I wanted to get in an entry in November, because I’d been on a roll with my entries. I have one every month so far, and started writing this right after Thanksgiving. I was interupted - see below. If you are not one of the recent Thanksgiving dinner guests, then this letter is really for you. If you were here for the holiday, you are mostly up to date in regards to the lives of Scott, Amy, Addie and Chives. but there might be a few good pics for you to glance at.
Anja’s big scare
The thing is, though, right after I drafted this entry (in November) we got a call from Jennifer, Amy’s sister, giving us the news about Anja. Anja Mueller, Kari and Alex’s month old daughter, had been rushed to Seattle, with her parents, with a life threatening heart problem. Anja is all right I’m am pleased to say, but we were all shaken for the last week. The best thing, I think, is to link you all to Alex’s web updates
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/anjamueller
The big meal
Organic Standards
A moment to proselytize, if you’ll bear with me. I had a conversation with my mom last weekend, which combined with past experiences, convinced me that most folks don’t understand what exactly organic means. Our dinner was as organic as we could make it. This is important to Amy and myself, which is why we keep prattering on about it. It occurred to me that we may be saying “This turkey is organic” or “these are organic onions from blah blah blah” and the meaning of that wasn’t clear. In short, USDA certified organic means:
Plants – no chemical pesticides, fungicides, herbicides used on the fields for 3 years minimum. No genetically modified organisms.
Animals – Organic feed and separate processing facilities. No growth hormones, antibiotics or pharmaceuticals.
In practice, organic food means fewer toxins in our soil, water, wildlife and farm workers. It means humane treatment of animals and their owners. It means more songbirds, fish, biodiversity and farmers. It also means a lower likelihood of future cancer for you, me, and everyone involved in my dinner. It also tastes better. Way better.
Fall color
Enough about politics; how about some pictures. I’ve done some chuckar hunting and hiking this fall and have seen some beautiful fall colors in the hills and canyons.
I spent a day along a part of the Oregon Trail, looking for birds. Didn’t see any. I did see a herd of elk, however, down in the foothills, miles from any timber. This was the first time I’ve seen elk in their natural habitat, namely grasslands.
On Friday I took the family down to the Snake River canyon where we spend the day wandering around the boulders there. It was a beautiful day.
Since I’m on the topic of fall color, here’s a photo I took one morning at the jobsite. We’ve been having some amazing sunrises.House update
Let’s face it. I’m working full time, and enjoy my job. Most of what’s been going on in my life centers around this, so I’ll spend a little time on it here.
Here are some recent shots of the house, front and back. We’re ready to start on siding and drywall. The plumbing, electrical and heat are all roughed in. The house is cold, and will be for a while yet. I am quite a bit further along this year that I was last year at Thanksgiving. It’s a smaller house and I have a few more students. This means we should have some time in the spring to do some new things (for me) like a stone veneer and the exterior painting. We’ll see.
At the end of last year, I was interviewed on BSU radio because of the Energy Star house I was building with my students. A mechanical engineer at BSU heard the piece and asked if I would be interested in a building project with BSU. They have written a grant ($75,000) to build a model energy home which will be awarded in January. If they get the grant, my students and I will build, with design input from BSU students, a normal home but with state of the shelf energy efficient heating/cooling, water use, solar energy and who knows what else exactly. This is exactly where I have wanted to go with the residential homebuilding program. There are some relatively easy design/build considerations and residential energy technologies that are being incorporated into residential housing, elsewhere, that will significantly change the way houses are built. This project, if funded, will serve as a research project and model home and I am excited about it’s possibilities. I’ll keep you all posted on the progress.
This year’s house will be an Energy Star house, as was last year’s. This year I am concentrating on details. I’m planning a recessed alcove for a vase, a craftsman style hallway arch to match, a den/office/dining room with a detailed entry and ceiling, bump-out window seat, and a fireplace with craftsman tile and a mantle I am designing in my head as I write. I also did a peak detail I designed and am still unsure about. I’ll send photos. It’s a small house, 1600 sq. ft., single story with a 2 car garage on an alley. I like it.
That’s all there is, really. Next time I should have some firm plans for our trip to Spain and Italy, which I’ll share. I’ll try for late December, just to keep up, but may slip back to the first of the year and re-cap the whole Christmas break.
To those of you who made it to the house for Thanksgiving - it was good to see you all and thanks for everything. For those of you who didn’t make it, you were missed. Hopefully next year.
Everyone be sure to include Barbara (my dad's wife) in your thoughts - she goes in for surgery this month. Good luck Barb - you'll be fine.
Adios
