Update on the deck addition project – a new phase has begun!
I’ve learned so much about myself during this project.
First, I’m not much for plotting and planning things out. I’ve built it pretty much step-by-step and have made adjustments as I’ve had to. Now this seems to be related to how I process information. I simply can’t “visualize” a project like this in my head – I have to literally lay it out to figure out how it will go together and where the bugs are going to be. Also, this whole deck addition idea came about because I was sick and tired of not being able to use the door and I was going to build some steps. Well…. as I was out there with the step forms from the Home Depot store, I got to see how much better it would be to have a deck addition.
Guess that means I would not have made a good architect, huh?
Anyway…. I ‘finished’ what I originally started and then when examining my work, I realized how cool it would be to wrap it around the side of the house a bit. So that’s what I started on today. Here’s a few pics of today’s work.
You can see the frame and where I’ve finished laying out the deck boards on the side.
Here’s a good view of the side area – it will be pretty cool to be able to wash those windows without a ladder!
You can also see where I’ve finished off the edge that joins the old deck.
And wow…. my poor hands – especially the right one that was injured last year in the motorcycle accident. I wore the brace the hand surgeon gave me all day today which has helped relieve some of the pain. I am going to make an appointment with the hand surgeon again though – it needs to be fixed if possible.
Don't think the USA can become controlled by a dictator? Think again….
What is an “Executive Order” in the USA? It is a presidential power NOT designated by our Constitution.
Here’s a pretty good succinct summary of the “Executive Order”
From the above link –
“Article I, Section 1 of the United States Constitution is concise in its language, “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” When the Constitution was proposed, those opposed to a strong central government, the anti-Federalists, argued that there was no Bill of Rights to protect the people and that a centralized government would become too powerful, usurping the rights of the individual States.
At the time of its formation, the Constitution was created in secrecy and in direct contradiction to the mandate of the Congress, which was to amend the Articles of Confederation that were governing the infant nation since the end of the American revolution. Under the Articles of Confederation, the President of the United States was known as the President of the United States in Congress Assembled. The one-year Presidency was very limited in its scope, responsibility and authority. The Constitution, in contrast to the Articles of Confederation, established a strong four-year Presidency, but still only providing extremely limited powers to the office.
The greatest fear the founders of this nation had was the establishment of a strong central government and a strong political leader at the center of that government. They no longer wanted kings, potentates or czars, they wanted a loose association of States in which the power emanated from the States and not from the central government.“
Now here’s a short list of “Executive Orders” for your reading pleasure.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10990 allows the government to take over all modes of transportation and control of highways and seaports.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and control the communication media.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10997 allows the government to take over all electrical power, gas, petroleum, fuels and minerals.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to take over all food resources and farms.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11000 allows the government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government supervision.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11001 allows the government to take over all health, education and welfare functions.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to operate a national registration of all persons.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11003 allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft, including commercial aircraft.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and establish new locations for
populations.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11005 allows the government to take over railroads, inland waterways and public storage facilities.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11051 specifies the responsibility of the Office of Emergency Planning and gives authorization to put all Executive Orders into effect in times of increased international tensions and economic or financial crisis.
EXECUTIVE ORDER 11310 grants authority to the Department of Justice to enforce the plans set out in Executive Orders, to institute industrial support, to establish judicial and legislative liaison, to control all aliens, to operate penal and correctional institutions, and to advise and assist the President.
***
A Presidential Executive Order, whether Constitutional or not, becomes law simply by its publication in the Federal Registry. Congress is by-passed.
This means that the government may, upon declaration of a state of local or national emergency, seize any of the above, private or otherwise, including manpower.
***
If you’re not angry, you’re NOT paying attention.
Kindred Spirits
“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us, and though distant, is close to us in spirit – this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden…….”
Deck Addition – Phase 2 with pics
Someone I deeply admire described me as “irascible” recently – of course I had to look that up in the dictionary (you see – he’s VERY smart).
irascible
adjective
(of a person) easily made angry.
• characterized by or arising from anger : their rebukes got progressively more irascible.
