#cordwood house

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This is the “Cordwood House” in Darlington, South Carolina. It’s all wood and has a big mossy green cross out front, and it’s only $199,900. There’s a mossy pond outside, too. 

So, short logs are bi-directionally stacked in some sort of clay or cement. I’m thinking that’s why it’s called the Cordwood House, b/c it’s made from short logs that one would burn in a fireplace.

I think I prefer traditional log cabins, but this is very different and the design is unique.

Look at the beams- are those corks or stones? The materials in this home are unusual. You can see how large the house is by the size of the mezzanine.

The great room has a ceiling-high stone fireplace and you’ll notice that it has a cross at the top. At first I thought that stairs were on the sides of the fireplace, but I think that they’re most likely shelves. 

The kitchen has very unusual cabinetry. They look like they were home made.

There’s a very nice dining room with a serving window from the kitchen and a built-in corner cabinet.

Isn’t this nice? A train goes around the railing. (But, does the train convey?)

The home has 4 large bds. plus a bonus room. There a lots of built-in shelves all over the house.

And, it also has 3 baths. Baths are standard and bit dated. Oddly, there are 2 baths in one room.

This is a mud room/utility room in the back of the house.

There’s a nice yard and a covered picnic area, too.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/425-Palmetto-Rd-Darlington-SC-29532/72022775_zpid/

[hobohobgoblim]

Put in 11 hours today

[hellenhighwater]

it may be just me losing track of the regular flow of time, as has been known to happen, but i feel like you've been getting new batches of kittens about every two weeks. Are they just giving you litters that are almost ready to be adopted and they rotate through at an alarming pace, or do you still have the previous litters and your house is getting overrun by furbabies?

Not quite that fast, but I don't have each litter for super long. I'm on my third batch of kittens for the summer, and I brought home the first on May 25.

It's been working out so far that mostly I wind up bringing them home right after they've weaned and are somewhere in the half pound to one pound range. (ATuin's litter was still nursing.) Because I do work full time and live alone, I can't take bottle babies that need near-hourly feeding--I just can't commit to that kind of time. So usually they're a little older and more independent when I get them. I keep them until they're about three pounds, and then they go back for spay and adoption. That's usually somewhere in the two to three month age range, since kittens tend to gain about a pound a month in the first six months. I'm told that I'm consistently raising very very friendly kittens, which is good!

So no, I'm not just heaping the kittens up like cordwood, but there are a total of eight cats in my house, which is something I have to not think about head on. That's too many cats for one house!

But all the kittens put together still weigh less than Vice, so maybe they should count as just one cat.

[necromanticowboy]

My buddy is finally getting kicked outa his parents house and I’m trying to convince him to buy a few acres south of town and let us build him a cob and cordwood house.

[ofhouseadama]

What about Julian showing up for real at the end of the fic about garak fantasizing and garak still thinks he’s either hallucinating or fantasizing because he hasn’t slept in a few days

It's the coldest winter on record. The days get shorter, the nights get longer, and even the sunlight takes on a blue haze of perpetual twilight. The frost comes, reaching down from the Northern Continent and across the sea, killing the crops and taking a hundred thousand more casualties with the winter wind.

Cardassian families start sleeping like cordwood.

Hundreds of lightyears away, the Federation elects a new President. Garak takes more than a polite interest at Ghemor's behest, desperate to see if inroads can be made with the administration. But when the ground freezes hard and the dead crowd the city morgues after a wave of Rudellian plague -- there is only so much interest he can take.

Half of his ad hoc staff in Ghemor's interim government is sleeping in his house, crowded together in the wings of Tain's mansion that still maintain some amount of climate control.

But every night, he still sleeps alone, when he can sleep at all. And when he can't...

(He lives two lives. One is the hard, miserable truth. The other is the fantasy of what cannot be, but makes the first life bearable.)

Every morning, as the sky sits somewhere between the blueish purples of night and the orange of the day, he wonders if this is it. If in the coming weeks or months the scientists will finally issue the report that dooms the Cardassian homeworld, declares it broken beyond repair. People flee everyday, on any shuttle they can -- to other planets in the Cardassian system, to unincorporated colony worlds, even to Vulcan. Prime is a dying planet; all that's left is for someone to call time of death. The diaspora has begun, the tragedy complete. The militaristic, hubristic Cardassians, doomed to wander the galaxy as refugees forever. Conquerors, beggared.

