The weekend

Husband is working overtime, from here into the rest of the year. It has it's good and bad sides. Good, is we can use the money. Bad, the job is hurting him, and the boys don't get to see him as much. 

And the very bad? It forces me to be more sociable, nicer to people. That is a difficult task for me. -wry grin-  my people skills have been improving. And I have began to meet some nice people. At least to my face they are nice. The culture here is far different than I am use to, and it seems I have to be wary of intentions. We are learning that, slowly. But we have befriended one person that we seem to be able to trust. A gentleman biker, and not a client. 

He heard I have been canning on a campfire, so swung by and dropped this off for me.

A table top stove.

Awesome, right?

The copper connectors have broken off, but we have some things off of a motorcycle that will work to repair it. It is propane, and I can afford to get a small bottle. This means I can pressure can! I do need to get to the extension office and have my canner tested. I blew it up a few years ago, and it doesn't seem to be working correctly.

He is also my plum hookup. When he brought this by, he told me he is plum-full. And whatever was left was mine. After work Saturday, I swung by and gathered a good amount. Plum jelly here I come. He also showed me is crabapple trees, and told me come fall I can have all I was willing to deal with. My eyes lit up and I actually told him he was the bees knees. He laughed and said he thought I would enjoy that. 

He has been wonderful, here I am gushing. Ha! We swung by on Sunday to pick up a very old bale for our garden. While we were standing there talking, his huge bull, and I mean huge! Waylaid into a new bale, a hay explosion that shook the ground. Well, no, but it was a mess. We helped clean up, he feed some off to his goats, than offered the rest to us. We made two trips, one with new feed hay and one for the decaying mulch hay. Husband looked over his generator for him, to see why it wasn't working.

Covered in hay and picking minuscule thorns out of my palms, I stayed behind on the second trip to start dinner. Rain was threatening. As the hamburgers sizzled, and the green beans rolled in the water, the thunderstorm struck. I quickly shoved dry logs into the fire, hoping the blaze would prevent the rain from cooling off the flywheel too much to be of any cooking use, and covered everything with lids. Everyone ran into the house. 

It took me a moment before I made a decision. I was home, it was still light outside and the rain was drenching. I ran out in nothing but a tank top and boxer shorts and took the most luxurious shower I have had in almost a year. Soon Medium and Small were outside in their swim trunks taking advantage of the rain. Baths are nice, but there is nothing like a good cleansing shower. 

I feel wonderful this morning. 

Friday night was a bit odd. The boys and I were headed down the driveway, when I abruptly stopped. Someone had taken a lot of time to arrange Mimosa leaves (only mimosa that we have found so far) across my drive.

We weren't sure if we should cross it, and if we did, what would happen. We didn't end up in fairy land, and I hope whoever did it, did it to keep evil out, rather than to keep our evil in.

Weird. 

Homemade lip balm

 On one of our many snowed in days, Small and I found ourselves itching to do something. We decided to make chapstick.

 

Using the chamomile and goldenrod we dried in late summer, bees wax (brought with us from Kansas) and sunflower oil, Small and I created a healing, very soothing lip protectant. Medium used it on his cracked lips, and within a few days it was healed up. Small is very proud of himself.  



 

 

 

6 cups dried flowers (goldenrod and chamomile)

2 cups sunflower oil

a scant 2 cups of grated bees wax

 

I don't have a double boiler, so I use a metal bowl over a pot filled less than half way with water. Place your dried flowers and oil into the bowl, and bring it to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 1 hour.

 

Strain through a colander lined with cheese cloth, into a clean bowl. Once it cools down enough to handle, squeeze the cheesecloth, removing as much oil as possible.

 

If using the same double boiler or bowl, make sure it is clean and dry before pouring your oil into it. Bring to a simmer and slowly add the beeswax, stirring it until all is dissolved. 

 

Carefully pour the hot liquid into your containers. Allow to fully cool before using.

Very last minute present that even the teen boys enjoy (albeit secretly)

Flubber, Gak, slime or silly putty

You can't make real Flubber, as only Fred MacMurray and Robin Williams have that recipe. And you can't make real silly putty because that is a closely guarded secret, but you can make a slime type variation of the products. And not only is this an enjoyable gift, but a science project that if fun to create. (something you can do with the kids while they are on break)


2 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups white glue
3 teaspoons Borax
food coloring

Combine 1 1/2 cups water with the glue. Mix in the food coloring.  In a different bowl, combine the borax and 1 cup water. Mix well. Poor the borax mix into the glue mix, then get your hand dirty. Squeeze until thoroughly combine until only a tablespoon of liquid remains.. It will be sticky. Allow to sit for a few minutes. Once ready it can be stored in an air tight container for about 3 weeks.

And it bounces too!

Depression gift: Paddle Ball

Not just paddle ball but ULTIMATE PADDLE BALL

ARE YOU READY?


you will need
composite laminate flooring 3/8" thick
braided stretchy cord 1/8" thick
bouncy ball

(This project took 40 minutes doing it all by hand. So a good last minute gift idea)

Draw out your paddle onto the flooring



cut it out

Sand it down

Drill a hole in the center no larger than 1/8" diameter

Then drill a hole in the bouncy ball. We tried heating a nail and shoving it through, but it damages the ball too much.

Thread the stretchy cord through the ball.
You will need something to stop the knot from stretching through.
We used an old shoe lace.
Measure out the length of cord you want, remember it doubles in length when stretched.

Repeat with the paddle

Trim up the excess

PLAY!

If the cord breaks, it is easily repaired.

These work really well. You can easily nail your Husband in the head from 4 feet away,  hard enough for it to sting.

Depression Gift: Homemade watercolors

What you mean they have 4 kids now?!?

Homemade watercolors are simple.

You will need

1 tablespoon clear vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon corn syrup
food coloring
plastic egg carton 
(paper ones will bleed through)
this makes 2 egg cups full

Mix the vinegar and baking soda in a old coffee cup. Once the fizzing goes down add the corn starch and syrup. mix well. It will make a thick paste, that seems like a solid melting.



Mix in your food coloring, whatever colors you or your kids want. Pour into the cups.

Repeat until you have all your cups filled.

Or leave an empty spot for the water.

Allow the cakes to completely dry before closing and decorating the egg carton. Make a pouch for the brushes.

Dip brush in the water and smear over the top of the egg cakes to use.

Depression Gift; Green Army Man Jewelry

First I want to give credit where credit is due. I got this idea from Knight & Hammer, a small jeweler. Right now they are having a sale on their gold army men jewelry, portions of the proceeds benefit the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

As much as I love their army men, there is no feasible way I could ever afford it, until the prize patrol arrives. So I will make my generic version using real green (brown) army men.

First, a bag o' army men.

Of course you need to play with them a bit. MAN DOWN!

Now we need to remove their pedestals.  Don't be tempted to just snap them off, you will take their poor little toes with it. I used a pair of wire cutters, then filed down any points.

Next heat up a needle and stab him in the head with it. 

Not only are you making something cool but you get to relive your tortured toy youth.  Ah memories. . . Fun!!

Don't allow the needle to cool off in there too much, you will have a hard time getting it out. Next you will need a piece of wire, folding it to create a hook to hang the army man from. This too will need to be heated up before torturing your toy. Shove the wire into his head and allow it to cool.

You can stop here and add leather or chain. But I just happened to have a can of Aluminum  spray enamel 

 *insert evil laugh here* 

Spray one side of your army man, dry, flip and repeat. Be sure to get his crotch and the top of his head.

my attempt at a close-up

These make great Christmas ornaments as well.

Pack of army men $1. aluminum enamel paint can be found at the hardware store for $2-$5.  You can find wire there as well. But since I go to auctions and buy wire in bulk, not sure how much that would cost you.

Depression Gift; Molas

Molas are a product of the Kuna women of Panama. I have several that my father brought with him when he came to the US.

 I am leaning towards getting a tattoo of the above mola, it's a fox and chickens.

Making your own is simple, you quilters should like this. Molas are traditionally 2-7 layers of fabric.

The fabric doesn't need to be a solid color.  And can be any size you want your panel to be.

First decide on your design, and map it out. Next put down your first layer of cloth, do not cut into this one, it's your base.  Add your second layer and cut your design so the the first cloth is seen through the second.

Repeat each layer, making sure that you cut over the previous colors holes so that the first/second and so on colors can be seen at the finish.

Pin your fabric together so that it can be sewn. Make sure that it is all flat as possible, and sew outlines into the design, then sew all the way around it.

For those of us that can barely sew, use this to wrap presents, like books in. Or mount them as art work as the real ones above.

Those of you that are more talented, molas are made to be used. Traditionally skirts and blouses. You can use the panels you make for blankets, window dressings, purses, and so forth.

Kids can make them with construction paper and glue if you don't trust them with your needles.

Homemade gift for the teen boy ~Devil Sticks~

Luckily for me Large is a dork. No worries, he knows he is a dork and is very proud of his oddness. The Devil Sticks are not going to be for any boy (girls like them too). A kid that likes Hackey Sacks or juggling, medieval reenactments or RPG's (not video games). If you don't want to deal with the negative side of teen angst, be aware of what your kid is into, could make for a miserable Christmas morning.

These Devil Sticks are for the beginner.

You will need:

2 wooden dowels 
4 feet of 5/16" diameter
2 feet of 1/2" diameter

Athletic tape any color(s)

A hand saw

What to do:

Cut the dowels to 2 feet in length. You will need 1 of the thick dowel and 2 of the same length of the thinner dowels.

Take one of the tapes and pull down a long piece, keeping it attached to the roll. Spin the tape so that it spiral on itself, lazily. Wrap this around your thick dowel, sticky side out. Lattice the dowel with the tape, like this:

Reverse the direction, doubling up but creating the lattice look. Make sure you overlap the previous tape.

You can use the same color tape here, sticky side down, cover the lattice work thoroughly. On each end of your thick stick, you will need to make counter weights. Use the tape to do this. Wrap the tape around each end, testing out the balance as you add to it.

Wrap tape around your 2 hand sticks (thinner dowels) just the same as the exterior part of your middle stick (thicker dowel) but not the lattice work. However you will need to vary the direction in which you wrap and create small bumps as you go. You can do this in multiple colors.

This is your finished product. You can add tassels to the end of the middle stick with the tape if you want.

And when they get really good at it, you can add fire

If you don't know what Devil sticks are or how to use them, here is a video.

How to Use a Devil Stick in Juggling

Look for possible savings for supplies for devil sticks at Home Depot.

It hurts

Do you remember last year when we were pushing bales up on trucks, and I thought I might have hurt something?

Husband thinks I herniated my diaphragm. I have been in pain for the past 2 days. I can't sleep as I can't get comfortable. Nothing seems to be helping it. And I have tried everything. It isn't so bad this morning. Feels like I was kicked the day before and just sore now. Husband says if the hernia is bad enough, I will need surgery for it. ~sigh~ Luckily it doesn't hurt all the time, just occasionally.

We had our first hard freeze last night. Growing season is now officially over. I will go out and pull the rest of my produce out of the garden, those items that improve with one frost and put the garden to bed.

We have been gathering all the animal manure around here and tilling it into the garden. It should be a wonderfully rich soil in the spring.

Be back Monday with the first of the Depression gifts! Thanks for more ideas. Please, if you have something, share it.

It's the thought that counts

Last year I did a series called Depression Gifts. And since it was so popular. . . ummm. . . .haha! Since I had a grand time with it, I am bringing it back this year.


Click on the picture to see last years crafts.

I am not very good at this craft thing. I'm honest about that. If you have a project that a simpleton can do, please tell me about it. So I can try it out. No promises on how nice it will turn out though.

From now until the week of Christmas I will post at least 1 depression gift a week.

It was indeed a good time last year, trying out new things. And all the gifts were well received (to my face) Let's see what happens this year.

Welcome to the doll house

I mean chicken coop.
















I know what you are going to say. . . white trash ingenuity at it's finest! Yes, that it a truck bed, yes that is an old topper. You are wise to catch that the wood is reclaimed pallet boards. Wow, never thought anyone would guess that was part of a bunk bed, and the feeder was made with an above ground pool part!

The greatest thing about the new coop? If things ever got really bad, we could live in it.

And here is the pic I promised of the ram-a-lamb

His and hers soap

Last Saturday I left early in the morning with my husband to the motorcycle shop. I was there to meet up with one of husband's customers, Pastor Mike.

Pastor Mike not only makes his own soap, but he cans, and makes beer and makes the most gorgeous furniture I have ever seen. He is a retired Marine, biker and Minister. A well rounded individual.

Pastor Mike arrived at the shop, and Large, Small and myself followed him out to his place. Medium stayed at the shop to help husband. Once there I met his dog and his wife. A wonderfully cheerful woman. I brought some dandelion syrup as a gift to her. You should always take a gift to your hostess. I realize that it is outdated to do so, but you are in a way, putting them out, even if you were invited over. And a gift of something simple and homemade is not only welcome but can be an icebreaker as well. They had never had dandelion syrup, and it seemed to be much appreciated.

I digress, we started to work immediately. He showed me how to figure out how much lye was needed for what we wanted to do. He mixed his with lye and water, I mixed mine with lye and goats milk. Pastor Mike also like to use lots of different oils, and palm and coconut oil was added along with the deer tallow. He is a hunter as well, and renders his own deer fat.

At first, my goat milk lye mix didn't want to cool down, but after a bit, it was finally cool enough mix with the oils. Pastor Mike and I stood in the garage for awhile, stirring the concoction as he talked about himself and his life. Husband says he talks a lot when he is nervous. I didn't mind it one bit, as it kept us from complaining about the amount of stirring we had to do. After a bit he asked his wife to show me all the lovely furniture he had made, and put Large and Small to work stirring as he supervised.

He made is own dinning table, hope chest, 2 huge desks, a complete bedroom set including the mirror frame. She then showed me the china hutch he just finished. Gorgeous! She complained that she had no where to put it, but he was insistent about making it. A shame it is hidden away in the basement.