I’m sure my sons would agree!
And believe it or not – this DOES relate to my deck addition project. You’ll recall that a few years ago, my oldest son made a comment about “Steve” (my ex-SO) doing everything around here. It seems to me it is that “irascible” part of me that gets motivated for house projects like this.
Progress is being made. I’ve found that I’ve had to make some adjustments along the way with respect to the foundation. Needed more support right against the wall.
I laid all of the lumber out first – needed to be sure I had estimated right and wanted to be sure I understood where any issues would be. This was a good idea. I ended up having to buy more so that where I had to seam was minimal and I could stagger it such that it didn’t result in a very visual line.
This image is taken from the upper side of the waterfall.
I am cutting the boards to fit snuggly against the wall, but leaving the other side as is until I’m finished. Then I will use my circular saw to trim the edge connecting to the old deck when I’m finished.
It is also a good thing I chose to use deck screws instead of nails as I’ve had to remove boards and make some corrections. The screws made it much easier.
An interesting ‘unintended consequence’ of this deck addition is the additional seating created by building it flush with the wall. I went out at night and found that the height of the deck results in perfect seating on the wall.
America – Freedom to Fascism
[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173]
"Love" and our Shadow
Claudia posted such a relevant blog at the end of July that I want to share it here as well. Such wisdom….
“Monday, July 23, 2007
Life is full of Light and Shadows …..
Soulnurture.com has presented an interesting piece on Lights and Shadows. I thought it was worth sharing with you all:
Global Wisdom: The Shadow of Love and Passion..
A rather imprecise but valuable metaphor is: “There is a shadow for every light; and also a light for every shadow.” A shadow is just what it implies: something we take as the light but is only vaguely associated with it. The “shadow” of Love is attachment; and the shadow of Passion is infatuation/lust. Sorting these out and moving from the shadows of attachment and infatuation/lust into the Light of Love and Passion is difficult. Knowing that the shadows of attachment, infatuation/lust exist naturally with the light, and are to be compassionately moved away from, can greatly reduce the self condemnation and anguish a person feels they are discovered.
People mis-take attachment, in its hold on the psyche, as Love. The psyche (that part of our mind that is focused on surviving/thriving in life) looks for deep emotional needs to be met and pushes. A person seeks to fill this need by another person rather than from within themselves. When the need is being met, all is well within. Because of this, a person may say “I love you” to the person meeting their tender and vulnerable need. We all need interdependence (that place between total dependence and total independence), and that is not the issue here. Attachment is placing needs upon another that truly must be met from within and in God. When need is not met from within and in God, our capacity to truly love is crippled and relationships fall apart.
When infatuation/lust replace true Passion, relationships tend not to fall apart but to “explode.” Need for another person now becomes a hunger and an incessant desire. If the other person does not respond there can be terrible fixation and anguish. If the person responds in kind, there can be immense intensity to the relationship that brings “great highs” in energy and feeling. Unfortunately there comes the “great lows” and enormous depression and suffering if the other is the first to pull away. Such relationships often have a pre-conscious watchfulness — each person wants to be the one to pull away first to avoid the avalanche of suffering. Some people “jump” into such relationships and “jump” out as quickly leaving the other person swirling in confusion and lost-ness.”
More deck addition stuff
After getting the deck addition all framed out – I discovered it wasn’t quite as level as I had thought. I had been making sure everything was level going from east to west but it was the north to south direction I neglected.
Of course this was noticable when the northern most end of the new addition was about 4.5 inches above the existing deck and the end closest to the house was about 1.5 inches. Now 3 inches doesn’t sound like a lot but with the new deck addition being built right next to the existing deck – it was definitely noticeable.
After nursing my sore hands last night, I was talking with Barbara – this really cool lady I work with – and she suggested using a car jack to lift the supports that needed to be leveled.
Brilliant! Bought a car jack for $29 on the way home tonight and leveled everything really nice.
Making progress….. slowly but surely.