On Earth, the president is sworn in.

Weeks later, Garak receives a message--a request, from the Federation, directly from the Office of the President. An offer of tentative support, after fourteen months. An informal fact finding mission conducted by the Federation Disaster Relief Corps. He is immediately weary--she'd campaigned on this, on peace and friendship and building bonds across the alpha quadrant. And so now the Federation comes to the weakened, beleaguered, de-fanged Cardassia. Offering aid. Offering friendship. Offering deliverance.

They can't afford to say no.

A month later, the visa requests come. Not to Garak's office, not directly. He doesn't handle that kind of thing--but the list ends up on his PADD regardless. Despite himself, he hopes.

And is rewarded.

Starfleet medical attaché, nominally. Garak understands that in all likelihood, Julian's place on this mission is for intelligence or counterintelligence as much as it is to evaluate the state of Cardassia's medical system. (Dismal. Struggling. Not enough doctors, not enough nurses, not enough beds. Not enough medicine. If malnutrition doesn't get them first, it'll be a novel virus. Julian already knows that from his letters.)

For weeks, Garak imagines what the moment of reunion will be like. Will he be in uniform? Will they have to stand on formality, two foreign governments meeting on friendly terms for the first time? Will they fix eyes on each other from across the room? Julian had written he was growing his hair out. Was it awful? Garak himself was thin now, too thin. His clothes were tattered and well-worn. Would they recognize each other?

Would Julian's eyes be the eyes of a stranger?

But what happens is this: the night before the Federation group is scheduled to arrive, Garak walks home to find Julian standing on his doorstep. Dressed in a wool coat, hair brushing his shoulders, reading the PADD in his hand. Waiting, patiently. The porchlight makes his skin the color of burnished copper.

Without thought, without inclination, he steps into the glow.

In the shivering-cold wind, nothing has ever been as warm as Julian's lips on his.

In the seconds following, panic creeps in. They've never talked about this; they can't talk about this. He can't have this, he doesn't deserve this, doesn't deserve Julian's warmth. But by the ancients, he wants this more than he has ever dared to want. He wants to unlock the door and take him inside, lead him up the stairs, and show him to his bedroom. He wants them to keep each other warm. He wants to know the heat of mammalian skin, he wants to know what it feels like to sink his hands in Julian's hair.

Elim Garak is no stranger to yearning.

But an odd thing happens: Julian laughs.

"I guess you've saved me the ordeal of figuring out how to get you to say you want me back."

[sidehugsnsideblogs]

FCSU #68 Back to Brindleton

Allie-Jayne was quiet on the long drive back from Newport. She thought of her children and how she'd pulled them from the only life they knew only to leave them with near strangers to attend the trial. She silently prayed that they'd understand. Teresa seemed to sense her sister's unease. "It's okay AJ, they'll understand one day." Allie-Jayne snorted "How did the antisocial bookworm end up becoming the most mature and compassionate out of us `all?" "I read a book about it." Said Teresa dryly. "Plus I've been out longer, so I've had more therapy and less brainwashing."

The children were all in bed when they arrived home but the house was in shambles. The dream cabin that Isaac and Teresa had built for themselves was far too small to house so many people. There was always a line up for the bathrooms and the children were sleeping in bunk beds stacked like cordwood. "Welcome back." Said Isaac, who sounded completely overwhelmed. 

He explained that AJ’s boys were adjusting well to their new lives and grown very close to Ryder and Thomas. So close, in fact that they’d managed to lead a revolt of sorts in regards to housework. Austin and Alex had convinced their cousins that doing dishes and tidying up after themselves was “mothers’ work.” Now as a result dishes and laundry were piling up faster than Isaac could clean. 

Allie-Jayne ventured upstairs to check on her children while Teresa caught her husband up on the trial. Isaac was far too uncomfortable to attend the rest of the trial after his part was done. The boys were fast asleep in their bunks along with the twins. Avery's little toddler bed was shoved into Hannah’s room where she and Anna slept in their bunks. AJ smiled at how peaceful they looked. She hoped living in such cramped quarters felt familiar to them. Maybe it would make the transition easier. AJ knew her younger girls would be able to thrive in the outside world. Avery probably wouldn’t remember the church at all and Anna's mischievous and curious nature hadn't yet been stamped out by Charlene.

