Forever House #8

Saturday 23rd March continued

The minute I started today I was instantly filthy. Water and mud slopping all over my clothes and boots, in my hair, under my nails. I took my jewellery off and gave myself over to the mudpieness of it. It's fun. I made six loads of mud between two and six o'clock, and laid it. I placed a special glass prism and two blue bottles in the wall. My friend Billy made me the prism back in 2005 from stained glass and mirrors sikaflexed together  and today it found it's spot. It's quite close to what will be the ceiling but it catches enough light to give a lovely glow.

Redfern Terrace Interior

I also mudded across the top of a piece of glass that sits in the middle of three panes of glass with mud about four rows deep up either side... that's it you can see through the laundry/bathroom window in this pic (below). I closed it in by first laying a couple of bed springs across the gap for reinforcement and some support for the mud to hang on to until it dries.

Laundry/bathroom window

There are quite a few bottles and pieces of coloured glass in the walls, including the first stained glass panel I ever made back 30 years ago. The design is based on the interior of the Redfern Terrace in which I lived at the time with my first husband Paul. It features a staircase to the attic bedroom and bathroom, and a doorway under the stairs into the dining room with the table apparent and the windows behind.

Once the work was done I drove down to my swimming hole for a swim and wash. Always a tonic. dinner was a simple lentil burger with sweet chilli sauce, lettuce and tomato on a toasted bun cooked on the caravan gas cooker which is a little beauty. When I arrived today the caravan was clean and just the way I left it last visit, and Dave, my newly acquired helper, had kindly slashed my house paddock yesterday. He is coming over mid morning Sunday to talk about the work I need help with.

Mum and Dad are also coming out so I'm hoping to rise early and get a similar amount of work done as today before all my visitors arrive. I'll be really happy with that. I'll get MaD to take a few pics for me tomorrow - it's hard to handle the iphone while covered in mud. I'm hoping I might be able to entice my dear Mum, who will be eighty in August, to come in for a skinny dip in the river. She and Dad have enjoyed taking every opportunity for that over the years. Dad's not so able to manage the sandy bottom any more, but Mum can... We'll see...

Now for a bit of Cloudstreet before falling sleep.