Creativity Between Showers

A rainbow landing on the dome! It must be a good sign.

  During a couple of dry days we managed to make a hessian-cement roof for the dome. Very interesting medium to work with. It appeals to the dressmaker in me.

First we painted both sides of the hessian with a cement mix and then we draped it over the dome. Rob had made a wooden frame to hold it out at the sides to try and stop the water from running down the sides of the dome.

 When it was all covered we painted on another coat of the mix, then the next day we painted on a mixture of cement, PVA glue and pigment, to make it waterproof and more the colour of the earth. Anyway, it works and the dome is now dry inside. Hooray!

 The chickens like to roost in the olive tree near the house for their after lunch nap. They are now being rather difficult about going to bed at night, and I have to tempt them into their pen then sling them into their house. It's not an easy job. You put one in, then when you open the door to put in another, the first one sneaks out. Grrr. Hopefully they will get used to it again, and feel safe. The cockeral now crows, usually just outside the front door in the morning. Time to get up!!!

And I suddenly got the urge to get on with my mud bender. I have been using bottles to make the mud go further. It builds up quickly, but mixing it with my hands was really sore, so I found a pair of huge, thick rubber gloves, which made it much kinder, but not as easy to make.