tp bandit

i was in the kitchen yesterday and saw lily out of the corner of my eye, trailing something, prancing because she was so proud of her catch. my first thought was the animal spring toy she likes to grab hold of (the end is a tail) and walk away with until the spring can go no further and snaps back into place. but the toy hangs on a doorknob in the hall. couldn't be that. when i saw what it was, i was doubled over with laughter for a good 5 minutes.

but before i go further into it, you gotta know the story of lily - and why this was so hilarious. i found lily for adoption on petfinder in march. she and her mama had been rescued from a high kill shelter. she was slated to be spayed the end of march and then could be adopted. then she got sick, and wouldn't eat. she lost weight - not something she could afford to do since she was so small. her spay would have to be postponed as she needed to weigh 2# and she had gone down to 14 oz. her foster mom said she would give us back the deposit so we could find another cat. we decided to wait and got frequent updates on her health. it didn't look good a few times for lily. when she was well enough, we got to meet her. man, she was TINY! a true lilliputian. she weighed 18 oz. she curled up in my arms and instantly started to purr. then it was ed's turn - she crawled up on his shoulder and nestled in. we were sold - in love. we'd wait.

finally, she did gain enough weight to be spayed- she was 13 weeks and weighed all of 2#. we brought her home just a few days later. she was so so tiny i was afraid i'd step on her or the other cats would beat her up - they were none too pleased with this new addition. then she got sick again. took her to the vet, she got a shot, got better, then sick again - back to the vet. the poor thing had had so many anti-biotics in her short little life the vet was concerned. she would just lay on ed's chair and sleep, with her head back and her mouth open so she could breathe.

in time, she started getting better again and slowly gained a little more weight. then, she had a run-in. with the wall. had a HUGE knot on her forehead. back to the vet. seems she had a kitty concussion, looked like she had broken her nose. this kitten was going through her lives fast.

since the other cats wouldn't play with her and we didn't want her to grow up basically alone with no loving from other cats, we decided to get another kitten. what's one more? enter cato. choosing his name was so easy - he was just too much like his namesake. this guy is rambunctious, never-ending mischief, constantly jumping down on the other cats. the energizer kitty. poor lily wanted to play with him so badly but had gotten sick again. she would just lay around, sleep, watch, wheeze. i wondered if our lilliputian would ever be able to play like a normal kitten - she reminded me of a kid stuck in a wheelchair, wanting so badly to play ball but couldn't. she was feisty, though. when she did play, she played hard. she just tired so very quickly. and slept hard.

by this time, i had found out she probably had feline herpes - an upper respiratory infection (which apparently is common in cats - about 70% of cats have it). so i did what any granola mama-holistic person would do - looked into natural remedies and found that l-lysine was very helpful. easy to do, mix a little in her food. but she'd need it daily and it would take a while to take effect. so she'd get better, she'd relapse. little by little her breathing became easier.

just in the past few weeks has lily really blossomed. it's so fun to see her bounding around, jumping up, getting stronger. she's nearly 9 months old and weighs just over 8# - and is making up for lost time. she's recently found the *cool* stuff in the bathroom! loves to play in the tub after we've showered or in a trickle of water from the tap.

and...

maybe you had to be there. but it was hilarious - believe me. now i wonder if i hadn't been in the kitchen if the whole house would have been toilet papered.

summer? what summer?

if a picture is worth a thousand words,
maybe i should just post pics.

i've got 3 months to catch up with...


framing up the window openings wasn't nearly as tricky as the doorways.

only one window framed and my studio is already a mess.

the first window framed up and sheathed


our friend mike sealing the top and bob (ed's brother) checking out the view
we sealed all the seams with silicone/caulk. used manymany tubes. nearly 3 dozen.


ed's brother bob - fear of heights doesn't run in the family.


we used the tar paper strips to protect the wrap from the sharp edges of the angled plywood.


mike on top - yours truly at the right
i was standing on the scaffolding inside through a skylight.


mike wrapping the top


mike on the shoulder - bad pic
you can't see if but he is using a climbing rope hooked into a big eyebolt we installed at the apex. guess we could rappel if we wanted.


view from skylight
i was standing on the scaffolding inside. pretty cool surroundings.


almost finished with the wrap


we've got labor day weekend ahead of us now. no worries, ed. i won't make you work all there all 3 days.

and another . . .

great weather, all of the supplies we needed, bodies co-operating - ready to work! we got another opening framed up and was able to have the tarp off for a few days. it's so cool. i just love looking at it.

this opening was pretty similar to the first one - tricky angles to visualize. i was also able to figure out the angles of the bracing needed to tie the opening framing to the dome itself (not seen in this photo). many recuts - changing the angles just a degree or so - many ladder repeats. i didn't need to workout that day.

i had dad smiling down on me again (although i really do think he is laughing his head off at me sometimes). one time on sunday, when ed was inside the house, i "saw" someone in my peripheral vision range. it was dad, i know it. i recognized the slim body, the slight way he leaned forward, even the plaid of his shirt. maybe i'm making the vision but, since i do see spirits at times, i don't think so. he has been with me all the way on this project.

i'm getting off track here . . . there is heavy rain in the forecast so we tarped the dome back up last night. ed dislocated a finger trying to keep up with guys decades younger on tuesday playing basketball. my knees were sore early in the week from all the ladder repeats. (man, it sucks having these middle-aged bodies.) but with a bit of luck this weekend, we will have more good weather, supplies replenished and body parts working.

getting back to business

yay! summer is almost here, meaning ed will be out of school and able to work on the dome again. he will be wanting to go back to work after a short time, no doubt, to escape the construction and slave-driver.

we got the 2nd skylight cut out finally last weekend. little by little...

geometry

i wasn't very good in math when i was a kid. what good would it do, i thought, how could math help me? blech.

in high school i used to ask my dad for help with geometry. he always got the answers but couldn't show me how he got them. it turned out i was the same way. i nearly flunked geometry, not being able to show my work even if i had the answers right.

over the years i found out that, yes, math can be a useful skill. and i also found that i'm not so bad at math - well, some math. being a picture framer helped, so did exhibits construction and then general construction. which brings me to this post.

help/info for framing up a doorway/wall in an odd shape is not easily found. books, brother's advice, most info online were all pretty much geared toward conventional construction. so i turned to the few dome yahoo groups in which i lurk and was able to glean some how-to from photos of other domeheads' projects. thanks eric and sal among others.

because of the odd shape and because of a few problems we ran into and had to fix with the supporting pieces we had already installed, the wall had to be built piecemeal rather than all on the floor and then hoist it up in place like you're "supposed" to do. which meant i had to figure some things out as we went. it actually went smoother than i feared - i just figured it out. don't ask me how. unfortunately, i don't photo document very well so i don't have any shots of the process, just the nearly-finished product.

hmmm . . . there again, got the answer right but can't show my work.

time does fly

wow - it's been awhile. work does continue but slowly. if anyone out there is still reading, i will be posting photos and more real dome stuff soon. really.

snow

it snowed last week. schools were closed for a couple days (some districts more). this place comes to a near stand-still in bad weather. we always get a kick out of the southerners and their closing of schools and businesses for a few inches of snow. but, the black ice is nasty.

so, still nothing to report on the dome front. work has all but stalled. decent weather and weekends just haven't coincided and, to be honest, we're fair weather people. the idea of working outside in 40 degree or less weather is not appealing. we do have wood ready for framing up the opening you see in this photo. i've got it planned (for the most part); we're just waiting for a warm sunny day. maybe this weekend.