Squeeky Clean!

Catching up on posting

2011-03-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

A friend at church found this at a yard sale for us. done in primitive cream:

This used to be a Partner's Desk. A mother cut the legs off, put on wheels and used it for an activity center for her small children. I kept that theme and painted the top of the desk with chalkboard paint

There are drawers on both sides of the desk.

First head board i've done. It is being used at Moose Hill in Twin Falls as a sign.

Shhh. Don't tell, I've put the drawer pull on upside down:

Wow, long time no post

2011-03-28T21:48:00.000-07:00

The first round table that I did in pinstripe red and cream.

A series of shots of a custom possum belly table that I repaired and did a checkerboard design on.

The possum belly table put together and painted with black primer.

This picture shows how I do the checkerboard pattern:

Finished table:You can see why it is called a possum belly table, because of the two bottom drawers.

One side has been distressed and aged, the other hasn't.

The back of the piece

A couple more custom pieces

2010-10-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

The first custom job I did was for Carlene and Wayne. They have been back a few times with more pieces for me to do. These are the latest:

A highboy in Green and Black. You'll notice that there is an opening on the top. We believe that at one time there was a hutch on top of the highboy. They have a great idea, to have a piece of marble or granite cut to fit the opening. I think that is a great idea and a great way to give added value and life to this wonderful piece.

I almost forgot to put the little piece back in the center of the top drawer.

A nice solid piece in Red. This piece has all four wheels intact and moving freely.

and the final pieces for the day

2010-10-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

I picked the next three pieces up at a local thrift store, The Mustard Seed.

A pie crust table I received as partial payment for some custom work done.

And finally, some window shutters purchased at a yard sale

And more, you can see I hadn't posted in a while

2010-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Purchased from a local friend, Colleen, who had picked them up with the thought of redoing them, but decided to let me buy them.

These are the legs from a small table I got from Colleen. The table wasn't usable, but it had these great legs that will make super candle holders.

Made from fencing materials I got from Heidi, with some of my wooden star nails added

Some more furniture pieces, almost done with what I have on hand

2010-10-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

A corner piece daughter Jamie passed on to me.

A yard sale find by my wife Nancy.

A baby changing table from Michelle's sister Mindy.

An entertainment center I bought from a local on line auction

A coffee table that was used as part of payment for some custom pieces. (recognize the table, Carlene?)

More furniture as I get caught up starting with some custom pieces

2010-10-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

This is a desk for a repeat client. Checkerboard done in two greens, Cavern Moss Green and Limeade.

Another desk for a repeat client. Done in Black and Cream Pinstripe.

A custom coffee table, for the same client who has the Checkerboard Green Desk.

And a Storage Cabinet done in Gingerbread and Cream for the Checkerboard Desk client.

A small table done in Red.

A custom drop leaf table done in Cranberry Craze Checkerboard for a third client.

And finally, a found treasure!

2010-08-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

I bought this piece for under $200 at an auction over a year ago. It is one of those pieces that I hesitated to put through my normal process. I had a feeling it was a valuable piece in its own right and therefore deserved to stay natural. I took this piece to a professional restorer. It wasn't cheap, costing $469.00 to restore, but the professional advised me to insure the piece for $2500.00 to $3000.00. I wished I'd taken some before pictures, because it was in pretty rough shape when I took it to the restorer. Here is what it looks like now though, and is one of my very favorite finds.

This picture shows the drawer pull has a threaded wooden dowel.

The restorer told me this piece was most likely of European origin, a studio piece custom made, all hand done, dovetailed joints, turned work on the corners. Made with European walnut as primary wood and birch as secondary wood. He said the piece was in excellent structural shape. Normally he has to re-glue these pieces, but there was only one small corner insert that he had to re-glue. Made in the 1860's to 1870's, a rare piece to find in the west.

More pieces

2010-08-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

A wooden Vintage ironing board, in cream and black.

A sofa/entry table. This piece has $70 worth of smoked glass. I replaced the glass because the original glass was scratched and I thought the smoked glass looked so much better.

This is a Partners Desk. There are drawers on both sides because the partners would sit right directly across from each other, sharing the same desk. A friend had cut off the legs and put caster wheels on it, and it was an activity center for her children when they were young. I've just painted it cream and black, distressed and aged. But the thing I've added is that I painted the top with chalkboard paint so that kids can write directly on the surface with chalk and just wash it off.

I thought I'd try a head board and see how that would work. This is for a twin, maybe a full size bed, done in gingerbread and cream

Almost forgot to include this piece, from the Pinstripe Collection, in Gingerbread and Cream, a small coffee table.

Some more custom pieces

2010-08-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

A small 2 drawer piece, just a small piece done in red.

A small shelf the client was going to get rid of and instead brought it to be done in two shades of green.

A cute sofa/entry table, done in cream and black.

A Secretary Desk/Letter Desk done in gingerbread.

A Possum Belly Table in various stages of reassembled and the aging process.

Part of the checkerboard process.

The difference between being aged and not being aged.

The finished piece.

A few more pieces and a custom piece

2010-07-28T20:34:00.000-07:00

This first piece is a desk and chair that I customized. Utilized a different pattern then I normally do.

This set of end tables I found on Craigslist. Nice solid wood construction.

This piece was found at a yard sale, about the only thing they had that was made out of wood. ***Sold the first day that I had it in the shop, actually within 30 minutes of my bringing it in.

Working on a sofa table, a vintage wooden ironing board and some other smaller projects.

A couple more end tables

2010-07-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have had these finished for a little while and just took them in to Black Sheep Gallery.

Nancy and I have been busy getting out wholesale orders of our soaps. We also got to spend 4 days camping at Redfish Lake near Stanley, Idaho. While we were there we went to see what was at the Mountain Mama's Craft Show and wandered through there, meeting a soaper from Ely, Nevada, and one from Idaho Falls/Pocatello area.

new styles, new colors and more

2010-07-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

The next two pieces are done in the Limade color that I did a custom desk in a few weeks ago.

I like the way the gingerbread brown looks paired with the black:

A little different technique for this sofa table that I bought at an estate sale, a double coat of the red and just the edges of all the wood is distressed.

Nancy found this vintage vanity at a yard sale. The original mirror was shot so I replaced that. Unfortunately, the picture isn't the best. I've found that anything with a mirror tends to be difficult to photograph.

This coffee table and end table(s) were a custom job. When she came to pick these up, she put her "dibs" on the vintage vanity pictured above.

And new pieces continues

2010-06-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is another custom piece for a repeat client. Fairly easy for the most part, but it does take time to work on the areas between each back slat.

This small bench looks like a complementary piece for the one above. Jamie, our daughter, saw this at a yard sale on her way home and gave us a call. Nancy and I drove over to Kimberly and picked it up.

July 4th is just around the corner. I've already done the Americana desk, so it seemed fitting that this student desk should also be done in the Americana motif.

I picked these bar stools up at auction. They are nice and sturdy!

This nice Ethan Allen sofa/entry/hallway table was found for us by a friend at a yard sale. It was done in Ancient Burgundy and Vanilla Steam.

latest pieces of furniture

2010-06-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

This chair was mostly already prim, just added some stain and the wooden star nails.

This desk was listed on Craigslist and I tried to buy it but the seller told me I was an hour to late. But one of my frequent clients brought it to me the next day and asked me to prim it for her daughter's room. They gave me three different options for color, all in the green spectrum. Yikes, they left the final choice up to me. Here is what it looked like before I started.

I chose Limeade green, thought it was closest to the green I normally used. Nancy said when they picked up the desk, that the daughter was very pleased with it.

This dresser was brought by my client's mother. This is the finished piece.

This chair was sold at a youth yard sale. They were raising money for a missions trip to Mexico. I left the seat pad as it was, thought it was already way cool, and made the rest prim white.

This piece I bought from a Craigslist ad. The young guy I bought it from told me that he and his brother made it one summer to keep from getting bored.

TV stands and other furniture

2010-06-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Iris that are currently blooming

2010-06-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

These are what are blooming at the moment. There are still some others that haven't opened yet and I'm not sure what color they are.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

Americana

2010-06-13T04:17:00.000-07:00

This desk was included as part of a purchase of another desk that I did want. I thought I'd just part this one out, but after getting it home and inspecting it, decided that it was in pretty good shape and should be redone. Since July is just around the corner I felt this desk was begging to be done in Americana style.

Picked this piece up at auction. I think I like the pin stripe series almost as much as I do the checkerboard.

A couple more pieces

2010-06-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Picked this coffee table up at an auction. When I went to the auction the next morning to pick up my purchases, I couldn't find this anywhere. There was another gentleman loading his purchases into a horse trailer. The trailer was pretty well loaded when I arrived and on a hunch, I asked the guy if he'd loaded my coffee table by mistake.

Checking with the auction house personnel and his own helpers, we determined that he probably had, but rather then unload everything he agreed to go unload and then bring back the missing table.

He did and now it is finished, just drying before being taken to the shop.

We attend Heritage Alliance and several of the youth are traveling to Mexico to help a Missions medical out reach. They were having a yard sale to help raise funds. I bought this small child's desk at the yard sale and now this is what it looks like.

This next desk is one I saw on Craigslist but when I contacted the seller, learned it had sold an hour before. The next day I got an email from a client telling me she had a new project for me to tackle. I had this feeling that it was the desk I had seen on CL. Sure enough, so here is what it looks like now. She asked me to do it in green and black with some stars, so here is the before pic, I'll put the after pic up when I'm done.

More custom pieces

2010-05-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is a piece that I saw listed on Craigslist and considered buying. But I procrastinated and a client called the next day to ask if she could drop off a piece for me to do. I recognized it the moment I saw it in her trunk. She had me finish it in basic black. I don't know what kind of wood it was, but the picture really looks worse then it did in real life.

After I redid this client's table and chairs, she decided to bring the piece back and have me do it in the same red as the table and chairs but no cream. I think it turned out even better then the black. She just picked it up and seemed to be pleased with it.

These next two pieces are for another client and she said she has been getting a lot of compliments on the checkerboard design.

So now I have two custom pieces still on hand to work on. A larger drop leaf version of the little drop leaf table shown above and an antique/vintage possum belly table that I need to figure how to put back together. The client who brought the first piece pictured above also has another dresser she wants done in red, so in addition to the pieces I have in my shed to work on, I'll be plenty busy for some time.

But Nancy likes it that way, it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble!

End Tables, Coffee Tables

2010-05-21T10:46:00.001-07:00

I hardly got in the door at The Black Sheep Gallery, when a customer pointed to what I was carrying and bought it.

These nesting tables didn't get a chance to leave my home before they were snagged for my daughter's living room.

Bookcases and a Dresser

2010-05-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

Old wood look

2010-05-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

What do you do with a pile of used fencing?

Home decor pieces

2010-05-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Desks

2010-05-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Small pieces like benches or stools

2010-05-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Bought at a yard sale, the cushion was covered with cat hair. I just took the cushion off down to the wood and painted on the checkerboard pattern.

Custom work for a couple of clients

2010-05-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some pieces I customized for a couple of different clients:

This is a piece I had seen listed on Craigslist and considered buying. What a surprise when a client showed up at my door with the very same piece. She had seen it on Craigslist as well, bought it and brought it right over for it to be customized in black.

A dresser for the same client as the black piece above.

I had purchased this top part of a hoosier over a year ago, thinking I'd find a base somewhere that I could use with it. I finally put the piece up for sale, and another client that I had just met to discuss some custom projects went in to The Black Sheep Gallery and bought it. All I did to this piece since it was basically in good shape, was to clean it up a little and stain it to give it a fresh look. At one time it had glass and frame doors.

A table and chair set that I customized for the lady with the two dressers above. The first picture is after I've sanded the pieces and painted them red and cream, and the second picture is after they've been distressed and aged.