The door creaked as she tried to shut it causing Anna to stir. "Mother Allie, is that you?" She mumbled sleepily. It stung AJ to hear children use the FCSU approved nomenclature while Teresa's children called her Mom or Doctor Mom. "Yes, it's me. I'm back." She whispered while hugging her daughter. "Abigail said you were never coming back, that you delivered us unto Apostates and then abandoned us." AJ choked back tears "No sweetie, I'm here. Here to stay now. I'll never leave you again. I promise." She stayed with Anna until she'd fallen back to sleep and then continued along the hall.

Abby and Autumn had taken over Isaac and Teresa's bedroom. There was a light on in the room so the girls must be awake. She knocked quietly on the door "May I come in?" "WE HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO YOU!" snapped a voice from the other side of the door. AJ tried the handle but the door was locked. 

According to Isaac the girls had barricaded themselves in the room shortly after AJ left. They refused to help with chores or cooking, spoke only to each other and scorned all townie luxuries like food, modern clothing and television. Abby had decreed that they would fast and pray until their father broke down the door to rescue them. Isaac would make them typical FCSU salads and leave them outside of the door, every morning the dishes would be sitting empty in the hallway so at least they were getting some nourishment.

Downstairs Isaac and Teresa were tackling the kitchen. AJ grabbed a rag and joined them. “All things considered, I think your kids are doing great. There’s some stuff to work through but they’re still young; not fully indoctrinated...for the most part, at least.” Said Isaac. “I certainly hope so.” replied Allie. She had spent many hours working to instill strong faith within her children, now she would have to undo all that.  “Baby steps, Sis. Baby steps.” said Teresa, reading her sister’s expression. Once the kitchen looked livable again the trio turned in for the night. Isaac and Teresa on an air mattress in the living room, AJ would be staying in Andrew’s trailer.

Andrew was still awake when his mother knocked on the door. "Welcome back," he said as he showed her to the cramped second bedroom. "I watched the trial on TV. I can't believe it's all over." Allie shook her head. "It's not over, they’ll just set up shop somewhere else." Her eyes teared up as she thought of her family, stuck slaving away for a man who’d die in prison. She knew that it was only a matter of time before her children were pulled away from her into the beak existence of FCSU adulthood. The boys would have been shuffled off to a remote construction site, or thrown out entirely. The girls were due to be married off. She’d had to act quickly while they were still together in order to save everyone.

As she settled into bed AJ began to think: She couldn’t impose on her sister forever, she had to find her own place. She had to get the kids caught up academically and into school. She had to find a way to support them all. A job maybe? She imagined herself behind the counter at a corner store or slinging coffee at Simbucks. The idea felt ludicrous. Baby steps, she reminded herself. focus on one thing at a time. Step one would be getting the girls out of that room.

[shepherdgriffin71]

4 Reasons to Pick Slipform Stone Masonry to your Home

Building slipform stone houses will be a labor regarding love. The technique is time consuming, literally difficult, and moment draining. It's certainly not a prospect that will your average owner/builder should take about without doing a great deal of research. This kind of said, building your own personal stone house while using slipform method may be one of the particular most satisfying activities of your lifestyle, provided you know what if you're getting into. Like a strong proponent involving slipform masonry, We thought We would reveal five reasons that you might consider the technique. Slipform Stone Masonry is definitely Easy to Find out Just as any developing technique requires attention, attention, and some sort of bit of experimentation to master, setting up with slip varieties does require a bit of work to master. Actually so, if you possibly could work with a level, proceed some rocks, and even count, you could learn the fundamentals involving slipform building inside a weekend. If your corners are square, your forms happen to be plumb, and an individual give consideration, the art is somewhat more forgiving as compared to many techniques, and lends itself properly to learning because you go. Natural stone Houses Require Small Maintenance There's a new lot to become said for permanence. Many experts guess that a durable haybale home could have an useful living of about ninety days years - a new few hundred year-old haybale structures can be found and are nevertheless in use. Nature News indicates of which even a neglected cordwood house may be expected in order to last a hundred or so and fifty many years. As opposed, there some sort of many, many stone houses in use that are more than five hundred decades old, plus a range of thousand year-old stone houses through Europe have already been continually inhabited due to the fact their construction . Couple this with the modern metal roof top (with an anticipated useful life regarding a hundred decades or more) in addition to you can anticipate your slipform house to shelter your loved ones in comfort regarding generations.

