leila hamaya

i've not yet "ended up" somewhere!
currently i am living between northern california and upstate new york, spending part of the year in each. and thinking maybe i would rather be in either vermont, the berkshires, or oregon, and travelling around those areas too.

a big influence on the beginning of my restless roaming is not being able to live in my hometown area. growing up in an area of outrageously expensive housing - the cape cod area (my dad), and the southern shore of massachusetts (where my overwhelmingly huge maternal family still lives), where that used to be more reasonable as you headed inland (and quaint and farmy and lots of rural)- now its almost as bad as the cape area. areas i remember being cornfields, cranberries and pigs (!) or even wooded, are now overpriced McMansions. and the cape, it was always a bit pricey now its just unreal...most everyone who grows up there has to leave because theres so little affordable housing, and especially for someone making a go of being a full time professional artist. but yeah it was always expensive now its ridiculously expensive.
and now its like a movie of itself! a perfect movie of meticulous lawns and huge huge houses. there used to be more artsy people, there and on the islands, like when i was young i had some extended family who lived in nantucket, so i used to go out there and sock away money working at almost anything, but most of my family who lived there made a boatload of money selling their not even very fancy houses there many years ago. that is even more ridiculous, but i spent a few winters back there in the day, hardly no one lives there in the winter.

so yeah i've lived in a lot of places, first i settled in vermont when i was young, then washington state, then down in northern california, on the coast and then inland a bit to the klamath knot, siskiyou county way way out in the mountains.
actually in the years between washington and california i lived on the west coast loop....up the coast on the 101, maybe cut over to the 5 at some point (eugene!) all the way to seattle or even british columbia (british california i like to call it) hang out in vansterdam (vancouver) then back down to either humboldt, mendo, or out to siskiyou.
again and again, round on the loop, that was like 8 years of van dwelling with communes and short term stays in different land shares and brief rentals in between traveling.

until some years ago when my father passed i got sucked back to the cape for a while and remembered how i could never really live there to begin with. so i was aiming and looking for a place in the berkshires, which is i think where i would like to be...but my arrow went a bit west and i ended up getting a place in upstate new york.I had to find a new place to live because my living situation in the cape was becoming very toxic, so i took what i could get and afford, but i...well am not that attached to being there. making the best of the "for now", fixing up the ruin which is the first place i have managed to buy outright, and had enough to store most of my stuff in the "for now" but still putting feelers out and looking to other places.

i too have envy of people who can just root down deep in their place, i do long for that, even in my most unrooted days of traveling around. especially in those days, especially the difficult days of that, which there were quite a few, more than i remember of it...
it had some perks,of course...and i am glad i did that -- i am by nature a sort of homebody though, deeply introverted, hole up somewhere for months on end hardly talking to anyone - and yet that happened and i did it and i am glad i did. in those days anything could happen, and it did . i could drive in my little home on wheels and end up meeting some new best friends and next thing you know i was like staying somewhere for a while, or got sucked into a communal situation, big music festivals, making money with selling art, a little one woman traveling circus =)
but i was glad when that ended too, and i could hole up in siskiyoufor some years and do some big gardens, but the hills kept catching on fire! then i decided to go back east.

so yeah i dont know where i will end up. !
and i think as much as may think how green that grass is of much more grounded peeps, i think maybe my inner restlessness would make me throw it over or something, maybe it wouldnt have been as good as i imagine. idk, i have a lot of contrary motivations.
less so now maybe that i am starting to go grey. maybe i have finally settled down somewhat. i have actually only ever wanted to root down good, but circumstances and living situations ending, and communities that are unstable, and bad land mate drama, and not having a lot of money, my path has been a bumpy one.
for now, shallow roots in root new york. / northern california =)

well i have finally gotten some info, but not all of what i want to know.
theres a real lack of info on MgO, though. found a few things,  maybe post up some info here. perhaps if i really get to it myself i might make my own thread, if i do end up doing this MgO -- with lime plaster route.
not like i can give expert opinions on anything, but mostly because there seems to be a real noticeable lack of specifics online - and i think there should be more. perhaps there are members of this community on permies with a good deal more experience with specifically MgO, or at least with lime plaster walls.

one thing i really had to go through dozens and dozens of generic articles to finally get what i was seeking here -- is what kind of primer, is primer even really necessary, and is PVA just a totally unsuitable plaster primer for MgO board. one of the benefits of MgO is that its breathable, same with lime which is why they seem in my mind to be a nice matching pair.
it is as i thought, a bad idea though, being a polymer glue basically, to use PVA -- which would be the go to thing for say plastering a plasterboard or drywall "sheetrock" type wall.