A shelf customized for the lady who bought the hoosier. We both really like the checkerboard pattern. A local newspaper article referred to the checkerboard pattern as my signature work.

A couple of small pieces customized for the lady with the dressers.

And for the lady with the checkerboard shelf and hoosier.

Magazine racks can be fun!

2010-05-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Mustard and black with some Linen stars to dress it up.

Black and cream, with a nice big black star on the end.

A rack I customized for a client.

Nothing but chairs

2010-05-21T10:09:00.001-07:00

A variety of the different chairs I've done.

This one I painted in red and cream to match a ladies desk I had done. The lady who bought the desk also bought this chair.

This is a great sturdy bentwood chair, very simple in its lines. I painted it black and mustard and put burgundy stars on it. The first picture is after I've painted it black.

This next chair is part of a set of four, including a matching table, that I did custom for a client, in red and cream.

And these are some others I've done.

Mirror, Dresser and Chest

2010-03-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

The most recent pieces that have been taken to Black Sheep Gallery in Twin Falls.

Mirrors have done well for me, this one was just a plain white piece until some Ancient Burgundy and Vanilla Steam paint transformed it.

I've only done one other dresser and it has lots of character. But I decided to see if there would be a market for dressers in the area. This piece has some dings and dents but that just adds to its character. It is a solid piece with dovetail joints. Four drawers per side. Done in Cavern Moss Green, distressed and aged.

This next piece could be used for a toy box, a blanket chest or for other storage. Painted with Antique Burgundy and Vanilla Steam, distressed and aged. A checkerboard pattern on the top and a large star on the front panel. We like its chunky feet.

Yet to come, a Hoosier top piece, a ladies cosmetic desk and a unique wooden chair. Stay tuned.

Candlesticks

2010-03-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

I am most pleased when i figure out how to use something to make something rather then throw it away. These candlesticks are made out of chair legs and small table legs. The base block for most of the candlesticks were made out of a chair seat, a wood that had some weight to it so helps to stabilize the Candlesticks quite handily. 100% Beeswax Candles are used, along with Pip Berry Ribbon or Candle Rings at the base.

The first Candlesticks are 6 inches tall, no candle or adornments. Colored with Vanilla Steam and antiqued with Dark English Walnut Stain after being distressed.

This next Candlestick is 12 inches tall with the candle. Layered with a white, then black, then green, distressed, then antiqued with stain.

The third picture is a single Black Candlestick, distressed, then stained. It is 14 inches with the candle.

The next set is layered with white, then black, then green, distressed and antiqued. With the candle, the Candlesticks are 14 inches tall. A 2 inch Candle Ring is at the base.

And the final Candlesticks are 14 inches tall, colored with black, then Vanilla Steam, distressed and stained. It has Red Pip Berry Ribbon for decoration.

We have some friends who make the cutest Christmas decorations out of these. They paint them white, then make them look like tall thin snowmen complete with neck scarves and winter hats.

Double Dry Sink

2010-03-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Here is what the piece looked like before I sanded it:

Then after sanding, a coat of black primer, a coat of vanilla steam, some more light sanding and then stained to give it an aged appearance:

I stopped by the auction today to see if there would be any good pieces coming up for sale on Monday night's auction. There were about 5 small nightstands/end tables and a really cool wardrobe with drawers on one side and a hanging closet on the other and only about three foot wide and five foot tall. I'm planning on going back on Monday to see what I can bring home to work on.

Custom work and more!

2010-03-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it been that long since I last posted. Time goes by so fast anymore. And I've gotten caught up in the Facebook craze.

I always get a little nervous when someone brings a piece for me to redo for them. They have all seen samples of my work at Black Sheep Gallery or Simpler Times Village in Twin Falls.

The reason I get nervous is that when I do a piece at their request, I'm not always sure I've met their expectations. Fortunately no one has complained or asked me to redo their piece yet. Here are three pieces that I just finished for a client that has had me redo pieces for her twice before and has also bought some of the pieces that I did of my own.

End table done in a light mint green and distressed.

The two following are a couple of dressers done in primitive distressed white.

This next dresser was given to me by a friend. In return if I ever come across a bookcase, she gets first dibs after I've distressed and made it prim.

I dropped off a couple of pieces at Black Sheep Gallery today that I forgot to take a picture of so will try to get that done in a few days and posted for you to see.

And more of Vanilla Spuds and the Necessity of Uniform Heat

2009-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it has been so long since I posted last. Time certainly flies when you're taking naps.

A few posts back, I showed a picture of some vanilla scented spuds (Vanilla Select - Brambleberry). Here is the picture again to remind you how the spuds self colored. As we know, vanilla or fragrances with vanilla notes, can cause coloration from light tan to dark fudge brown.

Yet as you can clearly see, some of the spuds turned out to be half brown and half cream.

We haven't had to make Spuds since October 2008. Our first batch of 2009 was also colored like this batch, so on the 2nd 2009 batch, we put a quilt on the floor, an electric blanket over the quilt and then another quilt over the electric blanket (just to protect the electric blanket from getting any soap spill). This enabled us to provide a uniform warmth around the silicone molds. The following picture shows how nicely uniform in color the resulting spuds were. And this was mostly true across the entire batch.

The only spuds that weren't uniform in color were those in molds that allowed a little leakage of the soap so that the funnel spout at the top of the spud wasn't full of soap. When the funnel spout doesn't have the soap plug (take a look at the middle spud still in the half mold) then the soap from that mold tends to not be uniform in color. See how light the plug is compared to the main spud soap?

I remembered Sue K. from the Soapnuts email list mentioning how that she thought the heating of the soap mix had something to do with the coloration of the soap. And I believe that she is spot on, especially after seeing how uniform in color this batch of spuds were when we were able to maintain a stable heat environment.

Black Friday and Busy Brinlee

2008-12-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

Lets start first with Brinlee, a sweet and happy little girl that will soon be walking. She is already taking a few steps away from the couch. I don't know how fast she will be when she gets her wheels under her but she can sure move on her hands and knees. She knows the meaning of the word "NO" but is still stubborn enough to keep trying to get in to whatever she can before we drop the "NO" bomb on her.

Here she is opening the doors to see what is inside. She loves to pull open drawers and cupboard doors and empty whatever is inside to the floor.

I think she was glad just to get out of the car seat and be able to move around at will. After all, shopping any time is hard work but especially on Black Friday, in my opinion.

This was the day after Thanksgiving, the day known as Black Friday. Nancy went with daughter Jamie and her husband Jason, along with Brinlee to do some Christmas shopping. I went once several years ago with Nancy and vowed to never shop again on Black Friday. And to prove my point, here is where son-in-law Jason ended up when he got to our house.

'Nuff said!

Phones and Email, Oh My!

2008-12-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

What a stressful week's end.

Monday or Tuesday we began getting calls because emails sent to us were not getting through. I called our internet tech support and was told that my outgoing emails were not affected but that emails being sent to me were. I might receive a couple but the rest were lost in that black space continuum we call the "internet". A couple of days to get that back up and running, "sorry for the inconvenience sir".

So I figured that an email I had sent to a customer to clarify an order, had been received, but if she had replied then that reply was gone to that afore mentioned black space continuum.

It was in the evening when I discovered this but rather then wait until that customer would be in the office, I called and left a message explaining that we weren't receiving any emails.

So I'm sitting at my computer for a day or so, minding my own business, happy as a lark when Nancy comes and gets me because another customer had arrived to pick up a book case that she had me customize in a primitive manner. This customer told Nancy that she had been calling all morning but always got a busy signal, figured if it was busy it meant we were home, so she came on out to pick up the finished piece.

Well that meant another call to QWest this time. They scheduled someone to come out the next day between 9 am and 1 pm. Of course I began to think that this customer I had emailed, then called, was going to wonder why she couldn't get in touch with us.

QWest came out the next day as promised, but he couldn't fix the problem so he arranged for someone else to come out. Two guys in two separate trucks show up a couple of hours later who had the "right equipment" and after a couple of hours came to the door with some wires and connections in their hands that they had replaced. I checked the phone and internet and all seemed to work just fine. Yay!

A couple of hours later, our daughter calls and during her call, the telephone reverted back to what it was doing that necessitated the QWest techs to come out. It alternated between no dial tone, to a recording telling us to hang up and dial again to horrible beeping noises like you get when you leave a phone off the hook.

But I'd already gone through removing all the phones for the two lines and then hooking them up individually to see if it was an in the house problem. It wasn't.

So another call to QWest. The guy on the other end tried to tell me the techs had been out and had fixed the problem. I repeatedly assured him that the problem was still existing and that they needed to come back out. So he told me he had scheduled the tech to be out the next day between 9 am and 1 pm.

The next day, when the time the tech was supposed to be out was almost gone, I called back in and the young lady that I spoke to told me there was no record of a tech to come back out to my house. Of course, only the realization that Santa is watching and would soon be coming to my house kept me from becoming a snarling gnarly grinch!

She agreed to set up another tech call, but of course, this wouldn't be able to be done until the next day. I understand the need to schedule but by now, I'm feeling like, "Houston, we have a problem".

Shortly after we scheduled this next tech, the one that I had been expecting showed up and after a couple of hours told me he couldn't fix the problem but thought it was something to do with our internet dsl. So he arranged for another tech to come out, not the same day, to late, but the next day, today, Sunday.

The tech shows up and puts in a temp line so we can receive and make calls but tomorrow someone else is coming out to dig in a new line to correct the problem.

So our incommunication time lasted about 5 days. How nice to hear the phone ring again and to be able to send and receive emails. Now hopefully the line laying will go well tomorrow and I'll go back to being happy as a lark.

By the way, the customer's email answering my question about her order finally did arrive and we were able to get that taken care of.

Have a great week!

Spots of Color in November

2008-12-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

We have had very little snow in southern Idaho. With all the mountains around us, to the south and to the north, you'd think that there would be at least some snow. But nowhere near enough. My brother Mike works for Sun Valley Company, on the golf courses in the summer and at the lifts in the winter. He is a "full time employee" yet because they don't have any snow, they have reduced his working time to one day a week until they can get enough snow so they can run the lifts.

Here in Hansen, just south of the Snake River Canyon, we enjoy a fairly mild climate year around. I remember planting bulbs in October and November when we were moving to our home about 25 years ago.

This plant is some type of geranium, but I can't remember what kind. It does have a profusion of purple flowers in the summer and it has a habit of making a nice mounded plant. I usually go through the flower beds and trim almost everything back but these have such a pretty splash of autumn colors, that I leave it so that it adds a nice touch, especially if it snows.

And although all the plants have pretty much quit blooming for the year, I was happy to see this flower come back to life after some rain. Its such a happy fellow and having it greet us as we go in or come out the front door is always a treat.

We've had a little rain here today, hopefully it is translating in to some snow at higher elevations.

Wow, a year later with the Spud Soaps

2008-11-30T16:06:00.000-08:00

I went back in the archives of my blog and found that I had posted concerning the problem we were having with our new molds. It was 13 months ago. Hard to believe that the time has gone by so quickly and that I have really procrastinated posting what has been the trick to getting the spud soaps, particularly the Huckleberry scented spuds, to come out just right. Here is the link to the post and pictures of what the soaps looked like out of the mold.

Original Post

Thanks to Anne-Marie at Brambleberry for her suggestions. We started insulating the molds better and we started mixing all the oils and lye water at 140 degrees. The temps were necessary for the cellini blue to properly morph to a great purple color as well as to make sure the soap gelled from one side to the other, top to bottom.

