As it stands now...

I've been dreaming about my office lately.

I'm not really one to do the whole "sacred spaces" stuff, but I do have a real affinity for this little nitch in the woods. Yesterday I was talking to my students here in Italy about it, and ended up showing them photos. They said it looks like a "REALLY COOL treehouse!" WHAT A COMPLIMENT!!

Seriously, it's such an amazing place. In my dream this morning, my husband told me he'd sold the house and was moving to Arizona. I refused to go. I didn't want to leave my shed. And the worse thing was the buyer wanted to tear it down. Ugh. Anyway, It's fun to realize, it was ONLY a dream.

I've gotten good news. I'll have some time in May that I may be available to work on it. I'm really looking forward to that! I just read back through my full blog - what one does in Italy when exhausted and listening to Grace Jones. It was so neat to see everything from the very earliest starts, the "tent office" to this.

It's been good to see the progress, and I smile ruefully to know how much more I have yet to do. And the funny thing is, even though I am working again, I still want to be the one to do the work on it myself. I don't want to hire out the work. I've really come to love the time working on it.

I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I'm doing it.

I'll post the Plastering Party dates when we get closer to them. One thing about Italy is they do some fun stuff with plaster. It's inspirational. Maybe I'll put angels above the windows or gargoyles on the roof. Or, um, oh yeah. Maybe not.

We'll see.

I'm looking forward to getting back to it!!

Not completely gone

Hi Folks!

Sorry to be in absentia for so long. Dad's health took a bad turn - and he needed to be tended to more closely than would allow me to be out working on the "shed". He's with my beloved brother right now, giving me a break.

I did have a magnificent time with the local county permitting office. They finally decided I needed on.

To clarify - when I called last summer, they said "come by when you have your plans together, and we'll get you taken care of."

Well, okay, it's now spring, so what's my excuse?

My plans keep changing.

BUT they wanted something on record, so I went in (3 times) and got the requisit building permits. I had a most wonderful time finding out that my county officials take their jobs seriously and do everything they can to protect the ecology of our area. They had to inspect the site to be sure that I was not building in the riparian zone of the stream that borders our property (I wasn't). Then ANOTHER guy had to come out to check that my building was not impacting the stream with erosion. (It isn't)

When I thanked them for doing this they looked at me like I'd just grown another head. But when I explained that my job is going all over the world helping governments protect their waterways, and that I was so THRILLED to have it in my own back yard. (They nodded, smiled and looked marginally relieved.)

Anyway, I'm now in Italy. (*yeah, life is tough) and I don't quite know when I'll be home.

But that will be saved for another post.

Take care!
M

Things I learned today:

When pushed, unsecured bales of straw will fall down. A lot. I've now put in 2x4's all the way around and lashed the baled to them. How's that for structural stability!!

Maybe Mary is learning!

update

Hi Folks!

Dad is home again! JiggidyJig.
His humor is good, his balance is not.
The home health care nurse just came to teach me how to switch out his IV antibiotics, flush the IV line and all sorts of other handy things. I wonder if I should add that to my CV?

Anyway, my beloved shed is sitting out there staring at me through the window, waiting for me to come play. Maybe tomorrow...?

Hiding behind the bales....

This just came in from Alex over at Shedworking...

