Why is Sophia's smile so captivating?

[wolram]

 

[Evo]

Is that your house?

 

[Hootenanny]

That's not nice Evo, I'm sure Wolram doesn't live in a skip!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Is that your house?

It couldn't be. I don't see any smoke billowing out.

 

[Evo]

That's not nice Evo, I'm sure Wolram doesn't live in a skip!

It couldn't be. I don't see any smoke billowing out.

 

[wolram]

Is that your house?

Whats left of it.

 

[wolram]

Just to the right of the skip is the covered over hole.

 

[Astronuc]

You have skip? I would've been happy to have a hole!

Monty Python - Four Yorkshiremen (40 years ago)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FatHLHG2uGY

 

[wolram]

You have skip? I would've been happy to have a hole!

Monty Python - Four Yorkshiremen (40 years ago)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FatHLHG2uGY

Just before i took the pic i could not get to the house, it was surrounded by escaped sheep,
i had to help round them up, i am sure we missed one cause i keep hearing, BAAAR.

 

[Poop-Loops]

You Europeans and your brick houses. Hilarious.

 

[wolram]

You Europeans and your brick houses. Hilarious.

Yep, this is all us poor Brits can afford a house made of brick nearly 200 yrs ago, we used to use a lot more wood in our buildings but then we stopped because they kept catching fire.

 

[Andre]

Brick build is bit more storm resistant too.

 

[Astronuc]

Brick build is bit more storm resistant too.

Beats straw or sticks.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Yeah, I'd like to see you all say that when an earthquake hits.

Oh, right, you Brits only get the midget earthquakes.

 

[wolram]

Beats straw or sticks.

I read a piece about a guy building a wood framed straw walled house a short time ago, he was using untreated bales of tight compacted straw, i did not learn what he covered the straw with, it is amazing but there are adobe type buildings still in use in the UK some quite ancient.

 

[turbo]

Yep, this is all us poor Brits can afford a house made of brick nearly 200 yrs ago, we used to use a lot more wood in our buildings but then we stopped because they kept catching fire.

My wife and I lived in a rented brick farmhouse for a couple of years while the new owner saved enough money to start renovations. The exterior walls were not insulated, so we closed off all the rooms except the kitchen, bath, and a small room that we used for a bedroom. The first summer there, I had logged, split, and stacked enough wood to fill the whole furnace-room, and I was pretty proud of myself until I talked to a neighbor who had actually grown up in that house, and he told me that wouldn't be enough. When they lived there, they only heated those rooms that we left open, and they filled the furnace room and much of the cistern-room as well. I ended up with over 20 cords of wood, and had to cut extra over the winter to keep from running out. Brrr!

 

[wolram]

Yeah, I'd like to see you all say that when an earthquake hits.

Oh, right, you Brits only get the midget earthquakes.

Yes, the sun shines on the UK, apart from when it is raining.

 

[wolram]

My wife and I lived in a rented brick farmhouse for a couple of years while the new owner saved enough money to start renovations. The exterior walls were not insulated, so we closed off all the rooms except the kitchen, bath, and a small room that we used for a bedroom. The first summer there, I had logged, split, and stacked enough wood to fill the whole furnace-room, and I was pretty proud of myself until I talked to a neighbor who had actually grown up in that house, and he told me that wouldn't be enough. When they lived there, they only heated those rooms that we left open, and they filled the furnace room and much of the cistern-room as well. I ended up with over 20 cords of wood, and had to cut extra over the winter to keep from running out. Brrr!

I have kept this place warm with 800 watts, but so far temps have not fell below -5.

 

[turbo]

I have kept this place warm with 800 watts, but so far temps have not fell below -5.

And you're using that crazy Celsius scale, too, so that is a very high winter temp compared to us. We routinely get weeks when the temperature doesn't get above 0 deg F. Luckily, this little log house heats up nicely with a tiny wood stove and a few cords of dry wood. I say "luckily" because the remainder of the wood that I stacked last summer is buried under several feet of snow and I'm really happy not to have to dig it out and re-stock the wood shed.

 

[wolram]

And you're using that crazy Celsius scale, too, so that is a very high winter temp compared to us. We routinely get weeks when the temperature doesn't get above 0 deg F. Luckily, this little log house heats up nicely with a tiny wood stove and a few cords of dry wood. I say "luckily" because the remainder of the wood that I stacked last summer is buried under several feet of snow and I'm really happy not to have to dig it out and re-stock the wood shed.

How do you stop a log house getting water logged?

 

[turbo]

How do you stop a log house getting water logged?

Large overhanging eaves and a tight roof. It doesn't hurt to do some preventative coating with Thompson's Water-Seal, too. Something that I will probably do this summer after I spray one more time for false powder-post beetles. Insect damage is a bigger threat than water damage, but I don't mind spraying for bugs because the compound is made from Borax and is non-toxic to humans and pets and my beloved little chipmunk buddies.

My friend's granddaughter was excited to see the chipmunks climbing me to search my pockets for seeds, but when I got one of them to eat from her hand, she was in heaven!

For the sake of the environment and the health of our friends, families and critter buddies, I garden organically, and only use non-toxic defenses for my plants and trees. We had a wonderful crop of apples last year with hardly any insect problems. Every few weeks, I mixed up a solution of water with canola oil and a little bit of palm-oil based dish-washing detergent and sprayed the trees. The oil smothered the insect eggs and larvae, and the apples were beautiful. We had all we could use, and invited relatives to come pick them too. The trees were loaded with fruit. After the snow melts, I'll spread some composted cow manure around their roots to kick-start them into the season.

 

[wolram]

Cool pics Turbo, i would not mind some of those rascals about my property.

 

[turbo]

Cool pics Turbo, i would not mind some of those rascals about my property.

If you look closely, you'll see a vole in the bottom-right of the picture. She was quite bored and dejected for a while because no chipmunks had showed up, and she was watching the vole (second fiddle) until the chipmunk appeared. The chipmunk kept running to me looking for seeds, and it took a while for her to figure out that the little girl on the patio was the one with the seeds. After a minute or two of caution, greed overcame newness and a new chipmunk-feeder was accepted into the clan.

 

[Andre]

Turbo, why not post your friends granddaughter in the for-sore-eyes thread?

 

[turbo]

I would, Andre, but I already used it for a contest on "Joy" some time back. Sophia is such a cutie, and when she grins like that, her face just lights up!