Cabin Corner:
Plan as of today: After lots of discussion between the two of us and with Elaine and Matt, the thought of pouring so much concrete into our area really began to sour our thoughts. A big part of this is to try to be cognizant of the earth and have the smallest footprint possible. We have the tipi on a bed of gravel and made a woodshed out of fallen tree branches.
Instead of the 24 inch piers, we are going to dig post holes with a manual digger at least 2 feet deep. We will drive the rebar into the ground and pour concrete in from there.This will save money, materials, and impact on the earth. I will refrain from commenting on how much time we will save. That could be the biggest price that we will pay. How heavy can the load of this house be? We have a 14 x 14 area marked off in our basement with masking tape. This is a master bedroom that we are building not a two story house. It is going to be ok.
Cast Iron Cooking Corner:
Friday: Fish chowder with green beans and potatoes cooked on top of the tipi wood stove. It was delicious.
Saturday: O’s oatmeal with an array of toppings (including some impromptu cooked apples per the request of the young inspiration for the oatmeal) because that is what makes oatmeal fun. I made fireside chili for dinner.
Gadget Corner:
We received our BioLite Camp Stove 2 this week. This stove is awesome in theory. It is a little rocket stove with a battery that charges as the fire burns. We tried to get it going on Saturday morning, but definitely need some more practice with it. I believe the claim is that you can boil water in about 4 minutes. We didn’t get quite that result, but it is a promising device. In the afternoon, we brought it outside and tried it again. Being only 20 degrees out, the battery did not want to hold a charge, or maybe we did not get the fire inside of it going well enough. We shall try again next weekend.
Homework:
Don’t be afraid to re-evaluate and change your mind a few times. This is one practice that I am really good at. The best part of changing your mind is having the luxury of getting excited all over again with the new and improved plans and ideas. It’s fun. Now go listen to some David Bowie.
Making Time for Tipi 