loud cutting machines to come slice out the slab.  

 


Be shocked that that tiny slab was like 8-10 inches thick.
Be Very Happy that it was just covering up good clean dirt.

Step 4:

Dig a Big Hole.  Then immediately fill it partway back up again with gravel.  Be Happy you have good contractors with big trucks and strong arms as friends!

 

Dig a big ditch while you're at it.

Step 5:
Build a Really Strong Box (a.k.a. a form) to hold all the concrete you plan to pour into the hole.

Step 6:
Enjoy a visit from a big truck with Spiral Stair parts. The spiral-y bit is the railing.

Step 7:

Call in electricians and plumbers and inspectors and start filling in the hole with pipes and bars and whatnot.  Keep digging.

Whatever you do, just keep digging.

I notice I said "I" get to build, but somehow I'm not in any of these photos.  Hmmm.

Ultimate Chile

After using a post title with a word like "penultimate" in it, you're kind of stuck with doing an "ultimate" installment even if it's a year and a half  three and a half years after the fact and you've done a million things in between and can't find the picture file where you had sorted out the last of the photos you thought you might use.  I guess I'll try to meet the challenge, but it's going to be pretty seat of the pants! Here goes:

Seth's birthday dinner in a revolving restaurant, consisting of more fish soup that had some specific name (to which there is a related poem) that I cannot recall, than you could shake a stick at.

2 buck duck bought in market in Chiloe and brought back in a basket on the plane.

Valparaiso market on New Year's Eve day

"Jumbo" on New Year's Eve day

Carts had gripper things that held them onto incline-alator!

Cool Chilean shellfish (Machas?) for New Year's Eve dinner.

Kate's lab's zebra-fish stock room.

New Year's Eve is a big deal there, too.  Remember it's the beginning of their summer vaction!

Kate and John's cool house and her gorgeous collage art.

 Best fireworks ever all along the bay that night, but couldn't get good pictures.

Night time harbour tour

Crazy long tunnel to the strangest straight up an elevator tower ascensor.

Valp'o market again

Last shot of cool graffitti art.

It Gets Better

This is for you if you are are young person who has ever been picked on, bullied, harrassed or otherwise maltreated because of what you look like, who you fall in love with, what gender you are, what you can/cannot do, what you do/do not enjoy doing:

IT GETS BETTER! You might feel like there is no one like you in the world. That is not true. There are lots of people like you, whatever that is, you WILL find them. Maybe you have people telling you that you are messed up or wrong. That is not true.

If you are nice, kind and considerate to others, you are a good person. Maybe you haven't met them yet, but there are thousands of people out there who will care for you whatever your tastes and interests.

http://www.itgetsbetter.org