Amen

June 6

It has been a busy several weeks again. Lots of visitors checking up on our progress. On that front, the south side of the house has over half of its stonework in place. The cool cloudy spring has been a boon because when the sun shines, the cement used on the stones dries out before it sets so it has to be covered as soon as it is laid and even then it needs to be watered occasionally throughout the day. As far as the entire exterior is concerned, over half of all the stone is in place and soon we will be having to look for more raw material in order to finish the job. Inside, the great change is the concrete floor laid over the sand on the first floor. The heating cables were laid last fall and all winter we struggled working in the sand. Finally we have a hard floor throughout and can even sweep up the sawdust and wood shavings we make. Jim

My body split and moved wood today. It mixed, poured, and finished cement this week. It met friends, family, and nature alike. Open, accepting, invigorated, it was in motion; alive it was. More than that I was visited as a brother, nephew, son and friend. It was the inspection by these relatives and acquaintances that inspired and moved my humanity. All told another busy week with a few slow shuffling steps forward. Amen. Sam

Inside and Out

May 13

The weather here has been unbelievable…a low of 30 two days ago and 100 today. Amazing. We still manage to get some work done. The second stone arch is up and two walls are almost faced with stone. The large rocks in the foreground are for landscaping the terraces in front of the house that we’ll get to when Sam’s brother stops by for a visit. The large maple tree in the front of the house will soon aid us with its shade! Sam has also begun to nail up the cut shingle work on the second floor which really sets off the decorative window trim.

We have also begun to pour the concrete floor over the radiant heating system on the first floor inside. Eventually the floor will be paved with a polished stone facing. The central staircase post is in place as is the newel post that will be at the bottom of the steps. The large oak doors will also get their stained and etched glass windows…hopefully before snow flies again. LOTS to do in the months to come.  Jim

On the street a man runs. He runs, runs, runs. I do not see what he runs from. Is it disease, famine, bombs? What does he run from?  He runs from the hole, the hole that is found in his soul. He continues to run, continues to run on by. And I build to mask the ugly house behind and the ugly house behind and beyond. The houses built for owners who have no time, care, concern, thought for what they create. Just a wall, and a roof; a box to protect the chair in which they sit and watch the world slip on by on the screen on which others create fantasy, spectacle, and dream. The dream which they do not live but mask with their ugly house as a screen, and when it fails they run, they continue to run on by.  Sam

Time itself

May 1

We have been laying stone for the last four days thanks to the change in the weather. The front façade is almost complete and we are inching up on the window arches on the two adjacent sides.

After lunch yesterday a new arrival presented itself. Sam noticed an antique octagon faced oak school clock from the turn of the century hanging on a plasterboard wall in the dining room. Someone evidently stopped and hung it there. It will look fantastic with the oak woodwork in the downstairs which is coming from a demolition 40 years ago of an old Victorian house. We need to figure out who the benefactor was! We have been very fortunate in this project to have so many people contribute excess materials. To date we have received a walnut parlor set, a walnut buffet, two mahogany side chairs and a center table and the clock in the furniture department. Then there were the building supplies…baseboard heat units for the whole second floor, a gas fired boiler, a water heater, and all of the roof boards and attic flooring, the hardwood flooring for several of the formal rooms, much of the rough sawn oak to be milled into woodwork for the first floor, metal railings and a spiral staircase to the cupola, and miscellaneous stuff too numerous to mention! Every day seems to be Christmas!  Jim.

There was not a single May Day basket at the front door this morning. Jim keeps warning me to carry a big stick to beat the girls off with. I thought that the stonework going up would surely attract them but apparently not; probably thankfully so. There is, however, snow falling today. I am doing my best at deciphering the meaning of the mysterious clock. Maybe it is a sign that we are taking too long on finishing this project. Or we should be more aware of our own time on this earth. Whatever the case I have dusted for fingerprints, gathered a few loose hairs for DNA analysis, and will be assessing the originality of the clock itself. No stone will remain unlaid! As with all great crime fighters I will never rest until the case is solved.  P.I. Sam

Spring has Sprung

April 26

After the longest winter in recent memory we are finally back in the 70’s. Yesterday we cemented in the first stone arch over the front doors. The stones were all hand dressed during the winter so they would be ready when the weather was. We have also begun to install the soffits in preparation for installing the fascia, corbels, and then the cut shingle work that will cover the second floor exterior walls.

The greatest change in the interior was the removal of the plastic covering the first floor windows which we had installed to conserve heat during the winter. The rooms were suddenly flooded with light and the views out of several of the windows were quite spectacular. From here on in all fair weather work will be focused on the exterior leaving any interior efforts for the occasional rainy day. Jim

Hallelujah, hallelujah, it is spring, it is spring. It is now a challenge of getting used to the warm temperature; something that will be very manageable. Sam

Inside and outside, the Octagon House progresses

Non Sequitur on 'cupola counseling'

Apropos to the Octagon House and its cupola:

Courtesy of Wiley Miller and GoComics.com

Spring Awaits

The Gothic Pantry entrance

The first ceiling plasterboard

Stairway to nowhere (the attic)

March 27

This has been the coldest March in over fifty years.  Snow, ice, and a little melting and refreeze to make things even worse. We are itching to get back to working on the exterior, but there is still so much to do inside that there is no dearth of things to do. More than half the sheetrock is on the walls in readiness for the thin coat plaster to follow. The blueboard makes the rooms seem small but that will change again when the white plaster will make them look huge. What I anticipate most is having the base concrete put down on the first floor. All winter I’ve had to deal with the loose sand and dust. Drop a nail and it simply disappears!

We managed to score a deal on the stone and tile for the bathroom floors, buying some leftovers from a previous job.  I have also located a welder to make a metal frame for the cupola floor. It will have a decorative grate in the center which will allow light to stream down to the first floor from nearly fifty feet above! As soon as we can get sand and aggregate from our supplier the exterior stone facing will start to go back up. Jim

An eclectic mix of tasks have been set upon. From plasterboard to staircases this place is coming into focus. I was looking back at some previous pictures of this project and cannot believe that only two years have elapsed, and that this place does exist. Water is cascading in torrents down the drive as the snow and ice are shrinking. A delightful sight as the ground will thaw and the jungle will reappear. Sam