Crunch Time

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The lead up to the summer season here in coastal Delaware has me slamming and jamming. As a result I have had to prioritize myself right out of the blogging business for a bit. Being a better juggler of time is high on my priority list. We have made some great additions to the van this year resulting in far fewer trips off site for things like fasteners, caulking and the little things which seem to come up repeatedly on jobs. The programs we invested in in 2009 are doing their job of speeding things along but still I find myself always working to refine this system or that to make things flow. All said, I am pleased with progress but like most folks who are building a small business I wish I had more hours in the day... 

New year's day

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wishes made truth

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The beginning of understanding is always innocent.

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Some things are not simply about how things look. Some things are about where things came from and where we want them to be going.

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Storm Damage...

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...in Bethany Beach, DE  from the storm of 11/12/09

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Frog Prince

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Collective Memory

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My friend Mike Hines has lost it.

He has dropped his guard, stepped up to the plate and is going out on a limb for some folks he barely knows.

...some folks he met online.

Yup, my friend has lost it...

and given how maddening mistrust can be, I hope he never gets it back.

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LLC

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This week I officially signed the paperwork and paid the state of Delaware to change the name of my business from Strange Renovations, LLC to Junction Home Services, LLC. It is both a milestone and old news as I have been using the JHS name since I registered it with the prothonotary some time ago. It was my understanding that I would have to start a new company for JHS but this transition feels way more comfortable. I like that the work I have done before will be connected to my future with an easy to follow legal through-line.  

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#PRTF

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On twitter an activity has evolved called Follow Friday where Tweeple (Twitter Users) will recommend other Tweeps (also people who use twitter) for following (receiving updates of their tweets).

Although I like the idea of #FF (Follow Friday) I find the lumping and listing of great follows a little awkward and often hard to pull off with my present schedule.

Enter the "Personal Recommendation To Follow" or #PRTF. 

I like the thought of these because they can be posted anytime and contain as much or as little information as I like. 

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Open Season

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Does anyone know of additional, alternative or colloquial names for a turned baluster?

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Great Spirit Prayer

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"Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,

Whose breath gives life to all the world.

Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice

Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.

Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me.

Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.

Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others.

Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.

I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy

Myself.

Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.

So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.

- Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark

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What is this detail?

Does anyone know a name for a roof that steps like this?

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Empty box, fill again.

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Thinking outside of the box is something we must do every day of our life as we are constantly creating new boxes for ourselves. Even the ones we feel comfortable in are best served by our examining them for restrictive qualities. Stimulus is our best asset in helping us to get out of our own way. It can come in millions of forms limited only by our antennae and willingness to receive. 

Several weeks back I published a blog post about twitter being best looked at as a tool. I said my favorite people on the site were those who were sharing articles and information. I downplayed the social aspect of social networking and not for the first time. I put twitter and everyone on it in a box and then this week watched as they all came busting through the top flaps and tantalized me to rethink my position.

Thanks to everyone I have met who has spurred my growth and challenged me to trust my aesthetics.

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BBBoB Resources

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I follow my nose to many of the conclusions I draw on the Big Blog of Building. It would be difficult to list every source I use but these I return to time and again:

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Book: American Shelter by Lester Walker

Book: Dictionary of Architecture and Construction by Cyril M. Harris

Book: A field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester

Book: A visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture by Rachel Corley

Book: A Visual Dictionary Of Architecture by Francis D. K. Ching

Individual: Don Fountain - Sales at Dukes Lumber 

Website: Google: Search Engine

Website: Twitter and the entire Twitter building Community

Website: RitchieWiki - Equipment Specifications, Information, and Photos

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Building Business

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I have been spending all of my free time lately taking photographs, studying and creating entries for Barry’s Big Blog of Building. I am pleased with the progress on the blog. I have learned a lot in the past week and there is much dust settling as I speak. It really amazes me when I think of all of the things I saw and recognized but did not know a formal name for. It is very cool to have a gauge for new knowledge.

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Flying Dutchman

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The reality of the situation

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My Friend, Concord Carpenter, has a post this morning about the oft hidden hitches of home renovation. 

You really do not know what you will find when you open up a wall or floor.

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Five

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Even the best laid plans...

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Or

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Incarnation - Fermentation - Explanation

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I have decided to give the building elements I have been posting here their very own blog. This will make the catalogue far easier to search as I can build it from the foundation. It will also give me many more options and allow JunctionBox to remain free as a bird. A special thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in this project, please join me at the Big Blog of Building for more. 

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2009 Lewes Block Party

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This past Saturday I had the privilege of attending a block party in Lewes, DE. This annual event is the brainchild of my clients Jim and Barb. I was told they initiated it a decade ago. A party like this is such a wonderful treasure. The conversations I had ranged from physics to Lewes’ history to nicknames and their origins. I love it when a community dialogue has such a festive vehicle.

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