Alina's Adventures

A song and a stitch: Day #10.

Sometimes I think all babies look like little old men. Especially Milla when she sleeps.

My 4.5 minute stitch-fest today is a tribute to the very young and the very old. Alike.

HE WILL CALL YOU BABY by The Cowboy Junkies

15, 7, and other significant numbers.

Muchos gracias to Happy Whimsical Hearts for adding me to her list of 15 and giving me the opportunity to tip my hat to 15 other inspiring blogs.

The Rules of the Game

• Thank the person that nominated you with a link back to them.
• Tell 7 things about yourself.
• Pass this award on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know that they've received an award.

Seven Things About Alina

1. I was born in Romania and raised in Alabama. I come from the breed known as "globalized mutt".
2. I am a hopeful (as opposed to hopeless) romantic.
3. Rather than be an expert at anything in particular, I have chosen to be a dabbler and a dilettante who keeps her fingers in as many pies as possible and maintains a hearty appetite for more.
4. Just because you scare or coerce your child into proper conventional behavior does not make you a good parent. "Goodness" is a process, a mode of being, not a result.
5. I am captivated by different countries, cultures, and folkways.
6. Poetry fills the cracks in my days.
7. No one could have told me that my feminism would lead me to being a home-schooling, stay-at-home mom. But it did. I am still learning so many things...

Now for my favorite part...

Fifteen Newly Discovered Blogs (in no particular order):

1. Resweater
2. Passengers On A Little Spaceship
3. Mommy Labs
4. Chalk in My Pocket
5. Smile Monsters
6. Sew4Bub
7. My Delicious Ambiguity
8. Filth Wizardry
9. Domestic Goddesque
10. Baby-making Machine
11. Teaching Handwork
12. The Lucky Ladybird Craft Blog
13. Echoes Of A Dream
14. The Dainty Squid
15. A Merry Mishap

Robot play circa 1962: Start a space band.

Vintage children's magazines massage my imagination to new levels of play. Pack-O-Fun, once known as "the only scrap-craft magazine", is a personal favorite, though the current issues just don't compare to the vintage ones.

There's nothing quite like robot games from the 1960's- those days before we imagined that little vaccuum cleaners would be robots in our homes.

The source for the robot space band image.

After you've created your instruments and cardboard box costumes, you can act out a skit.

Robot band party in the works this week.

Exploring shapes and form in art.

So much of art depends on form- and many misinterpretations originate in an under-appreciation of this critical component to vision and method. Max, Micah, and I delved into forms and shapes today.

Our palette included an old watercolor set in which the colors have been dulled by mixing and blending- it suited our purposes just fine. On our exploration of form and shapes in art, we focused on learning to differentiate between three types of form- organic, geometric, or free form.

Organic forms typically are irregular in outline, and often asymmetrical. Organic forms are most often thought of as naturally occurring. Examples include traditional still-lifes, portraits, and scenes. 

Max's used organic forms to draw and paint his sheep.

Geometric forms are those which correspond to named regular shapes, such as squares, rectangles, circles, cubes, spheres, cones, and other regular forms. Architecture is usually composed of geometric forms. These forms are most often thought of as constructed or made.

Max's use of paint is not as geometric as the underlying drawing, but that is partly because I forgot to mention his example should not offer a "fusion" of different forms.

Max loved learning about geometric form because I showed him how to make three-dimensional shapes, which blew his mind. He spent the next hour or so after we finished our painting just drawing various 3D shapes in his notebook and naming them. 

Free forms are those which do not correspond to any geometric or organic forms. Most free form art is fairly abstract- its goal is not to represent an object, per se. Wassily Kandinsky's work is a great example of free form art in that it combines geometric shapes with irregular shapes and lines.

Max's free form example was named "Amoebas in the Darkness".

For more fun with art and kids, try this.

Milla and her stache.

A song and a stitch: Day #9.

Inspiration: A poem by Christina Rossetti and a book about Jacques Cousteau.

WHEN FISHES SET UMBRELLAS UP

         by Christina Rosetti

When fishes set umbrellas up

    If the rain-drops run,

Lizards will want parasols

    To shade them from the sun.

 

BLUE UMBRELLA by John Prine

Love letter #39: Happy Whimsical Hearts.

I love all the wonder and whimsy in the blogosphere. And I love all the bloggers who sprinkle sparkles that brighten wet, cold autumn afternoons, like Happy Whimsical Hearts. Her love for Anne of Green Gables peeks out on every post.

As an Australian mom to Master D and Little Miss Q, Happy Whimsical Hearts aims "to fill their childhood with magic, through imaginative play, homemade toys, the great outdoors (or our backyard), crafts and baking". Her inspirations in the blogosphere include "Waldorf, natural parenting, arts and crafts for children and adults alike, as well as simple living".

Now for how she inspires me:

 Felted pixies and Christmas fairies

Gnomes and fairy doors

Stained glass with kids 

A recipe for fairy wands

Beeswax "echidnas"

Flower peg people

Bottom print butterflies

Knitted bunny for kids

And here is my little inspiration thank-you for her.

