Five Things for Friday

Again with Friday already!  Yes, we've made it to another Friday.  It seems like I write a lot about the weather.  So, not to break stride, this week was beautiful and the weekend promises to be as well.

You can imagine then that I'm deliriously happy that the deck is finished!  All we have left to do, and we're doing it ourselves (well, Jeff) is install the low voltage lights into the steps.  The wiring is there and ready.







 I have purchased 3 step lights like these for installation around the top steps.  You can see the holes and wires in the picture above (click on the photo to enlarge).

The dry rot was also fixed using Dap 21506 Plastic Wood Filler, 16-Ounce.

Now I've just got to move everything back on the deck and patio and we'll be ready to enjoy it.  Need to keep this little bugger inside and off of it.  Audrey's an indoor cat, can't you just see in her eyes her thoughts?  "If only I could get out there, that little spot there, in the sun, would be perfect to stretch out in...."

Speaking of enjoy, what's a post without a flower picture?  This week's featured flower is the lilac.

 These beauties are in full bloom right now and the air is sweetly scented with their aroma.  If you have access to a bush, lilacs can make great cut flowers but they need a little extra care.  It's best to cut them in the morning and immediately place the stems in a bucket of warm water, 100 -110 degrees Fahrenheit.  Fill a clean vase with warm water and a flower preservative.  If you don't have a flower preservative, you can easily make one by mixing two tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of bleach in a quart of warm water.

Cut any leaves or flowers that may be submerged in your vase and quickly transfer the flowers from the bucket to the vase.  Replace the water and preservative whenever it appears cloudy.

Our Netflix binge this week has been Archer as season 6 is available for streaming.  Another exceptionally funny show but probably only suitable for adults. Archer is sure to offend everyone so if you're a sensitive person, best to not watch.





One last thing before I sign off.  Can't leave without a shameless promotion of my newest soap.  Lora's Beauty Little Black Bar made with activated charcoal is now available in the online store!  Problem skin?  Pick up a few bars!

Enjoy your weekend!

Weekend Weaving Class

Saturday I took a weaving class as you probably know if you've read my blog or have seen any of my Instagram posts.

I arrived to my class a little after 11 and was immediately shown the loom I would work on.  I picked out a few pieces of fabric choosing the colors and textures I wanted.  My "class" included 6 hours of work on the loom and fabric enough for a 3 X 2 rug for which I could keep.

Joel, my instructor, advised me not to worry about picking out all my fabric at once but just get a start and see where it takes me.  With that advise, I picked some blue and brown felted fabric.  I love the feel of nubby, knotty rugs under foot and wanted the rug I made to feel that way.

With minimal instruction, such as how to work the heddles (shedding), "throw the shuttle", batten, move the temple, and advance the loom, I was on my way weaving!   By the time I looked up from what I was doing it was 2:00!

Weaving can be very therapeutic and physical.  Throwing the shuttle and battening the fabric involves upper body work.  I was a little hesitant at first to really slam the weft against the fabric but Joel assured me I was not going to break the loom and the harder I slammed the weft the tighter the weave would be.

Temples are used to maintain the warp's width.  I was instructed to move my temple after 3 or more inches of weave.  Doing so meant my rug would be straight along it's edges.

Shedding involves stepping on the heddles with your feet to raise and lower the heald frame to create a clear path for your shuttle to move between.  On the loom I was working this involved lifting your entire leg allowing for a nice lower body workout!

Time passed quickly as we talked and worked.  There was another lady in the studio working on a table runner.  Discussions of kids, grandchildren (theirs not mine), and other hobbies ensued.  Joel took up weaving after his 4 children grew up.  He was walking by a studio one day and looked in the window and thought he'd like to give that a try.  Eight years later, he's now president of the Portland Weavers Guild.

By three I had reached the end of my rug.  Joel finished it off by weaving an inch of thread then cutting the rug from the warp.  He then folded over the woven threads and stitched them on a sewing machine.

By four, I was on my way home with a beautiful rug for my bathroom and a great experience!  Joel's studio is open for private instruction and classes.

If you're in Portland, check out The Gathering of the Guilds Sale at the Oregon Convention Center the weekend of April 22.

