Ideas and Peregrinations

IDEAS for APPLIANCE GARAGE for your KITCHEN If you have lots of little appliances cluttering your countertops: food processor coffeemaker stand mixer toaster and would like to keep them out of sight, the solution is an Appliance Garage In my case I wanted to fit it under a corner wall cabinet, as that is a portion of the countertop that's difficult to use during prep.  I hadn't realized how difficult an undertaking that could be, especially if the clearance between countertop and bottom of wall cabinet is shallow (mine is 16 3/4"). Here are some options to consider. Hinged sides and doors. Not acceptable because monopolizes too much counter area during opening   Flipper door (right) and pocket door (left)   The flipper would not work because it eats height under wall cabinet. The pocket door (½ on either side) would be great with a corner cabinet, as the side rails don’t need to be perpendicular to cabinet front!...

Problem We wanted to place the garbage cans in the driveway rather than in the back yard – but the path from the kitchen to the driveway to throw out the garbage goes through the garage. We were afraid that operating the garage door much more often, each time we took out the garbage, would eat into its lifetime. So, how do you go through the door without opening it fully? A pass-through door within a door. Solution At first I was sure I could buy such a door-in-a-door without a problem, but that was not the case. First problem: all standard doors you can buy are taller than our one-piece garage door, so they would not fit.  You can buy custom-made garage doors with built-in walk-throughs but they cost a  fortune . Here's the principle (click to see a video): So I made my own for about $50 in materials and a few hours of work, following these steps. Here's what my door looked like before I started – it is a one-piece door made out of 7" slats held together...

In 1975, as I was starting out with Zen meditation, my friend made me a Zafu, or cushion for sitting Zazen. She was an experienced seamstress, and so was able to interpret the partially erroneous instructions provided in Approach to Zen  by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi (p. 86).  38 years later this cushion finally came apart, after many attempts at mending it, and I realized that I need to make another one. Since at best I am an amateur in sewing, I proceeded largely through trial and error. In the hope of simplifying the task for others, I am offering the following detailed instructions. Finished product. This Zafu is fairly large and plump, for a somewhat tall person weighing 195 lbs. – smaller people can scale down. Dimensions and material It is made from 2 circles 15½ in. diameter each, and a band 9½” wide, 100” long. This band is pleated so that 1½” of cloth is hidden for each 3” of band (see the 2 images). It is best to use cloth which is not smooth, such ...

You will fairly soon be traveling to Paris, where you will undoubtedly revisit Notre Dame.  In order to put you in the mood, you may want to listen to this piece of music which was composed there by Pérotin  almost 1000 years ago. The manuscript on the left is also by him, in contemporary notation. Pérotin was a French composer,  who was active in the 2nd half of the 12th century, just after Notre Dame cathedral started to be built. Presumably teaching at the Sorbonne, he composed the very earliest polyphonic music; the selection which you can play by clicking ► below, constitutes the earliest 4-part harmony ever composed in the world! And, if you want to hum along, here is a modern transcription: