We visited UC Davis a few weeks ago, and while they didn't have a ropes course inside an old barn, they did have another fun play structure.
A geodesic dome. It was crawling with kids. I wonder if it's crawling with college students when school's in session. I think I need one of these.
The kids and I are planning to make a geodesic dome using newspaper and tape using these instructions. We won't be able to climb it (or set up a ropes course inside it), but I bet we can throw a sheet over top to make an awesome fort.
While doing research for our project this morning, I found my dream home via YouTube. There's been a lot of talk around here lately about property and yurts, but I think I'd rather have a house like this on some remote property, maybe surrounded by orchards, immense vegetable gardens, and a huge geodesic dome covered in chicken wires to house my feathered friends.
Maybe I can build a few of these too, and you can come visit.
Oh yeah. That's what I'm talking about. It's amazing how inspiring dreams can be.
my dream house is a hand-hewn log cabin out in the middle of nowhere, with no neighbors or "services" ahhh.... the life of a hermit :)
ReplyDeletewe must not live that far from each other, btw... just a couple hours eh? do you guys ever visit Tahoe? we lived there for 10 years (as close to the dream home mentioned above as you can get being a renter)
You said/wrote two of my very favorite words:
ReplyDeletefort
&
yurt
you would love the gym we go to... Today I got tired of working on pullups and swung up on the diablotron (that's what we call this giant steel cage) and hooked my legs over it and swung like a monkey, turning round and round the bar.
ReplyDeleteand yes, I love yurts. Your dreams are not so fantastic and faraway, I sense...
I know it doesn't go with the environmental-friendliness of those homes.....but wouldn't it be fun to paint them all bright colors like in a Dr. Seuss book?
ReplyDeleteI guess my dream home is something Seussically whimsical, not just a quad-level in a small town.
Molly, I have spent many hours dreaming of and scheming how to build a Calearth sandbag house in our yard. It was ostensibly for Jeff to use to play his saxophone, but how could it not be for everyone?! So cool. Alas, we have not taken the leap, but the dream lives on. We're building the girls' coop on the spot we'd considered for the sandbag house. It's made of wood and wire, but will hopefully have a lovely spirit as well. Ever been to Arcosanti? I'm curious, and would like to visit. And Samuel Mockbee's work? And what about cordwood? That's another fabulous building material/process/aesthetic. There's a lot of cob, strawbale, and yurt building going on up in our neck of the woods. All beautiful. Is this comment too long? ;)
ReplyDeletemy husband wants to build a dome home. he loves math, and sees such beauty in them. in fact we won't move again unless it is to our dome home! our library has a book of floor plans even!
ReplyDeleteBarns! Yurts! Strawbale! remote property with chickens and immense gardens! Ahhhh, sweet bliss!
ReplyDeleteThe girl and I daydream while driving about, about a place in the country with chickens and sheep and a big garden. She's all for the ecodome, but I fear that it would melt in our rain and humidity. Perhaps a straw bale with deep eaves?
ReplyDeleteYurts and straw bale homes, I mean domes! What sweeter dreams could you have? Great links, Molly. I think dreams are very important to listen to.
ReplyDeletexo
Where would George make beer??
ReplyDeleteOh, this is fantastic! Love the house in the first video. Would be wonderful, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteHI Molly,
ReplyDeleteI've been happily lurking along with your blog for a while now, and it took me the longest time to realize that your eponymous foothills were California foothills! I'm in Northern California, and it was interesting to suddenly realize that you were closer than I thought!
I'm going to show the newspaper dome plans to my seven-year-old and see if he'd be into building one. So cool!
i've done the newspaper dome - it's really fun!
ReplyDeletewe let the kids keep building their own structures - they learned a lot about what shapes are the strongest and what works and doesn't work!
Very cool dreams indeed!!
ReplyDeleteWe finally had to let our dream of a rammed earth house die when we moved to this rainy country!!
Now the hand-hewn log cabin has moved up to the top of the list! Plenty of logs around here!
What a fantastic photo! Yurts are cool. We used to ski into on in the Uintahs as a family when I was a kid. I'm a fan.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your seeding. The basil looks awesome!
Oh, you have stirred up my dream swirlings! I've dreamed for years of making a straw bale post and beam home! LEED certified of course. This world does indeed need dreamers!
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