Kids’ Winter Wool Interlock Shirts

kids wool shirt

Off and on since the weekend, I have been working on long sleeve wool t-shirts for the kids. This is the 100% merino wool (very soft) interlock from Covered Caboose. The wool comes natural in color. I use black thread because I am going to dye all the shirts in darker colors. I’ve finished constructing [...]

Mini Soap Cakes

three mini soap cakes

I usually make hot process soap, following the method in Handcrafted Soap by Dolores Boone, but this week I made cold process soap. I had been given a wooden soap mold and I was itching to experience the pouring of soap-brought-to-trace-but-not-fully-saponified into a prepared mold. Well, I experienced it. Can’t say that my life is [...]

Four Wooden Bowls

four wooden bowls

I couldn’t make it to any thrift stores yesterday when we were out; the day was just too busy. But when I was packing our lunch, I realized that I’d neglected to share what I found last week (the week before maybe?). These four wooden bowls. Wish there were five, as there are five of [...]

When Soap Gets Too Hot

liquid-soap-mess

Here’s what we learned. If you want to skip all the stages of the “cooking” process, just boil over. You’ll go from trace to done in about 1 minute. (Instead of 3 to 4 hours.)

2008 T2CHK Swaps

T2CHK Quilt Block Swap 2008

Last weekend I sent out all the fabric and quilt blocks that were made and swapped by members of the T2CHK Message Board. This is our third year for having a quilt block swap and our second year having a fabric swap. We didn’t have as many participants in the quilt block swap this time, [...]

In the Trenches

Kids in the Trench

Our (actually, Jeff’s) weekend project is to trench from the pole barn to the well house for the new water line and pump circuit. A few bumps along the way. First, having to spend more time than we planned finding the current electrical line, an old sewer line, and current phone line. Yesterday, he dug [...]

Painting Naomi’s Trunk & Mikah’s Box

naomi_trunk_after

Naomi was given this trunk by Jeff’s mom for her birthday, or perhaps it was Christmas. I am pretty sure the idea was that the box was so nice that it was worth giving to her (she really wanted a trunk) even though she might not love the color. For some weeks now, Naomi has [...]

Doin’ School

doing_school

Where do you do school? We use the dining room table. The kids set up their stacks of books, each to an area. They love to set up their workbooks! This does fit with their love of playing games that involve heaps of paperwork — like shops, doctor’s offices and such. To them, paperwork seems [...]

The Weekend

jeffwalkingthewall

Jeff walking along the rock wall he’s been building all summer. Naomi and Mikah climbing up some downed madrone branches. Jeff digging around power line and water line. Annie is ever the curious and social goat who loves to be where the action is. The kids dissembled some garden beds we attempted to use a [...]

Trouble!

trouble

Meet Trouble. He’s just few months old. Our friends ran out of grass on their place, so he came here to get fat. Yes, that means he is going to be butchered. Our friends are going to share him with us. Usually, we take a long time to consider such moves. Not this time. His [...]