As Clear As Mud

The weather has been trying it's best to improve. We've been posting 15-17c all week with some very nice sunny days. Ever notice it's easier to make friends when it's sunny? Record temperature to date is 19.5c.

We went to the local potluck on Sunday. The vegan sushi that I made was a hit. You can only eat so much tofu, don't you think? The guest speaker(s) were the lasqueti Island Mud Girls that specialize in alternative building, mostly Cob, which is a mixture of clay, sand, water and straw. (basically mud)There is one beautiful cob home here on the island and there is a rumour that a straw-bale home will be built here this year.

We're now re-re-thinking our building plans as we would like to utilize some of these natural building techniques. We're only going to get one crack at this so we don't want to rush it. We now have a floor plan that we like, but we'll wait and do some more research before committing to working drawings. We frequent the lot often, to imagine where the gardens, fruit trees and workshop will go.

This pic is from the Blackfin Pub in Comox at 9:30 AM Thursday... no, I'm not at the pub, it's from their webcam. Denman is the little slip of land at the top-left of the picture (past the spit with the trees). It's going to be a great day with temps over 20c

Our Mason heater should be arriving in Vancouver late this week. Now I just have to figure out a way to get the (one ton plus) pallet somewhere closer to home. I'll be on the mainland for a short time this week, just long enough to pack Curt up and move him to Vancouver island. It'll give me a good excuse to drop into the warehouse and size up the fireplace. I'll also be able to check out Curt and Denise's new digs in Oak Bay before I bolt back to the island. We don't miss the lower mainland, but we do miss the kids there.

Cheap Dave's Wine Corner: SHIRAZ - CONCHA Y TORO CASILLERO DEL DIABLO 2004 (Chile) $13.98 This shiraz had a bit of a weak entry up front, with nice fruit on the mid pallet and a medium finish. It had a little peppery smoke flavour, but it didn't really come together for me. Maybe I was just spoiled last week. Gismondi: "Very peppery, spicy, smoky, rosemary, sausage meat nose with black cherry and chocolate mixed in. Smooth, dry and round with light tannins. Ripe black cherry fruit with chocolate, minty, rosemary, gamey, spicy, licorice flavours. A bit warm and acidic on the finish but continued fine effort at an excellent price."