i'm chuckling

have been on an organizing/eliminating binge. needed boxes. found some on side of road in recycling. minor detail: next to a bar.

also found this link for donating used bibles and christian literature (i had too many bibles).

the upshot? a heineken box full of 4 bibles, some writings of j. n. darby, and a few other tomes is on its way. wish i could see the reaction it gets. will they be worried about what the postman thinks they've been ordering?

news

i hope to interview sometime this week with a company that looks perfect for me. i am really excited and i hope i can be what they need. cross your fingers for me, please!

today, i spent half a day caulking around windows. this helps with airtightness, which is essential to energy-efficiency. it also makes for a more finished look. when i went upstairs into the attic to take care of those windows, i was blown away. i climbed narrow red painted stairs to a dark, old gabled space. the ribs of the house were visible--old wood. morning light streamed in from the east. what an enchanted space--far more enticing to me than the updated floors below. definitely a highlight.

looking at this picture makes me very happy.

painting on friday was so good. alone, with only the sounds of autumn breezes, trucks passing on residential streets, and a barely audible distant radio. i had the day to think, with a paintbrush or roller in my hands. near the end of the day i took off my shoes (my boss had left me alone for most of the day). i felt the freedom and the outdoors--exactly what i've been looking for. i'm hoping for more of the same monday, when i do the last coat.

last night, powaqqatsi was so good. i recommend it. it's a movie with images and music and not a lot of words, but very beautiful, very moving at times.

a little of my inspiration

another day of work

yesterday i called up a contractor that i'd talked to a while ago, and he said to meet him today at 7:30 to work. this is good. we spent the morning doing some work on a kitchen, and I was very impressed by what he does. i got to do a tiny bit of the trim.

in the afternoon we went to a property he manages (owns?) and i got to use a weed trimmer to mow the back yard, then rake & bag the garbage. having never used a weed whacker before, i had a rough time, revving the thing too hard, and somehow using up the plastic cord way too fast. i probably used too much gas too. it was exhausting and dirty work. the upside was that i got to use those awesome safety goggles.

i guess i'll work for him tomorrow too. we haven't decided yet what i'll get paid but i have a feeling it will be low. i need experience desperately, so i guess i have to get what i get.

yesterday i was so worried about money that i called the office of temporary employment at rutgers university and interviewed for a secretarial type job. today they offered it to me. it probably pays twice what i'll be making. but it's not on the path.

the path is charted with images like these:



and dreams of one day making my own home.

'refried' beans & rice

this is cheap food, which i am interested in because after 3 days my employment has taken a bit of a hiatus. a delay in building permits...or maybe i just don't have the skills to be a good employee for them? i'm back on the trail, searching for employment.

anyway.

in a food processor, mix:
2 cans black beans, drained
3 tablespoons or so of olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

all of these amounts are approximate. if the spices seem a little weak, definitely add more. you want this to be a zingy experience. last time i made it, i lost control of the chili powder, which actually was a good thing!

this makes a tasty bean puree, which could be used in burritos, over rice, or even in a sandwich. it goes well with cheddar cheese.

i enjoyed a bowl of rice with the beans on top, and then cheese melted. very satisfying.

what grows in southern illinois

mike writes

and i recommend:

What the Hell is wrong with most Christians

i especially like his use of the words inspire and expire (breathe in and breathe out).

day 3 of work as a carpenter's helper

i'm working for a man & his son who do kitchen remodeling (lots of cabinets). they also bought a run down house and are completely redoing it in order to either rent or sell.

the first day we worked on the stairs leading up to the porch of the house. i cut pieces of wood to the right width (using a table saw) and length (using a circular saw and chop saw). i helped to drill holes and nail tongue in groove pieces of wood to form the steps. we also nailed up white boards to the front of the porch to conceal the rough boards supporting it.

i do a lot of picking up trash, bringing the right boards, and getting the tools to the guy i work with. i dug dirt away from some columns, and i think more digging is to come when we work on the basement. at the end of the day i'm usually very sweaty and a little dirt-smeared.

today we spent the morning finishing a kitchen cabinet job in a pretty fancy apartment that faces the ocean. the cabinets have a bamboo face. i helped to put on trim and also to adjust the cabinet doors so they are straight and flush with each other and the cabinet body. i went back & forth unloading and loading tools in today's light drizzle.

in the afternoon we went to a different house and tore out some columns that are going to be replaced with columns of a different style. the house was lovely, and it sure didn't look like it needed remodeling. the kitchen cabinets are beautiful and look brand new, but the owners want something more their style. sometimes my employers save things they pull out of houses and re-use them. i felt like saving some of the boards i threw into the dumpster today. if i had a shed somewhere i could start a stockpile and end up with a house.

i think it's going to take a little while for it to sink in that this is my new mode of earning a living. the job doesn't take up nearly as much mind-space as teaching, although when we are on the job i try to always be thinking ahead: plug in the saw, bring a board, load nails into the nail gun, get the wood glue.

although i interact with my employers and a bit with customers, it's much more of a thing job than a people job. i am looking forward to being a more skilled carpenter. right now i do a lot of watching and assisting. i struggle with fear that i'll do something wrong. fortunately, the guy i work with is pretty relaxed and patient.

it's the start of a new school year, though, and living near rutgers i feel the beginning of a new year even though i'm no longer in academia. i'm feeling my way in this new phase of life, wondering what my goals will be, what i'll explore outside of work, what i should try to learn or accomplish. perhaps singing, pottery, writing? a bible study, or maybe waitressing on weekends?

well, for now i'm going to take a shower, because i really need one.

