Hay Bales and Waffles!

Went with DH this morning to finish up a project for a friend who served us the most delightful waffles I have ever had!  He gave me the recipe which I will put here at the bottom.  We live next to a small field and heard a tractor out there this afternoon. When I looked out, there was an older John Deere pulling a small round baler.  I had never seen this process close up before so I got out my camera and went outside to film him.  He even came over close so I could get a good shot!  Hope you enjoy this:

We had more fun making goofy photos of us with the hay bales later for the grandchildren.   

So about that waffle recipe!  He makes the batter the night before and used a double waffle iron---now I really need to get me a waffle iron! LOL!

Doc's Waffles

1 Pkg.(2 1/4 t) active dry yeast

1/2 C warm water (115)

2 C warm milk (115)

1/4 C melted butter

1 T sugar

1 t salt

2 C all purpose flour

_________________________

2 Large eggs

1/4 t baking soda

Prepare yeast so it's really going; add other ingredients except eggs and baking soda.  Beat until smooth, cover with plastic wrap, let stand overnight after risen some, then refrigerate.
When ready to cook, beat eggs and baking soda, add to mix...batter will be very thin, keeps several days in refrigerator.  Most waffle irons use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter per waffle.

Going to try this next weekend...I will let you know how they come out. Have a nice evening!

Bananas and Fairies...

Well, I found out that I am just as bad as the minions when it comes to getting excited about bananas.The owner of the concession stand wanted me to order bananas to keep up with the growing demand.  The crates arrived on Thursday and I was showing them to my husband.  I was looking down at them and smiling, not paying attention to where I was going and bashed my foot right into the door trim.  And if that wasn't good enough, twisted my back again too!  So these bananas have come at a very dear price indeed!  I delivered them to the concession stand and was hoping for at least a little pity, but all the minions saw was "Bananas!"  I put them down quickly before I got trampled by the crowd!

Last night, I happened to leave my laptop in the shop unattended.  I heard some light footsteps and thought I heard my blender running a few times but drifted off to sleep.  This is what I found this morning:

Not only was there an intensive search online for banana recipes, but they stumbled across one for banana daiquiris!  By the look of things, the party was a hit because everyone was passed out on the floor including the skellies!  The skellies never were very good at holding their liquor.....So after taking care of things in the shop, I went out to the kitchen and there's Sherlock rubbing elbows with the kitchen fairies.  

I think he's been sharing the banana daiquiris with them and he was sitting back puffing on his hookah looking very pleased with himself. I think they're all taking advantage of my injury! LOL! I'm not as fast on my feet this week so they know they have time to get away with things.  So I am keeping my hubby company while he works on a project so you all have a great day!

P.S.  As we were driving this morning, this is what we saw:

 Wow! It's been a long time since I've seen gasoline under $2.00!

Steampunk Minion!

Had one of those sleepless nights last night so found myself looking through images of steampunk goggles to make for "Tex".  He insists that he still prefers to be addressed as such even if he can't ride a horse.  Since he really didn't have a name, I thought, sure, why not.  I was looking through my smallest watch parts to see if some goggles would jump out at me when I happened to notice the minions all intently watching me.  I looked at them and said, "What?"  "We all have goggles......and Vincent over there would like to be your first volunteer...."  LOL! Why had I not seen it before! So Vincent got a steampunk makeover!  Before I could finish, he borrowed Doc's hat and started posing for the other minions.

 When he was finished with that I added a few more pieces and he was so excited he could barely sit still! LOL! 

I think someone is hoping for a spot on the Steampunk Summerhouse when it rolls off to new adventures....but that's okay, Rose has a soft spot for these guys and I'm sure it will be no trouble to find a little place somewhere in the house for him.  Have some ironing and cleanup to do so you have a great day!

Mermaid Tails and Clutter!

