I thought I’ll just keep my stuff in one thread as the projects gradually get done around here. I cleaned out an old shed yesterday and found a couple of cool things. Massive pile of stacked twigs/sticks. Will use for kindling. I assume they use to make stuff with it as well back in the day. Also an old manual rice thresher or buckwheat thresher. You throw the stuff in and use fans and stuff to separate the grain. Also an old mower that I reckon could be fixable.
I cut down a couple of trees and started clearing the land next to the river for outdoor seating/picnic area for the cafe customers. Also thinking about an off leash fenced dog area so the punters can bring their dogs. I’ve got heaps of posts so should cut costs. I piled up the last of the logs onto the pile yesterday as well. I found some decorative wood pieces that could make nice gates in the garden which I placed separately next to a tree.
Got lots of random stuff that was left in house before I renovated. The wooden bowl and mallet was used to make Mochi. You put cooked hot rice in it and two people would pound it to a rubbery consistency. They sometimes put sugar in to make sweets. It’s now factory made because it’s labor intensive. Lots of old earthen pots that stored liquids possibly sake. I’ve finished the inside of the house and cafe I just have to tart up the upside. I’m thinking milled timber boards to cover the old mud walls.
I’ve got a yard project to do which is for the cafe punters. I’ve put about 100 hours in already it was a real jungle of chit when I bought it. You couldn’t even walk down there. At the side of the house there some nice trees in a Japanese garden that I need to maintain as they are starting to lose shape. Also an old spring that has dried up I’m wondering if that be fixed or if it’s permanently dry.
I’ve also got to widen the driveway to put proper parking in for the cafe customers. At the moment they are reversing out and can’t turn around. Not ideal and needs attention soon. Also I made a cat enclosure for my cat which he loves.
A lot of work ahead of you but it will look great when you get working on it. Interesting that the spring dried up. Is there a lot of construction up hill from the spring? If you figure out how to get it running again, would that give you a creek or thread of water flowing through the garden?
Yeah it would look amazing. The neighbors said it hasn’t been going for over 20 years. It bubbled apparently about 50 liters per hour. It would then run into the river about 50 meters away along the side of the house along the ground in an open trench that somebody dug.
Cafe door got installed by the carpenter. I kept the old one so it’s like a shutter for the typhoons. Now the cafe has a mountain view on the ground floor.
We're the twigs for the thatched roof? The wood pieces look like yokes. It's like archaeology on an alien civilization.
All interesting stuff. Keep it coming. Good luck with the spring. Had one on our property. Dry for probably 30 years now. Used to drink from it when we were kids
Punters are customers where I’m from. (Ie- They take their chances that their meals are gonna be worth what they pay). Punter = gambler
The bendy wood pieces were a piece that joins 3 beams together in a roof. Bendy wood apparently has an increased resistance to shear in earthquakes. Not too sure but it has a structural quality a straight piece doesn’t. I was thinking the twigs were wind breaks for a garden but nobody knows these people are all long dead.