so what goes on as primer, onto MgO, to get the plaster to stick, is it nothing? i still dont know that answer, if nothing is ok --its possible that nothing is needed. if i am going forward with this, or even if i instead use cement fibre board or some such -- can you straight plaster on that. of course after mudding and covering all nail holes, tape seams etc. ?
i think its possible, especially as MgO has a rough side, that to me seems like it would bond with a absecoat. like a basecoat gypsum/lime plaster...with a top coat of a lime plaster.

what i did finally get to is this, and a couple other quick references in passing that a mineral based primer would be better than PVA.so i have a bit of a list of something called beeck plaster primer, and vasari mineral primer, plus a few other brands which seem to be all in the UK or europe. but i still am wondering if nothing is ok, maybe even better, and i find no info on how different is MgO -- most references are for plastering drywall or plasterboard, or even cement board.
ah well...just spent a few days off and on looking for this...so heres some links.

https://cornishlime.co.uk/articles/primers-or-bonding-coats-key-things-to-consider-for-lime-plaster-applications/

https://cornishlime.co.uk/articles/working-with-various-backgrounds-for-lime-plaster-applications/

and this was an interesting site...with some good info in general on plasters and such, more from a perspective of people with sensitivites, which overlaps nicely with eco friendly, actually.
anywho this got me to think of this discussion, so perhaps theres some info or at least some ideas there for you.

some info -- https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2014/01/natural-plasters-some-tips.html

she used a clay plaster over MgO boards, in a tiny house on wheels. thats interesting by itself, i dont think i would ever even think of any kind of plaster on a moveable structure.

and if you look around theres some good info and options and ideas for brainstorming there.

https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2021/10/choosing-a-non-toxic-plaster.html

https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2020/05/non-toxic-drywall-mud-and-wall-texture.html

https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2024/04/zero-voc-insulation.html

on the topic of rainscreen, one thing that is totally free is - air. idk if that helps, with something already built you may have some limitations. but its something to keep in mind. an empty space can qualify as kind of rainscreen...

Melissa James wrote:Magnesium Oxide panels are a natural alternative to drywall/sheetrock. They are made from magnesium sulfate and do not contain fly ash, formaldehyde, crystalline silica, or toxins.

I've seen this installed in a house, and it looked nice. I hope to use this on a future build.

MagOx panels are mold-resistant, fire-resistant, and do not provide a food source for termites, carpenter ants, or other wood boring insects.

It comes in a variety of thickness. It adds an insulating factor for sound and temperatures.

It can be used indoors or outdoors.

Here's the website, if you'd like to learn more: https://www.magpanelmgo.com

i do think this is a great suggestion.

yeah this may be my answer, i am looking for similar solutions as the op, trying to re do some walls.
its what i have been leaning towards and researching it for a while. seems like its mostly being produced in china, though. i had picked out some suppliers on alibaba B2B site...
idk i am not quite ready to commit, but now tariffs ! idk. i may wait it out, i cant rush myself to try to buy right now, this month before the end of the de minimis.
then again maybe i do rush myself into a vague estimation of how much board i might need and try to order in the next month. even if itsjust i want some samples, i am feeling sure i can find a use for it if i go all in on getting it now and figuring it out later.

some of the things i like about it - its simple, can use for inside/ outside, floor ceiling or walls. its super versatile.
to us who are more sticklers for earth friendly, it may not be the purest material, it does involve some industrialized weirdness, but then again much less than that of some other materials, besides being less toxic than many common materials. the fireproof, no mold, breathable, all of these aspects and more make it attractive too. the price isnt that bad, at least as far as what limited sources i have been able to dig up, its maybe a bit more than plywood while being far superior, around the same as something like hardieboard, another thing i have been thinking on, or other "backer board" cement board.

they make lots of interesting finishes for it, although i have been leaning towards more of the raw type, and then do some finishing myself, using it like hardie board, or backer. as far as i have been able to figure out (research and methods is lacking, or i am not finding the best specific how to info) BUT i believe you can plaster it directly, use a gypsum/lime plaster - base coat and a lime plaster right over that, maybe some PVA or other "adhesive" before base coat.
even with the extreme added tax, it still might be my answer.
i guess the OP was looking for the really really natural -- eg clay, mud cob, etc
but i definitely think its worth exploring.

