Deconstructing the home

Except for Oscar the Grouch and possibly a few others, most people have no desire to live in a dumpster. Nonetheless, it can be enlightening and informative to, as Gregory Kloehn does in this video, "deconstruct" what a home is and then incorporate only what is specifically required to function efficiently and be happy. Everyone has different requirements so this exercise can yield very different results, but you may find that your notion of what a home is has been largely shaped by "traditional" homes on the market and under construction. By focusing on individual needs rather than familiar patterns, you very well may find that a smaller, more unconventional home meets most or all of your needs, significantly reduces invested time and money, and, while not necessarily the case with this dumpster home, is actually more aesthetically pleasing.

My first wooden barrel!

This week I proudly welcomed into my home my first wooden barrel. Of course, humans have been making barrels for more than 2,000 years, but I find these oak barrels, still widely used for aging beverages such as wine and whiskey, to be a marvel of design and craftsmanship: curved wood, significant mobility given size, and watertight without caulking or glue!

I can think of several uses for an oak barrel including water catchment (rain barrel) and plant potter. However, I purchased this one, a ~60 gallon French oak cask made at Tonnellerie Rousseau in France and used locally by a friend to produce Pinot noir, because I hope to miraculously transform it into an ofuro (Japanese bath).  I'm not entirely certain at this point how that's going to happen, but I know I want warm/hot water, ideally solar-generated, and at least some circulation, while absolutely minimizing new holes in barrel, ideally utilizing only existing bunghole. I also need convenient, well-designed ingress and egress. Please feel free to comment as I am open to any and all ideas.

Silver Lake cabin

Labor Day Weekend I was hiking around Silver Lake, a beautiful alpine lake south of Lake Tahoe. The northeast shore has a lot of interesting cabins and homes nestled in the trees. This particular cabin caught my eye because it's relatively well integrated into its environment even though it's location in a boulder field with few trees actually left it more exposed than most cabins in the area.  However, its modest size, lack of a dedicated driveway, natural-looking lines, and materials which, at least in theory, could have been largely sourced from the vicinity make this cabin almost an extension of the environment.