Sara Hartwin

Jay Angler wrote:Yesterday I made someone very happy and I feel richer for it. What have you done this week that makes you feel richer?

I've had a pair of pants put up in a drawer for I don't know how many years. I finally hemmed them this week, and now they're in regular rotation with the rest of my work pants. I chose to sew them by hand, and that makes wearing them extra-satisfying. They're comfy and lightweight, and I'll appreciate them this summer.

I think I am after a similar thing, Jay, or maybe the same thing?
It's not a fully-formed concept for me - it's all still swirling. But here's a bit of it....

I want to literally grow a wealth of abundance. Whatever the land might produce, might do well on our (my husband's and my) future land, I dream of fabulous fertile production. I envision sharing that abundance in my community. Maybe some of that abundance will even be exchanged for money (higher numbers in a bank account). But maybe it won't. Maybe it will be traded or gifted or reinvested or used up. Or like you did - put to use to enrichen someone else.

I have this idealized version of ancient traditional peoples, nomads whose wealth was counted in flocks and herds and access to wells (water), or more stationary people later on who had vineyards. Yes, it was their possessions. But it was also that their abundance fit their lifestyle and their community. And it was abundance that actually sustained them.

I think I'm trying to connect "prosperity" to "experiences" (versus "possessions"), as well. I'm not really interested in measuring the wealth. I'm really after a diversity of wealth. And I think the diversity includes using knowledge, skills, lived experience (another area I can get wealthy in? be prosperous in?) to expand experiences for me and others around me.

So for me it's a mix of redefining literal wealth (things that actually enrichen us, like 3 years' worth of stored grain in a multi-year drought), and stretching the "wealth" concept to include community connections and outreach gestures and kindnesses that fill us up.
Oh! and also removing shame from the equation - whether shame around prosperity or shame around poverty.

I think there is a connection between accruing this kind of wealth and refilling spoons.

Lime Mortar Types Explained: Essential knowledge for older UK buildings
Part 2 of Talking Conservation's Lime Series

By this video I was deep in the rabbit hole. They discuss air lime, natural hydraulic lime, pozzolans, and hybrid lime mixes. With bonus fermentation analogy!

Lime Mortar for Old Homes -- Chemistry, Conservation, and Why It Still Works

This illustrates the lime cycle so clearly!

This 2,200°F Ancient Lime Kiln Runs for 60 Hours Straight
Part 2 of 2
Link to original German-language film, Part 2

An Old Lime Kiln Roars Back to Life After Decades Idle
Part 1 of 2
Link to original German-language film, Part 1

This video and the next are slower paced and show much more of the process. I'm impressed by the skill and attention used to fill the kiln.

The companion video to the one posted in the intro: the firing is finished and the lime is gathered. There's a neat close-up of the finished product reacting to water.

This is a chronicle of my getting-to-know-lime journey. Anyone can reply to this thread with links to helpful content. i made it a wiki so any pollinator can add those links to the resource list near the end of this first post. Videos on the list will be embedded in future posts so we can watch them right here, and discuss what we're learning or questioning.

The “Too long; I am not reading that wall of words” version
background of a permaculture "Aha!" moment; enduring comfort in a home; a rabbit-trail of learning; hopes for this wiki; first video for introduction; editable resource list; more questions

Background
Thanks to thought-experiments (imagining houses in my mind) and John C Daley's share I'm enjoying a mini-obsession over historic construction practices lately.
In other words, I'm smack in the middle of a dawning permaculture "Aha!" moment. As usual, I’m along for the ride, waiting to see where it takes me.

Until recently my stance was closer to the "damp is the enemy, never-a-drop, seal it up tight" end of the construction spectrum. And then I’m reminded "buildings can breathe and somewhat take care of themselves if you build them to". Ohhhkay – what??

Now the cat's out of the bag, I can't unlearn this, and my spectrum of "ways to attain enduring comfort" expanded from point A right in front of me to point z = a + ib waaaaaay over there.

Therefore, I'm fascinated by centuries-old structures still functioning as residences. I focus on British Isles examples (Escape to the Country, anyone?), and read about Roman construction techniques.

And so, lime.
I'm familiar with its potential usefulness around the homestead -
exterior wood finish
interior wall finish
egg preservation
soil amendment
and more.

But why is it so useful in construction?
Listening to an audiobook recently, I stumbled on a reference to a lime kiln demonstration filmed for BBC’s “Edwardian Farms”. Tracking that down started me on a rabbit-trail of YouTube videos full of answers. The info ranges from pop-culture consumable to more in-depth technical instructions.

Intro to lime
The video that got me started. It’s perhaps lighter on specifics, designed to keep you interested. Hey - it worked on me!



