2016 will certainly be remembered for its controversial political outcomes. Even down here on the far Southern Oregon coast we have been bombarded by the 2016 Presidential campaign. It has even made me realize that our project mirrors in many ways, old "Don" and his policies.
The same yet vastly different!!!!
The Wall!
Everyone has been talking about The Wall, but no one has been talking about a wall that has been actually built, finished and is successfully doing it's job! Of keeping things in, not out!
This wall runs along the backside of our barn, it is a retaining wall designed to keep the built up gravel pad that the barn is on, to stop us sliding off down the hill, which I really don't think could happen but it is nice to know that the gravel is now all staying in one place!
The bricks are locally made in Coos Bay! Out of USA materials! and we didn't ask Mexico to pay for it either! They are interlocking retaining wall blocks - no cement needed!
Fed up with getting a wet belly Mr M designed and made a little apron, next he will be writing a book "101 uses for empty dog food bags" (you saw it here first)
You can't deny he has style...
Once the wall was finished we had some gravel delivered - it is unsifted crushed rock which is what most gravel driveways get started with, it is all shapes and sizes of rock from tiny bits to boulders, it packs down really hard and once it rains it sets pretty firm.
Mr M and his wheelbarrow worked really hard getting this round to the side of the barn - ok, just kidding, Dennis and his tractor came round!
After it was all spread out Mr M spent a couple of days going over with a tamper and banging it all down tight - he has blisters!!
Looks pretty good now it is finished up, couple more loads of rock to finish off some areas and then it will be ready for finish rock!
The Mudslinging
I am not sure any Presidential campaign ever suffered the level of mudslinging that 2016 witnessed. It wasn't a pretty sight, and by the time November 8th rolled around I had lost interest in the whole affair.
After all the rain we have had, and after doing some ground work with the wall and laying gravel some parts of our property are starting to resemble the TV debates. Just basically muddy puddles with no substance and most likely full of omoebas, bacteria and busy ciliates, with not much experience in "real" life.
We will need to spend some time straightening out the dirt and trying to get some grass seed to grow, otherwise in February when the season starts to warm a tinge of green will appear in the puddles, signifying a bloom of photosynthetic flagellates much smaller than bacteria.
Much like when our new Government takes office, we will start to come across rotifers, tiny multi-celled creatures just awakened from their encapsulated over-wintering state and their leader a wriggling hair-spring roundworm.
But there are some that won't complain about that.....
The Rigged Voting System!
So turns out the voting system wasn't rigged after all, or was it? depends which side you are on I suppose!
Well I will put this out there right now.. this election is definitely rigged - as much as we want to involve our trusty voters in the project and encourage and empower them - we get to make the final decision on which Candidate wins in this election!
So we are now getting down to the nitty gritty on our house design. We have the plans and we are all decided on the house apart from we are having second thoughts on the roof design that was originally intended for the house.
To simplify things, Mr M has been crafting! I allowed him unsupervised use of my hot glue gun and he has come up with some excellent models for us to review.
Introducing Candidates No 1 & No 2:
Candidate No. 1. (right hand side of the above picture)
This is in fact the roof design that came with the plans, we both like it a lot and are really drawn to the complex nature of the roof layout and the draw of the vaulted ceilings and big windows. BUT I am concerned that it is a bit "grand" for us simple folks!
Candidate No. 2 (left hand side of the above picture)
This is our take on simplifying the roof slightly and trying not to be too "grand" as that is not the look we are going for, we are thinking more "county cottage" hence the dormers!
So vote away and let us know which one you prefer! not that it will make any difference to the final outcome of course!
The roof design will have no impact on the inside floor layout, and Mr M has been busy sticking, putting in the walls etc.
Can you see what it is yet? Upstairs... complete with railings...
Downstairs....
I'm not supposed to touch this model - I only broke one tiny bit of it.... oppps!
That's all for this update, its been a busy couple of weeks with lots of projects completed and many more planned and even though, as far as I am concerned, there is a cloud hanging over our country, we will continue building walls and filling in puddles and voting for what we believe in!
