For a Good Time…

go to Corvallis! Another lovely Corvallis day (who knew it was so much fun there???) today. I went down to see Ella and to visit her studio and it was a magical day.

First the day, then the studio. I drove to the Rhoades’ “new” house (they moved in December). I know the rowdy Rhoades family from the beach where they have made a funny 70’s house into the delightful Cosmic Cottage. They are beach combers, builders, creators extraordinaire–all four of them. Additionally they are funny and kind and positive (oh–also cute). Here’s the house. The back isn’t painted yet but the color choice is firm:

Today the welcome sign was out for me:

We took the tour and noted future projects which include bathrooms and kitchens.

saw a couple of things the girls are up to:

Then–the foam house. You may remember I reported on the building of the foam house in April so thought I’d better check in (it was Ella who alerted me to the project). Didn’t see Dale the Contractor today, but we do have windows and a roof:

Then off through the countryside to Philomath for lunch

These guys have a lot going on…they do CSA boxes, sell to organic markets in Portland and the valley and run their own restaurant and store.

Our lunches were absolutely fabulous…I can strongly recommend this place–if you can find it!

At the far end of the dining porch they’re building an earth oven. It basically has an insulated floor and then is mud fired into brick like hardness. It will burn wood and will be able to cook a pizza in 2 minutes. Built by local artist/builder Kiko Denzer with stone work by mason Trevor Norland. Today they were adding more mud