windows

I put the windows in today.
The large window is made up of two smaller windows. unfortuntely there is a 5" section that is the top of one and the bottom of another window.
I sat up a chair and it is horrible. I can't see anything I want to see. That divider section blocks way too much.
So, it comes out and something else takes it's place.
Found a used window that might work. Still not sure.
Rats!

I like red cars, they look so good in  photographs.
Not likely to buy one soon, but I still like them!

So I bought it

It didn't seem too complicated.

In my life a good air compressor is pretty important. Mine was at the bottom of the pond during our recent non flood (a flood is a different legal thing). It needed to be replaced, and the insurance company would help pay for it.

I wanted a particular brand and even a particular color. It seems the nice small company that made fabulous compressors was bought out by a biggie and began producing imported junk. But the original company is still making their usual version. The color labels their origin.

So I found the right one at Amazon. Ahh, Good old Amazon. So I placed the order. The tool is quality and the price was appropriate. First thing I know I get a response from some company I have never heard of that they have shipped the compressor. That is OK, except that I got two emails and they shipped one to two different addresses. I had asked (I thought) to have it shipped, not to my current address, but to friend David's address, who needed to borrow it for a while. They sent one to both addresses.

I emailed them. Sorry, but it has been shipped. Maybe you can return one later.

Later came I tried to return one. They might take it back for credit if I paid to have it shipped to their office in HagoPago.

I ended up gifting the 2nd one to my dear friend David, whose motorhome we are living in, rather than pay and risk with them.

Not happy about the whole thing. The only moral I can come up with is that I should really take physical possession of larger ticket items when I purchase them (in other words, don't buy on line from Amazon, who "sold" the order to the HagoPago guys).

Amazon did not come out looking good. Not happy about that one either.

photography -- my view

I have owned (and still own) some of the great film cameras. Those old ones were solid and dependable, but we are in a digital age now and I won't be able to own a Leica quality digital camera -- ever.
On the other hand I have this distinct feeling (aided by observation) that the quality of the camera has only passing relation to the impact of the photograph. Sometimes camera quality affects the results, but mostly it is our eyes that are the weak point.
While I was in art school I avoided using the spendy welders and presses that the departments were full of, on the fear that I would become so habituated to them that once out of school, without those spendy tools I would be unable to produce art.
So I went back to my studio and made block prints by rubbing them with a block of wood rather than using the spendy press in the print studios. I welded with cheap buzz box welders or with my own gas welder.
I see the same with cameras. While the Canon was wonderful. It is out of my price range. Rather than fuss, or take money from another more pressing project, I'll back off to equipment I can afford.
Truth is that none of us have fully exploited our current equipment (welders or cameras or even brains) to its full capacity.

Tuesday the floor was in place, Friday the walls were up and the roof was dry sheeted.

The front window is partially cut out. There are several other windows.

For large house people this may seem extremely small and cramped. For a Tiny House guy like me, it is wonderfully adequate. 

building progress

This week my friend Ben drove over to help with the building project.

This is not my brother Ben, nor my grandson Ben, but Ben the friend! He drove 250 miles, pulling his travel trailer so he would have a place to sleep!

Ben is an old school carpenter, the kind who knows what he is doing and knows how to get it done. Ben is also a year older than I am. We did have the occasional help of a couple of my 16 year old grandsons, when more muscle was needed.

The goal was to get the frame up on the tiny house addition. Not complicated, but not easy either. To make it all more interesting, the temps each day were in the 90's. Old guys and high temps don't work out too well, I assure you.

But by Friday noon when Ben left, the frame was up, the sheathing was on most of the walls and the roof deck was on as well as a layer of dry sheeting. It will shed water now and there is SHADE.

Before the grandsons leave this next week, I'll get insulation in the ceiling and have them help me with the 5/8 sheetrock. I can do the walls alone, but the ceilings are more physically demanding.

My sweetheart Miriam.

It seems that all sorts of objects have almost human looks.
On short notice we made a run to SanFrancisco for a week or so. Relax time. It is good.
The Canon does what it is supposed to do, but I have not come close to mastering the little adjustments that make the difference between pretty good and amazing.
I'll keep learning!

That is the old curmudgeon. The picture was taken a bit ago by the guy who owns the Canon I am packing around now.
Yep, that's me!

A friend loaned me his "old" camera. It is one of those pro models that most mere mortals can't begin to consider owning. The loan is pretty open ended, but he says he will trade me the 24 to 70 F2.8 zoom lens next week, probably for a 50mm f1.8 or so. Hope it has macro possibilities.

Back

It has been a long break.
Maybe too long.
What with the damage to the house and the insurance and the incredible amount of time it all takes, my brain has just had to lay low and stop thinking.
Really could not decide much of anything, couldn't really think of anything, there were too many blank pages and chapters.
Then there was a check for our personal property that was lost or damaged - that helped a little. A couple days ago the main adjuster called and gave me a number of what they would pay and said that a check would be sent the next day.
We haven't gotten to the receiving part of that check yet, so I am writing with or by faith.
Now I can start thinking a bit more,  but the thoughts are not clear and certainly not definite.
We still own the house, what is left of it, and the lot it sits on. That is not bad. But what to do with that knowledge? Not sure, still thinking about it, but keeping it seems the best option, or right now it seems that way.

My last camera had a terrible time with reds. It just ran them together and made them seem pretty awful. The new iPhone seems to have an issue with greens. Maybe it just is not ready to handle saturated color!