Friday, October 9, 2009
Bend Or Bust!
Nick and I are headed out for a whirlwind tour of Bend for the Bend Film Festival. The director Jeff Pickett who we met through Nick working with his crew on their recent Mount Hood shoot has a film in the festival and we promised to check it out. Over the Mountain we go!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Barn Beautification
The overnight lows will be dipping into the thirties this weekend and Nick has been working very hard to tie up the final loose ends of our barn beautification project.
We were very blessed by the fact that our property came with a two stall barn already on it but it had not been upkept very well. There was no front door at all and the stalls were completely open which is just not safe for our smaller livestock (the previous owners had horses).
Nick and I have enclosed the side alcove so the animal can be "outside" but protected from the elements and predators. We modified one stall into a chicken coop with nesting boxes built in and wire enclosing. Then we put in additional windows to provide more light.
Nick built the most beautiful (and HEAVY) cedar doors for the front which are my favorite part:
Now he has purchased glass panes and made the frame for the windows that are going to go up top above the door to help keep it warmer inside.
We were very blessed by the fact that our property came with a two stall barn already on it but it had not been upkept very well. There was no front door at all and the stalls were completely open which is just not safe for our smaller livestock (the previous owners had horses).
Nick and I have enclosed the side alcove so the animal can be "outside" but protected from the elements and predators. We modified one stall into a chicken coop with nesting boxes built in and wire enclosing. Then we put in additional windows to provide more light.
Nick built the most beautiful (and HEAVY) cedar doors for the front which are my favorite part:
Now he has purchased glass panes and made the frame for the windows that are going to go up top above the door to help keep it warmer inside.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Can't Win 'Em All
We have been dealing with a VERY sick goat the past 48 hours. Our mama Pygora "Dolly" was her usual happy self Sunday and then Monday morning I awoke to her obviously suffering from a very intense bout of gastroenteritis. It was a big mess and she looked awful - droopy ears, staggering, glassy eyes. It was horrible! It is no secret that Nick and I are NOT goat experts. However, we do our best.
Our goat mentors had referred us to a great book of homeopathic remedies called The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm and Stable and I remembered it recommended slippery elm for treating scours. I mixed it up according to the directions and administered it to Dolly orally using a turkey baster. Luckily she was too sick to put up much of a fight. Within a few hours she took a couple sips of water but no food.
This morning she was looking more alert and put up more of a fight when I had to give her the "medicine". And to our enormous relief she was eating this afternoon and looking almost 100% by the time I made it home. We are very thankful!
I had asked Nick to please keep me posted throughout the day as to how Dolly was doing. He sent me a text that she was eating mid morning and then late afternoon I got a really funny email. The subject said "you saved the goat but lost a dog. Then I opened it and there is no text but a pic attached entitled deaddog.jpg. I opened it.....
Hysterical! This is Craps passed out in the fall sunshine in the backyard! He was such a good dog - LOL.
(disclaimer - it is a weird shot and it looks like he has a huge deformed stomach but he does not it is actually his extremely large chicken chest)
Our goat mentors had referred us to a great book of homeopathic remedies called The Complete Herbal Handbook For Farm and Stable and I remembered it recommended slippery elm for treating scours. I mixed it up according to the directions and administered it to Dolly orally using a turkey baster. Luckily she was too sick to put up much of a fight. Within a few hours she took a couple sips of water but no food.
This morning she was looking more alert and put up more of a fight when I had to give her the "medicine". And to our enormous relief she was eating this afternoon and looking almost 100% by the time I made it home. We are very thankful!
I had asked Nick to please keep me posted throughout the day as to how Dolly was doing. He sent me a text that she was eating mid morning and then late afternoon I got a really funny email. The subject said "you saved the goat but lost a dog. Then I opened it and there is no text but a pic attached entitled deaddog.jpg. I opened it.....
Hysterical! This is Craps passed out in the fall sunshine in the backyard! He was such a good dog - LOL.
(disclaimer - it is a weird shot and it looks like he has a huge deformed stomach but he does not it is actually his extremely large chicken chest)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Wainscoting - the poor man's way!
One of the many mid-way completed projects around our house is the wainscoting. We made some major progress this weekend by getting all the frame pieces cut as we gear up for winter interior project tackling. In our defense we have made some major progress in the 11 months since we moved in!
Here is a shot of the living room before:
We tore out the carpet and laid laminate, took down the entry way wall, removed the pellet stove, installed a wood stove, re-painted and have half of the room covered in handmade wainscoting.
An "after" shot (before wainscoting):
How does one obtain "handmade wainscoting" you ask? Well, you start with sheets of mdf that you cut into the baseboards and framing pieces:
Inside the frame you install thin drywall as backing and then edge the interior of each rectangle and the entire top rail with trim. To add an extra level of fun do all this without a mider saw!
The "finished" product (note Nick's glass sconce):
It is a major feature of the room that we love. We do now own a mider saw so hopefully this winter will see to the completion of this project. We have the other half of the living room, kitchen and hallway to complete. Wish us luck!
Here is a shot of the living room before:
We tore out the carpet and laid laminate, took down the entry way wall, removed the pellet stove, installed a wood stove, re-painted and have half of the room covered in handmade wainscoting.
An "after" shot (before wainscoting):
How does one obtain "handmade wainscoting" you ask? Well, you start with sheets of mdf that you cut into the baseboards and framing pieces:
Inside the frame you install thin drywall as backing and then edge the interior of each rectangle and the entire top rail with trim. To add an extra level of fun do all this without a mider saw!
The "finished" product (note Nick's glass sconce):
It is a major feature of the room that we love. We do now own a mider saw so hopefully this winter will see to the completion of this project. We have the other half of the living room, kitchen and hallway to complete. Wish us luck!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Jack - O - Lantern
I LOVE Halloween so when I saw pumpkins at the grocery store this week I could not resist. I honestly can't remember the last time I carved a pumpkin so this is such a treat. We decided on carving a Jack - from the Nightmare Before Christmas Jack O Lantern.
My resident artist did the sketch and hollowed it out:
I did the carving:
Here is the final materpiece:
We also decided to roast the seeds:
You may notice they were slightly overdone. This is because while they were roasting I decided to look at Jack from the front window and spotted a deer in the distance. I ran in and we grabbed the flashlight to try and spotlight the yard. We saw a very nice sized doe with a mid size fawn. In all the excitement though we forgot about the seeds!
My resident artist did the sketch and hollowed it out:
I did the carving:
Here is the final materpiece:
We also decided to roast the seeds:
You may notice they were slightly overdone. This is because while they were roasting I decided to look at Jack from the front window and spotted a deer in the distance. I ran in and we grabbed the flashlight to try and spotlight the yard. We saw a very nice sized doe with a mid size fawn. In all the excitement though we forgot about the seeds!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Dear Nature, Love Luke
Luke loves nature - particularly the small skittering aspects of it! We have dubbed the downstairs bathroom "Luke's den of death and destruction" since that is usually where he takes his prey to finish them off.
The other night I was cooking dinner when he brought in a STILL ALIVE field mouse for me to watch him as he did it in. I shrieked like a little girl and Nick had to chase him outside for me. I just knew he was going to let that thing go in the house and then it would be an all out free for all.
Nick intercepted him on his way back to his den with his most recent conquest. Nick said he was growling up a storm the whole time while he devoured it tail and all, all the while trying to get past Nick to the doggy door to access his den.
I spared you the gorier pictures but I bet you get the idea.
The other night I was cooking dinner when he brought in a STILL ALIVE field mouse for me to watch him as he did it in. I shrieked like a little girl and Nick had to chase him outside for me. I just knew he was going to let that thing go in the house and then it would be an all out free for all.
Nick intercepted him on his way back to his den with his most recent conquest. Nick said he was growling up a storm the whole time while he devoured it tail and all, all the while trying to get past Nick to the doggy door to access his den.
I spared you the gorier pictures but I bet you get the idea.
Sneak Peek
Nick did some kiln as well as pitfiring this week with some fabulous results. He will have them posted officially to his website and Etsy store but until then, these will have to do.
In case you are unfamiliar with pitfiring it is pretty much what it sounds like. He packs the bisque fired and burnished ceramic pieces into a pit (large burn barrel) along with various combustables.
He lights it and then lets it burn and smolder overnight.
The finished pieces are "glazed" by the smoke with different patterns and colors based on where they were in the burn and what materials they interacted with.
Here are some stones:
And mushrooms:
If you happen to be in Brightwood on Sunday, November 29th stop by McLundy's Green Room for the Artist's Show and Reception from 1-4 to see these and more pieces in person.
In case you are unfamiliar with pitfiring it is pretty much what it sounds like. He packs the bisque fired and burnished ceramic pieces into a pit (large burn barrel) along with various combustables.
He lights it and then lets it burn and smolder overnight.
The finished pieces are "glazed" by the smoke with different patterns and colors based on where they were in the burn and what materials they interacted with.
Here are some stones:
And mushrooms:
If you happen to be in Brightwood on Sunday, November 29th stop by McLundy's Green Room for the Artist's Show and Reception from 1-4 to see these and more pieces in person.
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