It has been lots of fun crocheting the mermaid tail.  We watched a movie last night and I managed to weave in all the loose ends! Yay! I have a box, I have a gift bag, this will be on its way this afternoon.  Here's what it looks like all finished:  

Time to put the crochet hook down for awhile and give the old fingers a rest.  The last time I was in the shop, it didn't look too bad.  When I peeked in this morning....holy clutter Batman!  It looks like everyone has been having fun in there except me!  

So I spent some time cleaning up a little so I could at least move around a bit in there.  The Captain greeted me with a hearty welcome and Rose hugged me tight.  I think they want me to start back up on the Summerhouse, don't you?  I tossed around the idea of putting brick paper on the inside of the exterior walls on the second floor. But after looking at it for awhile, decided to go with my original idea.  I think I'm going to have to wallpaper that small section of roof where the chandelier will be hanging as I don't think I can get in there once it's all in place. Will have to do some thinking about that one.  

Well, it's off to the post office I go with the mermaid tail!  Have a great day!

Tying up Loose Ends...

It's a beautiful morning in Tennessee!  Last night was a little lively as they were harvesting corn down at the end of the street until 11:30 last night.  Truckloads of corn rumbled by about every 5 or 6 minutes.  But aren't we fortunate to live in a country where food is in such abundance.  

The tail for the mermaid afghan is done!  The video I saved here came in handy as I had to refer to it often in order to finish this.  

My little grandaughter might even get this in time for her birthday!  I only have one thing left to do......weave in alllll the loose ends.  All 125 of them....

so I guess I will be busy for another day or so.  But it is nice and thick and warm and I hope she enjoys it alot.  How much you want to bet her sister's going to want one too...:)

On another note, "Tex" (remember him?) ambled up to the breakfast table this morning and wanted to know where his six shooters were.  I told him they were tied up in paperwork....then he wanted to know when I was going to buy him a "decent piece of horse flesh"....his words, not mine.  I tried to break it to him as gently as possible, but he is not shaped quite right for riding.  He can't straddle a horse.  I told him I could get him a nice side saddle but steam started coming out of his ears and he threw down his hat with a "Dag nap it!" and stomped off to the shop.  I think the cowboy phase is over.  I think he would like a nice set of goggles and a steampunk vehicle....I'll have to see what I can work out.  But not today, I have to tie up a few loose ends! LOL!  Have a great day all!

This is going Swimmingly!

Yes, I did indeed have to watch the video to finish the body of the afghan and yes there was a typo in the instructions!  In round 51, it says to SC at the beginning of row 66...?? The instructions were just duplicated from the other sizes so everything was cool.  I watched the video for the last 10 rounds. I had to keep stopping it as she crochets faster than me.  So here is where we are at right now...

Kind of looks like a giant baby cocoon at this point, but will look much different when we attach the tail.  I started the tail yesterday, but it was kind of getting smaller where it wasn't supposed to so I tore it all out and started again.That explains why there is so much yarn wrapped around the skein....

So will have to go back to watching the video to see what I did wrong.  So glad she made the video! I have to get this done soon as the minions are getting impatient about their banana stand and The Captain has been huffing his pipe and saying if Rose takes him on one more picnic to calm him down he's going to chuck her in the river! Fortunately, the river is very shallow, but I'm sure Rose would have plenty to say about that! LOL!  Have a great day!

Progress and Freebies!

Yesterday was a busy one!  I took our truck over to Leonard's to have our cap put on and took the mermaid tail with me to work on.  I hit the 50 row point and started the joining round.  I'm not sure if there is a typo in the instructions so will have to go to the video to make sure I'm doing this part right.  If you have been following along and want to make your own mermaid tail, here is the video:

As you recall, I started with 111 stitches instead of the suggested 153.  This is more child sized which is my intention.  So looks like I only have about 10 rows left and I can start the tail.  While I was waiting for the truck cap, a young couple came in and when she found out what I was making she squealed with delight!  "She is so going to love that!" she said.  So it was nice to get more encouragement as I work on these last few rows.  