Castle hidden behind bales of strawBy Lucy Cockcroft
Last Updated: 6:42pm GMT 25/01/2008
A farmer has been ordered to tear down a castle he had hidden behind an enormous stack of straw for four years.
Before and after: the castle built behind a wall of straw
Councillors had no idea the building, complete with ramparts, turrets and a cannon, existed until the barricade of several hundred 8ft by 4ft bales was torn down.
Robert Fidler, 59, spent two years constructing his dream home behind the straw shield before moving in his wife Linda and their son Harry, 7, in 2002.
The father-of-six says he built the structure out of despair after applications to construct a home on his farm in Salfords, Surrey, were repeatedly turned down by council planners.
He hid it from view hoping it would be considered legal after standing for four years.
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Shocked neighbours reported Mr Fidler as soon as they saw the structure, which cost £50,000 to build.
Now council officials have insisted it must be bulldozed.
Mr Fidler, who lives in the castle with wife Linda, 39, and son Harry, seven, was issued with a planning enforcement notice in March 2007 by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council and ordered to demolish the building and return the land to its former use.
The 59-year-old argues that the castle is now legally allowed to exist because it has been "substantially completed" for four years, and says he is determined to protect it.
The farmer has applied to the council for a Certificate of Lawfulness which can be sought after a development has been in place for at least four years without planning permission.
Making a splash in the world's largest pool
Vicar faces the sack over church lavatories
Mr Fidler said: "I can't believe they want to demolish this beautiful house. To me it [the council] is no different from vandals who just want to smash it down.
"But I'm not worried because I don't believe I've done anything wrong.
"We moved into the house on Harry's first birthday, so for the first few years of his life he grew up looking at straw out of the windows.
"We thought it would be a boring view, but, in fact, many birds nested in the straw and feasted on the worms.We had several families of robins and even a duck made a nest and hatched 13 ducklings on top of the bales.
"What we had anticipated being a very uninteresting view out of our windows turned out to be a fascinating garden with all sorts of natural visitors."
Construction of the covert castle, which took two years to build around two disused grain silos, began in 2000 after Mr Fidler had built walls out of hundreds of bales of straw and covered the top with blue tarpaulin.
Neighbours were dumbfounded after Mr Fidler,who had lived in the castle for four years with his wife and son, unveiled his home by removing the straw in the spring of 2006.
Council bosses issued a planning contravention notice in March 2007, ordering the building to be demolished and the land returned to its former use.
Mr Fidler,who has appealed the enforcement notice, started fighting the order at a public inquiry which began at Reigate Town Hall on Wednesday.
Mr Fidler is fighting the borough council over 12 enforcement notices in total, which include the construction of a go-kart track on his 195 acres of land.
A Reigate and Banstead Borough Council spokes-woman said: "The site is located on the Green Belt and the developments constitute inappropriate development, which is harmful to the openness of the Green Belt."
After the inquiry, if the Secretary of State grants permission for the development, all enforcement notices issued by the borough council will be quashed.
However, should the ruling favour the borough council, Mr Fidler and family would have six months to move out and demolish their "dream" castle.

And then...

So a week ago, my father went to the doctor for a foot infection - and ended up in the hospital. As his primary care-taker I was glad the foot would be getting better, because well, honestly, I have this phobia of old man feet. If he were a horse, I could handle it.

Lots of IV antibotics, Dear Old Dad (DOD) is looking better. Ready to go home.

They have to put a line in so he can get IV treatment later and take him off his blood thinner.
That night, just before he goes him in the morning, he fell. We think. He doesn't remember, and no one saw it happen, but he's got a bit bump on his head.

He ends up in intensive care, with a bleed on the brain.

The neurosurgeon comes in and wants him evaluated for a bunch of things that make sense.

His balance is terrible. And he's getting more forgetful.

So what does this have to do with my office?

Well, ONCE I can get back to working on it, finish it and get to work in it... I'll have to set up a monitoring system to keep an ear out for him, so he doesn't fall or something when we're home alone.

somehow... I am trying to find the ironic humor in this.

If you see it, please let me know.

More on the shed later.

I MISS IT!!!

Winter Weather Forecast!!!

Twice this week, we have had all sorts of winter weather warnings.
Ice, snows, sleet, freezing rain, school closings, the DoT and Governor asking everyone to stay home because the weather conditions are so hazardous. Not once, but twice!! This usually is a once a year occurance, so twice in a week is unusual.

It makes getting mentally geared up to go work outside sort of difficult.

Of course, the wicked winter weather didn't do much more than throw a few frozen spit balls our way. It hit Atlanta, and north of here, but missed us all together. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. (the photo is from 3 years ago)
But suffice to say folks, the challenge of building one's own shed is that the weather is not always cooperative, and you have to decide what sort of conditions you are willing to work in...

Happy Winter Folks!

(oh, and I'll be back at it in a day or two)