Sarah is headed off to Florida to visit her grandmother ( and get a tan ) while I stay here in the frigid north. I'm not bitter though, because that means that the house is all mine and I can work on the canvas and not have to worry about the total chaos that will ensue when I am cutting out the panels. Hopefully we stay motivated because it will be April before long and we still have lots to do.
On the bright side, did I mention that I finished our composting toilet? Well, I don't want to sound too proud, but it turned out better than I expected. I used a combination of red cedar, poplar, and pine for the sides with even a piece of cherry thrown in for good measure. The top and bottom are plywood, with a beautiful maple seat. There is an intentional one degree slant on the wood to keep lines fluid and add a rustic look, and adjustable feet on the bottom. It is finished with a polyurethane so that we can keep it clean. Now that the aesthetics details have been given, who wants to poop in our bucket/box? Don't fight everyone, simply RSVP a dinner party and you too will have a chance.
I'm sure you might be wondering how this system will work and keep our lovely yurt from smelling like the kitty litter box, that can be answered simply by saying that the buckets will be emptied in an area where it can be composted. The details still need to be hashed out with our wonderful friend Ken who is letting us live on his land. If you are interested and want to learn more, check out the humanure handbook.
Here is a quick video of the toilet, I took it with my new fancy kindle fire, but the camera apparently doesn't love the indoor lighting so it's not as clear as I would have liked for it to be.
The video quality isn't that great. It looks much better in person.