Stone Houses Are Valuable In case you're thinking of building with slipform masonry, you are likely also considering a great many other alternative and owner/builder options including Earthships, Hay Bale, Cordwood, and Post as well as Beam. With the particular possible exception regarding a traditionally create post and light house, a slipform stone house will be the only choice that will end up being as valuable or perhaps even more important than a traditional stick-built house. The market value of an attractive stone house typically exceeds that of other homes. Rock is lasting, stately, and speaks regarding permanence. These characteristics interest buyers, plus whether the housing marketplace is struggling or perhaps not, that can give you an advantage over some other sellers, and a SERIOUS advantage over those planning to sell alternative residences - typically one of the most difficult houses to offer. Stone Is Appealing All economic considerations aside - thinking of things on a purely aesthetic schedule, stone looks wonderful, and it seems great to every person. The appeal of other popular owner-builder techniques is quite subjective - a few like one method, others such as a diverse one. Earthships, intended for example, are extremely attractive homes to me, while my personal wife describes these people as "weird-looking. very well No one would certainly describe a stone house as odd or unattractive, including to the elegance of the style. Whether slipform natural stone is perfect for you or perhaps not is not a selection you can help to make based on any on the internet article, but as soon as you choose, there are a great deal of reasons to be able to feel great about natural stone. With luck, this specific article has offered you food regarding thought, or served to reaffirm the commitment to rock building.

[nicklloydnow]

“Warren Knight of Smiling Hill Farm is eagerly awaiting a public forum Monday on the proposed Gorham Connector that would cut a swath through the farm that has been in his family for 13 generations.

(…)

The turnpike authority will have an open house at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 25, at Shaw Gym in Gorham for the public to discuss the connector with Executive Director Peter Mills and other staff members, engineering consultants and municipal officials. A formal presentation is set for 6 p.m. followed by a public comment session.

To ease traffic congestion on routes 22 and 114, which see an average of 22,000 vehicles daily where they overlap, according to the Maine Department of Transportation, the turnpike authority plans to build a 4.8-mile, four-lane toll highway linking the Bernard Rines Bypass roundabout on South Street in Gorham with Exit 45 in South Portland.

(…)

The 500-acre Smiling Hill Farm has land in Gorham, Scarborough and Westbrook.

The turnpike authority wants to buy 47.3 acres from the 500-acre Smiling Hill for a portion of the connector’s right of way, according to Mills. Of those 47 acres, 32.5 are “mostly woodland” on the north side of County Road and 14.8 are on the south side that Mills said Knight bought four years ago. Mills said the 14.8 acres was “never part of (the original) Smiling Hill Farm.”

The turnpike authority should have bought the 14.8 acre parcel when it went on the market, but “we didn’t get there in time,” Mills said.

Knight, who operates the farm with his siblings, said the acreage the turnpike authority wants to buy is in Scarborough, and the plan divides the farm, cutting off another 50 acres in addition to the land for the right-of-way strip.

(…)

Besides hayfield and pasture, the farm uses a sugar bush to collect sap for maple syrup production and the forest land to harvest cordwood and lumber, Knight said, adding that the woodland also is a habitat for wildlife important to the farm.

(…)

The farm has been in the Knight family for 13 generations beginning in 1720, Knight said. Decades before the American Revolution, the farm was the 1744 burial site of the British royal mast agent Col. Thomas Westbrook, brother-in-law of early Scarborough settler Nathan Knight.

(…)

The division of the Smiling Hill land has generated a groundswell of opposition. A “Protect Smiling Hill Farm” Facebook page created once the turnpike authority’s plans became known has 2,400 members.

“We’re hopeful to have supporters there,” Knight said about Monday’s meeting.”

“A new federal report shows there are fewer farms now in Maine than there have been in more than 25 years.

The United States Department of Agriculture released results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture, showing in 2022 there were an estimated 7,036 farms with 1.23 million acres of farmland, down from a peak of 8,173 operations and 1.45 million acres in 2012. Maine lost 564 farms and 82,567 acres of farmland since the last census in 2017.”

