magical

they cut the roof for a garden

inside the meditation space

window

the stove

a handmade hinge

timber framing

danny in the meditation room

i spent a couple days up in montpelier. my friend danny had his 27th birthday and he, roger and i celebrated at a hip new pizza joint in downtown montpelier that looks as groovy as that club i visited in new york a few weeks ago. we had some delicious pie there.

the next day roger and danny took me to an ashram near montpelier. i fell in love with this place. just like the homestead i visited last summer, you walk in. there is no road, just a path. you encounter a stream with a stone bridge. and then the meditation center, which is an old farmhouse or barn that's been beautifully worked over the last forty years. the photos show parts of the building. the roof has been cut away in part of it for a roof garden. the house has been cobbed (mud with straw) and the interior is somewhat cave-like. it's wonderful to sit on the floor held by the undulating walls that are inlaid with flowers. rounded windows with sheer cloth scrims let in a foggy light and an enormous stone stove radiates warmth. i really loved the feel of the place. not a square corner anywhere. i loved the window treatments, inside and out. and there some beautiful joinery made with whole logs and branches.

i remember having a dream, repeating dream, as a child with a place like this in it. the round windows and the organic walls i remember most vividly. so this visit felt like a homecoming in many ways.