Today, at last, we began applying the plaster to our straw bale cabin. Never mind that it is nearly October 1-we are getting there. The work has been grueling, but we continue to push on and it feels like we turned a corner today. We bought an old stucco spraying machine for $300 and we just weren’t sure whether we could get all the crap cleaned out of it enough for it to do the job. Today, my brother Jeff came over with a magical machine that he called an air chisel and he banged the old cement out of that machine. Later, with a few false starts (pulling tiny plugs of cement out of it) we were able to put the clay slip on one whole side. It was a sweet moment! I also mixed my first batch of plaster and plugged the spaces around the earth bags on two sides. We are not quite baled in but will be within a few days. The work is slow but so satisfying. And I can’t tell you how great it is to watch that open space become a home. I love it. Even though my hands ache and my body is more tired than I thought possible at this age (I will be 56 in Oct.), I would not choose to be anywhere else doing anything else.
My little $20 cement mixer is doing an amazing job of turning sand, clay, water and straw into a durable material for plastering. It becomes this giant doughy lump inside of the machine until the only thing I can do is grab it out with my hands in big clumps.
Milt and I have dreamed about building a home just like this for 20 years. We had children, bills, jobs, etc., but we never let go of the dream. Now, it I amazing to really be doing it. Although we are probably two to three weeks out, we are already thinking about lighting a pretty fire and cooking a nice meal in our new home. I am dreaming about my garden next summer and the summer kitchen I will build to process all of the garden goodies. We have in mind chickens and Cornish hens to deal with the bugs and further enhance our diet. I think winter will come and go in an eye blink and we will be refreshed and ready for phase two. Next summer we plan to build the summer kitchen and small studios, one for Milt and one for me.
So many things have come together to help us put this dream together. I don’t know how I will ever thank my brothers especially. You cannot imagine how nice it has been to have a metal shop just across the field. Today I walked over to the shop and asked if they could make me a mixing paddle to attach to a drill-fifteen minutes later I was walking home with two varieties. They are magicians with metal.
For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, you may have noticed a dramatic shift between my concerns for students in Pine Ridge and my current concern for whether mud and straw will stick to a wall of straw or earth bags. My love for teaching and writing is still alive and well-it is just that with Mother Nature pulling inward again toward winter, I have to keep my priorities straight. My choices are to push forward and hope for the best-or go back to Rapid City. We are pushing forward.
Blessing to all. May all the forces of nature converge and give you exactly what you want! Like my guru says, Grace and Self-Effort are the two wings of progress.
Jamie