[pelletstoveblog]

Things You Ought To Know Before Purchasing Pellet-Burning Stoves

Investing in a pellet-burning cooktop is an excellent means to cut expenses and also come to be extra energy-efficient. They're also a lot cleaner than conventional fire places, as well as are environmentally friendly. However, there are some things you should understand prior to acquiring one. First off, a pellet stove burns wood pellets that are compressed sawdust or biomass. Pellets have much less wetness than cordwood. You can buy pellets in 40-pound bags at fireplace suppliers. Find more information here about the pellet burning stove.

They are also offered wholesale in some areas of the nation. Some models are designed to air vent the exhaust horizontally through the wall of the home. Pellets are thought about an eco-friendly fuel. They also minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, pellets are likewise pricey. They can set you back $200 per ton, usually. The United States Federal government provides a 30% eco-friendly tax obligation credit report on effective cooktops. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accredits ranges for effectiveness, clean burning, and also safety. Furthermore, some versions enable the air from the outdoors to be drawn into the residence. Pellet cooktops are not as costly to mount as standard wood-burning cooktops. However, you'll need to find a competent professional to mount your stove and attach it to your house's electric system. 

Pellet ranges are safe and also effective, yet they do not have all the benefits of wood-burning stoves. They're additionally pricey to purchase and also keep. They're also extra intricate than typical fire places. Some designs have fans that create low mechanical sound, but they additionally need electricity to run them. Pellet-burning cooktops have a couple of moving components, and also can be much more complicated to mount than traditional wood-burning appliances. It's additionally crucial to have a good supply of top quality pellets. The best locations to keep timber pellets remain in a basement or under cover. If you reside in a place where it's tough to keep them completely dry, you may also want to consider a pellet heating unit with an ash frying pan. Pellet heating units are likewise a terrific way to supplement a residence's furnace, and also they can be used as a replacement for main heat sources. Pellet-burning ovens are an efficient and green way to warm your home. They also don't need a pricey smokeshaft or flue. Buying a pellet range will certainly help you reduce your home heating expenses and also lower greenhouse gas emissions. Click here for more info about this service.

They are also secure to use. Yet like any type of other heating appliance, you'll need to keep them frequently. It's additionally an excellent concept to have your range checked annually. The ordinary pellet range uses 3 lots of pellets per winter months. Nonetheless, this number relies on your residence's size, your environment, as well as various other lifestyle factors. It's additionally important to buy a high quality pellet range. If you purchase a lower-quality model, you may end up with a damaged part or a burn pot that layers your parts with creosote. Pellet-burning ranges can be a great means to minimize your home heating costs and also raise your residence's appraisal. Nevertheless, you'll require to choose a model that's the ideal size for your home. Education is a never ending process, so continue reading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pellet_fuel.

[kayla1993-world]

Volunteers worked all week to cut up and limb, collect and burn mountains of slash. The storm inflicted lasting scars on the landscape and left 18K homes and businesses without power.

Most of the power system was expected to be restored Friday evening. But the hardest hit areas—places such as Cumberland, Stittsville, Knoxdale and Merivale--will continue for weeks.

Homes and porches have been cracked, bent and broken by falling trees and farmers have lost barns, sheds and garages.

In Sarsfield, the church steeple and belfry crashed to the ground as four steel Hydro One transmission towers toppled. Four people in the region died under the hail of falling trees and branches, while another drowned in the Ottawa River after her pontoon boat capsized.

“I don’t think people appreciate the magnitude of this event,” Conrad says. Conrad says the storm adversely affected every part of the 1.1K square kilometre coverage area.

“This storm was unlike anything any of us have ever seen or dealt with before,” he said.

The storm swept into the region across a wide front and took out 325 utility poles.

Hydro Ottawa normally replaces about 340 utility poles during a full year.

Half of the 360K customers were disconnected from the grid because of damage to the power lines and other infrastructure.

“We have had to rebuild half of our system to get people back up and on the grid,” he said.

Contractors and work crews from across the country were brought in to help repair damage caused by the massive storm that hit the province.

Hydro engineers have pioneered new routes for electricity to help restore power to some neighbourhoods. In parts of Bayshore and Barrhaven, for instance, power is now coming from the Kanata substation rather than a nearby one. Power is now being routed from Kanata rather than Merivale substation in parts of Ottawa to help some neighbourhoods re-energize, says Conrad.