Here is a picture of the soaps in the silicon molds. If you look at the older post, you'll see where the soap looks split right from the beginning. Notice that the soap seen in the pour spout of the mold is not split:

One of the big problems with the soaps a year ago was that when being unmolded, they were difficult to remove because they would stick at various parts of the mold, and leave chunks of soaps. Now the soaps are very uniform in color and there is hardly any sticking at all. Out of about 50 molds, only one had a slight problem with sticking. Just a little quick trim on each spud to remove that top portion created by the mold's spout and the soaps are set on the drying tables for a few weeks before final cleaning and polish.

The color as seen through the camera lens is really not quite as good as seeing it in real life. The spuds are uniform in color and quality and when these are finished drying, will meet our standards for a nice quality spud shaped soap.

There was also a fellow soaper, from Australia if I remember correctly, who emailed and gave us some suggestions that fell in line with what Anne-Marie suggested. I'm terribly sorry but I had deleted your email and information. But we so appreciated the time and effort you and Anne-Marie took to help us figure out what to do to make our trademark soaps. Now that we've gotten that problem solved, Nancy is able to take time out for her favorite past time - see photo. Isn't she a TOTAL BABE! And if she sees I posted this pic, I am TOTALLY DEAD, lol.

Owen had a 70th Birthday

2008-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

October 14, 1938 was an auspicious date for Martha and Gordon Bennett (Nancy's paternal grandparents). Their first child, Owen, was born. He recently celebrated his 70th birthday with family. All of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were able to attend with the exception of one grandson and his family. Owen's Mother, Martha, was also in attendance.

Here is the birthday boy:

Grandmother Martha will be celebrating her 97th birthday April 4, 2009. Our granddaughter Ashlynn will celebrate her 6th on April 3, 2009. She lives with Owen and Owen's son Steve. At one point there was 5 generations of Bennetts living together but since Micah and his family bought a home there is now just the three generations sharing the large home. Martha is legally blind but she is just as independent as she ever was. Here is the great Matriarch of the family.

Here is Owen with his four kids (left to right):youngest brother Steve, Nancy, oldest brother Don, dad Owen and Tim who was born between Don and Nancy.

Here is Owen with all the grandkids (left to right): Amber, Payson, Bodie, Joshua (front), Johnnica, Erika, Owen, Jamie, Jeremiah, (not pictured: Micah).

And Owen one more time, with the great grandchildren (left to right): Ashlynn, Nicki, Owen with Braxton on his lap, Chandler, Brinlee (front), Taylor, Elizabeth, Kayla, Jewelia, Jaedan, (not pictured: Zoe, Hadassah).

Vanilla Spuds and the Coloration

2008-11-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

As we mostly know, vanilla or any fragrance with a vanilla component, will discolor soaps from a light tan to a dark fudgy brown. Friend and fellow Soapnuts member, Sue K. of Oldtimer & Lily, made the comment on Soapnuts recently that she thought that temps were also a factor in how the vanilla reacts and colorizes in soap.

I found that very interesting since we had just made a batch of our spud shaped soaps, scented only with Vanilla Select from Brambleberry. You can find Anne-Marie's listing and scent description here. It states that this fragrance discolors to a creamy dark tan. Vanilla Select, by the way, is an excellent fragrance on its own or as a blender. It is wonderful blended with Brambleberry's Sensuous Sandalwood. We also use it in a raspberry vanilla and a cherry vanilla blend for soaps.

We pour the soap at right around 140 degrees. The batch has been thoroughly stirred, including the fragrance, to a medium trace prior to pouring. Yet imagine our surprise when we unmolded the soaps and found that the at least half the spuds were two toned in color. You would think that since the ingredients had been thoroughly mixed, that the soaps would be a uniform color. Yet how do you explain the lack of brown in the bottom halves of some of the soap, other then the factor of temps?

Soaping is always such an adventure!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T11:03:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Halloween photos

2008-11-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

These are some pics of part of the family at the Penny Fair at our church.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Braxton Has Entered The Room!

2008-08-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

We made it back from our week long trip to the Oregon coast. I'll blog and post some pictures about that later this week. We left, thinking that our grandson Braxton would be born while we were gone. Of course we know that these little ones know when and where to make their appearance despite the fact that doctors always tell you they will be born by a certain date.

Well, poor Michelle was in active labor according to the doctor for about 3 weeks. Her original due date was Aug 8. Then they kept doing ultrasounds every week and expressing concern about his size. The told her that they'd probably induce either on Aug 2 or no later then Aug 8. Well, you guessed it, after about 5 different trips to the hospital thinking that it would be the night and then being sent home, aug 8 came and went like so many clouds drifting along in the skies.

By that time we were started for home from Oregon. The doctors told Michelle that they would induce on Aug 13, which was cool because it meant we'd be home in time to go and lend moral support.

I offered to take pics of the labor, but based on the photgraphic efforts at Jaedan's birth, I've been banned as delivery photographer for life!

Michelle and Josh checked in at the hospital at 8 am. They started her on pitocin and by about 3 pm, she had only dilated to a 5. At about that time, poor little Braxton had decided it was time to make an appearance, but he couldn't quite squeeze his head through, so that when he was actually able to get out, had quite a nice little cone head for a while.

They decided that perhaps a c-section was going to be necessary and gave her about 15 minutes to think about it. Must have helped because about an hour later she had dilated to 9 1/2 and within an hour Braxton was present and accounted for.

On his trip over to the warmer, he proceeded to poop that black stuff all over the floor and as soon as they had him in the warmer, old faithful went off and showered everyone within a few feet of the warmer.

He is a fairly quiet baby, a little bit bigger then we are used to. Weighed in at 8# 3 oz. and is 20 1/2 inches long. Reddish tinted hair at first just like his daddy's was, but now turned blonde. Blue eyed, which seems to be the standard for all our grandchildren.

Daddy Josh is quite proud, calling home during lunch to tell Michelle that he has dibs on the baby when he gets home from work.

Most of all we're just glad for a healthy little boy.

Furniture Pieces again

2008-08-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my second Americana piece. I'm not sure about just the single blue star in the top middle. Nancy and daughter Jamie seem to like it. What do you think? (You can be honest, it won't hurt my feelers):

This is my first "set" of matching night stand/end tables. I've had pairs of pieces before but usually finished them in different colors:

This Ladies Desk almost wasn't allowed out of the house by Nancy. But she eventually decided she didn't have any where to put it so it is at the shop waiting for its new home:

This final piece is one my sister found at a yard sale. It was a child's makeup table, but the matching stool had been used for many nights by the family cat and it almost looked like a mohair covering there was so much cat hair. And it was also very wobly so it went to the trash.:

First Americana piece plus more

2008-07-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Posting to the bog is certainly a hit and miss affair. But thanks anyway to those who stop by occasionally to see if there is anything new.

I have lost count of how many pieces of furniture I've redone and sold at Black Sheep Gallery or Simpler Times Village.

I finished my first piece done in Americana and took it in to Black Sheep Gallery.

A checkerboard pattern on end tables has been a popular item, so I finished this one with the colors of burgundy, mustard and black.

I haven't done many dressers because I'm not sure what kind of demand there would be but this was such a unique piece that I couldn't resist redoing it and will be anxious to see what the response is.

Two youngest grandchildren......

2008-07-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

Update on Braxton: Original due date was August 8. About 3 weeks ago, the doctor figured that he was almost 5 pounds. Michelle has been having very hard contractions for the past three nights, spending the first night at the hospital, then sent home only to return the next night and stayed overnight, to be sent home again.

The doctor ordered strict bed rest for the next 10 days, but she is continuing with labor pains and remains dilated to only about 1. Depending on how the bed rest does, it is possible that they might induce labor, certainly the plan to after about 10 days if it goes that long.

All indications are that it will be a healthy baby, and we're anxious to hold another little one in our arms and smother them with love and spoiling!

Little Brinlee is growing like a little weed and you can tell she can hardly wait to be able to get those little legs moving and those little arms grabbing. She is almost ready to turn completely over, just as soon as she figures that with just a little push she can complete the turn. Here is a picture of her when she was lying on her back on a small pad. She was able to kick her way over to the piece of furniture so that she could grab the florals, promptly pulling them over her face. She didn't cry but she sure let out some sounds of surprise. Grandma Nancy will certainly have her hands full when this one joins the others in creating havoc and mayhem at our household. And we wouldn't have it any other way!

Braxton's Baby Shower

2008-06-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

As you may have guessed if you have followed our blog very much, Nancy and I are loving being grandparents. Our son Joshua and his girlfriend Michelle are going to present us with a grandson in just a few weeks. They have already decided that his name will be Braxton Taylor Porter. Click on Braxton and discover the origin and meaning of the name.

Daughter Jamie and her husband Jason hosted a baby shower for our side of the family and some of Josh's close friends. Michelle has already been to a shower hosted by her family and friends a few weeks earlier. Here is Jamie assisting a table of our next generation as we enjoy a potluck meal with the main dish of a wine marinated chicken breast and all the rest of some home made comfort food.

Jamie is much like her mother. She is organized, plans ahead, makes lists, makes list of lists to make, follows the lists, and generally is always ahead of the game at all times. She probably has her 2008 Christmas shopping done and is already pondering what she needs to watch for to give at Christmas in 2009. This is a picture of some of what I called and named the list that I kept as they opened each gift, "The Booty Looty List"!

Jamie and her husband Jason, Nancy, and Joshua and Michelle have been going to Saturday yard sales and finding great buys on baby clothing and accessories. I don't think that this new little boy will lack for anything to wear for at least the first six months.

Josh and Michelle will make great parents and we are proud of the maturity they are showing, the preparation they are making and the support of their family and friends. We look forward to their eventual wedding (hint, hint).

Here is a shot of the general set up. For those of you who may be doing craft shows, isn't it nice to know that there are other uses for our show equipment, lol! Jamie and Jason had put in a paver patio but haven't yet been able to put up the shade roof. What a great large open space to have available to host events and we're so glad that Jamie loves to host and opens her home to all of us.

This is a picture of Joshua's (pictured on the right) best friend Elijah (on the left), whose family lives next to us. Sadly, we understand that with Elijah going off to Boise, Idaho, to finish college and his other siblings having gotten married and gone, that his dad Mark will probably be leaving as well. We will miss them for the great neighbors that they were and are grateful for their depth of friendship to our son. We however, probably won't miss Lucky, the miniature dachshund, to much because he was very vocal.

Here is Nancy's oldest brother Don and his granddaughter Zoe.

Zoe's sister Hadasah (Elizabeth).

Our great-niece Kayla and our niece Johnica's husband Anthony.

And of course, our newest little treasure at a little over three months old, Brinlee with dad Jason. We're hoping she hasn't inherited my family's tendency to retain white skin, lol, but are hoping that dad Jason will have contributed some tanning ability. But we are detecting a hint of red in her little fine head of hair and that may partly explain her little temper. Ha!

Furniture again!

2008-06-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

I took this next piece in to the shop and before the dust had settled, it had a new owner.

And people have begun bringing me their pieces and asking me to refinish it in the prim style. I recently did a shelf in black and a two piece corner hutch in antique burgundy and black. It is sort of scary because my vision of what the piece might look like and theirs may not always be in agreement, but so far everyone has liked how their piece has been done. It is certainly gratifying when they trust you with a treasured piece.

This next piece is my most recent one. The piece didn't tell me what color it wanted until I had applied the antiquing black layer.

So this is what keeps me busy since the soap sales have been so slow this year. We read that it doesn't seem as if folks are staying home, but if they are traveling, they must not be spending to freely on mementos of the trip, at least not purchasing spud soaps, lol.

We plan to travel to Lincoln City, OR, in August and spend a week doing our part to stimulate the economy!

Furniture fun!

2008-05-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

It has been intermittently pouring down rain or sun shining bright. But it seems that when I do any gardening that the sun shines, however the moment I put down the shovel and pick up my sander to work on furniture, the rain comes and runs me off the deck. In the past few days though, I have managed to finish a few pieces so that they can go in to one of the shops that sells my furniture for me.

