Making candles out of old wax

So, here's a little typical project on the homestead: making new candles.  I found a recipe for the flame retardant for wicks that's easily made at home (4 tbls borax, 2 tbls salt in 1.5c water, soak overnight) and we used some old string.  On the day of melting, we tied some small weights to the string (old nails. now where did I ever purchase those?)

 and Melissa and I worked to tie the weighted string also onto a small stick to hold it up in the container:

 and then, after melting the wax over a fire outside, we filled up these old little glass containers (that used to have small candles in them. Our friend Christine used to get them from weddings and she gave us 50 or so)

 Here's me dipping the last of the wax out of the melting pot while some squash and potatoes get onto the coals in the dutch oven:

 and the finished candles looked pretty good - for just a random mixture of wax of all colors.

 and sure enough, they work!

Guests and Food and more Food

We had guests up the whole long weekend, and much food was made and consumed. Some of the pretty stuff was the bbq pork steam buns:

 Luckily had a bunch of firewood to move afterward to work up another appetite.

 for even more eating! Pot stickers this time. Great stuff!

Indoor Drying Rack

Finally put together a concept I had back before the house was done: the indoor drying rack by the fireplace. Check out the towel hanging near the ceiling.

It's a long redwood bar on a simple rope and loop structure that keeps it up out of the way and yet easy to get at. Below is the rope drawstring which stores behind the pillar:

 Looking up at it when standing underneath, you can see the bar only if you're looking for it. (and there's nothing hanging on it)

 and it drops down really easily for hanging stuff... which can be draped over it or hung on a hanger, and then hauled back up to the ceiling, where it's warmer, and out of the way!

Windows

Melissa made a window seat cushion for the loft window. It not only cushions the butt, but also keeps out cold drafts from the bottom of the window.  it's made from a nice cloth that her mom brought her from a trip to Africa:

This is just a mid morning photo of the kitchen. I love how the winter sun comes into our place.

Building Things around the Place

I built a small greenhouse for seed-starting. It sits on the patio in the southwest corner:

 and the north side flips up for easy access.  I also put some milk jugs filled with water for thermal mass, to balance the temps at night.

And I finished building my first beehive!  Based on Abbot Warre' designs, it's a simple, small homesteader version.  Here it is with all four boxes put on it... normally you start with just two, and add boxes as the bees fill it up.

 the legs and 'landing pad' doorway for the bees:

 the top insulation box, and a peak into one of the chambers with the bars in place:

 and a deeper look into the box, showing how the bars come out:

 Melissa had a relaxed afternoon sitting inside. Notice she's sitting by the window to enjoy the sun, watching a movie on the laptop and reading a library book.  A good use of time!

Melissa the Plastering Princess

Melissa has been tackling the outside plastering job, and doing very well:

 These are photos of the west side of the house. You can see the dark spots are the latest additions

 it makes the place look quite finished.  We're not sure yet if we'll even do another coat. (we were originally thinking white like Greece, but we like the tan look a lot)

 and you can see by her hat and jacket that it's been cold out again.  Hard work to deal with cold, wet mud in the foggy rain.

Knife and Kit

Something that had been on my personal desire list for a long time was making a knife. I've made some handles, well, replaced handles for knives before, and certainly continue to replace hatchet and hammer handles all the time, but I'd never done the blade and handle together. 

I had set aside a piece of logging bandsaw blade 5 or 6 years ago, and finally got it out and cut it up with m y hack saw. then filed down the edges, drilled the handle rivet holes and carved a madrone handle.  After a batch of times with the sharpening stone, a bit of oil for the wood, it's a pretty solid tool.  It's not for kitchen use, but future outside butchering.  Thus, I asked Melissa to make me a carrying kit for all my 'outside' knives.

 She used some denim from some old jeans (I have tons of jeans that people give me for filters for the veg oil) and I think it turned out great.

views and times

Jack takes in his morning view, overlooking our fruit tree meadow

 While Melissa and I prepare a typical breakfast of dried persimmon, apple, yogurt and granola... and don't forget my strong coffee. (notice the baked bread there on the side)

 Later, coming in from the rain, I'm ranting about how they can't seem to make a poncho long enough to cover your legs!  I had high rubber boots on, but since about 5 inches of my legs were exposed, the water started soaking downward and filling up my boots! I'm not that tall that a poncho should reach past the top of my boots! arrgh!

A Tree in the Forest

One of the tops of the redwoods that got cut off to provide more light to our house was just lying there in the woods while I cleaned up around it... so I decided we needed to drag it out.  Melissa drove the truck while I managed the rope:

We got it up on the mill and cut it open.  Revealing the inside of a log is an amazing thing:

Because this was a tree top, there were lots of knots, making for difficult milling and interesting wood:

 After an afternoon of milling, I got 5 or 6 planks from it, ready to be made into the laundry deck.

Car Parts Update

So, since I don't have much to show for my days of organizing the forest, here's a couple new pieces:

the plastic pull handle for the truck's emergency brake came off, so I whittled a new one.

I felt good about this idea because my hand made (Oak) drivers side door handle has been working well for a couple years now:

As each interior piece breaks, I'll just keep whittling new ones.

Even More Tree Work

With the holidays and all the clean up necessary, there's not a lot of other stuff to show off... but this is a dramatic thing going on. Check out the tree guy way up in the tree in this photo:

and this one was one Steve, the tree guy, wanted me to take.  He's been cutting trees in these mountains for 15 years, and he was impressed by the size of this old redwood on our property.  the point of the picture is to see the diameter of the trunk compared to the guy.