A whimsical cross.

This is what happens when Alina draws a lopsided cross onto wood, Patrick cuts it from the wood, Max sands it, and then Alina paints it on a whim. A cross is a symbol of suffering, freedom, and beauty to me, though I'm not so sure about this one.

Manfish: A book and art.

Inspired by a browse session through a photo album of Grandma Vicki's underwater scuba-diving adventures with Bill, we decided to read about Jacques Cousteau, another great underwater adventurer.

Cousteau used the word “manfish” to describe the creature he became when swimming underwater. As co-inventor of the Aqua-lung, which allowed divers to carry their own air, Cousteau freed divers from the limits of air hoses and lead boots. 

Jennifer Berne's beautiful book, Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau, is the stuff of dreams. All three munchkins were captivated by the illustrations.

Cousteau would dream that he could fly like a bird with wings outstretched.

He would spend his days experimenting and creating. He was fascinated by machines and blueprints; he loved to draw and design his own mechanical creations.

We stopped midway through the book because Cousteau often painted a moustache on his face when engaging in imaginary games, theatre, and film-making. So, of course, we made like Cousteau and got moustached.

At the end of the book, Cousteau finds his beautiful underwater world being destroyed by waste and pollution. His concern for the natural ocean ecosystems led him to begin making films to document the changes- films which he would share with landlubbers across the world. 

Since ecosystems proved so important to Cousteau, all three munchkins joined together to color an ocean ecosystem based on a coral reef. It was lovely to see them all working together and fighting over colors and territories. Max took time to make a list of all the flora and fauna in the picture and then sought to identify them and figure out where this coral reef would be located based on the flora and fauna present. And coloring with moustaches is highly recommended. 

The work in progress.

Love letter #38: The fine art of play.

Newspaper play structures (Frugal Family Fun Blog).

Play with silk online.

DIY bubbles and bubble wand (Classic Play).

Let them draw on their blocks (lilla a).

Create and paint from photos (psykopaint).

Make paper models of polyhedra.

Make like a knight and play games (Family Fun).

Get your hands into some land art (Mommy Labs).

And then of course there is my running list of ways to play play play all day.

A song and a stitch: Day #8.

Max drew a "crystal mining car carrying golden crystals" on fabric for me to stitch. Little eyes are so forgiving- he loved it so much I added it to a throw pillow sham for his bed. A coal for a little shepherd it shall be.

SHEPHERD'S DOINA from the album, Romania: The Romanian Lautari

Tiny parcels.

A little surprise for you crafters.

An imaginary conversation between Matt and Sarah.

These photos are from their visit for Patrick's birthday- we wish we had time to see them this weekend and celebrate Sarah, but Atlanta visits are always a whir. Anyway, I stumbled across the photos and thought they looked like a conversation, though I can't imagine the content and therefore leave it to them to fill in the gaps.

(Mysterious caption 1.)

(Mysterious caption 2.)

(Mysterious caption 3.)

Alabama, Auburn, and Max.

The Alabama football fever has Max tight in its grip these days. He made quite a ruckus over how Alabama thoroughly creamed Auburn this past weekend, and Patrick said he was quite the theorist (with a tendency towards fatalism) at the Arkansas game.

Given my limited knowledge of football and barely-breathing interest in the sport itself, I am glad that Max is surrounded by a wild community of willing lecturers on everything from football rules to Bear Bryant's favorite game-day breakfast.

Max shows off his teeth at the 2011 Alabama v. Arkansas game here in Tuscaloosa.

A song and a stitch: Day #7.

The neverending sinus infection and the stitches that did not go as planned. I promised myself I would share my stitching "mishaps" as well as my happy endings. So here is a mishap. Blaming it on the rain...

DIE ANOTHER DAY (James Bond Theme) by Madonna

 

Thanksgiving in Atlanta.

Whenever we come to Atlanta, there is so much going on that we never get the photos we wish we had taken of a house overflowing with munchkins and family members.

Suebee and the ladies in the dresses she bought for them.

Micah with her pigtails from Aunt Mallory.

A song and a stitch: Day #6.

Early morning flowers that remind me of the flower crown I wore at my wedding.

MARRY SONG by Band of Horses

5 am and hitting the road.

For a quick trip to Atlanta to spend time with our big ole family. Excitement is the name of the game.

The camellia currently in bloom near our front door.

The cardboard castlemacher dance.

Don't ask. 

Just dance.

Break it down.

Whatever "it" is.

Not shopping today. But if you are...

Instead, I am enjoying watching my "little sister" (she loves it when I call her that) reading on our lawn as Milla masters the plasma car, Max stacks firewood, Micah runs from tree to tree, and Patrick assembles the Shop Vac. But if I were the kind of person that enjoys retail shopping, that can actually bring herself to fork out money for expensive products made in China, then I might be interested in these....

Embroidered Penguin Classics

Imagined Iris dinner plate, from the September 2011 Anthropologie catalog shot in Romanian villages, evident in the textiles.

