Do-it-yourself moving van, vertical technique

No indication of where this is. From looks of headgear guys are wearing, might be in mid-east…

http://eleanorcheah.blogspot.com/2009/07/moving-house.html

Hearth and home and reincarnation

There's the physical part of it, the walls and roof. There are scores of construction methods in all our building books. But equally important, not so easy to define, is the feeling you get in a home. The way it feels inside. I stepped into an old English cottage in the Berkshires on a cold night 30 years ago. There was a low ceiling, fire burning in the corner, and it felt so good it was a jolt. Like a connection to a past life. I've often thought reincarnation is genetic. I have Welsh ancestors, and they would have lived in such cottages. Couldn't that familiar feeling of hearth and home be in the blood?
In the 60s I was sitting at a table in the house I was building in Big Sur. There was no electricity, and I was sharpening a chisel by the light of a kerosene lantern, and wham! I knew I'd done this before. Such a strong feeling it occurred to me that one of my dad's ancestors had sharpened a chisel by candlelight, and here I was recognizing a bit of coding in my cells.

French 35'-high robot elephant of recycled materials

Dubbed the “Great Elephant,” this 12-meters high and 8-meters wide mechanical elephant uses 45 tons of reclaimed wood and steel for its construction. This robo elephant is capable of taking up to 49 passengers on a 45-minute joy ride.
Ooh, those French!
http://is.gd/dgy2X

House moving in Malaysia

Looks like about 40 men here…

http://www.strawbale.com/moving-a-straw-bale-house#more-1824

Music in my life

Is a huge part of my life. 2 of my 3 sons are musicians*. I took violin lessons for 7 years, gave it up in high school because it didn't seem cool. Didn't play it for 50 years. A few years ago I was in a music store and asked to see a violin that was hanging up. To my surprise I could play like I'd never quit.Bought it for $200.  Lesley had no idea I could play. I took it home and she was baking a pie. I snuck the violin out and played "Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy." Surprise and merriment.
*Will plays in the Brazilian band Sambada, from Santa Cruz: http://www.sambada.com/

Sirius Satellite Radio

I kid you not, Sirius has changed my life. The quality of music is just off the charts. My pre-selected stations are BB King's Blusville; Outlaw Country (rockin' country); The Joint (reggae); Bluegrass; the '50s; a classical station Bach etc.); Raw Dog Comedy; I switch around a lot. Tuesday on the road: The Right Time by Otis Rush; Bumblebee by Memphis Minnie; Gregory Isaacs... reggae somehow goes with Mendocino county; I Have a Boyfriend by the Chiffons, made me think of all those great girl groups of the 50s with their intricate harmonies and witty backups. Doo ron-ron...As I write this I'm sitting in my round room at Louie's listening to the Abyssinians singing Satta Mass Gana, "There is a life far, far away..."

Bass Madness: My new box bass is so great that I've been playing it a LOT. It's wonderful to discover the world of bass playing. I never really heard the bass before. It's like a different world, steady, the underlying current. Most people tune into only the melody.

My first musical love was the Mills Brothers, in the late 40s and 50s. The harmonies, the trumpets and trombone and bass done with the human voice. The much later, age 18, I walked into Sherm Welpton's room at the Fiji house at Stanford and heard "Yes it's me and I'm in love again" by Fats Domino (pic left). Ooo-wee! That led into the world of what was called rhythm and blues.. We started listening to KDIA, Lucky 13, in San Francisco, the black music station. We (ages 18-20) started going to R&B concerts in Santa Cruz and LA, with groups like the Clovers, Medallions, Robins, Drifters, Coasters...fantastic singing and dancing in unison...Earl Bostic on saxophone. Lieber and Stoller songs, what a couple of geniuses. Which all led me into blues and rock and roll.

