Friday, August 30, 2013

Porches and Overhangs

Arts and Crafts timber

For a climate with the amount of precipitation that Galicia receives, at least up until now, the architectural sheltering structures are few and far between.  Eaves and door overhangs/canopies tend to be minimal or non-existant.

The south side of the house will eventually have to have some sort of porch or patio for summer shade.  That leaves the west door, complicated by the fact that the entry drive is already narrow with the creek along one side.  But it wold be nice to have a shelter while hunting for your keys in a downpour.

Not very waterproof

Simple shed roof

More substantial, but narrow projection

Even narrower, beautiful carved stone and corbels

Tiled simple shed

Interesting trusses, more at the link

Perhaps too storybook - but ¨happily ever after¨ doesn´t sound too bad.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Pallets

They make the most interesting stuff out of shipping pallets.






via 


Monday, August 19, 2013

My Dinner with Andre

Caught this the other night. I´d forgotten how much I liked it when it first came out. But what astonished me is that this movie is from 1981. Before Gordon Gekko, Iran Contra, the Falklands War, Chernobyl, Nintendo, cell phones, internet billionaires, SUVs, McMansions or subprime mortgages. I think it´s positively prescient.



Now many people thought it was an interminable bore featuring two New York pseudo-intellectuals yammering on for 2 hours.  And be warned, that´s all there is, just two people talking.  Shawn is a struggling playwright/actor who reluctantly meets his more successful friend Andre Gregory after his return from 5 years of experimental projects and seeking spiritual enlightenment.

WALLY SHAWN :   I've lived in this city all my life. I grew up on the Upper East Side. And when I was ten years old, I was rich, I was an aristocrat. Riding around in taxis, surrounded by comfort, and all I thought about was art and music. Now, I'm 36, and all I think about is money. 
 

 Like any student of theatre, I was thrilled to see references to the experimental avant guard anywhere. BTW - Findhorn is still operational!

ANDRE: OK. Yes, we are bored. We're all bored now. But has it ever occurred to you Wally that the process that creates this boredom that we see in the world now may very well be a self-perpetuating, unconscious form of brainwashing, created by a world totalitarian government based on money, and that all of this is much more dangerous than one thinks? and it's not just a question of individual survival Wally, but that somebody who's bored is asleep, and somebody who's asleep will not say no?

As Andre says - ¨Escape - before it´s too late.¨

My Dinner with Andre is a 1981 film starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, written by Gregory and Shawn, and directed by Louis Malle.  More from wikipedia here.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Monday, August 12, 2013

Speaking of stoves

We´re pretty sure we´ll be buying the Hergom L-07 CC wood burning cooker with a water deposit that will serve radiators in the bedrooms and baths.  We saw one at a house under renovation and took heart from the fact that it seemed quite straightforward and their space was considerably bigger and had more radiators.

 via

But I´m having trouble visualizing combining the stove flue and a range hood. I read somewhere that range hoods were dodgy with a wood fired stove because it affects the draw, or something.  And some stoves are pictured without ventilation.

 via


But as the lovely Pueblo Girl advised me, the combination of cooking in olive oil and floating wood smoke and ash, doesn´t sound appealing.  And the variety of range hoods these days is staggering.



The stove will be against an interior stone wall, so the stovepipe will go straight up to the roof.  A small gas stove will go alongside for summer cooking, so ideally the hood should serve both surfaces.




For more on cooking with wood see:

Wood cookstove cooking
5 Acres and a Dream

Friday, August 9, 2013

Anxo Lorenzo


To celebrate the weekend, a musician I only recently heard of, Anxo Lorenzo.  Classically trained, he plays the gaita and various flutes. You´ll find a lot of festival footage of him on youtube.



His last album, Tirán from 2010 has moved him into fusion.  From his website:

The album has 11 tracks that are a mix between composition and tradition from the Galician Rías to the Seas of Ireland. A demonstration of virtuosity and sensibility in equal measure and enhanced by the participation of the famous Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell, the strings of Pancho Álvarez, percussion by Milla and Roi Adrio, hurdy-gurdy by Anxo Pintos, accordion by Jorge Arribas and the Hindi style group Om/Off. There is still much to say and discuss in Galician Folk music and now Anxo Lorenzo is having his say. "Tirán" is the genesis of a long musical career for an artist that surprises us with his modesty in light of his genial flair. As a classically trained musician, soloist and composer Anxo continues with his research into various fields of music and gives master classes all over the world


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Firenze Cucine stoves

Firenze Cucine has some seriously fabulous stoves.  Enough to set a steampunk heart aflutter.





The black is my favorite but there are more colors available.





Definitely a ¨more is more¨ kind of aesthetic.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Introducing


HRH Bico II, who is gracing us with his presence whilst V´s mother is on a tour of the northern provinces.

As is his custom, Bico rises early and addresses the neighborhood with an impromptu musical offering.  Then it´s insde for a quick housekeeping regime and a refreshing shower.  He maintains his excellent health following a strict exercise program of 30,000 perch revolutions daily, during his stay out on the terrace and more music - lots more.  What a repertoire.

He´ll have to wait until his return to his customary residence for a pedicure.

After enjoying a selection of nuts and fresh salad, should it prove inhospitably hot, he retires indoors for a light siesta, returning to his public duties in the evening for a final concert before withdrawing to his draped private chambers.

We are honored by his presence.