This first piece is a wonderful colonial style dry sink that I did in black and white.

This next piece is made out of half a door and a bed footboard with a seat made out of rough pine. Then it really gets to looking like a garden chair when the tanglevine wreath and garland are added. This chair was done in green on black so it probably didn't help to take the picture of it with the lawn as a backdrop!

This is the second of four secretaries that I have done. The first one was a very, very primitive style. This one had been used by a gentleman for his fishing flies that he enjoyed making. Now it will have a new life in someone else's home.

More Rock Creek Park

2008-05-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some more of the pictures I took at Rock Creek just a few days ago. If I were to go back and take the same pictures now, it would be hard to believe how much change has resulted since the trees have really popped out with their spring finery.

I am just posting them randomly so that you can get a sort of feel about the variety of landscape at this park. I'm excited to see what the city of Twin Falls is going to do to improve this park. They've built a handicapped accessible fishing dock. I used to bring a foster child and his friends down here to fish but in the past few years, there have been intermittent problems with water quality. I don't care how many fish they might stock for fishing, if the water hasn't got a great clean bill of health, I'll catch mine at the local fish market!

Last year, when I was 80 pounds heavier, I could hardly make it to the end of this path. In fact, I don't think I actually went to the end. There are five benches along the path for resting, and I would stop at each one, lol. Now I am able to walk the length and back and have done so as many as three times without pausing for a rest. Wow, who would have thought that losing 80 pounds would make so much of a difference. Now if I can just take off another 50-60 pounds!

I hope you enjoyed seeing a part of my world. These are just a few of the one hundred pictures or so that I took on this one walk. Thanks for looking!

Walk for Loss (weight)

2008-05-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

I've lost 80 pounds through better portion control (including what those portions consist of) and through exercise. One of my favorite places to walk is at Rock Creek Park. The city of Twin Falls, Idaho, has put a lot of effort and time in to making this a very friendly family park. It used to be overgrown with shrubs and trees and to be honest, you needed to be prepared for anything you might encounter as you would walk through the brush. It always amazed me how many people would get naked out there where the extreme possibility of those of us who went walking might chance upon these daylight trysts. But since the city has cleaned up all the brush and opened the park up, you don't have to wear blinders while walking. We have large family picnics here and go walking on the trails after eating.

I recently went walking there again at about 9:30 am and the way the light and shadows played against each other inspired me to snap dozens and dozens of photos. I've selected several that I'll post here and hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

You can see how overgrown the far side of the bank is. That is how the side I am on taking pictures used to be. It was full of Russian Olive trees that had pretty much run amok. They took out a lot of the Russion Olives and replaced them with native trees and shrubs.

Rock Creek meanders through a "canyon", both sides of the canyon being made of volcanic rock. What is amazing to me is how that trees and shrubs and grasses have managed to root among those rocks and crevices and grow.

This used to all be overgrown. See how they've opened it up and how inviting it looks.

I have many more pictures from this one walk. It seemed that every time I turned around, that what I had just taken a picture of would look so different from another angle. I'll post more pictures later.

More Centennial Park Pictures

2008-05-23T19:52:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures from our Mother's Day picnic at Centennial Park.

Jaedan is a photo maniac. He loves to have his picture taken and wanted to find every nook and cranny to crawl in to for possible photo opportunities.

Of course, sister had to try to do everything that big brother did, much to his chagrin!

One of the local civic clubs has put a lot of time and effort into creating a very nice river side park. There is a boat ramp and something the kids think every park should have, a playground area.

And a few more of the random shots I took that day:

More furniture

2008-05-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Chairs continue to sell well. And now I get to put furniture in two shops in town, both having different clientèle so it increases the number of potential buyers. Check out The Black Sheep Gallery and Simpler Times Village if you live in the area. Here are some of the most recent chairs I've done.

The first one in a baby high chair done in black and white.

This next one was purchased at an estate auction. There were a dozen singularly individual antique chairs but this was the only one that sold within range of my checkbook. It is done in Mustard and Black with a wreath and garland that has mustard pip berries and burgundy tin stars.

People are beginning to bring me pieces to have them primmed and antiqued. I just finished a corner two piece hutch for a lady who brought this next chair as part of the payment for redoing her hutch. I plan to put the word "WELCOME" across the top in vinyl lettering, probably in burgundy to match the fruit in the heart shaped wreath. I think it would look great in some foyer to welcome guests into a home.

In addition to chairs being very popular (I've done over 40 chairs in the past year), another oft requested piece of furniture are smaller end tables such as this black and white table. This won't last long at the The Black Sheep Gallery.

Mother's Day

2008-05-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

It has certainly been a blessing that the primitive furniture has been doing as well as it has. The economy has certainly played havoc with soap sales. Since our niche seems to be strongest in the tourist industry in Idaho, and our wholesale accounts are holding out to see what kind of tourism will occur in Idaho this year, we have not been nearly as busy as in years past.

On the flip side, it has allowed us to spend some quality time with our grandchildren and that has been very good.

We went to a local park down on the Snake River just below the Perrine Bridge. for a picnic for Mother's Day. Nancy has never been a "wine 'em, dine 'em" type of girl, doesn't care for the box of chocolates or the fancy wine. Just give her a picnic with family and she is good!

The park is right on the bank of the Snake River.

The walls of the canyon are volcanic rock as you can clearly see in the pictures that follow:

I remember as a kid, climbing these walls up and down the canyon. Looking back, I now realize how dangerous this was because many of the rocks are unstable and loose, easily dislodged if you're not careful. My guardian angels must have been working overtime back then.

We had a great time, going for a short hike around the area. The kids had their bikes so the helmets did double duty for both riding and hiking.

I won't mention any names but someone just took advantage of the time to catch up some 'zzzzz's.

Anyway, Nancy got a gift certificate so she'll get to go shopping for herself and a "smart shopper" gadget that allows her to just speak her shopping list into the gadget and then print the list. She is a great wife and the greatest Mom and now, the bestest greatest Nana!

Candlesticks

2008-05-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

I had some fun creating these. Whenever I have any thing that I don't have an immediate idea for, I set it aside and let it percolate in my brain for a while. Over the past few months I'd accumulated some small stools that were not good candidates for prim furniture but I hate to waste anything.

Eventually the idea came to me to remove the legs and using some other things I had on hand, made these 10-11 inch tall "candlesticks". Here are the latest candlesticks currently available.

A prim lumpy bumpy candle would look great in the bowl at the top of the candlestick as well as some bowl fillers, rosehips, potpourri or other needful things.

This final candlestick has a small "milk pan" metal container instead of a bowl at the top. Perfect size for a votive of some sort.

Great arrangement of song

2008-03-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

I recently watched another Bill Gaither's video on tv and this was one of the featured songs. It just really resonated with me and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you take a moment and listen to the words and the music. The song, "I Then Shall Live".

Gaither Vocal Band I Then Shall Live lyrics

More of Brinlee

2008-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

Jamie sent me some of the pictures that she and Jason took. Of course I have to share these with everyone!

Here she is after labor, hardly even perspiring!

However, birthing was tiresome for at least one person. Here she is getting a little beauty rest:

Now she is wide awake and awaiting all the adoration that family and friends are willing to give.

I told Nancy that this reminded me of church plays where the magi bring their gifts, lol. The kids are meeting Brinlee for the first time and have each brought a toy for her.

One last shot of her. Thanks for letting me be a proud Papa and show her off!

A few more pics of Brinlee and Company

2008-03-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Everybody had to get in the act so without further ado, here are more pics of the newest addition to the Family!

Of course, first is Nana Nancy.

And look at Big Brother's goofy face. He told me tonight while we were having our go to bed prayers that he was very happy to have his new little sister. (We'll see if he still feels that way when she is a little older and pestering him). Proud father Jason close by ensuring safety of baby.

Checking to see if she has six or more toes on one of her feet!

The Center of Attention for the next few weeks:

Proud Mom and Dad:

Uncle Josh practicing for when his baby is born in August:

And finally, big Sister, who is anxious to have another little girl to play with.

We always forget how little they are at the beginning. Of course, Nancy gave birth to larger children. Jamie was 8# 12 oz., half grown, when she was born. Joshua was 7# 6 oz. (the exact same weight I was at my birth).

But no matter how big this little one will get, she will be as loved and as cherished as we can can make her. Even if she does look like her daddy, lol!

Inrtoducing Brinlee Anne Benjamin

2008-03-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

Both of Jamie's two children had come at 37 weeks, so Jamie was thinking **and hoping** that Brinlee would also make her appearance at 37 weeks. At Jamie's doctor's appointment at the beginning of 37 weeks, she was dilated to 3 but was sent home. She didn't want to give birth on Friday because Jaedan had a wrestling tournament on Saturday that she didn't want to miss. Here are a couple of pictures I was able to take before my batteries died. You can see Jamie in the back of the picture in a pink sweater still pregnant. Jaedan is the one with his arms stuck inside his wrestling shirt.

Jaedan had four matches and got two blue ribbons and two red. It was a fun couple of hours watching the kids!

After the match, Jamie and Jason brought the kids over while they went in to get checked to make sure she wasn't in labor. (This is the daughter that doesn't have labor pains until the last couple of minutes just before the big push!) They determined she was only at 4 centimeters but because a test showed she had a common virus, they decided to keep her and run some antibiotics in. Then I guess the doctor must have decided that he didn't want to miss his Sunday tee time or something and had the nurse adminster the "pit" to encourage contractions.

Actually while the doctor was examining her, her water broke and there was no turning back, lol. Nancy and I got there just shortly after the baby was born, after about 2 minutes of "labor". The nurses all would like to have every birth go as easily, quietly and quickly as Jamie's!

Jaedan and Ashlynn spent the night with Uncle Josh and we picked them up this morning to go to church. After church we met Josh and his girlfriend Michelle for lunch at the restaurant.

Jamie knew it was getting close to birthing, so at the beginning of the week, she had the kids help make the two shirts they are wearing in this next picture to help them feel a part of the process. They also got to shop and each picked out a new toy for their new sister! Jaedan declares that he likes his new little sister.

Here they are with their first picture with their new sister. Nancy was wondering what we were going to call her. Since we call Ashlynn, Sissy, we need something different for Brinlee. Nancy was trying out "Breezy" but wasn't sure yet if that was the nick name that would stick.

Jaedan and Ashlynn are spending the night and we'll get them to school in the morning. Jamie and Brinlee will get to come home Monday. But I have to go now, Jaedan and I are reading a chapter of Robin Hood every night he spends with us and he is at my shoulder now asking to read the chapter before he goes to bed. I'll post a few more pictures when we're done.

All kinds of things going on!

2008-02-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

Our daughter Jamie is in her 37th week now and was dilated at 3 cm when she went to see her doctor yesterday. This is the girl that had a doctor's appointment when she was pregnant with our grandson Jaedan, went on a shopping spree at Sears before she went to the doctors and then found out she was at 6 cm. The doctor told her to get over to the delivery room immediately. They had barely gotten her in and prepped when she basically just coughed a little and out shot our precious grandson. She didn't have any labor until at the final moments when she had to push. She was later told that she didn't have a biblical delivery, you know where it says there shall be pain in labor, lol. So we're anxiously awaiting the call! We do know this will be our third grandchild, a little girl and that she will be named Brinlee Anne.

I might add that her second delivery of our granddaughter Ashlynn wasn't so easy. She still had very little labor getting to the point of being dilated properly, but Ashlynn hung on to the umbilical cord with great tenacity and fought being expelled into the world for the longest time.

Here are the two showing how well they can get along:

I've now officially lost 80 pounds the old fashioned way - diet and exercise. I've gone down two shirt sizes and at least a pant size. (I carry all my weight between my neck and my waist. If my waist up matched my waist down, I'd be a skinny fellow.) Anyway, I am feeling much better, can do so much more and plan to be around another 30-50 years to see these grandkids grow up!

This is the most recent pic of myself I can find. Another 30-40 pounds off and I'll post the "after" pic.

This was a fun picture. We had a bowling party for Jaedan's birthday and with a little imagination and Adobe Photoshop, the picture was made.

Candlesticks

2008-02-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

I bought an old rickety end table/stool that wasn't worth using until I realized I could make some candlesticks out of the legs. I used a prim bowl screwed to the top of the leg on three of them and a metal milk pan for the fourth. Chub candles can be placed in the three with bowls, while a votive would work well in the mustard candlestick.

I really like being able to recycle things that have lost their original usefulness. About the only thing I threw away of the original table/stool was the rotted cloth covering. The wooden top became a sign (I'll post pics of it when I get it back from the vinyl letter lady). The four legs are now candlesticks. The decorative sides that ran from leg to let will become signs as well.

Mustard Hutch

2008-02-20T21:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a fraternal twin to the green hutch that Nancy kept. This one is slightly different, doesn't have the doors on the top part of the hutch. I used the same star pattern though since Nancy and I both liked the look.

I couldn't get far enough away from the piece to just take one picture, so the top is pictured, then the bottom of the hutch.

My color palette was mustard and black for this piece. I have one more hutch that needs to be done and will probably be done with the Seattle Red and black colors.

Here are a couple more pieces that were quick and easy to do. A mustard and black plant stand and a blue shelf unit.

This is another plant stand, black and white, and a small night stand/dresser, also black and white.

Chairs and more Chairs

2008-02-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

One of the best selling items I've worked on over the past year have been the chairs. These three make the 40-42 chairs completed, with about half a dozen available, all the rest having been sold.

This first chair was made out of half a door and half a twin sized headboard. The slats forming the seat of the chair were made from the boards that the mattress sits on from the twin bed. I need to replace the door knob with an older looking knob. Added a tanglevine wreath and garland to complete the old garden chair look. (Note: not guaranteed to actually hold the weight of a person, intended to hold a potted plant or two). It is also the first piece that I've done using red (Seattle Red, to be exact). Mostly my palette of colors includes antique burgundy, antique white, cavern moss green, black and mustard.

This chair I found at Deseret Industries (a Mormon thrift store). I like using various things to dress up a chair. A garland and the word FAITH in vinyl lettering completed this chair.

And finally, a nice solid oak chair that had a fantastic red covered seat. I like the way that the finished chair looks, after painting it with black primer, then overpainting with antique white, sanding back down to the black and to the wood, then antiquing with dark walnut stain.

Nancy's Pick

2008-02-11T12:09:00.001-08:00

Nancy has been a very strong supporter of the furniture projects. She has debated at times about wanting to keep certain pieces, but we only have so much room. However, when I offered this piece to her as a replacement for a "bought off the floor at Shopko" bookcase that was made out of pressboard and laminate, she accepted immediately.

The pressboard and laminate bookcase is now in the dungeon (basement) where we will put it to good use.

Uncle Josh to be a daddy

2008-02-11T01:56:00.001-08:00

Our son Josh is one of the "favorite" uncles. Here he is posing with his nephew and niece. Whenever Uncle Josh comes over, he remembers to bring "bug juice" for the kids.

This picture was actually taken by 5 year old Ashlynn. I wonder if being a photog is in her future?

Uncle Josh took this picture of Sissy during the same photo shoot.

I like to think that this apple didn't fall far from the tree. Ha! Josh recently went in to have braces put on. He has been eating more selectively as a result of the braces and is down to about 180 pounds or so.

Josh and his girlfriend are expecting in August. They will find out February 14 if they will be having a boy or girl.

A few more furniture pieces

2008-02-09T22:12:00.001-08:00

I know, I know. We're soap makers and I'm not posting about soaps, lol.

Nancy and I will be starting up production before to much longer so I need to work on the furniture while I can. I am currently trying to finish 5-10 pieces each week and feel like I'm not quite keeping up at that level.

This was a small chair already painted white as shown in the first picture.

I distressed it, stained with dark walnut and added a prim garland.

This next piece, with granddaughter Ashlynn posing, was an interesting piece with the slats.

I found a great four line quote that just fit this chair perfectly and after painting it cavern moss green, distressing the piece and antiquing it with dark walnut, applied the quote in vinyl lettering.

"Because I am a Mother
I hold God's greatest prize.
And He expects great things of me
with a task of such a size"
--Grace Atkins

Dyario Bags

2008-02-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of a few of the Dyario Bags that are hand crafted in Cebu (Philippines).

Jocelin Bag

Joan Bag (available in two sizes)

Evening Bag

Dudz Bag

Cita Bag

Bernie Bag

and the Barbie Bag

Pretty cool aren't they! You can even see words and letters on the bags that are part of the actual newspaper used.

Dyario Bags and dyariobags.com

2008-02-09T21:55:00.000-08:00

I've been working to get dyariobags.com done so that we can have a Grand Opening. Dyario is a Philippine word that means newspaper. The Dyario Bags are a means to provide employment to people in the Philippine city of Cebu.

Here are some pictures of some of the bag making process. Sheets of newspaper are rolled from a corner to the opposite corner. Here one of the young adults is selecting a number of the rolled newspaper pages to begin making some bags.

The foreground shows some of the newspapers tubes that have been joined together while this young man is working on another piece.

These next two pictures show the clips that are used to help hold the bag together while the finishing straps and edgings are attached.

The two young adults shown here also help to train others in the process of making these bags.

Some more furniture pieces

2008-02-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Nancy and I both loved the clunky feet on this end table. I took this in to the shop at Black Sheep Gallery and it sold in just two days.

This piece just needed a little distressing and then I put a coat of dark walnut stain on it to give it an older look. You can't see it, but I attached a flat wooden prim star to the top and then painted the bowl to match and attached it on top the star.

I love going to auctions, ever since I was a kid. I was driving home when I saw an auction sign and stopped. After the auction was over, I borrowed my father in law's pickup to haul my treasures home. This piece had sold while I was gone to get the pickup. It had been covered with a lot of stuff and when I saw it, was regretful that I hadn't been around to bid on it.

I asked someone who had bought it and was pointed toward a man who had bid $1.00 for the piece. I asked him if he would sell it and he sold it to me for $4.00. After finishing it in the manner as shown, I sold it for $350.00.

My brother knew someone who was just going to throw this sofa table away. My brother brought the piece to me and all that was wrong with it was that the drawer was missing all the tracking system to keep it aligned and working properly. I couldn't fabricate a tracking system for the drawer, so I just took the front end of the drawer off the drawer and glued and nailed it over the drawer opening to make it a permanent part of the table. I painted it black, then over painted it with antique burgundy. I thought it turned out nicely.

Checkerboard Fun

2008-02-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

Nancy thinks I'm having way to much fun with the furniture pieces I work on. Here are a couple of the first of the checkerboard pattern I've done.

and

It has been a lot of fun buying and making the pieces over in some sort of prim style. It combines my love for going to auctions, finding unique pieces, and the doing them in a prim style. Sometimes I know exactly how I'll redo a piece when I first see it. Other times, I tell Nancy, I wait for the piece to tell me what it wants to look like. Either way, its all good!

Our Bah-Humbug soap get's some attention

2008-02-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

Every year just before Christmas, at Soapnuts someone hosts the Bah-Humbug Swap. We participated in the 2007 Swap. There were 20 participants so each one sent in 20 items and in return received one of every other participants submissions.

In the Bah-Humbug swap, items ranged from soaps to nail care oils, to sun/dream catchers to christmas ornies.

Our submission was a short tale that went along with a soap in a burlap bag that we called Sac O'Mash. The soap included potato and was scented with anise essential oil.

Anne-Marie at Brambleberry blogged about our entry here.

Thanks to Anne-Marie for the mention and also for allowing us to use the picture she took of our entry.

Soap Silicone Molds

2007-11-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

You would think that by now we would have mastered the silicone molds but judging by today's results, have much yet to learn.

Nancy has tried the whole range gamut of temperatures. The really weird thing is that one soap can pop out almost in perfect condition while the one just next to it will be a problem.

Here are some pictures of the today's batch:

This shows the mold itself splitting.

This shows the soap split in two after unmolding:

Here is another that hasn't split the soap but the mold was the same as pictured above:

The other problem we have, which is what we are encountering most is where the top part of the soap sticks to the inside of the mold or a small chunk actually sticks to the mold. Not the best pics but maybe you can see the problem:

I think I'll ask soap guru Anne-Marie of Brambleberry.com to pop in and take a look. Maybe she can provide some wise words.

More furniture projects completed

2007-09-26T17:16:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pics of furniture projects I've recently completed. I am having a blast doing this. I don't think work is supposed to be this much fun.

This first piece was an oil stained work bench. It was already painted red but it sure looked good after I stained it with walnut stain and added a couple of pip berry garlands (country mercantile - black, tan and burgundy colored berries)

This piece must have been a school craft desk judging by all the gum I scraped off the bottom.

This chair was used at Sun Valley Resort. It was painted an industrial bright orange but was very sturdy. I recovered the cushion and painted black primer over the orange, then used the sander to sand back some of the black to get back to the orange. Added a pip berry garland with colors of orange, black and dark green and I think it looks pretty good.

This desk was fun to do and turned out very nicely.

And for the final selection for this blog additive, this is a table we picked up at a yard sale. I like mustard and black together.

Fair Time

2007-09-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

Fair Time is always the most fun when you can go with the grandkids while they ride the carnival rides.

Ashlynn found a little friend to ride with her:

Jaedan went on this ride by himself and didn't like it very well so he convinced Nanna to ride with him. He still didn't like it very well and Grandma had to cover his eyes a few times. They didn't realize how lucky they were sitting where they were. A teen boy a couple of rows in front of them lost his stomach contents. Kids in the back row were heard groaning in disgust and wiping fluids and bits and pieces off their faces but Nancy and Jaedan escaped without getting slimed!

<

We went to the petting zoo and this very friendly goat wanted to be included in the picture. If anyone asks, he takes after Nancy's side of the family.

The heat of day tempered by the cool of night

2007-08-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

I wonder how I would fare if I lived in a climate that not only had the heat we do but was also humid. A friend from Arizona who was visiting recently told us that the temps we have during the day (90-100) are what they were experiencing at home at around 3 am when he would be taking his work break. I think that Nancy would probably have to just carry around a rag and mop up the grease spot that would be all that was left after I'd melted completely away.

Fortunately our evenings turn nice and cool.

Here are some pics of our back yard and some of my raised beds (made with ye olde waterbed frames of course!

This is my pink hibiscus that is blooming for the first time.

In one of the veggie beds just directly to the right of the hibiscus is planted our lemon cucumbers. I must have put steroids in that bed because those little buggers have really been growing aggressively. The cucumber vines have completely overrun the raised bed and now have a stranglehold on the hibiscus:

And not only have the little rascals reached out on the ground, they have grown up into my neighbors grape vines which share the property line with the cucumbers. You can see part of the grape vine amidst the cucumber vines and flowers:

Then don't miss out on my neighbors grape vine. She planted these several years ago, took care of them for a few years but for the past4-5 years has pretty much ignored them. I have to periodically check out some of my Austrian Pines to make sure the grape vines aren't growing up into them. Here you can see that the grape vines have pretty much grown to the top of one of her fruit trees:

Just at the fence line, you can see the yellow crook neck squash plant that provides enough for grandson's Jaedan's request for saute.

I've completely filled the composter the kids gave me for Father's Day. I wasn't thinking and put it together in the house, then had to take it apart to get it outside. I jokingly refer to it as my child containment center since it has a latching lid.

If you've looked at some of my previous posts, you'll recognize this reclaimed wooden bench I took from a neighbor's trash pile. Nancy and I took the kids down to the Snake River where I had each one collect the rocks they liked best and put into a basket and those now sit on the bench.

I've got more pics of the back yard and of some of my crafts that I'll post a little later. Thanks for stopping by!

Recent family pictures

2007-08-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

The church recently updated it's directory. We volunteered to print the directory with the caveat that the pictures of each family unit would be printed in color. These are the pictures as they appear in the directory.

Jamie and Jason, who are expecting our third grandchild in late February, and Jaedan and Ashlynn who left with their paternal grandparents this morning to go to visit their auntie and cousins in Wyoming.

Nancy and I with our baby, Joshua, who will turn 23 in just a few more days.

We feel so fortunate that our children haven't gone to far away. We all have a great time playing the card game "Rook" together. and Nancy and Jamie go to the yard sales most saturdays. We are blessed!

To the next level..............................

2007-07-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

.................with our new mold. The first prototype was made with food grade pink silicone. But it didn't release as smoothly as we needed so Armond at http://www.chaseco.com/ made a prototype mold in a blue silicone. We are very pleased with the results.

No more putting the soap while still in the molds into the freezer for several hours so they will pop out more easily. The seams will be much nicer and I anticipate that there will be significantly less waste soap from having to trim and shape the unmolded soaps.
The heat retention during gel phase will be much better with the silicone molds. And the finished product just looks a bit nicer immediately at pop out.

We can't wait for the molds to be made and shipped to us for use.

This is going to be much more efficient and the best part is that we don't have to freeze the soaps in the mold. Yippeee!! There is a slight sticking in this first time but we hadn't sprayed the mold at all. We've used pam in the past but the manufacturer recommends food grade silicone mold release which should also prolong the life of the mold. We'll try that tomorrow, but still the little itty bit of sticking is so much less then our other plastic molds that we can certainly live with this. I didn't trim off the little bit of soap at the top before taking the picture.

Talk about a hiatus......................

2007-07-16T14:31:00.001-07:00

I knew it had been a while since last posting, but it just seemed to get easier and easier to not update the blog. It seemed that February through June was very hectic for us and I'm not the most committed person when it comes to any kind of a journal. My pastor sort of summed it up pretty well and I think this could probably be on my grave marker: "I'm a good starter but not always a good finisher!".

Anyway, I have been able to get back to my hobby of prim furniture. Here is a neat secretary I picked up at auction as is:

And here is my attempt to make it prim:

It probably would still be at our home if Nancy could have figured out where she would put it. So now it is in the shop and we'll see if anyone else likes it enough to buy it and give it a home.

Not all the animals are in cages.........

2007-03-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

..........at the zoo!

You won't see many of the animals in these pictures. Although we did go around and look in the enclosures, the kids seemed to have the most fun on this trip doing the playground thing.

The kids still love going to the Boise Zoo though, and know where all the animals are. Last year we were thrilled when we found that the butterfly building was open. We were able to take the kids in to see dozens of varieties of butterfly that swirled in small groups around your head and legs and feet. They were disappointed that it wasn't yet open, but we assured them that there would be future Zoo trips in the near future.

Sissy is our resident animal fanatic. She absolutely adores cats, dogs and various furbies. Her daddy has a beagle named Chase, her mommy and stepdad have a chow cross (very sweet) and we used to have Taylor the Demon Siamese at Nana and Papa's. Unfortunately Taylor was very ancient and has passed over the Rainbow Bridge.

Here she is trying to woo a reluctant llama:

Jaedan liked being able to look eyeball to eyeball with this ground dwelling critter:

There are a number of kid friendly areas and one of the favorite is where the giraffe slide is. It was being repaired the last time we were there so the kids were thrilled when they saw that it was ready for them to use:

Uncle Josh had asked for a picture of the komodo dragon. We got one but there was also this lifelike replica so we thought he'd enjoy these two pictures as well.

Of course, who can resist the merry-go-round?

Don't forget the animals that you can get up close to:

Finally, one last look at the spider monkeys. To see these, you have to climb some stairs, then walk alongside their enclosures, ending with a slide for the kids to return to the ground As you can see by how blurred the kids are due to their movement, you know that they race as fast as they can back up the stairs to go down the slide again.

It was with reluctance that they finally allowed themselves to be herded back to the car so that we could return home.

Maybe next time we'll be able to get some pictures of Nancy's side of the family, you know, the "holler" monkey and the little donkey.

The many faces of ..............................

2007-03-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

goofs!

I just noticed that many of the pictures had faces that were beyond the norm. So I thought before I posted some zoo pictures that I would share these and possibly give you a chuckle or two!

Jaedan's favorite pose right now is to take self pics of eyes and nostrils:

I've told Nancy that if she wants her face to be remembered that she needs to quit covering up whenever a camera is pointed her way. It is a shame that future generations will only see her as a possible relative to "Thing" in the Adams Family.

See how painful it is for her to keep from hiding behind her hand?

Of course, this will teach her to clown around!

We can't forget our little "Princess":

Jaedan is giving me his "GRRRR" face, not sure if he doesn't want to hold still for the picture or if I'm keeping him from getting to the swimming pool:

Here is one guaranteed to frighten away lab rats and small children:

This is a picture of such sweetness. Compare this one to the next picture of Nancy about the same age. Don't they look alike?

Of course, if you can't get a funny face you can always use Photo Shop to your advantage. Here is one of my sister's with her daughter and the "touch up" follows:

If you can't do this to someone you love, who can you do it to?

It's For The Birds!

2007-03-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

The Birds of Prey is just a few miles south of Boise located on a windswept knoll overlooking the Treasure Valley. It really is amazing after driving in Boise traffic, how quiet and serene the spot is just a few miles away from all the bustle of Boise.

There were a couple of hawks and eagles that could be dimly seen through screened windows on our way to the main educational facility. A small group of children from some daycare was going through the exhibits when we arrived and we briefly joined them as a gentleman appeared with a peregrin falcon on his arm.

Jaedan took this picture:

The question was asked of the group how heavy they thought this falcon might be. Our Never-Shy Jaedan popped up his hand and answered, "1600 hundred pounds". He was off by just a few pounds, with the actual weight of the bird at 1 1/2 pounds. (can you imagine having to hold a 1600 pound bird on your arm?)

We then watched a DVD presentation about the mission of the Birds of Prey that was interesting to Nana and Papa but a little bit much for the kids. They were good troopers however, and soon we were on our way to seeing some of the birds. Because it is an educational facility and the birds are part of a breeding program, cameras weren't allowed on the tour. So we obliged ourselves with some wing shots!

The kids found the tour to be too slow and to much lecture for their short attention span so we left the group and just went wherever the kids wanted to go. There were other rooms of stuffed specimens, pictures, artwork, and even other animal exhibits other then birds. Ashlynn was quite interested in this beaver.

There was another room that showed the difference in color and sizes of bird's eggs. It also had some touchy-feely objects for the kids to explore. After about an hour, we loaded up and headed for the zoo. The kids were having a pretty good time, were behaving reasonably well, and we adults were enjoying ourselves too.

$70.00 dollars for an overnight stay at a motel with an indoor swimming pool, $40.00 for dinner at Elmers. Hearing the gratitude in the kid's voices as they told us over and over again, "Papa, Nana, we love you"....................PRICELESS!

Spring Break and the kids go wild!

2007-03-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

or as wild as Nana and Papa will let a 3 and 6 year old get. At this age, going on vacation and staying in a motel with an indoor swimming pool is about as good as it gets. We drove to Boise, ID, after church and then lunch, arriving about 4 pm. The kids were in their swim suits faster then you could look under the bed to make sure the maids had vacuumed out all the boogie monsters!

Here they are heading for the pool:

I think the expressions on their faces tell the story. Both the kids love water and will need to take more lessons this summer although Jaedan will tell you he "knows how to swim already".

She doesn't look very mischievous does she?

Ahhh! This is the life.

We stayed at the Shilo Riverside. After swimming, we took the kids to PoJo's, an arcade that has all kinds of games that dispense tickets. Nancy was standing at the coin changer (the one that can take a single piece of paper and give you 20 pieces of metal - quarters - in return). I thought she was joking when she asked me if I thought we'd have enough time to go through 20 quarters! And 40 quarters later, we decided it was time to go back to the Shilo and hit the hay.

The Boise River runs right outside the Shilo and after a good nights rest and a pretty decent continental breakfast, we went for a walk alongside the River.

It was very relaxing and although we could see 5 different bridges crossing the river, we could hardly hear the traffic over the trickle of the water. The morning was beautiful and we encountered a lot of locals using the walking path alongside the River.

After our morning walk, we loaded up and headed for the Birds of Prey. More of that in another post.

Easy Peasy Bath Fizzies

2007-03-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

One of the products we make that is simple after you get past the learning curve are bath fizzies. These are sort of like alka-seltzer tablets. You drop them into the water and they fizz. Our grandkids absolutely love them, always begging for more to be plopped into the bath.

When I first began trying these, I used sea salt as one of the ingredients. The sea salt seemed to interfere with the texture of the fizzies and I had a difficult time getting mine to turn out as they should.

So this is the recipe that I use now and I haven't had any trouble since.

3 parts baking soda
1 part citric acid
1-2 TBL oil (I use a blend of 1:1 sweet almond and grapeseed)
scent and colorant as desired
water

I don't know how much water any given batch uses because sometimes environmental factors apply. The water addition is one that you just get to know by the looks and feel of the mix. I'll explain more a little bit later.

This is how I start. I mix the 3 parts baking soda, 1 part citric acid, colorant if used and the oil and fragrance as desired. For color, I like micas because they are easy to mix in. You can't be to heavy handed with the colorant or someone like my wife will complain that it leaves a color ring in the bath. And the oil addition can be a personal adjustment depending on how much of an oil feel you want. Remember that especially the more oil used, the more you will see and feel it in the bath, particularly how slippery it can be!

I use a fork to mix and after mixing should resemble lightly dampened sand (because of the oil).

Now you are ready to add water. I turn the water on to just a narrow stream. (I like the way my camera captured the little droplets in the stream)

You want the stream of water to be small and consistent. Again using the fork to mix, I create a small well in the middle of the mix and then for just a few seconds stick the bowl under the stream of water. Don't add to much because as soon as the water hits the mix, it will begin to activate the action of citric acid and baking soda and start bubbling and fizzing.

The picture looks like the water is already streaming into the mix, but it is an optical illusion. The water stream is actually outside the bowl:

Holding the bowl in one hand and the fork in the other, I add the first bit of water and quickly remove the bowl from the water. Immediately stir the mix, mixing the water thoroughly into the mix. Be sure to scrape the sides and incorporate all the water into the mix. I usually add water about 2-3 times in this manner. The most important thing is to thoroughly incorporate the water into the mix. Too much water and your fizzie mix will rise faster then the Pillsbury doughboy. Here is a picture of the mix after I've added the water.

When the mix has enough water in it to help it hold together, I use plastic measuring molds to make the fizzies. I've found that they tap out of the plastic much easier then out of metal.

I just scoop out enough mix to fill the measuring part of the mold. I quickly press the palm of my hand against the surface of the mix, sort of rubbing off the excess with my palm. Then I just tap the fizzie nugget out of the spoon. One tap is usually all it takes and I can make quite a few of these in just a few minutes time.

Here are a couple of different variations:

All these are made with various plastic measuring spoons. I've read instructions of people using hammers and molds and tapping them to get a compact tablet. These are made just using the pressure of my palm against the mix in the spoon. They are usually hard enough in just a few hours to package and use. We use silver pouches for packaging.

Can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. But I've got more to enter over the next few days. Grandkids are on spring break so we took them to Boise for a few days and spent some time at the Zoo and the Birds of Prey. News at 11 :)

Idaho weather........

