My Birthday

Katie took me to Cirque Du Soleil this evening. We had sushi afterward, and spent most of the meal talking about the kids because that's what we do even after jumping through so many hoops to get away from them for a "date night."  We are incredibly blessed and I know how important it is during good times like these to remember moments that were less so — moments that, in spite of great pain, prepared us and shaped our capacities for empathy and love.  It is my strong belief that any talent we might have for happiness is reflected by our experience with severe personal struggle.  

  

Yesterday,  while walking through the Decatur commons,  I made a detour to the "Fallen Officers" monument at the steps of the original Decatur Court House.  I do this occasionally and did in this case despite the cold.

Tommy Gober was a Dekalb Police Officer killed in the line of duty in the summer of 1980.  He was my Mother's first born and my half brother.  It's difficult not to the play the "what if" game now that I've landed with my own family in the City of Decatur.  Our home in Oakhurst is only a mile or so from this monument.

I go down town almost daily for Coffee or to meet with friends at Leon's, or the Brick Store Pub.  The monument's proximity is always a comfort.

To all the Police Officers out there, I would have to say thank you for your sacrifice.

Christmas Day — Slate Color

The pre-snow rain that came early this afternoon washed the slate dust from the roof and revealed the subtle tricolor palette.  The darker slate is Vermont Black.  The lighter of the three is Unfading Green, and the color in between is Unfading, Mottled, Purple and Green.  In time, various lichens and mosses will contribute to a rich patina that will develop during the life of the roof which can be up to a century.  There are definite sustainable advantages to using slate for a roofing material and certainly no other product is more organic in origin.

Drywall Installation and Slate Progress

Living Room arcade after hanging drywall.  The couch will nest within recess of the central arch opposite of the formal cast stone fireplace.

The geometry of interior walls is truly defined once the drywall is hung. Complex spaces suddenly become simple and matter of fact.  The organic lines of the atrium Foyer weave into and through one another, forming an elegant composition that flows with a practical rhythm.  The intricacy of the clerestory room is a quick study visually with sensible ergonomic advantage.

Graduated slate progress.

Graduated Slate Shipment from Vermont

Thirteen squares of graduated slate weighing some 37,000 lb. arrived from Vermont today.

Agnes Scott College has generously allowed the occasional use of the neighboring driveway south of the Dauton House.  Staging within the confines of a city lot has been logistically challenging to say the least and this has been a valued co-operation.

Slater Manuel Avila beginning the installation process.  Manuel, an employee of the R. W. Stokes Slate Roofing Company, has been slating for more than 20 years and is personally featured in Joseph Jenkins' "Slate Roof Bible."

Framing Accouterments

Formal living room arcade framed.

Five sculpture niches within clerestory atrium, and barrel vault beneath radius staircase leading from Foyer to the Kitchen and Den.