This is so great. It's a house that was built by Irish immigrants out of oyster shells in 1850. The house was in Port O'Connor. John Vachon took this photo of the house in 1943, 93 years after it was built. The entire process of constructing houses from oyster shells is fascinating.
Here’s how it worked: people collected heaps of oyster shells, often from old middens (ancient shell piles left behind by Native peoples or settlers). The shells were burned in a kiln to create lime. When oyster shells are heated, the calcium carbonate in them turns into quicklime. That quicklime was then mixed with water, sand, and more whole oyster shells. The result was a kind of primitive concrete—strong, durable, and resistant to moisture. Builders poured this mixture into wooden forms, much like modern concrete, and let it harden.
When the forms were removed, the walls had a distinctive speckled look, with oyster shells showing throughout. Over time, the surface could be plastered or whitewashed, ...

Good morning, beautiful Surfers
🌞🌴🌺☕
My devotional reading today reminded me that He will give us perfect peace if we simply put our trust in Him. Easy, right? Well, not really. I, by experience, know that it's difficult sometimes to see past our problems, but I have learned when I finally do peer out from the dense fog of my trials, He's waiting there with His hand out to lift me up.