Building an addition to my deck
I remember once – a very long time ago – Matt told me that “Steve does everything around here”. At the time that hurt because I knew it wasn’t true. Well, seems I’m proving it isn’t true now. So far since Steve and I split, I’ve replaced all of the plumbing for the waterfall – including a new pump as Steve went cheap on the original pump and it died within two years. The new pump is very high quality and I replaced all of the plumbing with 2″ pipes so the waterfall is much more spectacular. Here’s a recent pic.
I am finally building the addition to my deck. You’ll recall about two years ago I found a wonderful french door – the perfect size – for my dining room. It came from a wine cellar of an old Victorian house in Portland. Anyway – I put that in where a window was and the door has led nowhere since. I have had plans to build the deck addition for a while now but with the roof leak and all, other projects always seemed to come first.
Anyway – now is the time so I will document it all here. Hopefully when I’m dead and gone my sons will know just how capable their mother was. The railing on the original deck will come down and I’ll be painting all of it when done to match the house. I hate having to paint the deck but can’t afford to replace all of it. It will be beautiful when finished.
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August 13, 2007
After getting the deck addition all framed out – I discovered it wasn’t quite as level as I had thought. I had been making sure everything was level going from east to west but it was the north to south direction I neglected.
Of course this was noticeable when the northern most end of the new addition was about 4.5 inches above the existing deck and the end closest to the house was about 1.5 inches. Now 3 inches doesn’t sound like a lot but with the new deck addition being built right next to the existing deck – it was definitely noticeable.
After nursing my sore hands last night, I was talking with Barbara – this really cool lady I work with – and she suggested using a car jack to lift the supports that needed to be leveled.
Brilliant! Bought a car jack for $29 on the way home tonight and leveled everything really nice.
Making progress….. slowly but surely.
*********************************************************
August 19, 2007
Someone I deeply admire described me as “irascible” recently – of course I had to look that up in the dictionary (you see – he’s VERY smart).
irascible
adjective
(of a person) easily made angry.
• characterized by or arising from anger : their rebukes got progressively more irascible.
I’m sure my sons would agree!
And believe it or not – this DOES relate to my deck addition project. You’ll recall that a few years ago, my oldest son made a comment about “Steve” (my ex-SO) doing everything around here. It seems to me it is that “irascible” part of me that gets motivated for house projects like this.
Progress . I’ve found that I’ve had to make some adjustments along the way with respect to the foundation. Needed more support right against the wall.
I laid all of the lumber out first – needed to be sure I had estimated right and wanted to be sure I understood where any issues would be. This was a good idea. I ended up having to buy more so that where I had to seam was minimal and I could stagger it such that it didn’t result in a very visual line.
This image is taken from the upper side of the waterfall.
I am cutting the boards to fit snuggly against the wall, but leaving the other side as is until I’m finished. Then I will use my circular saw to trim the edge connecting to the old deck when I’m finished.
It is also a good thing I chose to use deck screws instead of nails as I’ve had to remove boards and make some corrections. The screws made it easier.
An interesting ‘unintended consequence’ of this deck addition is the additional seating created by building it flush with the wall. I went out at night and found that the height of the deck results in perfect seating on the wall.
*********************************************************
August 26, 2007
I’ve learned so much about myself during this project.
First, I’m not much for plotting and planning things out. I’ve built it pretty much step-by-step and have made adjustments as I’ve had to. Now this seems to be related to how I process information. I simply can’t “visualize” a project like this in my head – I have to literally lay it out to figure out how it will go together and where the bugs are going to be. Also, this whole deck addition idea came about because I was sick and tired of not being able to use the door and I was going to build some steps. Well…. as I was out there with the step forms from the Home Depot store, I got to see how much better it would be to have a deck addition.
Guess that means I would not have made a good architect, huh?
Anyway…. I ‘finished’ what I originally started and then when examining my work, I realized how cool it would be to wrap it around the side of the house a bit. So that’s what I started on today. Here’s a few pics of today’s work.
You can see the frame and where I’ve finished laying out the deck boards on the side.
Here’s a good view of the side area – it will be pretty cool to be able to wash those windows without a ladder!
