occasional posts by risa aratyr
He who cannot find footing, cannot go forward. [Harry Emerson Fosdick] Once things got going at the site, they went quickly indeed. As soon as the excavation was done, the cement trucks appeared – – and the first footings were poured. By 17 June, the trucks were gone, and the footings had sprouted a young … Read more BE-COMING HOME: finding our footing
Whenever I pass a building site or see somebody digging a ditch, I always think, “That’s real work.” [Liam Neeson] During the design part of the process, Roy and I were keen to fix things that had been bugging us for the past 16 years. Old house, people couldn’t find the front door; new house, … Read more BE-COMING HOME: dug & dusted
Oh! ye’ll take the high road and I’ll take the low road, And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye… [“The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond” traditional tune, lyrics penned by a MacGregor of Glen Endrick, 1746] The choice to rebuild left us stranded at another crossroads. How to get “home” from here? Our Way or … Read more BE-COMING HOME: breaking ground
蔵焼けて 障るものなき 月見哉 Barn’s burnt down. Now I can see the moon. [a haiku by Mizuta Masahide, 17th C. poet and samurai] From the look of her, you’d have thought The Ruin would have gone down on her own the first time a strong wind hit the hill. She was a life-threatening public hazard in … Read more BE-COMING HOME: on the level
And a special thanks for not burning up the whole ship. Including yourself, you daft bum-rag. [Scott Westerfeld, LEVIATHAN] The weeks following the fire were a mind-numbing blur. We spent all day every day pin-balling from one essential task to the next, while simultaneously trying to come to terms with our shock and disorientation. Remembering, … Read more BE-COMING HOME: sifting through the rubble