Five Things for Friday

Hello, welcome to Friday!  Oh, also, Happy April Fools Day!  Hopefully you haven't been played for a fool, yet...

We've had some great weather in the Pacific Northwest this week  I've been on a chocolate bender every since the Easter candy started rolling out (damn you Cadbury Easter Candy Coated Mini Eggs, 10 Ounce Bag
!).  Even with the warmer weather during the day, it's still fairly chilly once the sun goes down.  This makes for a great time to make hot chocolate and I've got the best recipe ever for a grown up hot chocolate!

Start with a cup of unsweetened almond milk and heat it either on the stove or in the microwave.  Then add one to two tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa, a tablespoon of maple syrup, and a pinch (to your liking) of sea salt.  Stir and drink!  You can optionally (WHAAA!!?  Optionally?) add a whipped topping as well.  This drink is great at satisfying a chocolate graving and the little bit of sea salt gives it a decadent taste!  Try it if it's still chilly in your area or even if its not.

I've been busy in the soap making department again.  I've kept this new beauty out of the lime light until today!  Now why do you think that is (hint, read the first paragraph again)?

This soap will surely appeal to all your Steampunk friends!  Click over to Lora's Beauty Men's shop, LBEquipment, to grab a few bars before they sell out!  They won't last a fortnight!

With this awesome weather we're having, my mind has naturally drifted to our garden.  I'm excited to plant our new vegetable garden (no, I haven't forgotten about the planter box post.  I'm waiting on the deck to get finished before I post about our homemade planter boxes!).  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find some of our vegetable plants survived the winter and are growing back!

This arugula will go great on our homemade pizza!

Now here's an exciting development!  I got tickets to the Flight of the Conchords when they come to Portland!  That was no small feat!  They added a second show because the first one sold out ridiculously fast!  The first time the tickets went on sale, I went to the box office after trying unsuccessfully to purchase them online.  The lady directly in front of me in line was LITERALLY the last person to get tickets!  That made me, the first person to be denied tickets!  Well, this time I walked up to the box office early on Wednesday to snag tickets.  Luckily a scene was not necessary as I got tickets!  Unfortunately their tv show is no longer available on Netflix, but if you haven't seen it you should check it out.


You can watch it on Amazon Prime or purchase the dvds.  Very funny.












Did I mention the deck?  I think we're finally about to see the end of this project!  The decking material was delivered Thursday and the contractor was there to start putting it on.  I'll post more pictures of it next week when it's completely finished (Whoa!  Did I just say that? Knock on wood.)  Until then, enjoy your weekend!  I've got my weaving class on Saturday and hopefully it will still be nice Sunday to work in the yard.

Happy April Fools Day and check out the Steampunk Soap!  Really!  Go look at it!

Weekend Happenings

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.  We had a small get together for Easter brunch on Sunday.  As I mentioned on Friday, I got a free turkey last Thanksgiving for purchasing a lot of groceries.  We've had it frozen since then because I haven't had a reason nor the courage to roast a 22 lb turkey!  Well, with it being Easter and all, I decided I better tackle the thing,

It actually turned out pretty good.  Naturally, we have oodles of leftovers.  I bagged them up in small zip-lock bags and froze them.  If someone wants a turkey sandwich or quesadilla they can thaw a small bag and make one.  I'm just glad that gigantic turkey is out of my freezer!

I spent a little time Saturday painting a coffee table I had.  Now, if you don't like painted furniture, read no further!  Especially if you don't like furniture that was perfectly good and didn't need painted.

I debated a LONG time before painting this coffee table.  I tried 4 or 5 times to sell it on craigslist to no avail.  I don't know why, I thought it was beautiful, obviously, I bought it.  I just no longer have room for it and I thought it was a little formal for my living room.  Anyway, this photo (taken before I had my new camera) doesn't do it justice.

After kicking it around in my workroom/laundry room/weight room for a year or more I decided to take drastic measures.  I painted it.  Well, part of it, I still couldn't bring myself to paint the top.

I used a white milk paint similar to Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint (Linen)  Anyone who's ever painted with milk paint knows that the first and sometimes second coat looks awful.  This was no exception, especially when I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing.

However, I pushed through it and after 3 - 4 coats of paint, it started looking better.