You can also see where I’ve finished off the edge that joins the old deck.
And wow…. my poor hands – especially the right one that was injured last year in the motorcycle accident. I wore the brace the hand surgeon gave me all day today which has helped relieve some of the pain. I am going to make an appointment with the hand surgeon again though – it needs to be fixed if possible.
*********************************************************
Sept 1, 2007
I finished laying the new decking on the side of the house and replaced 4 existing deck planks that had rotted.
I’ve decided to sand the existing painted deck and then stain it all the same color – it will be the best way to avoid painting and to get it to look like one big deck.
But wow…. bought a belt sander (nice smaller one which is perfect for these sore hands) and I’ve completely sanded five of the 12 ft deck planks so far. I also had to buy a small rotary sander to get the paint off in between the deck boards. What a job this will be.
I’ll take some pics tomorrow and upload them. If I live through this, it will look very nice when finished.
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September 2, 2007
In sanding down the paint on the original deck, I realized I needed to replace 13 more planks.
ugh…… this deck project has taken on a life of it’s own.
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September 3, 2007
As usual, the deck addition project has taken on a life of its own. The old part of the deck was painted when I bought the house and I painted it twice. So I started sanding the old deck and in the course of doing that, found a number of planks that needed to be replaced. In these AM pics, you can see the painted planks vs the replacements. The lighter wood color are the planks that I sanded.
I also turned over a couple of planks as the other side was not painted and in good shape. Then the tiny belt the drives the belt sander broke (ordered a replacement but won’t be here for a week or so). I started to use the orbital sander but wow…. my hands hurt something fierce about 4:30 PM. So I counted the remaining planks and just went and bought more. Installed six of them in an hour.
Here’s what it looked like at the end of today.
Now I’m exhausted and my hands hurt.
And oh yea, I was using my saw to remove old nails and slipped and jabbed my shin with the saw – nice painful hole in my leg now.
I’ll be glad when this project is done.
I didn’t get an opportunity to take any more pics today – I will tomorrow for sure.
*********************************************************
September 9, 2007
Wow…… my whole body feels like it has been through a war.
After coarse sanding yesterday and then pressure washing it all, I sanded one more time with a finer sandpaper (“80” grit). Took almost all day to sand it but finally at 4 PM I was ready to put the redwood stain on.
Here’s a pic this AM. This is after the coarse sanding and pressure washing.
Now because of the use of both old and new wood, I went with a solid redwood stain. Here’s a pic at the end of the day today.
Still lots to do before winter. Have to get the two sets of stairs installed. Am thinking about going with wrought iron for the french door step. Also have to touch up the house paint and figure out how to make the area between the window and the deck on the side extension look nice.
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September 15, 2007
Wow….. I’m amazed I did this in one day. Building stairs is said to be a challenge, even for carpenters. They must be right, or maybe it’s my math skills or spatial visualization handicap…… Anyway….. here are pics of the building process (with printed instructions front and center!) and then one after paint. I painted them the color of the house trim.
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September 22, 2007
I found a nine piece set of teak patio furniture on craigslist for a great price. It had weathered but if you know teak, it is the best and cleans up very, very nicely.
There’s a beautiful oval table with a fold out extension. There are six reclining chairs, two steamer lounges and two side tables.
To give you an idea of what a glutton for punishment I am, after building the deck addition, staining 3 coats of stain, and building steps, I am now restoring the teak furniture to it’s original luster.
Here’s a chair before I washed it.
I washed everything first. Here’s a chair that has been washed.
Of course I did my homework and decided to use SeaFin Teak Oil to restore it. Here’s a chair that has been washed, sanded and one coat of the SeaFin Teak Oil.
And here’s a pic of the whole set. Everything but one chair has been washed, and one of the chairs has one coat of SeaFin Teak Oil. The other two chairs not in the photo are in my dining room and now have three coats of Teak Oil. Wow… they are beautiful!
And since it is the end of summer here, Rich’s had a 20% off sale on umbrellas so I bought one with built in lights. Here’s a pic I took tonight.
