rockheart: The Nightmare Before Autumn

After weeks of tedious fix-all-the-screw-ups from crew #1, we have finally gotten to a point of visible progress on the house. And I’ve been having leaky eyes for three days now. My ‘vision’ is beginning to reveal itself and I am speechless. Yea, yea—I know. Me being at a loss for words is a treat, uhh, rare event—but its true! Except for the final color layer, the exterior stucco work is complete!

All of the ugly, cracked, gapping lava block is now a non-issue—until you walk inside, then its still offending everyone’s eyeballs. HOWEVER! There is progress happening inside very soon. Yes, folks, its time for the interior plastering parties to begin!

While Carolyn mixes up her concoctions of clay, colors and trade secret ingredients for the earthen plaster, the boys are doing stuff like cement window sills (oops! That’s another fix-the-screw-ups task), installing fan patterned rough cut timbers for the clerestory ceiling and then the vigas atop the timbers. It is a beautiful sight. Tub, tiles, fixtures and a gaggle of other assorted goodies will start finding their proper places very soon.

When we’re 93%, 95% and/or (?) 97% complete I can get some more money. Norbert is going to start on the floor pretty soon, since that’s the bank’s gauge as to when we’ve hit the magic number to release more funds. I like 88%, m’self….

When I came home yesterday, after the first day at school with the children, I walked into a whole pod of workers—more than a dozen of ‘em—just my added presence tipped the scale and each team of laborers went running to their favorite niches to try and find some space. Between the sheet rock guys (about 5 of them), the stucco guys (8) and my team of 4, I found myself standing alone in the kitchen, but the energy buzz was still palpable.

Manana will find the worker population here at Chee Chees del Aigre back to its usual four. I will be in town tackling Day 3 with the chil’ren.

Cement grey, or what I’m calling Still Alive & Kickin’, isn’t the most beautiful of eye candy colors, but I think y’all will agree that The House looks a far sight better than it did before. It sure has warmed my heart to see it.

Now that we are back to cooking with gas, as the old commercial used to proclaim, I can fill you in on the Nature Tales here at the Ranchita. After many weeks of some sort of daily rain showers an edible ‘green’ started sprouting. Norbert got all excited when he saw it, picked some and told me to eat it. Being the world-traveling adventurer I am, I did. No questions asked (Norbert used to be an organic farmer.)

The green had a slightly bitter taste to it, is chalk full of beneficial fatty acids and ain’t half bad. So, it turns out that I’m growing this free-range green called purslane. (We believe in diversity here on the land;) I was enjoying daily ‘hits’ of my new, free-range veggie until the bunnies discovered it. Now we’re in competition with each other to get the biggest, tenderest leaves. Good thing I have acreage.

The bunnies are still happy and hopping around. Plenty of collared lizards sit amongst us while we work, blithely sunning on rocks while we labor away.

I spent every night for the past 10-12 days sitting out on the trailer stoop and counting shooting stars. I averaged one a minute. I can’t talk about the lights that I saw. My understanding is that if I do, I would be transmogrified into bits tinier than quarks. Just know that there were more than the average number of those ‘sightings’ as well, ‘k?

This…idea/dream/psychotic episode of mine has certainly taught me a lot. The most impressed upon memory is that dreams require nightmares to come true. Next is: Even well conceived grand ideas require nightmares to become real. And, thirdly: Psychosis is a nightmare. (And to think of what I spent to come to those realizations! Shoot me NOW!)