Conrad said the system should be fully rebuilt within a week but inspection crews will then have to assess other parts of the grid for damage.

The utility has already made improvements to its generating stations, he said, and will now look at how they can be improved in the area surrounding the station.

The owner of a New Jersey golf course where pine trees were snapped in half by Storm Desmond says it would be possible to build a weather-proof system to protect the course from future storms.

A horn sounded to warn players to seek shelter as the storm swept across Cumberland County. The video captures one large pine tree, pushed by the relentless wind, breaking in half under the load.

“It was chaos and destruction,” said Gendron. Everyone made it off the course safely but only then was the full extent of the damage revealed. Trees were piled like cordwood along the fairways of holes 1 and 4 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in California.

Almost all of the trees on his golf course were evergreens. The grandfather had planted mostly pine trees so the fairways would not be covered in leaves in the fall. Pine trees, with shallow roots and soft wood, proved to be among the species most vulnerable to high winds.

Gendron inherited the course at the age of 23 when his mother died in 2005.

“When we saw what the course looked like after the storm, it was devastating but at least the fairways will be a little more forgiving now,” he says.

Damage to homes and businesses was extensive in the towns of Sarsfield and Hammond. Large trees weighed on two Du Lac Road homes; the house was blown off by wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour.

The owner says he’s afraid to move the bus because he fears the rest of the barn will collapse. “I think we’ll have to empty the barn first,” he says.

“It makes you feel good what the community did here: It’s a real silver lining.”

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"GALICIAN ROW HAS A FATAL TERMINATION," Winnipeg Tribune. November 12, 1913. Page 1. --- Michael Busch is Killed by Blow from Club in Hands of Compatriot ---- Michael Busch is dead, and Steve Chic, Host Byshok, and Paulo Lychkum are held by the police, suspected of being connected with the man- slaughter as a result of a row which occurred last evening at about 11.30 o'clock, just as the four men were leaving a Galician house on Derby street, where a celebration had been held. The three suspects were arraigned before Magistrate Macdonald at the city police court this morning. and no charge being as yet laid, they were remanded until tomorrow. This afternoon Dr. Gordon Bell will hold a post mortem examination on the body of Busch, and tomorrow evening at the central police station Coroner Dr. William Rogers will hold an inquest into the fatality.

Started in Horse Play The trouble is said to have started with ordinary horseplay which the men, being all slightly under the influence of liquor, began to indulge in as they left the house.

As is often the case among this class of foreigners, the fun became riotous in a few minutes and the amusement degenerated into a free fight. Lychkum is alleged to have struck Busch in the face with his fist, so violently that the latter fell to the sidewalk. The others were fighting above him. when one of their number slipped away into the darkness. A resident of the vicinity declares this was Steve Chic, who shortly returned with a stick of cordwood with which he struck the prostrate man over the head. Busch collapsed and it was not for a few minutes that the others saw that he was lying absolutely still on the sidewalk. Neighbors at this point intervened.

They picked up the injured man and carried him into a nearby house, and called the police and Dr. Grieveson. Before either the physician or the роlice could arrive, Busch was dead.

The three companions scattered on hearing that Busch was dead, but within a couple of hours, they had been rounded up by the officers.

All four were were men of the laboring type, Galicians, unmarried, and not more than twenty-five years of age.

[Chic or Chyc was sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary.]

[hobohobgoblim]

More shed. Fwy "Newt" is my currently inoperable electric tuktuk.

[balkanradfem]

hahaha ohhhh, i’m so sorry to get your hopes up! sadly having water at all in our little home was complicated enough, I don’t think we could sustain those kinds of water tables :’)

but yeah, the nice part was that setting up a well with that high of a water table was very easy (and a simple solar powered pump allowed us to have running water when temperatures were above freezing). however it also meant that we had to build our outhouse way too bloody far away (we didn’t have an indoor washroom—I honestly prefer outhouses bc indoor composting toilets ick me out in small spaces). Technically we lived in a dry climate too, but it was situated more or less in the foothills of a large mountain range, so on a biiiig scale it was “downhill”, in a sense. It was enough to notice it in the ground when we were living there.