Bankfield wool cape by Aubin and Willis

Gee, that's all the online shop-browsing I can muster. When did shopping anywhere except thrift stores or garage sales become such a heavy boring to me? It's like waking up one morning to find a large gap between your teeth (which you always secretly wanted) and no way to explain how it got there and why it persists.

Sewing with silk threads.

The happy spider's stitch.

A song and a stitch: Day 5.

Max discovered yesterday that "buttons make good wheels". So today's stitch was for him. Wheels, Joe le Taxi, linen, and sturdy engineering.

ARKANASAS TRAVELLER by Wayne Henderson (mp3)

 

Milla at the airport quilt?

I love this photo of the little pigeon- the colors almost suggest a quilt pattern to me. Maybe I need more coffee...

The perfect cardboard dollhouse I will build tomorrow.

Thank you, El Hada De Papel, for planning my day for me and making it such a lovely, enticing plan...

The science of human hearts.

Milla peeking, taken by Constantino.

"I saw one day... that science can say so much about things, objects, books, or people, but by its very method, by its own definition, by its own self-imposed limitation, the scientific method can only utter a statement about a single object, a glass or a frog or a dogfish- or a man- only insofar as it resembles other things of its kind. If you want to make general statements- which scientists recognize; that's the nature of science, insofar as one dogfish resembles another dogfish- that is what science is interested in- making general statements about certain kinds of things and certain kinds of responses and reactions and changes. Well, I suddenly realized that when you apply this to man, you stop short at the very point where it matters to man. Science can say everything about a man except what he is in himself."

Walker Percy, explaining why he decided to pursue a career of fiction writing after completing medical school. From an interview conducted by John Carr at Percy's home in Covington, January 1970.

Playing with pebbles.

Milla and Micah cannot resist the siren call of pebbles. Almost every time the dryer runs, it must be stopped and frisked until the offending pebbles are discovered and removed. I find pebbles in pockets, pebbles in cups, pebbles near the toilet in the bathroom, pebbles on the bookshelves, pebbles between the seats in the car, pebbles, pebbles, pebbles.

This afternoon, it was pebbles of course. See where the ladies found to keep the latest collection of pebbles?

A song and a stitch: Day 4.

So many thanks, the best thing to brim over and splash the person next to you. And a warm sun whose affection made our walks cozy. Not more than 10 minutes for stitches, so sunshine yellow and surfboards it had to be.

YOU MAKE THE SUN FRY by Ty Seagull

If you'd like to join me in my stitching adventure, just look in the sidebar, add a badge, a link, and your own pizzazz.

 

Experiment with infrared in fall leaves.

Today we talked about the colors of fall leaves. Why do leaves turn from green to red, yellow, and orange? Micah thinks it is because "they are going old and their hair is getting older colored too." 

While this is a great image, it is not "scientifically correct". Since fall and winter days grow shorter, there is not enough light or water (via dew) for photosynthesis to occur. So trees will shut down their food-making factories and rest, living off the food they stored during the summer.

The green chlorophyll disappears from the leaves, revealing yellow and orange colors. Small amounts of these colors have been in the leaves all along. We don't see them during the summer because they are covered up by the green chlorophyll.

The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in the fall. In some trees, like those amazing red maples lining the streets, glucose is trapped in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn cause the leaves turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees like oaks is made from waste left in the leaves.

Out of curiosity, we decided to explore how much thermal action was continuing in the autumn leaves.

THERMAL FALL LEAVES EXPERIMENT

You will need:

• A computer
• A Google+ account (it's free)
• A digital camera
• 5 fall leaves
• Handout On Electromagnetic Spectrum and Infrared Light (right click to download)
• Time to piddle around

For our experiment, we collected 5 different colored leaves from various trees.

Then we used my old-school iPhone to take photos of each leaf in the same location (to keep from introducting new variables).

After uploading the photos to the laptop, we used the Creative Kit photo editing software in Google to test various "effects" on the leaves. To do this, open the photo using Creative Kit by pressing the "Edit" button under the photo in the Google+ album display.

When the photo is opened, look at the top bar and click on the "Effects" button. Scroll down the various effects until you get to "Heat Map 2.0". Click on it. Use the style tab to play with "Thermal" and "Infrared" effects on each leaf. Save new copies of your infrared and thermal photos. 

For use in temperature measurement, the brightest (warmest) parts of the image are customarily colored white, intermediate temperatures reds and yellows, and the dimmest (coolest) parts blue.

We compared the infrared effect with the thermal effect and noted that the brown leaf was "cooler" than the red leaf on infrared.

The thermal effect seemed to reveal the concentrations of sunlight and shadow in the actual composition of the photo than anything else. We decided to re-photo everything just using the infrared effect and compare natural leaf color with infrared effect leaf color. As always, our experiment is to be continued.

Thanksgiving for immigrants.

This video was filmed from my mother's kitchen at the crack of dawn without the benefit of coffee or extended sleep for Tino. We're lucky to have Tino with us on this Thanksgiving so we can remember the original American experience- the experience of being an immigrant, coming to a new land, becoming part of a multicultural nation. 

For some of us, it happened to our parents or grandparents- we've only know it as a distant story, a narrative the older folks repeat and the younger ones ignore. We feel that being born here entitles us to greatness which we have neither earned nor deserved. And we frown on those struggling to begin a life here in the US amid the squalor of strict immigration quotas and a law that punishes, rather than protects, human life and dignity. 

For me, I was brought to the US at the tender age of 3 and moved from "illegal alien" to "legal alien" and finally "naturalized" (oh the "immigration" language still disgusts me) at the age of 13. For most Americans, that means I am allowed to celebrate Thanksgiving. I am grateful for that.

As you sit down to feast with family and friends today, remember that the humility of gratitude assumes that you are not deserving or worthy of the blessings and good fortune in your life. Humility is the core of gratitude. You don't deserve your family, your feast, your health, your hair, or even your life. 

When you find yourself thinking that the thing which really bothers you about illegal immigrants is that they are breaking the law, remind yourself of how many times you have broken the law. How many times you've climbed into a car to drive after drinking two beers (hey, that's the law). How many times, how many ways. Be honest- it's not your respect and love for legality but rather the failure of empathy and courage to take priority in your heart and mind that makes it easy to think all those immigrants should just go back to where they came from.

Then remember American history. Then remember how many times good people broke "the law" which maintained segregation and slavery in our history. Remember how conscientious objectors helped preserve religious freedom and honor the moral decision of others to refuse to kill. So much of what you love, so much of the freedom you live in this country, is a gift from those who broke unjust laws.

Imagine how pathetic our United States would be if we were forced by law to kill whenever the politicians in DC deemed it necessary. If women still could not vote (as originally envisioned in our land of free). If individuals were still held as property, as slaves, on the basis of their skin color. Maybe our America is as good and fine and free as those individuals who spoke truth to power and willingly stood for a freedom extended to all people, as opposed to the "deserving" few. 

So here's a thanks to our forefathers- not the dudes on the dollar bills- the real Americans who fought to turn another unfree country into the freer one we inhabit today. And here's a thanks to all the immigrants still struggling and trying and demonstrating to remind us that freedom is bigger than our landscaping projects and DVR setups. And the biggest thanks of all to Christ, who breaks our hearts and allows us to see all the fossils of hate, all the hardened self-righteousness, all the logic and rationalizations, which keep his Spirit far from our hearts.

Beginning with thanks.

I love it that my friends feed my soul. Mary offhandedly mentioned that stuffing your face is not really the best way to give thanks, and that comment stayed with me yesterday. It even followed me into bed.

I think of Thanksgiving as that day when everything revolves around cooking and eating and eating so much that you can't move. Oh, and football. My associations and traditions revolve around feasting with a little prayer just thrown in before we begin the buffet.

How can I raise my children in such a way that their associations of Thanksgiving actually revolve around gratitude as opposed to menus? How can the traditions of Thanksgiving revolve around thanks in our family? What if we started the day with thanks? Better yet, what if we started a list every Thanksgiving, an ongoing list to update throughout the year, mentioning all the things for which we are thankful? 

There are more reasons for gratitude than our little list can bear, but this is the excuse we give for not making such lists. The heart of Thanksgiving is the thanks. Here are ours... both little and large.

Our ongoing list of abundant thanks.

A song and a stitch: Day 3.

KNOXVILLE GIRL by The Louvin Brothers

A song and a stitch continues today with Ellie's dog, which he so kindly drew on fabric for me last week. I'm not sure what to name him, but he seems like a friendly old soul, stitched by the dim light of Demetri Martin's chansons and jests.

The goozly grandydoy who lives on Golozonk.

The Terrateeth and wind holes on Golozonk.

Max's response to dr. haase's wondering:

This is a Goozly Grandydoy who lives on Golozonk. Now Golozonk is a huge planet. Once a year, it comes alive and volcanoes make it a fiery circle of vapors. Then, huge Terrateeth gnaw the rock apart. The Goozly Grandydoy jumps on the Terrateeth and waits until the new igneous rock cools. Then, it jumps off the Terrateeth. They sink and form wind holes to suck in Goozly Grandydoys. This Goozly Grandydoy is the last one remaining. I'm hoping he figures something out.

Altered for Whimsical Wednesday.

A gnome dream.

Sometimes a little eeriness, a little stain, a little sepia, is comforting. I hope I'm not breaking any rules by adding altered art (as opposed to original illustrations or sketches) to Whimsical Wednesday.

On this day, our family gnome took a trip to the park with us and my dad laid back in the grass, allowing the glory of his cold beer and daydreams to make the best of him. What worms through a 68-year-old man's head when he lays back in the grass with Gilgamesh the Gnome close enough to coddle? What sets him so free? Is he remembering being present at the fairy and gnome feast? 

A quiet peek inside a Romanian museum guide.

Playing with ink blots.

The beautiful flower with wrinkles.

This is a little late-night playdate between myself and the women's magazines that stain the grocery store check-out aisles. Really, ladies, what would the flowers say?

Fall scavenger hunt turns into an excuse for poetry.

Milla noting changes in the bark? Or not....

Earlier this week, everything seemed to be falling from trees, changing colors, or acquiring a new, autumn-laden scent. So I thought it might be fun to go out and explore all the changes in the natural world- to take note of them, collect them, and reflect upon them.

I put together a printable scavenger hunt handout (which you can download and use below) and set Max loose in search of collectibles. Then, once he and his friend Ellie returned with a bag full of autumn loot, we ventured outside to fulfill the "experience" part of the scavenger hunt.

The Autumn Scavenger Hunt Handout

Max and Micah needed a little prompting to "experience" a few of the items on the list, but once the experiences started, they found all kinds of words and analogies to describe them. The comparisons just kept coming.

The texture of tree bark was "rough", "scaly", "like a dragon's skin", "rocky", and "lumpy-like".

The sound of shoes on the pavement was "flat", "thuddish", "like a horse running", "thumping", "hollow", and even "like a kangaroo". 

The scent of dried leaves evoked "wet cardboard", "snails", "underground tunnels", and "our hideout under the magnolia". 

The feel of pine needles on their cheeks "tickled", "itched", "worrisome, like ants", and even reminded Max of how his pen feels when he taps his cheek with it while looking for a word.

All these fall feelings couldn't quite fit into the rest of the day without a poem- and observing the way in which autumn stimulates the senses proved inspirational for Max. So he grabbed a pencil and some paper and wrote the following fall poems as a result of our scavenger hunt.

POEM FOR FALL #1

    by Max Coryell

Fall air, fall breeze,
Blow, blow again, please.
Rough, scaly, lumpy are the trees.
Don't die, don't, please.
Leaves on your cheek like to tease,
Fall down, fall, oh please.

POEM FOR FALL #2

    by Max Coryell

Tickly, cool, rough,
Crunchy, sweet, lovely,
That is fall.
Fall breeze blows leaves,
Cooling trees and making
    a scene.

I would love to see if any other poems come from the glorious change of seasons- your poems, the poems of your children.

A song and a stitch: Day 2.

Yesterday, I started my venture into posting a song and a stitch every day for 30 days. Today, on day 2, the virtues of self-discipline are beginning to pay dividends- starting and finishing my original stitch creation took much less time and prompting than yesterday.

If you'd like to join the fun, just copy this button and add it to your blog. You can link back to this post or just link to your first song and stitch post. Promise to let me know so I can enjoy your songs and stitches as well.

All these stitches will be used in the handmade holiday gifts I am currently creating- such a special addition to any cloth towel, dress, bag, or sewn object. It feels wonderful to know that they will be piling up in my little basket for the next month.

Enough "jibber-jabber", as Max would say. My song and stitch today grew from a tiny sparkling bead that resembled a rain drop plus bright green thread and a little longing for spring now that the days darken so quickly. I drew a three lines and then a little splay of dots at the end of each line. Thread and beads turned lines into a sprig.

And somewhere in the background....

DUET FOR GUITARS #3 by M. Ward

Journal prompt about ways of knowing.

What ever happened to the Wankel engine?

At a meeting with fellow community-garden oriented neighbors, we met a really neat gentleman who filled our imaginations with all sorts of interesting things. From a high-tech neighborhood of underground homes in North Texas to rotating watering schedules, we were transfixed. But the really remarkable bit of information was the mystery of the Wankel engine. What ever happened to this engine which promised to make the use of hydrocarbon fuels more efficient over 50 years ago? Why don't we use it in cars today? "School" today consisted in our efforts to solve the mystery of the Wankel engine.

First we needed to know more about the kind of engines we use today. We reviewed the six types of simple machines to get a sense of context for our mechanics exploration. (Little "Millers", as Tino calls her, conducted her own exploration of the inclined plane, a simple machine, by running up and down our garage ramp.)  

Then, I asked him to create a sheet of paper that explains the four-stroke engine to someone like me- someone who doesn't know much about mechanics or engineering. His simple description (accompanied by a Max sketch):

Split-second timing is essential for smooth running in a car engine. This is achieved by a car engine's cams and cranks together. As pistons move up and down, they drive the wheels. But, through a chain link, they also drive the cams. As the cams move, they open and close the valves. They do this in step to the four-stroke cycle.

The process involved in the two-stroke engine is internal combustion. But there is another internal combustion engine that could be used in cars. The Wankel engine, also known as a rotary engine, was envisioned and developed by Felix Wankel. We watched a 2-minute video showing how Wankel engines work. How does internal combustion work differently in the two engines? We found a good answer here:

In a piston engine, the same volume of space (the cylinder) alternately does four different jobs -- intake, compression, combustion and exhaust. A rotary engine does these sam­e four jobs, but each one happens in its own part of the housing. It's kind of like having a dedicated cylinder for each of the four jobs, with the piston moving continually from one to the next.

Of course I can't really "see" this in my mind without a sketch. Thankfully, Max is the consummate sketcher. 

Max's comparison of internal combustion engines.

ACTIVITY

Fold a sheet of paper in half. Then draw a piston engine on one half and a rotary engine on the other half. For assistance in sketching, you can refer to this piston engine diagram or this rotary engine diagram. Now create a key using crayons or markers. Use yellow to designate "intake", orange to designate "compression", purple to designate "combustion", and green to designate "exhaust". Draw little dots or shade the corresponding parts of each engine according to this key.

Love letter #37: Natural building techniques.

An adobe brick house being constructed in the Vrancean region of Romania.

ADOBE - Adobe is one of the oldest building materials in use. It is basically just dirt that has been moistened with water, sometimes with chopped straw or other fibers added for strength, and then allowed to dry in the desired shape.

• Rimjournal features an adobe mudhouse.
• Tips on building an adobe house.
• Adobe houses explained at Earth Homes Now.
• Using mesh wire to retrofit Peruvian adobe homes to withstand seismic shifts.

Image plundered from here.

EARTHSHIPS - The basic earthship design incorporates substantially bermed, passive solar architecture. The primary retaining walls are constructed with used tires, filled with earth and stacked up like bricks. 

• Kirst's amazing "Earthships", off-the-grid, autonomous entities that involve cool uses for old rubber tires. 
• Learn how to build your own at Earthship Biotecture. 
• Oscar and Lisa's earthship in progress.
• Earthship Landing in Durango, Colorado.
• "One man's trash, another man's earthship," a great piece on PBS.

STRAW BALES- Straw bale construction makes use of straw bales to build load bearing, or infill walls in framed structures. It boasts a very high insulation value (R-35-40).

• Home Grown Home for homes built from straw bales.
• The Last Straw, an international journal.
• Envision your own with Straw Bale House Plans. 
• Visit a straw cottage in Laveen, Arizona. 
• Learn more about straw bale construction. 
• Enjoy the step-by-step at Our Straw Bale.
• 50 bale house plans.
• California Straw Building Association with a plethora of pictures.
• So much to see at Surfin' Strawbale.
• A House of Straw.
• Straw Bale Central.
• Builders Without Borders' plan for strawbale relief homes in Haiti.

Image from Earth Homes Now.

EARTH SHELTERED HOMES- Earth sheltered homes or earth bermed homes use the earth surrounding the home as insulation, helping to provide ambient and constant temperatures in the building. The method involves piling earth around the external walls of the building so that the earth provides protection from the elements and saves energy for the owner.

• Earth Architecture for a variety of homes built from soil.
• Ungerground Homes has it all.
• Meet the guru of underground building, Malcolm Wells.
• Explore the Stockton Earth Home Project.
• Hearts for Under the Holly Bush.
• Or browse the commercial Earth Sheltered Homes.
• Earth berm homes explained.
• Cave homes take the paleo trends to a whole other level.
• The Underground Carpenter maintains a lovely blog.
• Underground Homes designed by an Ohio architect.

EARTHBAGS - Building with earthbags (sometimes called sandbags) is both old and new. Sandbags have long been used, particularly by the military for creating strong, protective barriers, or for flood control. 

• Natural Homes offers, among other things, a great slide show on earthbag homes, which are made of superadobe. 
• Earth Bag House Plans.
• Get into details with the Earth Bag Building Blog.
• Imagine life in an earthbag house with All You Need Is Mud.
• More earthbag homes to fuel the imagination.
• Explore life in an earthbag dome with Halcyon Times.

Image borrowed from Treehugger.

RAMMED EARTH -  Ramming earth to create walls is at least as old as the Great Wall of China. It is really quite similar to adobe and cob techniques, in that the soil is mostly clay and sand. The difference is that the material is compressed or tamped into place. 

• The Rammed Earth Blog offers an introduction. 
• Historic Rammed Earth takes you through the visual history.
• Rammed Earth Works, a source for expertise.
• Apparently, Rammed Earth Is For Everyone.
• DIY Rammed Earth blog.
• "How to build a rammed earth house", an article from Mother Earth News.
• "The Dirt on Rammed Earth", an article in Treehugger.

COB - Cob is a very old method of building with earth and straw or other fibers. It is quite similar to adobe in that the basic mix of clay and sand is the same, but it usually has a higher percentage of long straw fibers mixed in. 

• The mecca is I Love Cob. 
• Cob Projects has everything plus people.
• Details about plastering walls with mud.
• Bart Santello's Cob Studio.
• The Year of Mud's cob house.
• A cob bench in progress.
• Build Something Beautiful indeed.
• And then there is the cob that Clare built, which is somewhere among all her spectacular creations.

A Bulgarian clay house. More here.

CLAY AND PLASTERS- Eco-friendly clay houses are produces using wet clay bricks which are shaped and dried in order to harden. The drying process is crucial because it is responsible for the strength of the home. Particles in the clay fuse and develop extremely tight ceramic bonds which are almost inseparable. Materials such clay, sand, lime and straw are also combined with natural binders to create breathable, non-toxic finishes.

• The stunning Canelo Project.
• German clay techniques for alternative building.
• A few ins and outs on clay houses.
• Build an earth oven using clay.

Image source.

LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE-  Lightweight concrete may be made by using lightweight aggregates, or by the use of foaming agents, such as aluminum powder, which generates gas while the concrete is still plastic. Natural lightweight aggregates include pumice, scoria, volcanic cinders, tuff, and diatomite.

• Description of different types of lightweight concrete and how they are used.
• A more detailed description of these types.
• A pumicecrete block home near Alberquerque.
• Karen's house is made from pumicecrete.
• The Schundler Company distributes perlite and vermiculite concrete.
• How rice husk ash is involved in the creation of lightweight concrete.
• Steve Korhner's Flying Concrete showcases his structural and sculptural foamwork with lightweight concrete.

A wattle and daub bush farmers homestead in South Australia circa 1900.

WATTLE AND DAUB- Earthbuilding technique which utilizes a woven frame as a form onto which earth plaster is applied. Probably the most ancient of earthbuilding methods.

• The history of wattle and daub homesteading in Australia.
• Build a whattle and daub house.
• The Fox Maple School features workshops and resources on wattle and daub building.
• Wattle and daub teaching materials from the Open Air Classroom. (It's a pretty big PDF file.)
• Learn about wattle and daub Indian houses.

A papercrete garden shed borrowed from this website.

PAPERCRETE - Papercrete is basically re-pulped paper fiber with portland cement or clay and/or other dirt added. Papercrete has been used as a plaster over straw bales, and it has worked out well. It is a form of "lightweight concrete" which deserves its own little section.

• Judith's adventure inspires and persistence inspires. 
• Halcyon Times teaches you how to make papercrete. By example, of course.
• Interesting details about papercrete, including how it seems to withstand earthquakes.
• Papercrete houses in New Mexico.
• Inspiring sculptures and beautiful papercrete creations.

Image source.

LIVING ROOFS- Also called green roofs. A living roof is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. 

• For a thorough education in this type of roofing, visit The Green Roof Centre.
• Greenroofs is the industry resource portal for those making greenbacks from green roofs.
• 20 crazy creative amazing green roofs.
• Instuctables features a how-to for adding a living roof to your earthbag dome.

A country house with a thatch roof in Germany. More here.

THATCH- Thatch is a roofing technique where reeds, grasses or palm fronds are attached to a framework to create insulative, protective coverings. It is sometimes used for walls and other parts of buildings as well.

• Everything under the thatching sun at Thatch UK.
• An insightful PDF on "Care of Thatch".
• I lost an hour or so at the Guild of Straw Craftsmen, which includes various straw crafts in addition to thatch.
• The National Council of Master Thatchers provides links to those on the ground.
• Irish Thatch Owners.
• Thatchers Association of South Africa.
• DIY thatch doll house.

A song and a stitch: 30 days of original stitchings and songs.

For the next thirty days, I will post an original daily stitch emerging from my new experiments with threads, fabrics, and designs accompanied by an mp3 tune which speaks that stitch to me somehow. This is partly selfish- a little shove to help me finish all my handmade holiday gifts before the turn of the next century.

The first day brings a combination of experiments with the Romanian couching stitch and freeform improvisational play.

Navy blue linen and crawling, curly threads like the little hairs which escape the ponytail and hide out in little crevices around the nape.

THAT'S THE WAY by Led Zeppelin

Looking good at 69.

My parents look better in their 60's than I look in my 30's. Check out this righteous old sailor and tell me he doesn't look handsome.

I love seeing dad with a beard because he always had one when I was growing up. The tickle of whiskered kisses is a fond childhood memory.

And then there is my mom, whose skin is still as radiant as if she just jumped out of a flower patch. I love my beautiful parents. Not because they are beautiful but because they are mine.

A letter from the Transylvania crew.

My dad on his 69th birthday somewhere out at sea.

My dad and his crew are safely docked in the Bahamas after their recent sailing race from Baltimore to the Bahamas. The captain himself sent the following message summing his trip:

Friday morning at 0700 hours Transylvania crossed the finish line just west on the Powell Channel entrance to the Bahamas. It was grueling, as the winds were mostly 20-25 knots at the beginning and end of the race. This kind of winds are typically not a problem, unless you get them from the back. Under this scenario, the following seas impose three different types of movement on the boat and life aboard becomes a trifle harder. All six of us collected some bruises. Our autopilot failed during the second night and we had to continue hand stirring for the other five days. This added considerably to the fatigue of the crew, and the three sailors (Jerry, Kevin and I) had to train the ladies (Pamela, Mary-Etta and Martha). The hardest part of the trip were the last 12 hours. As we were approaching the finish line and th entrance channel, I had to forego sleep because my navigation skills were needed. That was also the most dangerous part. The entrance to Bahamas can be dangerous. A phenomenon known as RAGE can occur under the wrong combination of winds and currents. Last year, in the same rally, a boat ended on the reef while attempting entrance at night. The boat and one crew member were lost. We got through without trouble. We finished on 4th place. I am happy with this result, as my experience in ocean racing is minimal, and Transylvania is a heavy displacement boat, not a racing one. My birthday on Nov 15 was at sea, and was spent stirring and working the sails with only one glass of wine. However, the evening of the arrival the organizers had a big party for us, which became my party. The feeling of camaraderie from the other sailors was overwhelming. Two of the boats arriving after us had rigging failures because of the rough weather. I am still in the Bahamas and plan to return to the US Tuesday.