Resource List
Videos (embedded in later thread posts)
Lime Kiln 3/3
An Old Lime Kiln Roars Back to Life After Decades Idle
This 2,200degF Ancient Lime Kiln Runs for 60 Hours Straight
Lime Mortar for Old Home - Chemistry, Conservation, and Why It Still Works
Lime Mortar Types Explained: Essential knowledge for older UK buildings
Full Playlist: Which lime to use? Talking Conservation Lime Series

Part 1: Building & Pointing Old Brick and Stone

Part 2: Plasters & Renders for Traditional Homes

Part 3: Floors, Chimneys, & Exposure Areas

Non-video Resources
A Short History of the Use of Lime as a Building Material - Beyond Europe and North America (pdf)
Mortars, Renders, & Plasters (English Heritage Practical Building Conservation marketing spread
Helpful post from "Lime Terms ... oh so many names.. Trying to keep it straight." (permies thread)

Questions remain!
Some of my questions I think are better posed in the cider press. Essentially, I wonder:

Is lime inevitable in my climate-context?

Are there less-processed alternatives - either substances or methods - that achieve what lime does?

This is a chronicle of my getting-to-know-lime journey. Anyone can reply to this thread with links to helpful content. i made it a wiki so any pollinator can add those links to the resource list near the end of this first post. Videos on the list will be embedded in future posts so we can watch them right here, and discuss what we're learning or questioning.

The “Too long; I am not reading that wall of words” version
background of a permaculture "Aha!" moment; enduring comfort in a home; a rabbit-trail of learning; hopes for this wiki; first video for introduction; editable resource list; more questions

Background
Thanks to thought-experiments (imagining houses in my mind) and John C Daley's share I'm enjoying a mini-obsession over historic construction practices lately.
In other words, I'm smack in the middle of a dawning permaculture "Aha!" moment. As usual, I’m along for the ride, waiting to see where it takes me.

Until recently my stance was closer to the "damp is the enemy, never-a-drop, seal it up tight" end of the construction spectrum. And then I’m reminded "buildings can breathe and somewhat take care of themselves if you build them to". Ohhhkay – what??

Now the cat's out of the bag, I can't unlearn this, and my spectrum of "ways to attain enduring comfort" expanded from point A right in front of me to point z = a + ib waaaaaay over there.

Therefore, I'm fascinated by centuries-old structures still functioning as residences. I focus on British Isles examples (Escape to the Country, anyone?), and read about Roman construction techniques.

And so, lime.
I'm familiar with its potential usefulness around the homestead -
exterior wood finish
interior wall finish
egg preservation
soil amendment
and more.

But why is it so useful in construction?
Listening to an audiobook recently, I stumbled on a reference to a lime kiln demonstration filmed for BBC’s “Edwardian Farms”. Tracking that down started me on a rabbit-trail of YouTube videos full of answers. The info ranges from pop-culture consumable to more in-depth technical instructions.

Intro to lime
The video that got me started. It’s perhaps lighter on specifics, designed to keep you interested. Hey - it worked on me!



Resource List
Videos (embedded in later thread posts)
Lime Kiln 3/3
An Old Lime Kiln Roars Back to Life After Decades Idle
This 2,200degF Ancient Lime Kiln Runs for 60 Hours Straight
Lime Mortar for Old Home - Chemistry, Conservation, and Why It Still Works
Lime Mortar Types Explained: Essential knowledge for older UK buildings
Full Playlist: Which lime to use? Talking Conservation Lime Series

Part 1: Building & Pointing Old Brick and Stone

Part 2: Plasters & Renders for Traditional Homes

Part 3: Floors, Chimneys, & Exposure Areas

Non-video Resources
A Short History of the Use of Lime as a Building Material - Beyond Europe and North America (pdf)
Mortars, Renders, & Plasters (English Heritage Practical Building Conservation marketing spread
Helpful post from "Lime Terms ... oh so many names.. Trying to keep it straight." (permies thread)

Questions remain!
Some of my questions I think are better posed in the cider press. Essentially, I wonder:

Is lime inevitable in my climate-context?

Are there less-processed alternatives - either substances or methods - that achieve what lime does?

I've had another one - this time around the concept of how buildings interact with their environments. Maybe it's not a "Eureka!" moment as much as I'm going from shallow understanding to deeper, wider understanding. Still feels profound, though.

Previous understanding:
Buildings are shelters, shells made to keep environment and climate out. Then we create the environment/climate we want inside. Ideally they're built with the local environment and climate in mind. For instance, they can heat up or cool down differently based on factors like materials used or wall thickness. Windows help move air and heat/cool where you want them, vapor barriers protect from damp, etc.

Evolving understanding:
Buildings can be designed to interact with their environments even more dynamically. Buildings can, essentially, breathe. Maybe they can even get wet and dry out, if the right materials are used in the right applications. This potential interaction is much more complex than I ever thought about before. Different designs and materials serve different purposes. Local materials may offer more than merely an aesthetic advantage to constructing a natural home. Nature's systems can be worked with and tweaked and managed, even here. (Thermodynamics, air flow, humidity changes, seasonal rhythms...)