2007-02-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

....where you can have different seasons all in the same day.

A couple of days ago I took a picture of some plants emerging from the soil in mid-February! The time of year when you expect to be covered in snow and wearing your red longjohns. Yet we were having 40-60 degree weather and able to walk around in a short sleeved shirt.

Here are the daffodils:

and the tulips:

Do you see the lava rock around the flowers? You may remember that I wrote on the Soapnuts email list about my adventures in tearing out the lava rock walls that had been in place in our living room since before we bought our home 20 years ago.

I finally tore that all out and we have a much roomier living room now. We piled the lava just outside the front door in the flower bed and have been gradually disposing of several of the rocks each week in our garbage pickup. (We tried to box several rocks up and dispose of them or threw them in individually on top of the trash. But each time our dainty garbage men would leave the rock filled boxes behind or pick the individual rocks out and throw on the ground. But by placing a couple of rocks of average size in each garbage sack, we've been able to dispose of about half the pile. The rest should be gone by spring)

Anyway, just a couple of days later and I hear wind blowing around the house. Being of a curious nature, I got up and peaked out one of the bedroom windows. Where just a few days ago, the sun beating down for several days had brought the daffodils and tulips up and out of their beds, now we have a nice blanket of snow. These pictures were taken from an open bedroom window about 4 am with a porch light on and the camera flash.

Having spent most of my childhood in the wonderful beautiful and windy state of Wyoming, I can live with this!

Through the eyes of a child..................

2007-02-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

..........or>>> What happens when your grandson finds the digital camera and becomes an instant photographer!

When I took my first photography class at our local College of Southern Idaho, it was a blast getting each weekly assignment and going out into the community to take various shots. I remember that one of the assignments was to take artistically blurred shots of items in movement. We used timers to capture advancing headlights, water trickling over rocks and delayed timed shots of the moon or clouds moving through the darkened skies. We also were asked to take shots from non-traditional positions.

When I looked through the shots that Jaedan had taken, I thought he very well could have been following the instructions as given by my photography instructor a few years ago.

Can you tell what this is?

If you guessed the corner of one of Jaedan's eyes, you are correct. (If I hadn't had some of the following shots, I don't know that I would have been able to determine what it was.)

When a child looks up at an adult towering over them, don't you think this is sort of what they see?

or what they see when we go "nose to nose" with them as I tend to do when trying to get at eye level during a "papa-Jaedan talk".

Wonder what he was thinking when he took a shot of his foot?

The next two pics are certainly from an unusual perspective. I'll show you the angle that Jaedan took the pictures, then show you the expected angle you would view these two spots when in our home.

Do you feel disoriented? I did until I took the same pictures and set them right side up:

This is where Nana Nancy hangs her purse, on the inside door knob of our bedroom.

And this is where Taylor the cat tends to hide when grandchildren are visiting. It is at the foot of our waterbed and where Nancy's Hope Chest create a little tunnel.

Wouldn't it be great to see the world again through a child's eye? To be in constant wonder of what adults might see as mundane? The innocence of a child is truly one of God's constant gifts to adults, to often overlooked by parents busy with work and homemaking but recaptured by grandparents only if they take the time to try to see the world again through the eyes of a child.

In Memorium

2007-02-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Nancy's mother, JoAnn, passed away two years ago on President's Day. She was a wonderful mother, mother-in-law, and one of the two best grandmothers our children could ever have hoped for (my mom being the other).

This is a picture of Nancy and her mom on our wedding day:

Sometimes you don't really realize how much you have loved a person until they are gone. It would be so great to be able to hear her voice on the phone again. But we have a strong faith that she is somewhere much better and someday we will be there as well.

This picture of her in a denim shirt, comfortable clothing and seated at the table with coffee mug close by is one of my favorites:

Two years after her passing on President's Day, we received a phone call to let us know that JoAnn's mother Dorothy had passed away at 89 on President's Day. There was a viewing this afternoon but Nancy couldn't bring herself to go. She doesn't like seeing people she loves in a casket. Tomorrow we will be going to the funeral at 2 pm. As with Jo Ann and her father who passed away a few years ago, we know that Grandma Dorothy will be now reunited with her beloved Leo, her high school sweetheart, and her oldest daughter in His presence. This is a picture of Grandpa Leo and Grandma Dorothy:

Grandson Jaedan still remembers and asks about his Granma JoAnn. At the cemetary where she is buried, there is a pond with ducks and a playground for kids. When I first saw the playground, I felt offended because I felt that a cemetery should be reserved for solemnity and sadness. But as the kids fed some bread to the ducks, then went down the slide a few times, I realized that this is simply life at its best. We mourn for those who have passed, especially those taken it seems before their time as in the case of Jo Ann. Yet I couldn't help but envision Grandma JoAnn looking over the balcony of Heaven and delighting in watching her grandchildren at play. This is life. This is love. This is family.

Soap Contiuum - You've heard of Spoon Fudge, how about Spoon Soap?

2007-02-14T16:55:00.000-08:00

I remember my Mom's homemade fudge. It wasn't the kind that you melted some dipping chocolate and added marshmallows and nuts. It was real and honest "made-from-scratch" fudge, beaten with a wooden spoon for what seemed like hours until it got that certain glossy shine and could be poured into a pan and refrigerated until firm.

There were times that even though the fudge was deemed perfect and ready to pop in the frig, that it didn't become firm. Mother's solution was simply to declare it "Spoon Fudge" and hand everyone a spoon so we could dig in and consume the fudge.

Today, I give you (drum roll please) Spoon Soap! I made two batches of soap, one after the other. These are soaps I've made many times before and have had them turn out just fine. I did reformulate the Fut Spa soap but in my opinion, nothing was changed enough to cause the soap to not turn out.

Nonetheless, well, lets go to the pictures:

You've seen this in my last post. The soap on the left doesn't look weird, don't you agree?

I have to admit that last night I was a little concerned when I peeked at the soaps before going to bed shortly after pouring this one. I thought it looked a little bit "wet" but hoped that by morning, the moisture would be absorbed and all would be well.

Soap clung to my fingertip just by touching the surface of the soap.

Although I've had soaps crack a bit on the top from the intense heat sometimes generated, this crack looked "different".

I know that I probably should have waited a few more hours before unmolding the soaps but the salt bars usually have hardened more then this one seemed to. You can see that the side you're looking at, which is the inside side that abuts the other soap cell, was soft enough that it almost looks melted. Of course, I just told Nancy that it was a good omen because it looked like a valentine heart.

I put it on the loaf cutting board and as you can see, the loaves didn't even have a foundation to stand on.

You could take the soap and squish it in your hand. I wonder if this is how that Squishy soap came to be?

Cleaning this up was a pain! with a capital "P"!

Here is the soap boxed and ready to be set aside to play with later. I always hate it when a batch goes bad. This one had a blend of peppermint, juniperberry, eucalyptus and rosemary essential oils that smelled so gooooood.

Now it is back to the basics, making sure I followed all the procedures and hope to eventually prove that it was indeed those soap gremlins who caused all this misfortune!

Soap Continuum - the Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly!

2007-02-14T16:06:00.000-08:00

Do you want the good news first or the bad news? Personally, I've always liked hearing the good news first - sooooo:

The top of the Pearberry Salt Spa Bar in the mold:

The first side of the mold pulled away:

Now the remaining sides and middle piece are removed, leaving the two blocks of soap on the base:

The Pearberry block is moved over to the cutter. There is a cutting board that has grooves to match the first cutting pass through the block of soap to make loaves.

The cutter wire guide in place above the block of soap:

The loaves are removed and placed to the side so that the bar cutter and guide can be put in place:

With the cutting board for the bars in place, the loaves are stacked atop one another and then the bar cutter is put in place just like the loaf cutter above.

The cutter halfway down the stack of loaves and you can see that we have uniform bars of soap.

Bars of soap boxed and ready to be taken downstairs to be placed on the drying shelves.

My green didn't come through, looks more grey. But I have noticed that using the same level of colorant in the salt bars that are used in the non-salt bar made exactly the same yields a much different colored bar.

One of the ladies that came to the Idaho Gathering 2006 remarked that with the salt it made the soap look almost like granite.

Well, this was the Good news. My next post will show that even experienced soap makers will have failures. Nancy says it is to keep us from getting overconfident. "Who, me? Overconfident?" Surely not!

Time to start making soap!

2007-02-13T23:21:00.000-08:00

We always try to plan to make enough soap to last at least through the end of the year based on our sales for the previous year and forcasted growth. I could probably win the lottery sooner then figure out just what soaps need to have plenty of shelf stock!

Our top selling soaps for 2006:

#1 - our signature original Spud Sack Soap
#2 - Huckleberry Bar Soap
#3 - Huckleberry Spud Soap
#4 - Tater Bar Soap
#5 - Pearberry Bar Soap

This has pretty much been the same lineup for the past 5 years.

Our first batch of soap since October was a restock of Pearberry Salt Spa Bar. This has avocado butter and oil, clay for slip, liquid silk and sea salt. Our mold is a dual cell mold so I like to make two batches at a time which seems to be more efficient use of our tools. Here is a picture of the mold we use. We use a recipe that yields a 90 bar batch. Theoretically this mold could produce 120 bars per cell, but I find it challenging to just lift the 90 bar soap block to the cutter.

The second batch is a reformulation of our Foot Tingler. The Foot Tingler had baking soda and powdered luffa with peppermint essential oil. Nancy really liked this soap for use on her feet. I kept the original formula and made it our third Salt Spa bar by adding sea salt and liquid silk along with juniper berry, rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils for antifungal and antiseptic properties. The essential oil blend is 5 parts peppermint, 1 part each of juniper berry, rosemary and eucalyptus.

Here are some pictures of the process for the "New & Improved" Fut Spa Bar.

When I make soap I usually add most all my additives (colorant, essential oils, powdered luffa, baking soda) to my melted oils before adding the lye.

I should say that I usually mix my lye and water several hours before I make my soap. The lye solution is at room temperature when I mix it into my oils. Here I am taking a quick temp check on the oils. Depending on type of soap and the temperature both inside and outside, I mix the oils and lye water between 90 and 120 degrees. This batch was done at 120 degrees.

For the Salt Spa bars, I add the sea salt to my lye water right after I've mixed it up and have set it aside to cool. Most recipes I've seen pretty much call for an almost ounce for ounce ratio of sea salt to oils. Our batch uses 18 1/2 pounds of oils to which I add one cup of sea salt. Here is the oils with the lye/water/sea salt slurry added:

After the soap comes to light to medium trace, it is poured into one of the mold cells.

Since this is a salt soap, it will need to be cut sooner then our other cold processed molded soaps. So first thing in the morning I'll unmold and cut and will take more pictures to post of the unmolding, cutting and putting on the drying table.

The first soap I did this evening was Pearberry and this is it resting in the second cell. You may notice that I've placed a sheet of waxed butcher paper (wax side down on soap) on top of the soap. I've found that sometimes soaps will raise up in the middle from the gelling heat. By placing this sheet of paper on the top of the soap, it seems to greatly lessen or even stop the soap from cracking.

After filling both cells, we usually throw a blanket over the mold except for the hottest part of the summer when we use just a towel over the top.

Well I'm off to bed now. Check back to see the results.

To borrow from Art Linkletter: Kids say the darnedest things

2007-02-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

The weather has been beautiful this past few days, one of the advantages of living in a high desert region. While other parts of the country are experiencing minus degree weather because of cold and windchill, we have been having temps close to 60 degrees.

Jaedan and Ashlynn are loving it. We took them to the park yesterday for half an hour. While many kids become couch potatoes, given a choice, both kids would rather be outside. Our daughter Jamie is very good to see that they go for bike rides together, as well as other outdoor activities.

