Today’s Chris and I’s designated “internet free” day. Every Thursday we’re allowed one hour of internet, and then we have to find better things to do, so I just wanted to pop in real quick and re-announce the re-emergence of my Tumblr!

I wasn’t really into Tumblr at first (too many pictures of girls that made me feel overly aware of how much skinnier/nicer dressed/probably had more friends than me they were) but after unearthing my overflowing “gems folder,” I decided to dive back in and can say that I’ve truly embraced the joys of microblogging.

All it takes is a few good folks to follow (and the will to un-follow, which is a lot like marking your Twitter or Google Reader as “Read” without actually reading it). I like to think of it as a virtual scrapbook… How “green” of me! :P

Mostly I just post about geeky things and pretty things (and cats, duh!), but there’s the occasional piece of potentially slightly offensive stuff in there, too. Just a head’s up.

I’m bellyflop– Leave a comment if you’ve got a Tumblr, too!

Remember my friend Jillian, who got the wrist cuff of Henry Darger’s Vivian Girls?

Well, I opened up my inbox the other day and found out she’d run off and gotten yet another gorgeous tattoo, this time of the Velveteen Rabbit! My heart melts when I look at this. I can’t wait to see it in person someday!

Photographs and tattoo were done by the always amazamazing, Mel Metz. Seriously, if you’re in Northern California and fixin’ for a tattoo, look this girl up!

Mayne Island Cabin
(via cobworks.com)

Cob House in Stenlille, Denmark
(via http://www.fornyetenergi.dk)

Cob Cottage Company
(via Year of Mud, an awesome blog that documents one man’s first experience building a cob house)

GOBCOBATRON
(via Year of Mud, this one’s blog owner’s home!)

Straw Bale Build Project
(via Quiet Earth)

Sunset Cottage
(via strawbale.com)

Portland Rebuild Centre (which I actually live down the road from)
(via ilovecob.com)

Meka Cottage
(via cobprojects.info)

Spiral Straw Bale’s “Truth Window”
(via naturalhomes.org)

Cob Skyscrapers
(via ilovecob.com)

A few years ago I had the opportunity to tour the straw bale house of family friends, Jim and Nancy, who built their home on top of a hill in Old Shasta, California. Why I didn’t bring a camera with me, I’ll never know. Their home is amazing; the thought and clear intent that went into each room astonished me with every corner we turned.

It was only moments after setting foot on their property before my addiction was born… It was love at first sight. If I ever get the chance to go back, I’m gonna photograph the heck out of it!

Chris and I have always toyed with the idea of building our own straw bale home someday. We both love the aesthetic and awareness involved in alternative construction. And, I know I have a tendency to make mean-spirited jokes about hippies, but I’ve even gotten used to the idea of possibly living in a house that had (gulp) composting toilets. Yeah, ew, right? But, if that’s the price to pay for having the complete freedom to literally sculpt your dream home with your own bare hands, then so be it.

About once a year I go on a straw bale Google-binge. This week I filled my yearly quota and decided to unload my archive of inspiration. Maybe it’ll spark some love at first sight with one of you dear readers, as well!

As an aside, I actually found a friend of my mother’s on a natural building website– I didn’t even know she had a straw bale home! Small world, smaller internet.

(via Paul Israel)

I’m feeling unusually drained– plus Felix was never one to live up to his duties as a Halloween cat– so I thought I’d snag one of Paul’s festive cat portraits for this Caturday. He’s been growing quite the amazing gallery of street cats on his Flickr lately… And what’s not to love about a Cat-o-Lantern?! Paul’s is definitely a stream worth visiting for fellow cat enthusiasts! You will get your “aww” for the day, and then some.

Oh, right– it’s Halloween! Anyone doing anything exciting? Or are we all getting old together?

(via riot jane)

Chris recently posted a song on his blog that I had wrote the lyrics and (very basic) chord changes to some years ago. He recorded a version of it upon finding the text file on his computer and called it “Loud and Brave.”

Now he’s asking folks to record their own version of the song and share it on his blog, in a “I show you mine, you show me yours” fashion. You can grab the lyrics and chords from this post.

You know… Since I’m totally tone deaf and can’t record my own version for myself. ;)