New Roof

We had the shingle roof replaced (covered over) with gavalume, standing seam metal, which theoretically will last up to 50 years. Gavalume is steel coated with a combination of zinc, aluminum and some silicon, as opposed to galvanized steel which is just coated with zinc-hence the greater durability. Standing seam refers to the interlocking ridges with the fasteners underneath, versus the exposed fasteners on many standard, corrugated metal roofs. It cost a little more but should stay watertight with very little maintenance. Around here up to two layers of shingles can be covered over so long as the underlying roof structure is solid, and the 1x4 wood strapping creates a one inch air gap for ventilation. We also put new R-30 insulation in the attic floor in preparation for re-finishing a living space there. This house is a Sears kit home built in 1950 with a main living space of about 1000 sq feet, although with a finished basement and attic the usable space is more than that. We replaced a still functioning 34 year old central air conditioner last summer and the furnace and water pipes are about five years old. So with regular but economical maintenance the foundation and systems are rock solid after 74 years.

 

Words as Symbols

     “...it is as easy to teach the name of an idea, if it is clearly formulated in the child’s mind, as to teach the name of an object. It would indeed be a herculean task to teach the words if the idea did not already exist in the child’s mind. If his experiences and observation hadn’t led him to the concepts, small, large,good, bad, sweet, sour, he would have nothing to attach the word-tags to…If you give a child something sweet, and he wags his tongue and smacks his tongue and looks pleased…and if every time he has this experience, he hears the word ‘sweet’...he will quickly adopt this arbitrary sign for his sensation…It is is not the word, but the capacity to experience the sensation that counts in his education. “  - Anne Sullivan, teacher of blind and deaf child Helen Keller 

Which encourages the question: What 'sensation' motivated human beings to invent the word 'god'? My assumption is that it was the sensation we call 'mystical' or 'spiritual' which 'feels' beyond the self and is difficult to put into words-a sense of 'oneness' and connectedness to all of creation-the total peace and love as described by near death experiences. 'God' the word has also been used to describe the unknown such as the origin of the Universe and other mysteries and phenomenon. It has been applied to power and joy and fear and love and vengeance and other human experience, as well as used as explanation for the sun and wind and other natural forces. The near death experience seems to me to be the closest to 'truth' that living humans will ever know, but I do not know why that unity and peace sensation has been so corrupted by the ego and divisive rituals common to many religions, nor why people believe the words of ancient texts over present day experiences-as if our ancestors were more capable of touching the 'God' essence within each of us more than we are today. Helen Keller was given the words after she was self aware of the object or sensation, so we should all be conscious of words as secondary symbols of something more original.