Tree

It is foolish
to let a young redwood
grow next to a house.

Even in this
one lifetime
you will have to choose.

That great calm being,
this clutter of soup pots and books -

Already the branch-tips brush at the window.
Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.

- Jane Hirshfield

via whiskeyriver

this is me: aug 2, 2007 (wearing strange safety goggles)

incredible

sculpted by lew french.

frustration

i'm wondering if a frustrated person can gather energy like a coiled spring. at the right moment, it can propel them in the direction they must travel.

if there is something in you that doesn't have freedom, the desire for self-expression intensifies.

i know that if you are frustrated too long, you can atrophy and suffer. i guess i'm just thinking about the short term type of frustration--the one i'm currently experiencing as i dream of having a shop and workbench, as i work on projects i didn't dream up.

if you always had that freedom, there might not be the burning passion driving your creative work that a once-frustrated person had. what do you think?

i took this picture when i was home. kittens are pure joy.

--------

i had the interview; i am not sure where it will lead. i need a break, so part of me wants to delay the job hunting for a bit. it's been a very long, busy summer. i know i'm excited about working in remodeling. i hope that a job will not be too hard to find.

one more week of taking the train. new york is invigorating, but most of the time i'm too tired to take advantage of being there--and i just head home right after class. if i were more well-rested i'd check out more galleries, museums, stores, maybe a movie.

today we practiced lifting & carrying 4 by 8 sheets of dry wall and setting them down carefully. they weigh 40 lbs and are awkward. we will be framing a wall tomorrow.

possible interview!!

wow...i just talked to a contractor who does remodeling--and i may be meeting him for an interview thursday! the job doesn't pay super well, but it's exactly what i'd like to do, and the owner sounds like a good person.

in other news, i made a miniature chair from scraps of wood. i don't have my camera or i'd post a picture. i found a picture of a simple bench in a magazine and sketched it and then assembled the 8 pieces with 12 small nails. it's so exciting!

i also found a pile of great wood on the side of the street sunday evening in the trash, so i rescued it all and it's in my trunk. i really need a workshop! a workbench, a vise, power tools.

things are winding up (not down) in these last 2 weeks of class. we made frames yesterday, and today we were busy cutting wood to make a bench. when we are done, we will spend the last week at the new york distric council of carpenters where we will frame a room--studs, drywall, ceiling, and all.

i know i complained about the slow pace, but this last bit makes up for it all. the girls who have stuck it out are getting excited. it's fun to finally see good results from our work.

week 4 begins

i've been pretty frustrated & bored in class. we're learning things very slowly. the other day i was reading my "Green Home" book after finishing the assignment, and the instructor told me i had to put it away. very strange.

however, today i found true love--i was blown away by the beauty of planing wood and feeling its shape. without regard to the dimensions my pieces were required to have, i began shaving up curls of thin wisps, in search of the lovely sheen--almost a shimmer--of smooth pine.

working around knots is a challenge. maybe there are techniques to be discovered. anyway, my hands want to have a workbench, a vise, and a block plane. i'm excited about discovering this.

-----

three more weeks? should i stick it out? i've had serious thoughts of quitting--and have looked at job ads.

but a discovery like today's that brings me profound inspiration is worth a lot. suddenly, i can imagine restoring furniture, giving boards an organic curve as my plane follows the contours of the life of a tree.

carpentry, day 1

today began the third week of the six week course. carpentry, finally! we were all pretty excited. many of the women are listing carpentry as their area of interest.

two experienced, retired union carpenters are our teachers. interesting, good people. they talked to us about what to expect on the job, benefits, retirement, career advice, work advice. we took a quiz on safety, and then headed downstairs to the workshop.

our job was to carry heavy, bulky objects up the stairs, out of the building, part way down the block, and then back inside and down the stairs again. we did this first with a 61.7 pound bucket of compound, and then with other, lighter objects such as ladders, tool boxes, a tripod, and a wretchedly heavy old pipe. two trips with each.

it's training, and after lunch we did three trips up and down three flights of stairs to top it off. then some work with fractions and measurement, and an intro to different measuring devices.

while waiting for a quiz to be graded, i sketched the work bench that we will be building. i'll put it here when i get my camera back from a friend. sketching in 3d is a challenge for me, but i love the geometry of it.

i'm anxious to start. by the end of the six weeks, i am told that we will build a room, complete with studs and dry wall and maybe a ceiling.

---

in other news, i just sold my air conditioner. it feels good to be rid of a bulky, electricity gobbling appliance that makes a lot of noise. more space in my closet. and i slept fine under the fan during that last big heat wave. plus, less is more. i'm hoping to need less and thus work less in the future.

my knees are worrying me a bit. stairs to the train and the subway, stairs to my apartment, back down to the basement three times for laundry, on top of all the stair work we did today. hopefully a good sleep will help with the strain i'm feeling. also the coming holiday.

super wiped out. lots of good things are happening in my life, but there isn't much spare time or space to keep up with other good things.

4 weeks to go. after that i can get my footing back. for now, i'm sneezing, wiping my nose, and heading to bed for that early alarm.

alternatives to vinyl siding.

i know it's affordable and easy to maintain, but vinyl siding really doesn't sit well with me. i started to write a little statement to share my reasons, but i need to think more about it. for now, check these out and observe your response to each. the first two types of house covering are quite radical. the last two are options i would seriously consider for myself.

this artist takes his inspiration from cliffs in places like venezuela and malaysia:



crushed aluminum cans of various colors, silver spring, maryland:



something a little less extreme? off the top of my head, i'm thinking of reclaimed barn planks:



then, there's also cob (a mix of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe) as on this beautiful house: