Rain, Mud, Stone, June

The stores have stayed busy longer than usual and again I find myself wishing I could just close them down, but I can't.  They still pay all the bills and there are a lot of bills.  Dennis has made a little bit of money with his furniture,  Not enough that he could even hope of supporting us with it but enough to buy himself some new electric tools to use.  He was just asked to make 10 Adirondack chairs and 4 tables for a new restaurant opening up here in town.  The job will pay him 1400 dollars.

There's been little work on the Cob house but there has at least been work.  I think that says a lot since I've been dealing with Spring Rush in the seed stores, weeks of flooding spring rains, a mofo of a urinary tract infection, and the redevelopment of a painful heel spur.  The doctor wants to do surgery but once again I said no.  I have a number of reasons for saying no.  #1 This is the third spur I have had on this heel in my lifetime.  They are painful but they do eventually go away on their own, they also eventually come back on their own.  Paying thousands of dollars for a doctor to

slice open my foot and grind the thing off will not prevent it from coming back either. #2 I would rather limp through my daily choirs and projects than waste time recovering from surgery that may just create more problems than it fixes.  #3 After my best friend from High School (a 35 year old Vegan woman who seemed perfectly healthy other than her congenital heart defect) had a stroke on the operating table and died in a coma a week later I am absolutely terrified to go under the knife.  She was strong and healthy and I am not.

As far as work on the dob house goes I have foundation for the eastern wall dug and filled with rubble we recycled from building sites (stuff that would have ended up in land fills).  The hardest part about digging into the ground in a forest is the web of tree roots on the surface.  Its like trying to dig through a fishing net.  I have learned to cut squares out of the surface.  I use my shovel to cut out a square in the surface of the ground and then just lift the mass of roots and topsoil out before I continue digging.  Because the ground here in the Ozark foothills is rocky I've only had to dig a 4 inch deep foundation.  And now for some humor.


Yesterday, I was back in the woods picking up some rocks for a project. A knat started flying around my face. With a rock in both hands I started trying to swat it away. I heard it buzz past my ear and swung my hand (rock still in it) to swat it, and hit myself right in the temple with a rock . . .  I was dizzy for a few seconds and I have a sore spot this morning but no bruises. I wanted to share this so everyone could have a good laugh.   I certainly did once I could see straight again.

There's a storm on the horizon.

I haven't written in months and I'm feeling a little artsy with my words this afternoon, but there really is a storm on the horizon.  The sunny spring sky has slowly been turning grey all afternoon and when I was outside a little while ago I heard the distant sound of thunder.  I LOVE the sound of thunder.  It doesn't matter if its far away or right over my head.

Today we found a nice store that is very excited to have my husbands beautiful furniture made from pallet wood on its floor.  I'm happy for him.  I know its what he wants because its what he loves to do, but I'm a little worried about the time he spends making furniture taking away from the time were supposed to be spending on our new cob house and I have serious doubts about how much money he will be making from it.

I guess he could say the same thing for my books though.  I've only completed and published one and I've only sold copies to people I know.