On another note, I don't think I've mentioned it here before, but I am a member of Team Natural (my daughter's team) and we are part of the Young Living Essential Oils company.  She's on Facebook under Sarah Adamo https://www.facebook.com/sarah.adamo.50?fref=tl_fr_box&pnref=lhc.friends.unseen  
and can answer questions for you. The oils are a nice alternative for lots of things and they also have personal care items and safe to use cleaners that work. This is a pic of the freebies I just received:  

I really like the toothpaste, does a great job on that old tartar build-up! So give them a look see and see what you think!  Time to clean up the kitchen and get on with the day, Dear Hubby is out mowing the grass this time as my back is still giving me twinges....time to break out some Panaway essential oil! Have a great day!

McMinions?!

My curiosity got the better of me so I put down the mermaid tail and had to have a look in the shop.  There was a lot of excitement going on and as I pushed my way through the crowd of minions, I saw it at last...The Concession Stand!  

They had indeed raided my scrap box and though it was a little rough, there's definitely talent there. LOL!  However, there was an uncanny resemblance between it and another well known fast food place and I expressed my concern.  Stuart said he had already had discussions with their lawyers and all he has to do is change his arches to bananas and stay away from burgers and fries....So he asked me about doing the painting for the "banana arches" and I told him I would write up a quote.  I was also drafted to get more supplies at Walmart as he was running low and the rest of the minions were getting a bit agitated.  Bananas were #1 on the list.

He was definitely afraid of the Viking one with the hammer....I prefer having them all eat fruit instead of popcorn and peanuts but I do have a concern about all the banana skins.  Looks like I'll have to make sure there's a barrel handy. So since I woke up to no water this morning, looks like I won't be going anywhere anytime soon.  The town is working on the pipes down the street and I was stressing about what to make my coffee out of until I remembered that I keep bottles of water in the fridge.  Yay! Coffee!  Think I will drag out the vacuum and then work on the mermaid tail until the water comes back on.  Have a great day!

Just Keep Swimming....

Forty rows and counting!  We will get this mermaid tail done yet! LOL!   
Was going to go to Walmart today but I hurt my back and it's raining too, so tomorrow looks like a better day.  It has been so humid here this year, my husband and I are definitely looking forward to fall.  I saw some of the first mums at the store last week and the kids started school over two weeks ago so it feels like fall is on its way even though the calendar says August.  The weather doesn't feel like it though! Well, have to go back to the mermaid tail....my little grandaughter is going to love this thing! LOL!  Have a great afternoon!

Mermaid Tails and Concessions...

Lost a little momentum on the mermaid tail over the weekend so had to make up for it today.  Put in six hours and am now up to 32 rows!  

I still don't look much like a mermaid when I have it on my lap, but it's a little bigger than it was the other day. I have about 35 rows to go and then I can start on the tail part.  

Meanwhile, while I am crocheting in the living room, I hear hammering and sawing in the shop.  I think one of the minions has even figured out how to operate my little power chop saw!  It must be a group effort...one jumping on the on buttom and two or three hopping up and down on the top of the saw to get the blade to come down.  These guys are fearless! I hope they haven't been using up all my nice strip wood.....though I did hear the scrap box fall from the shelf awhile back and alot of skittering around which usually means the skellies are in on it too. I guess the concession stand is going to happen whether I like it or not! Well, don't have time to check on them right now, there's a mermaid tail that has to get done! Enjoy your evening everyone!

Yarn Wrangling and Anniversaries...

Hope you are all well today!   Today was my husband and my 40th wedding anniversary!  We had a wonderful day eating out and going to the movies.  Went to our favorite Italian restaurant, The Gondolier.  Then saw the new Mission Impossible movie, loved it!

Now am back home and working on a temporary new project.  One of my delightful grandaughters wants a mermaid tail and what Grandma in her right mind could turn down a request like that?!  My dear daughter-in-law saw a pattern online and I searched a little more for a pattern that included directions for a child-sized tail.  The pattern was on YARNutopia By Nadia Fuad.