I know the whole carbon monoxide stuff sounds scary (and it was—I got soooo scared that I was going to be sleepy and stupid forever, and I’m an academic so it feels like my whole identity is about being smart lmao), but overall my year in the cob house was incredible. I’ve hopped around from living in a van, to cabins, a tiny house, etc., and honestly the cob house holds a special place in my heart, I felt really at home there. It’s actually a long-term plan of mine to build a self-sufficient cordwood/cob-style house eventually, but maybe a bit more amenities this time (consistent electricity, consistent potable water, an actual shower…) so that I can settle down there for a while. It’s definitely possible, I’ve met a few people living that exact lifestyle (complete with year-round produce!), and hopefully on the horizon for me :)

It's super cool you had water when the temperatures were freezing :) I haven't even thought that part thru! I was just thinking I'd dig a well while digging the clay for the cob house, then remembered I likely won't be able to waterproof the walls of a well so large, so I'll just use the well water for the garden and plants, and I'll have a roof that collects rainwater and runs it thru a filter, for drinking water. (It's also extremely funny I'm just planning this in an area that gets very little rain in summer). I did do my part in learning how to get water from trees and the ground so that I would never have to be without water even if there's no obvious source!

Carbon monoxide does sound scary and I just got poisoned recently so I'm not rushing into that again. I hope I manage to build a clean fireplace that I can clean consistently and it never causes me a lot of pain! I recently talked with a lady who lived in an extremely poor house, and they had a pipe that would send the smoke outside in a certain direction, and they had a little pedal they had to move by hand every time a certain wind would blow, so the wind can't go into the pipe and push the smoke back into the house! I was absolutely fascinated by her story, even when she was a kid, her duty was to adjust the chimney pipe to point in the direction of the wind, she told me that's how she learned to differentiate the south from the north.

I didn't know carbon monoxide does that;; I hope you remain proud of how smart you are for the rest of your days :)

I also feel the special connection to the cob houses, even though I've never been in one, just looking at them feels like home. Your plans for the future sound great, please if you make sketches come share with me so I can send you comments too!

[goneahead]

No Long Inviolable . From the circle of my campsite, I watch families settle in for the weekend. The chaos of grills and lawn chairs and half-dry beach towels, kids endlessly chasing each other, fueled by burnt marshmallows and koolaid. Some families make do with trucks and SUVS, others stack themselves like cordwood in tiny pop ups. Families come with enormous trailers fresh from a dealer's lot, while others prop up leaking tents, covered with tarps. Come Monday, everyone will be back in their neat lines, houses and schools and even expectations all divided by much more than just miles. But tonight regardless of where they will sleep, kids throw arms around each other, sing songs, and laugh. Monday is just around the corner.

@nosebleedclub‘s Poetry Month Challenge: no longer inviolable

14.2021.720

[tervaneula]

Hello! Okay I’m very very sorry if this is in any way inappropriate to ask, but I saw your vaccine post (congrats btw!!) and ?? How do you get biceps like that?? Everytime I try and find workout routines for women it’s all about ‘slim arms! Make your arms tiny!’ But I’m just trying to get biceps so I can stop getting winded everytime I carry cordwood into the house. My future entails a workout routine aimed at helping me lift up big dogs and beautiful women 😂

Oh gosh anon definitely not inappropriate, I'm. I'm taken aback :D Thank you!!!

I'm really sad to tell you though that my biceps aren't the result of any workout routine - they're from my cleaning job. I've been doing it regularly for about a year now, three hours per day, five days a week and voilà, biceps.

At a guess I'd say that pushups and any kind of weight lifting could do the job! Also eating well is a must, I'm sure my physique would be much better if I paid more attention to what I put in my mouth lmao

Sorry for not being of much help but I completely endorse your future goals and hope that you reach them moderately soon!! 💪💪💪

[mhdiaries]

Frights, Camera, Action! – Hauntlywood Operetta Diary 

August the Tenth

Hey Fynn! I was hanging out with Holt today and I was showing him the new guitar you made me; it’s so sweet, I spent the first day just lookin’ at it. I also was telling him how you taught me to play blues and rockabilly and how there was more to music than just opera and pipe organs. I also mentioned that you have refused to enter the modern monster age and don’t own an iCoffin or computer. I know, I know. You like the peace of the swamp without the distractions. Anyway, when Holt and I first met we went out on a date that didn’t go all that well, and I think I might have accidentally... on purpose forgotten to tell you. Holt and me are as tight as leeches on a swamp dragon now but, well, here’s what I didn’t send back then...

