Actual lino on the kitchen floor
Westacre Day minus 27
Today, a huge milestone was reached in Roger’s bungalow. We put something in that people will be able to see.
No longer just pipes and partition walls. Today we put down lino. We even stuck some of it down, so that we’ll have an easier time cutting it to size tomorrow.
Look at it. Doesn’t it look nice?
Whenever I find stillness, I find my connection to the spirit that lies beneath all reality. Usually I find it in meditation. Today, unexpectedly, I found it while painting a wall.
Westacre Day minus 28
Roger painted the wall in his kitchen, and Alex finished the stud work in the bathroom. This is now ready to box in the pipe work. He also laid marine plywood in the kitchen for the lino to go on.
Hilde slept. She really needed a day of rest. And somewhere in the middle she agreed a price for windows in Harrow.
In this dark time, as the days dwindle and the light dims, take time to sit and listen. The darkness holds deep nurture. It draws you down to the bare bones of your life. In the bedrock of your existence lies inspiration for the new cycle to come, and strength for it go grow.
Westacre Day minus 29
Alex did lots of bits and bobs today. He finished building the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom. He put a nice edging around the doors that hide the pipework in the en suite. He levelled a bulging floor. And he fit legs to some kitchen furniture. There is now furniture in the kitchen, even if it is upside down and not quite in the right place yet.
Hilde got a quote for windows in Harrow. It’s going to make a lot more mess than she’d hoped, but it does need doing. At least they can do it before Christmas.
For nature, as we know, is at once without and within us. Art is the mirror at the interface. So too is ritual; so also myth. These, too, “bring out the grand lines of nature,” and in doing so, re-establish us in our own deep truth, which is one with that of all being.
– Joseph Campbell, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, p. 132
Westacre Day minus 30
Alex has been puzzling over Roger’s kitchen cabinets today. He can’t quite work out how the legs and the plinth are supposed to fit on. But the wall is now flat enough for actual kitchen building to begin. Hey, did you notice? I’m talking about actual furniture here, not just pipes and partitions. It’s a milestone.
When you’re working away at a large project, it can seem overwhelming. A tall mountain, a heavy burden, an endless task. But really, every tiny thing you do – even this, having a rest and reading this post – is part of the adventure. Everything you do weaves a thread of colour into the great tapestry. Some colours are dull, others vibrant. But each is exactly where it belongs. Celebrate the larger pattern you are weaving with every tiny thread.
Westacre Day minus 31
Alex never makes a song and dance of his birthday, but this one was particularly low key. He took his dad to the eye hospital, where the diagnosis was very hopeful. Then they went shopping at B&Q and bought a router and sheets of formica to serve as a kitchen splash back. Some snoozing may have been involved as well.
Hilde, in London, called Alex for his birthday and then went to work to write a depressing report. Only 8 days to go.