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My Cave
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My rock stockpile _ I fetch the rocks from a hill on a farm about 5km away - vehicle access is limited so it means a lot of hard work lugging them to the pickup - I usually go rock-gathering in winter when the grass is short and I don't have to worry so much about snakes and spiders.
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The new house is being build around the old farmhouse while I'm still living in it - first a freestanding roof was erected over the old house and now I'm building new walls around the old house, breaking down the inner walls as I go - in this pic you can see the old house (green) inside the new outer window.
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Each rock has to be balanced with wedges, then tacked to keep it steady before removing the wedges and doing the final grouting - it's a very slow process ...
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I use blocks of wood which I can move up and down the upright beams to keep my wall line ...
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A plumb line is used to ensure that each rock is on line. It's a little more complicated in rooms where I've built the inner-wall with rock too.
You can see more pics of my stoned house here
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Wow, what an amazing project, ..uncanny too ..the other day I was looking for that old post about living in the farm house all the while my foster parents worked on it, have you ever been bitten by a snake or spider? Where is the monkey all this time?
ReplyDeleteWow. What a task, what a project. And you have done so well.
ReplyDeleteI built the house we are living in now. I mean, my husband let me carry out the task of completing the house from scratch and so I know how hard it is, even though we didn't have to gather rocks.
It is looking good Graham. It is on its way fast becoming a beauty.
Thank you Ocean Girl ... as time passes I feel a stronger sense of urgency to complete the more physical tasks before I become too old and while I still enjoy good health ... I'm almost there ...
ReplyDelete... also, being skeptical of religious or spiritual speculations, I feel slightly embarrassed to acknowledge the 'assistance', when I'm building, of a greater 'Presence', which I don't understand - I just call it the Great Spirit ... I thought I was just being foolish or superstitious until I visited the blog of another man who is also building with rock and who also mentions this Presence ...
Heya Luna ... yeah, I've been zapped by a snake and a scorpion and other sometimes unknown creatures, some which I suspect have been spiders ... but isn't there a saying that says "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"? ... :)
Stoffel stays in the house while I'm building, she hates going into the cage with the other fur people and if I let her out she'd cause so much mischief I'd get no work done ... at times she sits and watches me work through the window ... it's a good life being a monkey ...
I wish my brother would go online more, he would really like these pictures. He's building a house in Missouri, out in the woods.
ReplyDeletevery interesting and smart to put the new roof structure around the old house.
You should add this post to Unknown Mami's Sunday in my city list. It's really just a list of picture from all around that gets posted on Sunday (San Francisco time). I've put a few up and the one I have now is just some playing around with the camera I did on a sunny day.
Don't drop any of those heavy rocks!
@ lisleman ... hehe yes, touch wood, up to now I haven't dropped any ... but I must admit that at times, after lugging a succession of boulders up a ladder only to find that they're unsuitable, I do feel like dropping a few ...
ReplyDeleteI am so curious what kind of assistance and presence do you feel?
ReplyDeleteIs it like The Owner of All, of the rocks and of nature that surrounds you, or The Preventer of Harm, taking care of you and helping you so your work goes smoothly. I feel His Presence too, when I was building my house and now especially so when I am on water.
On water, I feel the Presence of The Maker of Order, The Shaper Of Beauty.
I think we're referring to the same thing here Ocean Girl and it's impossible to adequately describe such a subjective experience ...
ReplyDelete... I can only refer to this Presence obliquely, in the same way that scientists are aware of planets around other stars, by their affect on other objects ...
... for example, before I recognized this Assistance, I would sometimes struggle for ages to find a suitable rock to fit in a particular spot. Now, when I feel 'inspired', most of the time I will walk from my wall to my rock stockpile and immediately pick out the 'correct' stone from among hundreds - some may call it intuition but, I always try to remember to give thanks to the Power ...
Also, I have become aware of a thread through my life which has led me to build this house - at first it was my intention to only make the northeast fireplace of rock ... I traveled a 50km round-trip to collect rocks which
were not really suitable ... then, by 'chance' I accidentally discovered the most beautiful rocks on my doorstep, within eyesight, on a hill only 5km away ... and these rocks occur only on this one hill ...
... following this discovery, the scope of my work has grown into building the complete house of rock - I have no plans or drawings, everything is in my head, I adapt and expand as I go and everything seems to fall into place ...
I often wonder why I'm doing this, it has never been a dream of mine to build a house of rock ...
I think the presence we feel and the guide and help we receive, is from the One, the Only One, the All Powerful, the Creator of All Power.
ReplyDeleteI can never say thank you enough to everything The Guide, The Guardian, the All Compassionate, the all Merciful, the Absolute Ruler, the Source of Peace, has given me.
that is super cool! wow. Well done :)
ReplyDeleteThank you wozzel :)
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