I just might have to make myself one of these too when I'm done! LOL!  I thought this would be perfect in shades of soft green sparkly yarn, but the Walmart yarn department had other ideas...so this is what I came up with for a combination of colors:






The strip that you see finished is 8 rows that took about three hours. So I will be keeping you updated on my progress....her birthday is the end of the month! Yikes! I guess I'd better get back to my crocheting!  Have a great evening all!

P.S.  Don't worry, we will be back to the Summerhouse in no time...The Captain won't let me stay away for too long!

Minions and Metalizing...

S asked about how I metalize things.  I thought at first I had made up a new word, but no it's in the dictionary.....I checked.  So I took pictures of the process to show you.  I started with FolkArt Gunmetal Gray Metallic paint.  I really like the FolkArt metallics, they seem to be one of the only paints that actually are metallic. I use an older brush that has gone fluffy on me so can no longer be used for any kind of sharp edges paint-wise.

 I also use index cards as small palettes for paint.  Someday, I'll have to come up with something different but since I bought these for one of my kids as a back to school supply and he is now 33, I have given them a different use. LOL! As it turned out, got a little overzealous with the paint....you won't need that much.  I ended up putting half of that back in the bottle when I was finished.

The next step will be to dip your brush in and get paint on the ends of all the bristles.

After you do that, you proceed to take most of the paint off the bristles by rubbing them on the rest of the index card.  You want barely enough paint on your brush or you will get streaks on the item you are trying to metalize.

I've also found that it's better to do a batch of metalizing at a time as it seems to come out a little different each time.

When your brush has just a trace of paint on it, lightly stroke the bristles across your project in either straight or circular motions.

You can keep adding more if you like, but keep in mind you will have to paint your item and start over again if you want less.  Since the Steampunk Summerhouse has alot of black on it, that is what I metalized.  I haven't tried this with other colors or other metallics; that would be worth experimenting with.  So here are a few pictures of befores and afters, I think the metalizing gives more dimension and interest to the trim pieces.

Of course the Minions had to have a good view of things for the whole process. Heeey, wait a second! There's alot more of them than there were the other day!  They have snacks too!  This can only mean trouble...hope it's not like Tribble trouble!!  Have a great day all!

Bleachers and Visiting...

The minions just love standing around on my bench watching me work.  However, they are often ducking random paintbrushes and sharp objects.  Dave considers himself the leader even if he doesn't get to wear the Viking hat.  He approached me with a plan.  His idea was to create a set of bleachers that could be set up out of the way of danger where they could still watch me work.  After I thought about it, I realized I already had something that would work.  I dug around in my stash and found a set of shelves I had built for the Brimble's Mercantile before it decided to become a tea shop.  After setting them up on my bench, the Minions tried them out for size.

Not only were they tickled pink, but they started talking about having a concession stand too! LOL!  That's all I need on my bench, little bits of popcorn and spilled soda....They also can be a little irritating at times, like when they cheer every time I mess up....and sometimes having all those eyeballs on you when you are trying to concentrate on something can be a bit disconcerting!  I went to visit my mom yesterday and knowing that I had to leave all these guys alone all day gave me pause.  I had visions of minions hawking balloons and fried turkey legs!

As I was getting ready to leave for my visit, Rose expressed her desire to go with me for a "girl day".  I'm not sure how much of a girl day it will be, the trip is to return my mom's power washer that we borrowed. But, what the heck, it would make the drive less lonely.  Just as I was about to go out the door, the Captain hollered that he would like to come too so we made a jolly group for sure!  While I visited with my mom, the Captain and Rose visited the people in my mom's dollhouse and Rose had a bemused expression on her face as she talked to the Lovely Marilyn.  Marilyn's married now to a local banker and is very happy so there were no ruffled feathers during the visit...thank goodness!

The ride home was uneventful and I was curious what would be waiting for me when we got home. Everything seemed normal although there was a slight scent of cotton candy in the shop.  Well, at least they cleaned up after themselves.  The skellies weren't saying a word so I can imagine the partying that went on!  So, did I actually get anything miniature done?! Yes!   More painting on the inside of the roof pieces and and a final coat on the roof ridge trim.

