12/28/2013

I was pulling up the dead garden sunflowers as Raven pulled in. I offered her some fresh squeezed orange juice from Elliot’s tree and showed her the new refurb computer, much faster.

First thing we nailed the sink counter forward panel in so we could reassemble the benches. Raven started stenciling the cabinet door as I drove up to the Mercantile for some switch plate screws, Harry dug them out, 92 cents for 10, deal. I screwed in all the plates covering the switches (missed the one in the picture, got it later). I pulled out the tall ladder and re drilled and screwed the front sun/moon disk up top missing the screw that stopped it before, tight.

Raven cooked up lunch leftovers, a squash quiche (tasty) with tofu salad, all good. We ate in the vardo, very nice with the fancy table cloth.

As I need to get my car tuned we drove up town and dropped it at Luis’, heading for Joanne’s Fabrics for the cushion outer cover material. Raven picked out a crushed burgundy, end of the roll four and a half yards, just enough  if we use the extra few inches wide. I found zippers for the ends, 2 14s and 2 20s. I snuck off for a couple fancy knotted curtain ties for Raven’s birthday New Years eve, but called her in for a color check, it’s the thought. Straight for home. Picked up car fixed on the way.

We have fabric! Nice stuff, folded up for next time stitching. Raven removed the stencil with difficulty as it dried on, better to pull it damp, a bit of black fixed it. The first real cabinet door.

She and I worked in the living room cutting the stencils for the other doors, we finished two and a half, daisies, apple and hops, a few more to cut out.

Picture time and away, we’re getting there, with a bit of vacuuming to prep for re installing  the stove.

 

 

12/22/2013

Raven showed up with coffee just as my friend Joe and I finished breakfast, perfect timing as she’d already eaten and coffee was in order. I crawled under the vardo sink with the vise grips to finish tightening the hanger bolt, a lag screw into the wood with a machine screw 1/4 20 for a wing nut to hold the sink counter in place, but still removable to meet health codes. Joe hooked in a flashlight to see better, thanks. I re drilled the counter frame bigger, hammered the bolt to bend it just so and fit it. Dang, the bolt is too short, backed it out a half inch, hammer bent it to fit, good. The next bolt under the stove was easier as I could keep the vise grips attached and go roundy round. Joe and I nudged and pushed until it fit with both wing nuts attached.

Meanwhile Raven painted the cabinet doors black on the inside trim, it looks good. We pulled out the D side bench so she could stain it.

Joe had to go home, good time. We picked up a nice bottle at Salvation Army yesterday.

Raven asked about the cabinet door stain as the one door is bare of stain. I got to thinking, ground a scrap cabinet piece on the sander, walked up the road to the black walnut tree, found a couple dry black husked nuts on the ground and brought them home. I put them in the small stainless frying pan with water and cooked them up. A deep dark color I had read about for making ink, wow. I applied some to the scrap piece, a bit light, but the color matches perfectly,a couple more coats for an exact match.

 I got a piece of rag and applied it to the cab door, beautiful after a few coats. Raven added a few more, then varnishes it over when it was dry, a perfect match, and organic locally grown, very cool.

Raven attached the sun moon disks to the center arches fore and aft as I prepared for my Christmas venture starting tomorrow. We packed up with a sip of Raven’s elecampane extract and headed for the theater to see the new second Hobbit movie, good flick, a cliff hanger of course.

12/7/2013

Yesterday I made a batch of stuffed jumbo shell noodles for today, O spinach, faux cream cheese Boursin (garlic, thyme, green onion, parsley, heavy on Parmesan), grass fed ground beef and grilled onions, mozzarella rounds (the ones in whey), all smothered in a jar of home made thick tomato sauce with more beef, onions, garlic, garden herbs. Topped with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake 400 for 20 minutes. Oh my, this stuff is fabulous.

Raven came down the hill carefully today, fortunately the windy mountain road has been treated for ice. We met at Bucky’s for coffee, took my car to the big town of Santa Rosa, Joanne Fabrics to price fabric for the gypsy wagon cushions, Raven likes the satin but prefers the purple velvet at twice the price. I picked up a bit of fabric for Santa. A quick stop at TJ’s and back to Raven’s rig. We stopped at the hardware store for silver paint, then home.

I popped the two bread pans in the oven, it’s cold outside, a good day to work inside. After lunch Raven pulled the last 3 small cabinet doors and brought them in, news papered the floor and painted the inner faces black in prep for flower stencils, then painted another sun/moon for the front center arch plus silver for aft too.

Meanwhile, I grabbed the 11×17 Apple print to cut out as a stencil. Cardboard is not a good backing as the knife slips in. I got the wooden cutting board, so much better. Raven needs to paint the edge of the sun/moon wheels gold, I bent a wire as an axle she could step on, that works. More black paint. A good day, not so much done but more in preparation.