I gently buffed up the areas I was going to paint with sandpaper so the paint would adhere.

It stilled chipped nicely in spots as you can see.

I finished it with Miss Mustard Seed's Hemp Oil 250ml.

Honestly, I still wasn't sure I did the right thing by painting it but my parents came over and saw it and after I told them they could be brutally honest (which they would have been regardless) they both said they liked it.  Well, Dad said he liked it and Mom said she liked it, then she said I hadn't completely ruined it, which is a compliment!  I guess now I'll see what the great people on craigslist think.

Five Things for Friday

Another week gone and another weekend begins! Happy Friday! I had most of last week off so I got a few things done that I've been wanting to do.

One of those things, was the creation of a new soap!  Activated charcoal is excellent at detoxifying your skin and I've been wanting to make a goats' milk soap using it for a while now.  I finally got around to it last Sunday.

Charcoal has been taking the skincare industry by storm in the past several years.  Its ability to absorb 100 - 200 times it's weight in impurities means it's great at deep cleaning and purifying the skin.  My soap is scented with lemongrass and basil essential oils which make for a pleasing, natural scent.

It's curing now, but should be available in the online store in a few weeks.

Slow, but steady progress has been made on the deck as well.

All the framing is finished, now I'm waiting on the arrival of the railing and decking material.  I'm using a composite wood material from TimberTech because, yes, I'm lazy and do not want to waterproof it every year.  Since it's a relatively small deck, the price difference wasn't that great.

Did I mention it was going slowly?  I guess it doesn't matter since we haven't exactly had a string of nice days to enjoy a deck anyway.


 I got a little crafty on my days off and turned this bottle box into a herb garden for my kitchen.












I painted it and attached an extra porcelain pull I had.  Because I was setting it on my window sill, I didn't want to drill holes in the bottom for water to drain all over.  Instead, I lined the bottom of the box with sliced and broken wine corks, then added potting soil and herbs.  The idea is that the wine corks will help absorb water.  The box is the perfect size to fit on a window sill.





Keeping with the 'Man, I wish it was Summer already' theme,  I've been dreaming of sandals.  I love this pair and they're handmade!  That's right, we go straight from boots to sandals around here.

I've been wanting to take up weaving for sometime now.  A couple weeks ago when we were out and about I found this studio in SE Portland.  They offer a class on Saturdays where you can come in and work on a loom for 5 hours, make a rug, and take it home!  I've signed up for a next Saturday!  I'm really excited and if I like it, I may have to look into purchasing my own loom!!

Enjoy your weekend and Happy Easter on Sunday.  We're cooking a 22 lb turkey we got free last Thanksgiving.  My son is over-the-moon excited about all the left-overs already.

Sidewalk Find!

Who are these people that leave such awesome stuff on the sidewalk for free?

This past weekend, while walking to yoga class, I came across this door.

What a beautiful door!  The thing is made of hardwood and it must weigh about 30 lbs.  Naturally, it was coming home with me.


Since I didn't have any idea what I would use it for, I did the logical thing and browsed all the "shutter door re-purposed" images on Pinterest.

My first thought was to paint it but after I looked at it again I felt the wood was too nice to paint over.

Then I thought of the perfect place for it, my bathroom.

This blank wall would be a  great spot and who needs a blank wall?   Sure there's the light switch, but I can work around that!




I needed an extra place to hang a towel.  The hook just hangs over the back of the door so I didn't even need to pick up a screw driver for this transformation.

There are some nicer hooks out there though, I think I'll pick this one up.

Now my son has a place to hang his wet towel!

As a bonus, we can still turn the lights and fan on, our hands can slide easily behind the door.

Thank you to all those anonymous people who place great stuff on the sidewalk for free!

A Weekend in Photos

Just photos and a few words for context.

All the Christmas decorations down before the official start of Spring = success!

Quick trip to the gas station and saw this little guy.

Pick up groceries.

In case you didn't know, Easter is next Sunday.

Antique mall.

Beautiful day on Saturday.

Perfect day for a barbecue.

Official start of Spring on Sunday.

Early morning walk to yoga.

Woke this guy up!

This guy announced my arrival.

Spiders in the sky.

Remember winter.

How was your weekend?