Today, before going to Costco to purchase supplies to start soap production again, we took the kids to the Artic Circle. This is one of their favorites because they have an indoor kids gym.

After eating, Jaedan said he needed to go to the bathroom to "poop". Because of so many little ones being accosted in public bathrooms, we make sure that one of us is in the restroom with either of the kids to ensure their safety.

Anyway, before I digress, Nancy noticed that Jaedan's face was quite red and he was obviously in some distress (possibly slightly constipated?).

Nancy commented, "Jaedan, your whole face is really red! Are you ok?"

Jaedan replied, "No, it's stuck!"

Well, alls well that eventually ends well and he was able by sheer will power to get it "unstuck"!

At least I'm not a cargo van!

2007-01-31T10:40:00.000-08:00

I'm a Nissan 350Z!

You're not the fastest or the most agile, but you have style and power. You believe in looking good and moving quickly -- without breaking the bank.

"Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Have I told you how much I hate plumbing?

2007-01-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

If you've popped in from Soapnuts, you've probably heard me rant and rave on multiple occasions about how I absolutely hate to work on plumbing.

If you know me or have seen the wide screen photos, you know I'm a fairly substantial man particularly in the upper half. My wife complains that I have no butt to speak of and there is certainly no hips to help hold up my britches. I have spent most of my life trying to keep my pants hitched up while watching current youth (including my son) who have made it a fashion statement to have their boxers up above their waist and their pants down near the knees.

Well, perhaps I exaggerate just a little.

Anyway, it seems to me that with all the technological advances in this world that they could figure out how to make a faucet replacement a bit easier. My solution would be to call Mr. Riddle. He has done plumbing off and on for the past several years like the time son Josh at age 5 or so dropped a ham bone into the toilet that refused to come out. That is until Mr. Riddle worked his magic. Or the time granddaughter Ashlynn dropped a toy cell phone in and it got forever stuck in the bowl. We had to replace the bowl because even Mr. Riddle's magic couldn't dislodge the toy.

The one good thing that came out of that is that I asked him to upgrade us to a taller version which fits my body just perfectly. Unfortunately my wife who is of a smaller stature can sit on it with her legs swinging away.

Well I digress! Just so many memories in this aged brain like (back to the pants falling down) one of Jamie's earlier boyfriends who wore his pants so huge that he had to run sideways like a crab to keep them up. My dad saw him coming across the field one night and asked me when did "he begin wearing your pants?".

Anyway, I finally started on the honey do list that had "replace the kitchen faucet" at the top. Do you know how hard it is to have to squeeze my broad shoulders into that little opening under the kitchen sink? The faucets never come apart as easily as you would like. The old bolts are usually crusted and only a small stick of dynamite is going to get them loose. The bottom of the cabinet has a nice sharp edge that even my well padded ribs couldn't safeguard against. (Nancy is fairly adamant that I at least try to do it myself, "just think of all the money we could save if you could at least do it yourself!")

Then you have to reach up and around the P-trap and drainage piping to try to screw the nuts onto the posts in an area about three fingers wide. Not to mention that it is usually dark up there and we never seem to have a working flashlight around. I prefer to see what kind of spider is getting ready to munch on my knuckles.

Invariably I drop the bolts and the tools and knock aside the one working flashlight that we are fortunate was a Christmas gift to Nancy and the grandkids haven't found it to turn it on until the batteries no longer work.

So, finally, the water has been turned back on. Wonder of wonders is that there is no leaking whatsoever. Wow, I mean, Wow.

Here is the beautiful faucet chosen to grace our old sink:

I understand both bathroom faucets need to be replaced. I'm thinking that the plumber union I belong to now may agree to purchase the two needed faucets but we're definitely going to call Mr. Riddle to install them for us. He may be older then I am but he's much more wiry. And he knows how to install them properly the first time!

What planet am I?

2007-01-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I couldn't resist. But since I liked the results - here it is:

You Are From Pluto

You are a dark, mysterious soul, full of magic and the secrets of the universe.
You can get the scoop on anything, but you keep your own secrets locked in your heart.
You love change and you use it to your advantage, whether by choice or chance.
You don't like to compromise, to the point of being self-destructive with your stubborness.
Live life with love, and your deep powers will open the world to you.

What Planet Are You From?

Who uses their dining table for a workspace?

2007-01-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

For those who work from home or do crafts at home, you know what I mean. Eventually your crafting has a tendency to take over your whole home, much like the Tribbles did on Star Trek.

We had the first week of 2007 to sort of rest and relax but reorders began coming in the second week of January and have kept us fairly busy since.

Here is a partial order being prepped for an Insurance group in Boise. 200 one oz. soaps, made with potato and scented with blackberry sage.

The other side of the table is gathering the pieces and parts of another order which includes some butter cremes and hand lotions:

Whenever we host someone for a meal, it is a major effort to have to clean off everything on the table and find somewhere else to put it so that we can actually utilize our table for it's original purpose.

But we drop all this to go whenever we have opportunity to be with either of our children (and especially our grandchildren).

Daughter Jamie and her husband Jason called and asked us if we'd like to go with them for pizza and some bowling.

We first went to Gertie's Pizza and then to the Bowladrome. The Bowladrome must be one of the last places in Idaho to go smoke free! For those who don't smoke, when you walk into a smoke filled establishment it is quite noticable.

Here are some pictures to tell the story:

Pick out your bowling ball!

Jaedan putting on his shoes:

Both kids jumping for joy at hitting the pins (please ignore the gutter bumpers - they were very helpful to mom Jamie and Nana Nancy):

Here Nana Nancy is getting her pre-bowling-turn hand and shoulder rub down by Jaedan to ensure a good score:

And finally, what could be better then a good bowling outing unless you get a shoulder ride from Nana Nancy:

We should say that you probably shouldn't try this at home. Only after thorough rigorous training and conditioning should this be attempted!

We are certainly blessed that both of our children and our two grandchildren live close by. Although we would certainly support our children wherever they would go, we have enjoyed being able to continue to interact with them on a consistent and regular basis.

Devil Cat

2007-01-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, when our daughter was in her early teens, I brought home a Siamese colored kitten. Jamie named the cat Taylor. Taylor's mother was black as were all her siblings. Taylor has the Siamese coloration.

Jamie would take her to the little league games that her brother played in. It was really something to watch this kitten act more like a puppy, who would follow Jamie everywhere and would sit on the bleachers without ever wandering off.

Jamie would let Taylor sleep in her room until that one night when Taylor left a deposit on the rug. She was forever banished from Jamie's room.

So Taylor adopted Nancy as her human pet. Here is a picture of her favorite snoozing place, on Nancy's lap while watching tv.

Taylor is known as the Psycho Cat or the Devil Cat around here. There are times when she is very loving. If you don't give her attention when she demands it however, you are liable to get a very sharp and demanding nip. She sometimes even draws blood.

She always has to be in your way and has been known to push open doors that haven't been fully closed. Or she sits outside a closed door and meows until you let her in.

One morning I decided to see how she would react if I sort of blocked the bathroom door with my boxers while I was taking my shower. Normally she has to come in and walk between the inner shower curtain and the outer shower curtain.

I looked to see if she had gotten the door pushed open and saw that the door was still blocked. Her paw was visible though, as she tried to figure out what was blocking the door.

I literally could not believe my eyes when I saw her begin to slowly and purposely use her claw to snag the shorts and begin to pull them through the opening of the door and door jam. By the time I had dried off and dressed, she had about 3/4 of the shorts outside the door. It wouldn't have been much longer and she would have gained access.

It is hard to believe by looking at this picture of her sleeping at Nancy's feet that she is anything else other then a complete angel, but believe me she is pure Psycho Cat!

Enjoy the Scenery with minimal commentary!

2007-01-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

I could have taken and posted so many more pictures but here are some of my favorites:

The sledding run view:

Some panoramic view shots:

Some trail pictures on the way back down:

I think this is my favorite scenic picture from this trip. It looks good enough to be a Christmas card:

And finally, there is the sun at between 2 and 3 pm just before ending our day of fun!:

The Favorite Uncle

2007-01-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

Every family has one. I was lucky as a kid because there was actually a whole bevy of great uncles (Uncle Harry, Uncle Wilmer, Uncle Butch).

Uncle Gerald is the uncle who takes all the kids fishing. And he is so busy untangling lines, baiting hooks, helping land the fish, etc that he hardly has time to do any fishing himself. He also takes the kids sledding and snowmobiling. Now what kind of kid doesn't appreciate an Uncle like that.

Here he is waiting to give the next sledder that little extra push to get them started.

Now he is talking to Nancy and Jason.

Now it is his turn down the hill. Hey, anyone, can you give a push? Anyone?

Gerald said that there were a lot of bumps to hit with your tail dragging the ground in the middle of the inner tube!

Getting the snowmobile ready to go.

Here we are at the top of the hill. It was so peaceful and quiet, and as you can see, so white.

Now if we only had some favorite Aunts but if I posted the one great pic of my sister Anne (Gerald's wife), I would be in big trouble. I told her it is the only picture I have never had to use Photoshop to create a scary face. (luv you sis)

How Many Share Your Name?

2007-01-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought I was done until I went to friend Sue's blog where she had this fun link. I just had to try it out. The interesting thing is that several years ago, there was another Duane Porter in a neighboring town.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
80
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

And Nancy wrote out a check for groceries locally several years ago and the clerk told us that her name was also Nancy Porter.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
692
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

So easy, so fun, I'm done!

Rescuing a Damsel In Distress.....

2007-01-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

Granddaughter Ashlynn enjoyed sledding this year a little bit more then last. She was so bundled up that sometimes she looked like a little penguin as she waddled from place to place. She has always loved sunglasses so it wasn't any surprise the she talked her Uncle Josh out of his goggles:

On one of her sledding runs down the hill, she found herself in the deep bowl part of the run. Fortunately Jason was on the bank and had her grab hold of the inner tube so he could pull her out. Here it is in sequence:

Grab the inner tube, Ash!

Oops, almost lost her.

Oh, good, she scrambled further in to the tube.

Almost there, hang on!

What'choo lookin' at? move along, there isn't anything to see here!

Just couldn't wait to post these, it was such a fun day.

How Time Flies When Having Fun!

2007-01-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

Already five days into January and finally getting some time to get pics posted. We've been busy counting inventory and preparing for 2007 sales. It won't be much longer and there will be little more soaping adventures in amongst all the grandkid stories.

We took Jaedan up to an area called Diamondfield Jack's in the South Hills. There is a fun tubing hill for kids (and fun loving adults) as well as snowmobile trails all around. My sister's husband brought a couple of snowmobiles for use after the sledding.

It was a beautiful day. We beat the crowd and had the hill pretty much to ourselves for an hour or two. Here are some pictures of the birthday boy.

With Mommy Jamie:

With Uncle Josh:

For some reason when I look at this picture, it reminds me of a snow seal pup. What do you think?

Sledding can sure make you appreciate some hot chocolate with your sandwich while resting after several runs down the hill (and the walks back up):

Here Jaedan is posing on his momma's cousin Doug's snowmobile. He was excited to get to go for a ride with Great-Uncle Gerald on the larger snowmobile. When he got back I asked him how he liked the ride but he wasn't very enthusiastic. He wanted to be able to steer and control the machine himself and didn't quite understand why he had to just sit in front of Uncle Gerald.

We spent about 5-6 hours up in the hills and enjoyed the day quite thoroughly. The day was beautiful and what could make it more fun then to spend it with family.

Look out, I took close to a hundred pictures. I'll post those later, you've got to see the "rescue" as Jason used a tube to pull Ashlynn up the snow bank out of the way of the sleds coming down the hill. And I got some great scenery shots when Gerald and I both took a snowmobile up to top of the South Hills range where it was so peaceful and calm.