some sources i found, are all chinese companies.
this one stood out to me and i may place some small ish order see whats what and what i can do with it -- https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/A1-Grade-Fireproof-MgO-Board-Chloride_1600490450654.html
they have their own website and seem pretty solid -- https://www.zcmgo.com/product_list.html

theres so so many different types, theres all the laminated types meant to be used as is, i am mostly interested in the more raw types, or those with insulation in the mix --
like perlite-- https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/24mm-Mgo-Perlite-Board-Manufacturer-Heat_1600878765749.html
eps-- https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Soundproofing-Eps-Mgo-Sip-Sandwich-Panels_1600504324318.html
raw -- https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Premium-Strong-MGO-Fireproof-Flooring-Board_1600994895448.html
floor - and use this for outside/exterior/ and /or walls? seems like -- https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Fireproof-Mgo-Floor-Magnesium-Oxide-Wall_62220840022.html

but then they also make the thinner instant wall types, with like faux wood look, or all sorts of funky decorative wall types. --
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/HPL-Magnesium-Oxide-SIP-Panels-Fireproof_10000014446772.html

if theres anyone who knows good suppliers or has any links for how tos or other info, maybe post it up. not to hijack OPs thread, but i do think MgO ( or MgsO) board is a good suggestion for the want to build with more ecologically friendly stuff - crowd. going to keep looking up info, maybe should search here on permies, although i think i did early in my exploring MgO panels and what you can do with them and didnt find that much info. yet, or maybe i do my own experiments, where i have a high tolerance for failure. i'm sure i've spent a few hundred bucks on worse ideas before =P

even with a lack of info, with some experience with plastering and clay, i feel like i could tackle this MgO board then plaster project a whole lot easier than plaster and lathe. i also like that it could be a good exterior material.

something i have been thinking about lately is the feasibility of retrofitting old interior walls with light clay straw.
of course in a new build its a different matter because you are starting from scratch, but when dealing with an old house already built, what is built and the way it works may not be immediately apparent...if you could just replace old walls with light clay straw.

sorry i have more questions than answers, but something to think on.
as far as i have gotten in my thinking is there may be a weight issue, but as long you have a sound foundation, interior walls should not be load bearing etc...i think the weight would be ok in most situations, if you would be inclined to it. to me it seems like very similar to lathe and plaster only cheaper and easier, more insulation and sound proofing....although maybe even more time consuming.
i suppose you would have to like the look and feel of earthy plaster walls though, and there are some small issues like its hard to hang pictures or put up shelving etc into a fully plastered wall..as well as where the wires/pipes/etc that may need to go through the walls, but there are ways around these things, like putting in a pipe to carry wires, or attaching wood pieces to places where you may want to hang something up, so it can be attached to the wood, like say shelving or hanging a picture.

edit to attach some links, in case you arent familiar - some random google recs
- https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/the-advantages-and-appropriate-use-of-light-straw-clay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfbML5qHpu4&ab_channel=RoadrunnerFlats

permies to me has always been a bit of a virtual coffee shop, as i come here often in the morning with my coffee, although usually i am in reading quiet mode just absorbing some info on building and gardening, etc. so yeah some more stuff, with my second latte today ...today is a lot of work ahead so going for a second.

to make turkish coffee is very easy. its basically cowboy coffee with a fancy pot and no filtering, you leave the grounds in, but they sink to the bottom.
you dont actually need the pretty pot though.

depending on how strong you want it - you use more or less coffee per cup of water, and also the fine grind. the smaller you grind it, the stronger and thicker it is.
after you start the water to boil, you add the fine grounds. right when it comes to a full boil it quickly expands and rushes to the top of your pot, this is when its done and good to get it just as it does this otherwise it will flow out of the pan.
give it a stir after turning off the heat, wait a minute or three and a lot of the grounds will sink to the bottom. it isnt filtered, you just try not to get that many grounds in there, but they will sink to the bottom in the pot, and further they will sink to the bottom of the cup. that frothy yummy stuff is usually filtered out when you use a filter.

besides espresso, usually i am a french press gal, i think the french press is quite like turkish coffee, only the grounds are pressed down so none in the cup. but it has that similar frothy good stuff not getting filtered out, especially the beginning of the pour. also no electricity needed, back in new york i am off the grid so every watt counts.

my experience roasting coffee is pretty limited. i used to be able to get burlap sacks from a coffee roasting place for free - often there would be a handful of beans in each sack. so i have only tried to roast green beans once. it reminded me of making granola -- thin layer on a cookie sheet, evenly spaced out, keep stirring it up a few time while baking. you would want to cook them extra long to get darker roast/ less caffeine.

i'm a coffee holic =)
recently got an inexpensive used small home scale espresso machine and i love making a nice latte every morning, with some good quality beans ground extra fine.

