MY BROTHER'S LOVE IS HOT! 100+ DEGREES!

Putting up the ISO board in this heat has been really difficult, the adhesive of the tape isn't sticking very well. I bought a baton of fiber glass insulation to stuff in between the studs in the nose and around this back window, as it is assembled a little differently than the others and in both cases once the siding is up I won't have access to these spaces again.
So the past days have been spent in major heat playing with fiber glass ( in long sleeves and long pants and gloves!) I finally got the rest of the starboard wall covered with board after three hours of fitting. Yesterday was similarly frustrating. I spent three hours cutting, fitting, taping, and then caulking the ISO board with liquid nails around the nose where the water jugs that feed the kitchen sink go. Then I stood back with my hands on my hips to look at my work: and then I watched it all fall off onto the ground! What a hot *&%^~$#@ mess !!!!!!! I ended up propping it with 2 x 4's, tape, and bungee cords, hoping that it would hold over night, through a thunder storm, until I find someone willing and able to help hold it and the metal in place so I could fasten it up there with screws.
MY BROTHER DANIEL CAME OVER TODAY, AT THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY, UPWARDS OF 100 DEGREES, AND CROUCHED ON THE TOP OF THE WALL AND HELD THE METAL IN PLACE WHILE I DRILLED AND SCREWED IT!

HE ALSO USED HIS KARATE TO HELP SHAPE THE METAL AROUND THE CORNERS!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Duration and Continuing

This blog has been mostly a photo blog, with some text, but as I can be very verbose I try and keep the internal musing to a minimum; the learning curve of this project has been more like a learning switch-back path up a mountain. I have observed many phenomena; physical, chemical, psychological, metaphorical and personal along the way so far, all of which have given me ample subjects to ponder.

I consult the I-Ching frequently, and for the last month or more I have drawn the hexagram 32: Duration/Continuing

*Duration. Success. No blame.
Perseverance furthers.
It furthers one to have somewhere to go.

Duration is a state whose movement is not worn down by hindrances. It is not a state of rest, for mere standstill is regression. Duration is rather the self-contained and therefore self-renewing movement of an organized, firmly integrated whole, taking place in accordance with immutable laws and beginning anew at every ending. The end is reached by an inward movement, by inhalation, systole, contraction, and this movement turns into a new beginning, in which the movement is directed outward, in exhalation, diastole, expansion.

Heavenly bodies exemplify duration. They move in their fixed orbits, and because of this their light-giving power endures. The seasons of the year follow a fixed law of change and transformation, hence can produce effects that endure.

So likewise a dedicated woman embodies an enduring meaning in her way of life, and thereby the world is formed. In that which gives things their duration, we can come to understand the nature of all beings in heaven and on earth.

Thunder and wind: the image of DURATION.
Thus a superior woman stands firm
And does not change her direction.

Thunder rolls, and the wind blows; both are examples of extreme mobility and so are seemingly the very opposite of duration, but the laws governing their appearance and subsidence, their coming and going, endure. In the same way the independence of a superior woman is not based on rigidity and immobility of character. She always keeps abreast of the time and changes with it. What endures is the unswerving directive, the inner law of her being, which determines all her actions.*

I read this and am reminded of what I can count on in life, what force I can draw on, and what can make life seem so easy as to allow for an endurance that is easy on the nerves. I also tell myself all the time: " It isn't going to build itself". I am building it. Then I am going to live in it,travel in it, take care of a dog, raise my son, have more children, and hopefully share my life with an amazing man! I won't owe anyone any money, I won't have to burn any fossil fuels for energy, and I won't waste water! My home will produce compost, it will produce clean water, and in it I can produce the works of art that the personality and talents of this life have given me to use to be best advantage for all.

Lately people have been contacting me from all over the place, lending me their inspiration in the form of praise and support. I just want to say "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you thank you."

"Hello, my name is recycled retractable utility sink"

out
in

This little feature has been months in the works... I found this hand washing sink behind an abandoned Mexican restaurant beside the Waffle House I worked at in Cartersville about a year and a half ago. I cut off the back-splash, had it TIG welded back on, and then took it to an engine re builders here in Athens to cut holes for the new fixture. I had it put on the far right because it will be fed directly from the used grey water from the bathroom, the same tank that will feed the washing machine. The sink hangs a little too low to be included in the interior insulating, and don't want to have long lengths of un-insulated water hose.

Slowly but surely... progress on the siding

As seems to be the pace of this project I can't get it built fast enough to keep my belongings dry.. been living in my tent on and off for two years this August, but slowly but surely I am getting the siding installed. The stainless steel screws I need to use to attach the aluminum siding through to the steel framing are quite expensive.. so I am on hold until some more funds come to buy them.
This is one of two "designer/custom/fancy-shamncy" gas door people with trucks are buying for decoration. I bought two to use as openings in the sides of the trailer behind which will be spigots for getting water out of the in-board tanks. This one will tap the kitchen grey water tank, and I have an extra pump I can install inside too so if one day I have some plants, or a garden on the low side of the roof I can water with the grey water. The other door will go at the back to get cleaned water from the final tank. They do look good.
In the meantime I got the start of the copper panels back from Julie Merrill in Asheville. I need to get some money to her also to keep working, but I love the texture she embossed into the scraps I had collected.