This Tuesday, the Kahn family is backing up 91-year-old ragtime piano player Phoebe Babo at the Aegis Rest Home in Corte Madera. Brother Bob on banjo, son Will on drums, me on box bass. A sort of celebration of my mom's life, for the residents. We're going to film it. Here's Phoebe a few weeks ago doing Bye Bye Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIM3WVFROYs

3-day trip, chapter #2

I'm deliriously in love with the Pacific Ocean, it fills my heart with joy. You never know with a body of water. I went down to paddle in the lagoon around 6 the other night. The water was like glass, the air was fresh, I stood talking to surfer/fisherman Andrew for 5 minutes, both of us enjoying the moment, the birds, water, sunlight, ridge in background. It's a bond that surfers, fishermen, and beachcombers share. We're drawn to the ocean. Tuesday night the cove in Pt. Arena was beautiful at sunset. The wind had dropped, and the waves shimmered with silver as they broke.

When I was around 12, I had my first insight into a deeper level of nature. We used to spend the summer at the Russian River, and one evening around sunset I was walking through a hay field and saw a mouse scurry by. I stopped and held still and soon more mice came out. I stood there for like 20 minutes. It was next to a haystack, which was like a mouse skyscraper, and the mice ran all over the friggin place, carrying stuff, chatting, almost climbing over my shoes. They thought I was a tree. It was this busy little society, seldom seen by humans. I was practically ecstatic.

The room I stay in at Louie's (see below) is in his shop. His house is on the other side of the river. To get there you ride in a bosun's chair 500' across the river on a cable. I went across Wed. night to have dinner. (I shot a video of the ride, which I'll put on YouTube next week.) We roasted 2 wild ducks, and had them with a salad, Louie's homemade Syrah wine, and an apple pastry he whipped up for desert. Oh yeah, a few shots of tequila and olives before dinner. Listened to music of the '40s, then CD of The Harder They Come while we ate … we old guys, like, know how to have a good time.

3-day trip up the coast

I get up a 5 Tuesday morning, load up the Tacoma, and take off for my friend Louie's, 3 hours up the coast on Hwy. One. Fragrant latte and cookie at Toby's in Pt. Reyes Station (best coffee in Marin), then skirt the eastern edge of Tomales bay, mist drifting across tide flats. In spite of the terrible things going on all over the world, I still have these days, magic moments when I'm thrilled to be alive. The hills are still moist from all the rain. Cattle all have shiny coats. Flock of fat butterball looking sheep. Coffee, ganja, blues on radio, not too shabby eh?. Sometimes a song will be perfect with passing scenery, and I make a movie in my mind, moving through space with music. It's a low tide and I check out a clam digging area for future trips. Lots of clams, a bunch of clam diggers. Pick up some beautiful large sheets of nori seaweed, will see if I can clean and dry it when I get home There's a roadkill faun on the highway, but it's too old.

Great breakfast (preceded by um, a Bloody Mary; hey, it seemed appropriate) at recently refurbished Timber Cove Inn. There's something good going on in that kitchen. Looks like a great place for a weekend getaway, on rocky point looking out at ocean. Not cheap, but elegant in its present incarnation.

Around noon I get out to Louie's, which is in a valley, on a river. I unpack in this room, which always makes me happy, every part of it is so right. Bed on right, desk for my MacBook at left, looks out into sunny vineyard, redwoods in background.











Louie and Lloyd House are my two favorite builders in the world. Louie's next project will be willow furniture, There are always little things around that are a delight, like this Birch branch hose holder:

I go down to the swimming hole, lie in sun a little, boy does it feel good to have sun on my skin, I'd forgotten. Dive into deep green water, the river is beautiful (and cold) right now. About 8' deep alongside rock face.

 Three 13-or-so-yr-old girls are on the beach, talking.

"And I'm, like, no way!"

"She like had 2 kids."

"He's like, sorry to be so late."

"And she's like, where have you been?"

Then, like, a 15-yr old boy comes and he and the girls start jumping off the cliff into the pool.

They're playing and giggling, having a great time. Gaiety on a sunny afternoon at the swimming hole.

Back home: I wrote a bunch of stuff yesterday afternoon, will post when there's time. Also shot movie of going 500' across river on Louie's aerial tramway cable, which I'll get up on YouTube.