The Ego and The Dark Night of the Soul
The Dark Night of the Soul and the Mystic Way
When we search for our real self, we must learn to release our ego from selfish and egotistic thoughts. To be able to do that, we must attune with an ideal model that lies within ourselves. This search for the self is important because it helps us to unfold a different aspect of being based on the ideal model that is, in reality, an image of our soul, a Divine archetypal image dormant within us. By focusing and reflecting upon it, we energize our spiritual nature, which puts us in better touch with our intuition.
Iamblichus used the word daemon or daïmon to express an inner guiding presence that escorts and inspires our search for truth on our spiritual journey. The daemon is an invisible presence linked to each one of us from birth, whose purpose and bond with us remains sacred and mysterious, since it is linked to our spiritual awakening process. However, at the beginning of our spiritual quest, the daemon, as an inspiring initiator, guides and attunes our consciousness towards our ideal model. Because the ideal model is our spiritual counterpart, our ego needs to recognize it, and the daemon is that inner presence that shows us the way.
Through spiritual exercises such as meditation, contemplation, prayer, dream work, etc., the daemon’s presence is awakened and our attunement with it animates the process of purification. Thus, when we become aware of this inner work, we gradually let go of our past ego identifications and cooperate willingly with the daemonic inspiration. Learning to let go of past ego identifications is a challenge, but must be done. Thus, ego identifications such as “I am a teacher, a mother, a businessman, a mystic, or whatever” have no more meaning to us, for we realize that these ego identifications are just “masks” and “subpersonalities” and transient illusions covering our real center of Being. Moreover, we understand that they were necessary protections sheltering the elusive and hidden center of Being.
This realization marks the beginning of a turning point in our life, bringing with it various trials and tribulations. It is a self-inflicted and salutary initiation that brings a high level of spiritual transformation. Likewise during this process of initiation, our ego, having no more protective masks, opens up to a new dimension of being within consciousness that relates directly to existence.
The first step of letting go of our ego’s hold on life brings about a complete transformation in our psyche. The second step—immersion into pure Being—brings about the revelation that our ego is itself just a limited projection of pure existence and being. This happens after we pass through what has been described by mystics of all ages as the dark night of the soul. For some, this process lasts longer than others, but there are different stages of this spiritual work, belonging to different levels of Cosmic Consciousness.
Note from Shawnna – Those willing to walk this path of Cosmic Consciousness do so with a humbleness of spirit and their choices reflect their spiritual depth.
Cosmic Consciousness opens up the intuitive perception of our center of Being, which unfolds our own mystery and reveals a new way of receiving knowledge. However, our ego personality does not disappear; on the contrary, by merging with the source of pure existence, our ego becomes its receptacle, the sacred grail, the clear mirror wherein impulses projected from the center of Divine Intelligence and Wisdom are reflected.
The dark night of the soul is a blessing in disguise because it saves us from the delusions and fantasies created by our ego. This is the initiation that imprints the likeness of the ideal model upon our ego. Thus, we can see that the dark night of the soul is the passage that takes us from a world of duality to a world of wholeness and unity, and makes us beacons of light for others to follow. We become living models who inspire in others the same spiritual process that leads them to their own understanding of primordial knowledge and truth.
The dark night of the soul teaches us to look at the horrors and joys of the world, the cycles of birth and death, the wars and destructions of nature and of the world economies with a quiet heart and a peaceful mind. On this level, our consciousness becomes a part of the center of everything happening in the world since we empathize with all the pains and joys that humanity experiences. Together they are transformed and united in the hallowed Holy Grail that, from here on, enlightens and illuminates our center of Being. The dark night of the soul liberates our limited and limiting consciousness into one that is unlimited and universal, as Cosmic Consciousness makes us aware of our true cosmic nature.
In Hinduism, Advaita Vedanta calls this level the “nondual” that contains everything and nothing. Christian mystical tradition refers to such a state as Divine Apathy. Through this mystical and spiritual perspective, we observe that we are nothing and yet everything, and from this central place of balance, we experience what meant by the words:
“To be in the world but not caught by a single thing in it.”