May in Haiti

It has been a while.  One of the cardinal rules of blogging is to post regularly.  I have broken that rule, but give you my pledge to try to do better.

The circle of life keeps turning, season to season, year to year.  March in Wisconsin brought June-like weather, causing everything in nature to ramp up almost a month early.  April put everything in the fridge, but that had the advantage of preserving the daffodils, lilacs and cherry blossoms, among others, for longer blooming.  Now in mid-June with the solstice just past, the landscape looks like August.  Here in southwest Wisconsin it is dry and the grass has browned.  We have mowed just a couple of times, unusual for this time of year.  The pool was up at least two weeks ahead of normal schedule, and the water is now in the mid-80 degree range.  Summer lies ahead and it seems it may be a hot one.

Along the way

In May, my husband Dennis traveled to Haiti with a group from Ireland called the Haven Partnership.  The original plan for the group's trip was to build new housing near Port-au-Prince through a connection with OxFam.  The land was purchased and foundations were ready for the "Build It Week" team to do their magic.  However, at the last minute some land ownership issues arose, and the venue changed to work on an island just off the south coast of Haiti called "Ile a Vache" (island of the cow...quite appropriate for a Wisconsinite!).  The crew of nearly 50, which included a couple of Americans, a Canadian, one from the Dominican Republic, and the balance Irish, completed repairs and upgrades at the orphanage and boat dock on the island.  They worked all week in 95 degree heat and humidity, building ramps, making repairs, and creating a soccer field and volleyball court from a rock strewn patch of earth.

Building a ramp for students in wheelchairs

Outdoor seating in the shade for recess and outdoor classes

The soccer pitch before...kids used this as their field, 
with rolled up plastic bags as balls...playing in their bare 
feet.

Work on the pitch

Progress...kids using the pitch before it was completed

Celebration on the last day...completed soccer pitch and 
volleyball court

At news of the change of venue, Dennis was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be building homes as was first planned...but the trip turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience in many ways.  The faces of the people, especially the children, tell the story.

A Canadian and an American in Haiti

Children of the island

School kids going to lunch 

Haiti is recovering...but it still has miles to go.

Tent cities still stretch on for miles... 

 ...and miles...

Housing in village on Ile a Vache

We are both hoping to be able to make a trip to Haiti in the near future to help in the rebuilding efforts.

Circle Dwellings

I live in a circular house.  Well actually it's a dodecagon (12-sided).  When we were building it, the kids HAD to know what a 12 sided structure is called, so we looked it up.

The circle is the most common and resource-efficient shape in the universe.  It's also an inherently strong shape, as is evident by its wide use in the building of storage tanks, train cars, grain bins, rockets, etc.  

So why not live in one?  Perhaps the question should be, "Why live in anything else?" 

Take a look back in history and you will find that what we commonly think of as a 'typical' dwelling is only a relatively recent development in housing.  When humans began building shelter for themselves, it's possible that they were simply imitating other creatures or observing what already existed in nature.  The circular shape was easy to make.  Structural supports could be made to support each other and skins or grasses could easily be laid over the shape. Wind and rain resistance could readily be obtained without corners to cover and seal.

Round or polygonal (many-sided) buildings were used by the ancient Greeks and Romans, through medieval and Renaissance Italy, in Russia, northern Europe and into colonial America. Thomas Jefferson and Frank Lloyd Wright were among the many in more recent times who favored this building shape.

A building's shape is reported by energy experts to be the first important factor affecting energy consumption. A round building has about ten percent less wall area exposed to the elements than a square building of equal floor area. The savings approach fifteen percent when comparing a round to a rectangular shape of equal area. A round building's reduced wall area means additional savings when you consider that ten to fifteen percent less exterior wall needs to be paid for and built initially. The same applies to the foundation walls and footings required. Taking all into account, savings in initial building costs and future energy costs can be substantial.

Why don't we see more round dwellings?   It takes a bit of thinking outside the box (pun intended) to come up with a good design for the interior rooms in a circular building.  But there are some great designs out there.  Circular homes are perfect for you if you like open floor plans and efficient use of space. 

 

 

The Power of the Circle

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle.  The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls.  Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.  The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle.  The moon does the same and both are round.  Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were.  The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.  Our tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop.

~Chief Black Elk of the Oglala Sioux, 1863-1950 

Welcome!

First post on this new blog!  Where to begin...

Circle.  I looked up the word online in the Merriam Webster free online dictionary.  Quite a few meanings were listed there.  Ring.  Halo.  The orbit of a celestial body.  An area of action or influence.  Cycle, round.  

Probably my favorite definition:  A group of persons sharing a common interest or revolving about a common center.

Think about how many circles you are a part of in your everyday life.  Work.  Family.  Church.  What are the common threads?  

Lots to think about.

The name of this blog, All My Life's A Circle, comes from a Harry Chapin song.  There are lots of references to the "Circle of Life" in art, in music.  But Harry sums it up best, in my opinion:

All my life's a circle

Sunrise and sundown

The moon rolls through the night time

Til the daybreak comes around

So many circles to be explored...