After the tour it was time to pour the soap into the mold. He used a cut up cardboard box as the mold. Spraying it with oil and lining it with wax paper. It was poured in and allowed to sit. He said to leave it there with him, after 24 hours he will cut it up and bring it to the shop. It took a total of 2 hours to do everything.

Yesterday husband arrived with the soap. Pastor Mike had forgotten about it, and cut it after 48 hours. So it looks broken into chunks rather than cut. But that is fine. It is my first batch, and I don't plan on selling it.

His is on the left, mine on the right

I am looking forward to doing it again, and soon.

I tore his Nipples

Whoa Phelan, TMI! (and for my porn link-ins APRIL FOOL'S!)


We have these heavy duty rubber nursing nipples for Zombie. They have managed to be torn, and will no longer work.

Last night, I managed to destroy two of them. And couldn't find the rest of them. I live with a house full of boys ya know. Farm store was closed, baby bottles wouldn't work, Zombies teeth have cut me open, and those silicone nipples wouldn't last a single feeding. What's a nipple-less surrogate goat mom to do?

Ask husband.

There is something slightly unsettling about a white trash genius.

His solution was a spark plug boot (no worries, it is very clean)

It is pretty much a spill spout, however the rubber makes Zombie more comfortable with it. With a little practice on my part, I was able to feed him without spilling it all over him, and myself.

He actually seems to like it more than the nipples.

White Trash at their finest (pic heavy)

The Hay Spike Trailer will be hence forth known as The Husbands Bale Spear Dolly

This is the core of the project. It is not finished, but it is at it's primitive yet functioning level. To get to this point you will need

a detached truck bed trailer
Hay spike
Pipe
couple pieces of angle iron
Harley Davidson front axle 3/4 inch (any solid of that size will work)
piece of chain
3/8 inch bolts to hold chain together
BFH (Big Frickin' Hammer)
Saws all
welder
come-along

A torch if you got em' other wise heat up the corners and whack it with the BFH

First remove the bed from the frame of the truck bed. Make sure that it is below freezing outside and it is only you and your wife. Yell at her when she complains that the bed just fell on her hand, tell her to suck it up and ask her if she's a PIONEER WOMAN!?!

Place the hay spike on the frame, calculate the approximate center of your bales (5 foot bale, theoretically 2 1/2 feet from the ground) The lower it is the better leverage you could have. You might have to lower your rails on the frame. Our frame has zero suspension, all the springs have been removed, so it is sitting on it's bump stops. Blink bars have been welded to the sides of the frame then down to the axle in a V shape to stabilize the axle to the frame, welded directly to the bump stops.

Take two 3 inches of 1 inch steel pipe, heavy gauge, we used the HD axle spacer, cut 4 pieces 2 1/2 inches long out of 3 inch angle iron. Weld the pipe using two pieces of angle iron, opposing in an S or lightening shape, welding it square and flush to one end of the top outside of the angle iron. When done it will look like a P with a tail. Stand it up , clamp it down and weld top and bottom. Take the other piece of iron and box in the P to make it look like inverted T with a dot on top, creating a pivot point with two flanges going forwards and back. Clamp to another piece of angle iron for alignment, weld the top side, cool, flip and weld the bottom side. Now you have an assembly that can be mounted to a flat rail of the frame. Do that twice, to create pivots for both sides.







Calculate your height at plum, make sure your frame tongue is level with the scars on your knees, to get that height. (level to your hitch). Slide your spear lower to points or the pivot pins into your newly made pivots. Clamp down your pivots and weld them onto your frame at the predetermined spear height. Use corner gussets that were cut scraps, 3"x4". Put vertical gussets in the center of the angle iron pivots, weld them.

Ladies, go out and take a photo, while it is snowing and he is welding. Call him silly and run away.


Next, measure for a 4x4 "kick stand" up to the bottom side of the top mount to a frame structure to buck it, wrap a chain around the cross member and link the top mount, come-along to the chain. From there, double check measurements for the 4x4. Measure twice cut once, give yourself a little room to cut again. Then cut the wood, put under the mount wedge in the cross member, then pull everything tight with the come-along. Spear should be relatively horizontal, come-along tight, board wedged in place. At that point you are ready for application.



On the weld, turn it up and burn it in.

Now for the photo part of our show, because the above is all Greek to me (more like very bad English). This is why Husband doesn't run this blog, but he said you should understand. If not, he is here for you.

Get your Good Neighbor's truck to try it out on first (This should hook up to our tractor as well)



Line it up and . . .


Shove it in



Start ratcheting it up











oops, it's sitting on the tires. But it took less then 30 seconds to get it there.




Place the "kick stand" under the spike. Re-bar should fix this.



Now put your Good Neighbor to work, that is after all why he lives next to you.