Thursday, May 28, 2009

Jerry and Joyce Roam the South


Sun Studio, originally uploaded by jnj.brown.

I just discovered a trove of new photos on their flickr site. Memphis and NOLA are looking pretty cool, and I've heard tell that Jerry and Joyce are having a really good time. It's lucky they can enjoy all that yucky food down there ("pulled pork nachos"?). It would surely be wasted on me.
This photo is from a tour they took of Sun Studios (where Elvis recorded his first song). Apparently it was closed up for decades. Just sealed up and forgotten! What an awesome time capsule.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Point of Departure


Point of Departure, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Jerry and Joyce set off for Chicago last Monday on Amtrack. From Chicago down to New Orleans, then up to Washington DC and then back down along the coast to somewhere in North Carolina.
Jerry started a blog to keep us all posted. You can check it out here: http://writingtherails.blogspot.com/

Train in the Distance


Train in the Distance, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Woooooo Wooooooo. Amtrack heading out of Martinez, as seen from the little town of Benecia.

The Before Picture


The Before Picture, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Krista, Eden and a host of Tumbleweeds set off Friday morning for the Northern California Woman's Herbal Symposium. Last year it rained and rained and was very cold. Brrrrrrr. Better weather this time, so far.

Where's The Kitchen Sink?


Where's The Kitchen Sink?, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

We needed a great big shoehorn to get all this gear in.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Jerry Gets His Feet Muddy


Jerry Gets His Feet Muddy, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

On Saturday Jerry and I headed over to Peg and Dave's for a cob and plaster party. This was Jerry's first experience actually mixing cob and he was game to try it out before we tackle building a cob oven in his yard.
Peg's soil must by nearly 100% clay! We had to add about 50% sand it was so sticky. With the plaster she had harvested cattails and that was wonderful stuff to work with.
I mixed about ten batches of cob and hand applied quite a bit of cob and plaster. I was a bit sore the next day.
I can so imagine building a large structure and getting in really good shape over a period of four or five months.
On this day we were blessed with perfect weather and the most excellent and fun group of folks to work with.