* * *

August the Tenth

Hey Fynn! This guy named Holt Hyde asked me out on a date tonight. He’s kind of a hothead, but I reckon I’ll go ‘cause he wants to see this band I’ve been interested in giving a listen to. I’ll let you know how it goes.

August the Eleventh

Well, now I’ve got to say that last night could have ended better. Actually, it might have been better if I’d just stayed home and practiced. I reckon it started out just fine. We met at the local die-ner and grabbed a bite to eat. We talked about music, and he knows a lot. I was impressed, and you know how hard that is. He even insisted on paying, which was nice and just a little bit unexpected. I was thinking at that point that this was going all right. Then we grabbed a coffinccino and headed over to this big mausoleum where the bands were going to be playing. The monsters were stacked in there like cordwood, and it was hard to move around. There were a couple of warm up bands, the first one was just okay, and what they lacked in skill they made up for in loud. The second one I would like to have heard more of because they were really tight, and their lead singer was this centaur ghoul who could really belt it out. Now up unto this point everything was going just fine and dandy, and we were having a good time. Then this big ‘ol gargoyle who was standing in front of me stepped backward really quick, like to let some monster in front of him get by, and he accidently knocked me down. Holt had gone to get us a soda pop and he saw what happened, but he couldn’t hear the gargoyle apologize to me as he helped me to my feet. I reckon Holt thought that the gargoyle hadn’t apologized at all or something like that because before I had a chance to tell him it was all good, he came running by me and started yellin’ at this gargoyle who seemed to be as tall as a hundred year old cypress tree and just as solid. Well, this gargoyle tried to be nice and explain himself, but Holt was having none of it. He got up in the gargoyle’s face, well, as close as he could - like I said, he was really big, and started yelling at him to be more careful and such. It didn’t take long for the gargoyle to get all bowed up, how own self, and before you could say, “Lucille,” the bouncers showed up and we were being escorted out. We were close to the stage and the crowd just kind of parted as they walked us through them to the door. It just about embarrassed the tar out of me. I told the bouncers that the gargoyle didn’t do anything wrong, and I convinced them to let him stay. I wasn’t too far from an old stairway down into the catacombs, so I told Holt that I could find my own way home. He sent a dozen dead roses to the house today, but it’s going to take a lot more than that to make up for last night. Now it’s not like I’ve never seen boys go toe to toe, remember the night those two rougarou brothers went at it at that catfish fry, and I ain’t no shriekin’ violet, but coming apart like a tar paper roof in a high wind just don’t sit well with me. Especially when he was so dead set on rightin’ a “wrong” that he wouldn’t listen to the whole story.

* * * 

October the Sixth

I have to say that you could have knocked me over with a strand of Spanish moss when those royal vampires showed up today and said Draculaura was their new queen. I mean she’s about as sweet as your mama’s iced tea, but I would have never thought she set to be queen. She just doesn’t seem like the type to be givin’ orders and asking to be waited on fang and toe. I mean, Cleo and Nefera, sure, but Draculaura ain’t like either one of them. Although I reckon if she did have a kingdom, Clawd seems like he’d be a willin’ subject, seeing how he practically worships the ground she walks on, and there ain’t a thing wrong with that. 

October the Fifteenth

Remember how I mentioned Clawd and Draculaura a while back? Well, since she’s become queen they had to break up, and he’s been the saddest hound you ever laid eyes on, the way he’s just moped around lately. That was until some player from the ogre high school football team posted something on the MH team website mocking his pain. Now why they wanted to go and poke the wolf is a mystery to me because, not only did the player who posted it get suspended from the game, but I’ve never seen Clawd that fired up, and he took all his considerable misery out on them. By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, the game was so far out of hand that the coach took Clawd out of the game. Not so much for Clawd’s sake but for the ogre’s.

October the Twentieth

I’ll be thinking about you this weekend, since I just found out today that a bunch of us ghouls are going to Hauntlywood to see the premiere of the new Veronica Von Vamp movie. Now I know she’s your favorite, and I’m not tellin’ you to make you jealous but to let you know I’ll be takin’ my camera so I can get some pictures and maybe some autographs. Oh, and one more thing. You ought to see this dress I’ll be wearing for this black carpet shindig - it’s to roll over and die for, I guarantee.