"King James Is An A**hole!!"

    

As I lay peacefully sleeping in my bed last night, a storm of  indignation was brewing in my daughter's heart...I awakened with a heart-pounding jolt when my door banged open, and in rushed an Avenging Fury.  It was Siobhan, of course.  And with eyes blazing, she eloquently proclaimed "King James is an A**hole!"

 Did I really hear that?!  I yawned and said "I'm sorry, Siobhan--what did you say?" My daughter repeated her profound statement:  "King James is an A**HOLE!"   Bewildered, I asked "WHAT are you talking about?" Trembling with anger, Siobhan replied:  "KING JAMES!  I'm going to take our Exacto knife and cut his name off every Bible in this house, because the man is an A**HOLE!!"

Whatever.  All I wanted was a little sleep...I groaned and said "Siobhan!  The man's been dead for hundreds of years--there's nothing he can do about it now.  Cut him a little slack!"  I proceeded to roll over and bury my head under my pillow, while Siobhan drifted back up the hall--all the while muttering about murder holes and dungeons until her voice was just a faint memory...

 I woke up this morning the same way I went to sleep last night-- laughing. Out loud.  My righteous daughter...How could you not love her?

  

Just2Gypsies in the Snow...

Snow has been falling for 3 days now...Giant feathery flakes drifting downward, or fog-dense flurries of tiny sparkling flakes...but always snow.  It hinders our farm work, to say the least--slogging through snowdrifts, making endless trips with buckets of water and feed. At day's end, we have aching arms and tired backs. But even then, it is hard to ignore winter's silent  beauty...






It sifts from Leaden Sieves —
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road —

It makes an Even Face
Of Mountain, and of Plain —
Unbroken Forehead from the East
Unto the East again —

It reaches to the Fence —
It wraps it Rail by Rail
Till it is lost in Fleeces —
It deals Celestial Vail

To Stump, and Stack — and Stem —
A Summer’s empty Room —
Acres of Joints, where Harvests were,
Recordless, but for them —

It Ruffles Wrists of Posts
As Ankles of a Queen —
Then stills its Artisans — like Ghosts —
Denying they have been —


Emily Dickinson






Most days, when our evening chores are done, Siobhan and I have just enough energy left to sled down the biggest hill in our pasture...at least once!  Snow is a wondrous thing--it brings out the inner child in all of us...

Happy Valentine's Day From Just Two Gypsies

Siobhan and I both are mad for vintage valentine cards.  We eagerly buy any that catch our fancy.  We have a particular fondness for those featuring gypsies.  Or circuses.  Or horses.  Or dogs.  But especially gypsies!  Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, we want to share a few a few of our favorites... 












 
 
 
 



 




























 




 












The last is not a true valentine; it isn't even a card.  It is the simple lyrics of a song, both sweet and sad.  The music that accompanies it is a hauntingly beautiful tune... 


The Gypsy's Song

A gypsy came to the castle gate
He sang so sweet and wild
And with his song he stole away
The Master's only child.

Oh, she cast away her silken gown
She cast away her pride
And ran with him into the night
Down to the sea so wild.

"Come home, come home, my bonny little  child
Come home again to me
Sit once more by your own fireside
With your head upon my knee."

"Oh, I'd rather live an hour here
Than seven long years with thee
And feel the salt spray on my cheek
And know that I am free."

She danced in the wind and she danced in the rain
On the edge of the cliffs and the shore
And she tasted the salt upon her cheek
And never came home no more.

                                            -author unknown
                                                                   



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                                                 BEST WISHES

                                                      FOR A

                       HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

                                                       from

                                           JUST 2 GYPSIES,

                                  GRAINNE AND SIOBHAN

Building A Gypsy Wagon-- Part 9 / Tiles, Heat Shields, and Wood Stoves--Oh My! / TheTightrope Between Safety And Aesthetics

Siobhan and I have been busy drawing plans and assembling materials for the tiled wall / wood stove section of our wagon, as that is the section we will be working on next...We have spent quite a bit of time researching heat-proof and heat-resistant materials...

For the most part, Siobhan and I have managed to use natural materials in our construction up to now, avoiding plastics and keeping chemicals to a bare minimum. For safety reasons, we will be forced to overlook that rule in regard to flame-resistant materials...we have no intentions of burning our lovely wagon to the ground the first time we use our stove!

That being said, below is a general idea of our plans, as well as some of the materials purchased so far...


 The first (and possibly the most important) purchase we've made for our wood stove / hearth project was an antique parlor wood stove (circa 1849), small enough in size to accommodate our wagon (12"  x 24"  x 20" tall ), reconditioned and in mint condition, and very ornate.  We bought it from our favorite antique and junk dealer for $100.00; Siobhan and I considered it a steal!

We don't have photos of our own stove yet, but this one is very similar...

We plan to install a heat shield (*not yet purchased) onto the bottom of our stove to reduce the amount of heat radiated onto the floor.  As further protection, the stove will sit on a 28" x 32" type 2 fireproof metal floor protector , covered by a 100% hand-woven hearth rug.

Type 2 metal stove board thermal floor protector

Hand-spun wool hearth rug

We plan to install a rear heat shield (*not yet purchased) on our stove to reduce the necessary wall clearance.  Three inches behind the wood stove/rear shield will be an antique cast iron fireplace surround, with summer cover / door. 

Fireplace surround with summer cover

 Behind the surround we will build a 36" wide wall, using 2" x 2" lumber for framing.  We will construct it using 1 " spacers between the new wall and its framing; the framing will be attached to the existing 18" wall of wagon ledge, as well as the right side wall of the wagon itself.   The upper half of the wall will be built of tongue-and-groove lumber, matching the rest of the wagon's interior.   The lower half of the wall will be a heat-proof wall panel, made of 3" x 5" cement backer board, tiled with antique majolica tiles and grout.

Tile backer board, Lowe's

 


















Siobhan and I have been collecting antique tiles for some time now.  These are a few we plan to use on our wall...

6" x 6" majolica tiles

6" x 6"majolica tile, purchased from Barcel

  

Unbrand England, 6" x 6" art nouveau tiles (my favorite!)

6" x 6" majolica tiles (Siobhan's favorite!)

We plan to use double wall black chimney pipe (*not yet purchased) for venting our wood stove through the wagon roof to the outside.  This seems to be the safest pipe to use, and has less clearance requirements (distance to nearest combustible surface) than single wall pipe.  Our choices (as far as brands) are somewhat hampered by the fact that our stove requires 5" pipe, rather than the standard 6", but we are considering at the DuraTech chimney pipe components...

                                                   
 

5" ID DuraTech Chimney Pipe System

                                        

                                                           
                                                         




                                                          
                                                                
                                                

                                                             


                                           
                                          
                                             
                                             
                                            
                                            
                                            
                                           
                                             
      If anyone out there knows of a better pipe to use, we are open to suggestions!



Until next time--

Grainne                                                      



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**CHARTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS USED TO COMPLY WITH REQUIRED CLEARANCES TO                                                  COMBUSTIBLE SURFACES**

Illustration showing recommended measurements for clearance to combustible surfaces for wood stove with no protection.

Illustration showing correct way to install cement tile backer board using heat resistant spacers.

Minimum Clearance To Rear And Sides Of Small Wood Stove (14" x 24" x 21")
(taken from Vermont Castings Handbook)

*With no protection:
    rear-   36"
   sides-  24"   

*With Stove And Stove Pipe Heat Shields Only:
    rear-   13"
   sides-   24"


*With Wall Protection Only:
    rear-  16"
    sides-   12"

*With Wall Protection, Stove And Pipe Shields:
   rear-   9"
   sides-12"