semana pasada

ok so this week, lizzie and i began building a wall around the outdoor bath. she lent me a book called building with straw bales: a practical guide for the uk and ireland, with a book mark in the chapter about non-concrete foundations. apparently, based on what i've read so far, using natural materials like straw and lime-crete are better than concrete because they allow moisture in and out of the building. concrete does not, and moisture is inevitable from the ground or rain. if the moisture gets in through the roof, floor, window structures, etc. but cannot get out through the concrete, it will destroy the concrete or plaster, and thus the house. for more information from the actual experts, see the book. anyway, from there we began the foundation. here are some photos:

(photo by lizzie wynn: http://www.lizziewynn.co.uk/)

i also met lizzie's parents this week; we all shared lunch and tea. lizzie's father is hilarious and her mother loves telling stories about her life. it's interesting to be around them, as they seem very different. i found during one of our many conversations about the english language that some believe north american english is what the british spoke around the time when they colonized what is now the us. according to this theory, today's british english is what has evolved and been "destorted"; american english may be closer to the "pure" english so often associated with british english in the us. hm...
i've been trying to insert some ebonics history and what i gathered about creole from kettia in these conversations. but according to lizzie's canadian spouse, charissa, neither of these made it up to any black canadians she's encountered. i was shocked by this, since detroit is so close to canada and the french  colonized canada. then again, the french also colonized detroit, and i didn't hear a lick of creole growing up there. also, charissa grew up on a farm far away from the canadian border near detroit. so maybe there is some ebonics in canada that she just hasn't heard. maybe i'll research this in the coming weeks...

the other night, we also watched garbage warrior, which blew my mind. much of lizzie's building is inspired by this architect's eco-building method. and now, i wanna travel to new mexico and meet him. the documentary is about an off-the-grid subdivision that he built with a community of volunteer builders and architects. the community is completely self sufficient and eco-based, complete with independent heating, food/plant, and water systems. they eventually went across the world to address natural disasters by using their building methods. their buildings are called earth ships. in the film there is some controversy because, of course, the us government doesn't wanna allow anything explicitly associated with addressing climate change, especially during the bush administration, which denied the phenomenon altogether. anyway, check it out, if you haven't already.

here are more photos of torvizcon, where i visit often for yoga and to use the internet:

a little touristy info about the granada province:

me on the way to torvizcon

stay tuned for more updates. a lot happens, too much for me to make these posts more interesting to read. they'll get better, though. lol. 

ciao.