Dreaming

I haven't been doing much of the traditional dreaming lately, despite the new mattress topper, which M is praising, thank goodness. However, I have been daydreaming about my dream home. I think the horrid cyclone fence closing in behind us is driving me to it.

Remembering how well the money Rob gave me worked, I'm spinning a new chant, focusing on finding a semi-rural home nearby. I'm visualizing trees. And I'm preparing myself to be patient. I want the right (destined?) place after all--this does not happen overnight. Though if the lotto strikes and it really is overnight after all, well, that's OK too.

Part of what helps me be patient is the realization that there are many decisions to be made and priorities to be…prioritized. Can I handle a fixer-uppper? How much interior space am I willing to settle for (because at California prices, there will be settling). What about outdoor space? Do I want to try to build a home from the ground up? The latter sounds both exhilarating and exhausting, both expensive but worth it. There are some cool modular houses out there now…

And then the self doubt sweeps in--what if what I think I want is actually not really what I want after all? What if it happens and then comes the realization that it was better as a daydream? Well…not like I have to worry about that until the mantra bears fruit, that I hope will only be as sweet as possible.

I read an article in the Sunday Times today about a new type of construction technique. From the article:

Inspired by the inkjet printer, the technology goes far beyond the techniques already used for prefabricated homes. "This will remove all the limitations of traditional building," said Hugh Whitehead of the architecture firm Foster & Partners. "Anything you can dream you can build." It involves computer-controlled robotic nozzles which pipe quick-drying liquid gypsum and concrete to form walls, floors and roofs. By building almost an entire house from just two materials, the robots will eliminate the need for dozens of traditional components, including floorboards, wooden window frames and possibly even wallpaper. It may eventually be possible to use specially treated gypsum instead of glass window panes. Engineers say the robots will not only cut costs and avoid human delays but liberate the normal family homes from the conventional designs of pitched roofs, right-angled walls and rectangular windows. "The architectural options will explode," predicted Dr Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who will soon unleash his $1.5 million robot. "We will be able to build curves and domes as easily as straight walls." The researchers in Los Angeles claim their robot will be able to build the shell of a house in 24 hours. The rival British system is likely to take at least a week but will include more sophisticated design features, with the computer’s nozzle weaving in ducts for water pipes, electrical wiring and ventilation within the panels of gypsum or concrete. Jala El-Ali, structural designer at Buro Happold said future homes could carry features borrowed from ant hills, honeycombs or sea shells.

This is something I can work into my waking dream. This would be something I'd be willing to wait for. Maybe Eva Zeisel will live forever, and she'll design my home! It could happen. It could. Just give me the right meditation phrasing.

*****

Exclaiming about the weather is all the rage here. It's cold. The hose is frozen dry in the morning. A layer of ice floats on the outside dog bowl. The hummingbirds have to wait for the sun to be up for quite awhile before there's enough sugarwater melted for them to drink. I fear for the lemon bush, which is obviously suffering and now I'm regretting our decision to plant it in the ground last month rather than procrastinating for yet another year. I also fear for the neighbor's dog--it's so cold, he doesn't bark when I go out each night to cover the lemon bush, though he barked this morning when I whisked the sheets from the cringing bush.