In my opinion - there is no substitute for coffee !
one other thing to mention is for decaf they burn the beans extra dark. dark roast will have the least caffeine, and even a good decaf will still have a tiny amount of caffeine.

one of my latest faves goes for about hour at 350 ish.
actually i am still messing with the recipe, figuring it out, and every way i have tried it - it comes out incredibly good!
its seems like it cant go wrong, as i have never been not happy with it.
sometimes i bake for 40 minutes at 380, sometimes i bake it over an hour at lower temp, and also been messing with different ratio for the ingredients.

its not an easy prep, though, not too bad either, just does take quite a bit of time before baking. i usually make a couple or three at a time, put the extra in freezer- then its obviously an easy prep for a later date.
one other disadvantage is it takes somewhat exotic ingredients, so i have to stock up on special stuff -- mostly tons of mushrooms -- like 3-4 packages, or at least 2 pounds.

ok all that said the basic recipe i have been changing it up and working out my own version -- is Tuscan Mushrooms, and an old school recipe.
it uses any mushrooms, i've tried all kinds, cut up in large chunks and a few whole even, if they are small. saute in a few tablespoons of butter.
add -- one - to two cups of white wine (depending on how many mushroom basically and i just put in the amount by feel) and one large onion or two small ones.
add the onion, cook on low for about 10 minutes or until the mushroom look right, nice and soft and have soaked up the wine and butter.
then add about a cup of parmesan cheese shredded, a splash of milk or cream, and a few extra tablespoons of butter.
then add in a jar or otherwise (6-10 ounces) of sundried tomatoes, cut up fairly small, and also a jar of sun dried tomato pesto. sometimes i add a few fresh tomatoes, could maybe just use the fresh tomatoes, but the sundried is the best.
cook for a few more minutes, then put it in baking dish or two if theres extra...top with more grated or shredded parmesan cheese, bake for about an hour at 350.
i usually serve it with pasta or a meat side, like italian sausage, or chicken

Inge Leonora-den Ouden wrote:Now I read some other comments here I have to say: I don't have any experience in train travel overnight. Even going to France (Normandy) was possible within one day.

I do have some experience taking my bicycle with me on the train. One can think that's easy in the bicycle-country that is the Netherlands ... but no, it is not! In all of the train there's only one entrance for bicycles (sometimes two, if it's a very long train). When the train enters the station you'll watch out to see that entrance (with the bicycle symbol on it) and then run in that direction with your bicycle (you are not allowed to ride it). In some types of train there's only room for two bicycles. So I don't reccomand to try this during summer holiday season.

this is true in the united states, too. they should make it easy, they do not.
different trains have different systems too, so you need to figure it out before hand what your train is like.
local buses are easy, theres a bike rack to put it in front of the bus on the outside. the commuter trains in massachusetts are also easy, in california too, but not amtrak.

my scooter is bicycle like, and its a fold down, the handle bars will fold down, but its still big for a scooter. some scooters are so light and tiny you can take as baggage, quick and easy like all should be, just fold them up and carry it on, keep it with you.

but if you want to take a full size bike or a bigger scooter like mine, sometimes they make you box them up, like its even easy to find a big long box to put your bike in. they also charge you some money to add on baggage of your bike...so thats annoying and not very cool. and if someone doesnt know this before hand and shows up...they will either not be able to get it on, or at the least, have to pay to have it stowed as baggage.
also who wants to leave their bike?  like it doesnt seem like the thing to separate from your bike, i guess you'd have to use a lock and lock it to itself or something

Riona Abhainn wrote:Leila, my father's friend did that.  He loves trains and he bought a train car and fixed it up with sleeping quarters and tables and chairs and couches for him and his daughters to go on trips, its spendy of course to do something like that, and you have to pay to be allowed to hitch up to a train, but he has had fun with it.

yes, my friend had done that, long ago, he bought a caboose in particular. but he had a hard time getting it hitched up. its not easy to move if you dont own a railroad...

the neighbor too, to his place...in the berkshires - which used to be a station. theres no station there anymore, its long gone, but you can see where theres a flat spot thats all cleared and open, the rest is forested and rocky but theres one open sunny spot that used to be where the station was. actually kinda neat because its the largest thyme lawn i've ever seen and some old apple trees and the native new england grape, all in this sunny space.
but the neighbor has a parked train car - hes never met the neighbor just seen his train car.
because it used to be a station theres an extra track -  that can be switch onto a second track. the neighbor has made a little room in there. actually it looks like it hasnt been used much recently,  its still pretty cool, but looks like its not been used.
and my friend found out he's probably very old, neither my friend nor the neighbor spend very much time there, except for camping out. so he hasnt met the guy.
but yeah my friend has ideas maybe he can buy it from him or something, just roll it over a bit. or that the railroad people might let him also get a car. because he mustve been able to get a special permission, the tracks and a bit away from the tracks is owned by the railroad.