With all my love,  

Capt. Doru Stefanescu Aboard the Sailing/Vessel Transylvania, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas

A sign from the Sundowner Bar, where my dad and his crew stopped for a drink. Or two.

The Alabama Shakes at well, that's cool.

Alabama shakes in their wake. You can download their EP for four itty bitty dollars right here. Or you can pretend that bag of chips and that water your bought at the gas station is a worthwhile tradeoff.

Their recent show in Tuscaloosa left lots of tongues wagging about "the next big thing". And NPR's World Cafe seems to agree. Is it strange to say that there is some sweetened Jimi Hendrix feel to their sound? Sample a few tracks at Reverbnation. And don't say nobody warned you.

"The Watchers", a poem by Helen Blackshear.

Helen Blackshear served as Alabama poet laureate for almost a decade, her nimble voice lacing scraps of history together with the threads of lost sunsets. In "Heritage", she encourages us to embrace the living history in our midst- "To listening ears old things have tales to tell."

In "The Watchers", she mourns the exodus of little eyes from the world as she knew it. A darker poem, to be sure, but well-lit.

THE WATCHERS

Are we becoming like the dinosaurs,

Those of us who fell in love with words,

Subject to uncomprehending stares

From vacant eyes of video-conscious herds?

 

What magic will these modern children know

Who never rode the wind with Dorothy

Or sailed the pirate seas in Westward Ho,

Who greet the Brothers Grimm with apathy?

 

They sit within their darkened rooms and glue

Their eyes upon a flickering TV screen.

Heedless of sun and sky they laugh on cue,

Guided by prompting from the laugh machine.

 

For them there is no "Open Sesame!"

The world of wonders has no golden key.

Playing with pine needles.

The pine straw covers everything, turning bushes to strange striped creatures and green lawns to mottled scenes. So the munchkins collected a bag of pine straw (or pine needles) and brought it inside to see what good things may come of it.

Sorting the pine straw- sifting through piles and matching end to end.

Gathering the pine straw into bundles.

Using pipe cleaners to twist and loop the pine straw into "pinestraw people".

Max used pipe cleaners to create a pinestraw dude with "bendy" arms and legs.

Micah used pipe cleaners and pine straw to explain how it would look "really great" if both came out of her ears. Then she stuffed a pine needle pin cushion with pine straw pieces.

This past week's beauties.

Using the Romanian couching stitch to outline various plants in our wildflower-pressed fabric.

Fall leaves as inspirations for skirts.

Max and Ellie set out on a fall scavenger hunt. They found almost everything... plus, a trail in the woods behind our house.

Constantino's delicious Guatemalan chicken soup to soothe the sore throat we so lovingly shared with him. And all the moments we get to have him in our lives.

A little treasure for our weekend. Robot dance party within.

My two-faced puppets.

Inspired by the honesty of my children, who haven't yet imbibed all the conventions which make a rainbow of feelings "inappropriate" for public consumption, my two-faced puppets currently sit on sticks in the dining room. Since a puppet theatre will probably be the Christmas gift for all three this year, making puppets seemed like a good idea.

Sally and Fred, two sides of the same puppet.

Max suggested using the puppets to talk to each other. What a great idea! Especially when what we want to say to each other is tinged by anger or frustration.

Picking up a puppet for those "roughish" conversations might be a great way to avoid saying hurtful things. For example:

"Max, I can't believe you did that."

"Mom, wait, let's talk with our puppets."

"Aargh... okay."

"And you have to use puppet voices".

You can imagine how using puppets to express frustration might make the expression a little less toxic. Why not?

Goodness Geisha and Blue Bayou.

Tristan and Isolde.

I look different: What blog banners can reveal about your political inclinations.

Shocked that Max threw a ball which hit me in the forehead. "Mom, your head was in the way..." Yes, I know Max. My head is often in the way of so many things.

Some women cut their hair. Others go shopping for a new wardrobe. Still others get a new tattoo. I change my blog banner and associated paraphenalia. Because the change does this restless soul a heap of good.

Ten years ago, I vowed never to stay in one place or town for longer than two years- my way of setting an expiration date on life's experiences. The man I married shared my devotion to expiration dates in every field except the one in which we planted our marriage.

But having children brings out the better in me, maybe the better in us- and the broken vows to myself, like all vows, inhabit a new context. It took D.H. Lawrence to help relieve me of Puritanism and then the darkness of W. Somerset Maugham to relieve me of Lawrence and then the solid mystery of Walker Percy to ease the despairs of reading too much modern literature.

This little blog banner relieves me of something else- the comfort of conservatism, that sad delight in sameness and continuity which keeps me from opening my arms to embrace what life brings to me.

Do you have a similar limitation in your life which assumes that the way things are is the way they should remain? How do you feel about my blog banner change? Does it excite you or disappoint you? What habits of the heart keep your heart from loving life?