Doors and Windows...and windows

Working on a website project, I needed to see the keys to type in some numbers,

so I lit a candle for just enough light. worked great.

Got the windows up in the clearstory... here's the loft one, with the center one that opens:

and, got the back door up! here's the inside:

and here's the outside! Not only did I paint it, oil it, plane it, glue it, tongue and groove it, but I cut down the tree that the boards came from. Boo Ya!

Foggy rainy, get-things-done days

Jack monitors the weather from the french doors:

Melissa cuts tile in the rain:

Burn Day! Happy Solstice!

on the shortest day of the year, I started up one of my many brush piles, made from clearing out the woods of fire danger pile-up. Got it going easily (I throw tarps over them before the rain starts) and once it's going hot, you can throw both rotten, wet stuff and green stuff and it all burns.

Here's the 'just getting going' shot:

and here's the day after, with all the surrounding woods cleared out as well.

During the firing, we get out the dutch oven, to use all that great heat:

and cooked up a great chicken stew!

Varnish rooom

The second bedroom has become the paint room, with varnishing and painting going on. All this stuff gets multiple coats, so every day (unless other stuff is going on) they get a coat. What you see in this picture is the front door pieces, the back door (the blue parts) and the clearstory window trim (all the long pieces in the middle. The windows themselves are actually leaning in the closet in the back right of the photo.

Some random Autumn photos

as the solstice fast approaches, here's the view from the house into the meadow. The fruit trees are losing the last of their yellow leaves.

Melissa is still doing detail work, now on the inside of the built in bench:

The moisture has brought lunch items growing right up next to the yurt: boletes and blewits. yum.

and the sunsets are amazing these days. This one is through the west round window above the back door.

Clear Story work

As I'm making the window frames for the two other clearstory window openings (that don't have one big piece of glass already in them) I used the router to make rabbets for the glass to sit in, but they needed some cleaning up with the japanese slick:

Electric routers don't make square corners either:

In the meantime, Melissa continues to prep the clay surfaces and tape off the edges for whitewashing:

Doorways to progress

Got the pieces of the door wedged into place, just to see if it'll fit, and what it looks like... well, it will be oiled and have hinges and some sort of handle... but still, progress:

and, then we went and put on the first coat of limewash, and Melissa took a picture late in the evening. It looks a little splotchy now, but this is just the first of maybe 5 coats.

The front door continues

Working in the kitchen is quite pleasant:

The tools and the mark for the porthole:

a little later in the process:

Using a small japanese two-handed draw knife that was Melissa's grandmother's, I'm able to shape out the roundness of the porthole window

Typical Evening Light

Now in the short days, the sun comes in the south windows throughout the day (except for when the redwoods block it, but that's next year's project) and in the late afternoon, I love the way the light comes from the west and starts turning orange.

That bright spot in the photo is the top half of the front door, waiting to get the porthole window cut into it. In the foreground, you can see the future bathroom door getting shaped to fit.