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Climate Catastrophe Dissonance
Bill McGuire’s book, Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant’s Guide, came out this week and a lot of press are turning their attention to climate catastrophe. In the face of yet another summer of extreme heat, floods, drought and fires, it is pretty clear that we are facing the catastrophe in this generation. Right now and maybe for…
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Goodbye, Tilly Good Car
Tomorrow we say goodbye to Tilly, our 1999 Daihatsu Mira Gino. I have been emotional about this all week, because I anthropomorphise her. She is cute; she is stalwart. She loves to wait for us under the shade of trees. She is fearless on rocky roads. She delights in hooning – going a little too…
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A New Canvas
I haven’t been writing much about our future house at 555, because everything has been very slow and the architect prefers that I don’t share his work too much. I didn’t feel comfortable writing about the design process that’s been going on since October. But lately the pace is picking up. The final drawings are…
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Christmas 2021
I feel like I planned poorly for this holiday, though I did my best. I made an artful painted tree a couple of weeks ago and hung solar lights on the “Christmas bush” at the edge of the driveway. I did, finally, host a cookie exchange – my first in Kamogawa. I only just finished…
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Thirty Second Anniversary
We discussed what to do for our anniversary this year. Travel is traditionally our celebration, but after 18 months of staying home during the pandemic, it’s feels uncomfortable to plan a holiday. So instead, we bought a clock. Because it is our 32nd anniversary. This one is an antique Enfield from the UK. It was…
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MaurArmature
As often happens, Maura decided to help me at my desk this morning. But today, his assistance created a beautiful composition on top of the armatures I was exploring. Thanks, Maura. You’re a good boy.
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Designing a House, professional help (pt 4)
As you certainly noted from the previous posts, I am not an architect. But I need one in order to build the house. Even if I insist on one of my layouts, I have no idea about structural integrity, speccing systems like electricity and plumbing, how to cost out a plan, or what needs to…
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Designing a House, the barn (pt. 3)
Although the kominka burned to the ground, its 120 year old barn remains. Way back when, it hosted the family’s cows and you will find the remnants of stalls, and a 2nd story hayloft. Right now it is packed with tools, things in storage, and just plain junk. We plan to renovate it into an…
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Designing a House, some drawings (pt. 2)
With my theories and goals in mind, I was eager to draw some floorplans. I had all the measurements I took from the kominka, so I knew pretty well what sort of footprint I could work within on the site: 16 meters wide by 9.8 meters deep. South facing. After that, it was anything goes.…
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Designing a House, the theory (pt 1)
I am not an architect and that will be apparent as you read further. However, I have a lifetime of interest in architecture, from drawing plans of fanciful castles when I was a girl to studying historical architectural as a teen, and reading architecture theory as an adult. It’s a lifetime fascination. So getting to…
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