Jennifer Meyer

Also, photos for the windows and front door, see below.

ALWAYS use window arches--either Roman Arch or Gothic Arch. The weight of the bags atop a standard header will bow the header inward, either resulting in cracked windows, or windows and doors that are unable to open. We made that mistake on both the hen house and the storage shed before we figured it out.

We are fortunate that we can afford some mechanical help. We have a skidsteer that can fill 6 bags at a time, an excavator to dig our footers and roof support pole bases, and a Dremel tool to etch windows. The second photo shows the fully etched "Desiderata" etched right into the Plexiglas.

Don't worry if you can't afford such luxuries. The work has gotten us both into great shape.

Thanks for the heads-up, Glenn!

Here are the associated photos for the completed hen house, storage shed, and house walls going up. [Note the pole in the center of the room. It will be used for ceiling support.]

We poured concrete floors yesterday, so the progress is far enough along to show you what we've actually accomplished.

As a proof-of-concept building, we built a hen house first . We wanted to make all of our mistakes on a small building we could tear down and rebuild if necessary.

Here's the cob going on the sides. The hen house is six feet on the inside diameter, 10 feet on the outside diameter. We used 50 lb bags for the first 3 feet, then switched to 30 lb bags when the wall got high enough that lifting 50 lb bags was too heavy. Because the hen house is 3 feet under ground, it stays a modest 50 degrees, even the hottest weather.

Next, we built a storage building to hold our valuable equipment. We are fortunate that we already had a skidsteer, but in order to store it on the property, we needed a secure storage building. Same technique, different lessone. Among them, NEVER use wet sand! Your bags will squish out flat.

The building was covered with cob, then lime plaster.

Now, we are building the earthbag house. It's the largest building, and the weather here in North Carolina has alternated between blazing heat and steady rain. We decided not to work in temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, and of course, the need for dry sand requires that we not work in wet weather.

So tomorrow, we will install windows. We decided on a Gothic Arch design for strength.

William Bronson wrote:

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
Heels eh? That's another one of those fashion things that I avoid, because I think that heels are harmful to the body, and greatly increase the risk of injury to the wearer. And yes, I freely admit to being highly prejudiced against women wearing heels. So if my first impression of a woman is of her wearing heels, she's extremely unlikely to get the opportunity to make a second impression. Life to short. I don't have time to waste developing relationships with people that I have to teach basic life principles to, such as: "don't poison yourself", and "don't set yourself up to be injured".
[/quote


Most of these things seem like huge conclusions to jump to.
But you have experience I do not.

The funny things about heels,the heels on cowboy boots totally fuck with my feet, ankles, knees and back. when I was younger, I would shrug off these effects in the service of self expression.
Now a days , these boots stay in the closet.

I love your comments, William.

Since I developed celiac disease, I've discovered my body is much healthier without processed foods. Period. My skin cleared up, my weight dropped, I stopped looking and feeling constantly headachey and fatigued.

I put myself through college by dancing in nightclubs--you know the type. I have a profound respect for footwear. Dancing for 12-14 hours a day really makes an impact (no pun intended) on your feet. Your cowboy boots, incidentally, hurt your feet not just because of the 1-inch heel, but because of the thin soles, which transmit the shock of each step to the delicate ball of your foot and thence, to the arch. The heel exacerbates the effect by placing the weight of the foot onto the ball. Cowboy boots are mean for RIDING, not for walking. The heel is meant to keep the foot from slipping through the stirrup, creating a dangerous situation in the event the horse startles.

Regarding women's heels, a super-thin sole that flexes is the worst kind of thing you can do to your feet--with the possible exception of pointy toes, which cause bunions. (A bunion is the deformation of toe joints due to being held in an unnatural position.)

Heels do have benefits. They force women to adopt proper posture rather than slumping their shoulders forward and humping their spinal column. They put very petite (me) women at eye-level with men. They can change a shy, receding girl into a confident, outgoing women in a moment. However, as with other changes to one's body, they have to be chosen carefully, considering the stiffness of the tang, the with of the shoe box, the thickness of the sole, and the amount of arch support the shoe offers. I find that an open-toed shoe with a one-inch platform and five-inch heels offers excellent arch support, a wide toe box, and the additional height to make me feel confident in my place in the world.

Thanks for posting on the CFLs. I have to wonder who is paying to produce these films?

Fantastic video. I wish I had seen it when we were considering containers.

Deb, I get what you say. My spouse can and does eat whatever he wants--when he isn't in my kitchen. I'm really sensitive to gluten, so my eating options are limited to home ,home, and home. I've been sick often enough from supposedly "safe" foods that hubby is happier not nursing me than eating cheap cookies and bread.

...You might be a permie if you can't find an engineer to approve your building plans because they are so unusual.

I think Sadie is the kind of dog that puzzle-type toys were made for. There are many toys on the market that offer a treat--after she solves a complicated puzzle. I owned a dog day care for several years and tried a few of these toys for my more complicated problem dogs.

For example, KONG company offers the "wobbler," a food-dispensing system that labradors absolutely go nuts for. Like "Weebles," the "Wobbler" wobbles, but it won't fall down. You put the dog's kibble in it, so he chases it all over the house to get dinner. Instead of snarfing his meal in 30 seconds, the lab chases the wobbler around for an hour.

Take a look at www.petedge.com to see other puzzle-type toys. Perhaps you can find a few to entertain Sadie while you are doing other things.

I have celiac, too. I simply don't let anything in the house that has gluten, dextrose, maltodextrin, or MSG.

Why label them? You can see what's inside. Anybody who can't figure it out shouldn't be in there.