I found a couple of brackets that I think will add a little more dimension to the cardboard trim pieces so painted those up too. Have no idea where they came from, just a couple of random bits in my wood box that I thought might work.  Will metalize the black pieces today and put yet another coat on the underside of the roof pieces. We are inching closer to the electrical so I am steeling myself for that. I'm sure it will be easier than I think, but will share the process with you.  Have a great day all!

Laundry Day and......Texans?

 Laundry day sure seems to come around too quick....but if we all quit washing clothes, the world would be a little difficult for those of a delicate persuation...LOL!  My husband and I went to Ben Franklin the other day and I found some small cowboy hats.  Of course one had to come home with me and I tried it on our lovable Doc:

He appreciated the thought but said it wasn't quite his style.  No one wanted to lay claim to it although the minions did give it a try....

They didn't like how it kept flying off when they were going around on their dirt bike.  So I thought the little hat would have to just sit on the shelf for now.  However, I was having my breakfast listening to my machines chug through the laundry minding my own business when I heard....."Hey podner, I'm callin' you out!" Say what?  I turned and the steampunk robot moseyed into the kitchen with the hat!

I smiled to myself and thought, "He really needs to work on his cowboy stance!"  I know Rose had to be in on this too as he is a clockwork and he needed someone to wind him up.   He's insisting I call him "Tex" and wants me to pick up some six shooters next time I'm out....seriously?  He ambled back to the shop and hollered over his shoulder that a horse would be nice too if I was so inclined.  You just never know around here! LOL!  I can just see having horses in the shop...I say horses plural because you know the skellies are going to want them too and I can just imagine the chaos when the dirt bike with the minions starts zipping around the shop with skellies and "Tex" riding after them at full speed trying to lasso them!  Maybe this too shall pass...I can hope can't I? LOL!

I did get a couple of small projects done over the weekend.  I was looking at my Glencroft dollhouse and noticed the little hanging pot of pansies that a friend gave me years ago.  Rose is always trying to put little feminine touches in with all the steampunk, so I knew she would like it.  Trying to get an eye hook in the plywood ceiling of the porch was no simple task, but it was accomplished.  I'm glad I waited to put the trim on the edge of the porch roof as that would have made the job even more interesting! LOL!  Once the pot was in place, I put up the trim and held it in place with my clothespin clamps and stepped back to have a look.

Rose heard me banging around on the porch and came out to see if I needed her to hold the ladder for me.  She was really tickled with the flowers and I got a hug of thanks.  

I can't believe that I am so close to doing the electrical!  I am excited but hesitant as I have never electrified a dollhouse before.....or a summerhouse either...<);^) Enjoy the summer days as we start heading into fall. Have a great day all!

Tilt-a-Whirl of Death!

Since I've mentioned the skellies several times here, I thought it would be fun to add their video.  Still can't figure out how to make the video gadget work, so I will add it here in a post for your viewing pleasure! LOL!

A couple of my next projects involve them and I am looking forward to sharing them with you.  Don't worry, we won't forget the minions and The Captain and Rose and the Steampunk family too!  Have a great day all!

Copper Roofs and Verdgris!

Now that I have moved everything from one blog to another, I can start on day to day things.  I was slowly working on the Summerhouse so I wouldn't have alot to catch up on here.  Here are the pieces of the main roof with the multiple coats of the Bronze:

 You can still see alot of the wood grain, but I'm hoping that the verdigris treatment will hide that.  It does look pretty on the roof this way though! LOL! 

 But enough fooling around and back to business.  Dug out my sea sponge and dampened it and started the verdigris.  After the first couple of layers, it was beginning to look the way I wanted. In the process, I noticed that it was impossible to get the sponge to paint close enough to the edges of the seams on the roof. 

After thinking about this for a bit, I grabbed one of my small paintbrushes and proceeded to paint close to the seams and then blend the paint with my finger and a paper towel.  So far, so good! 

The next to last step involved using the Craftsmart Ocean Breeze which always makes me a little nervous because it's a bright turquoise color.  I was really getting into the blending with the fingertips thing so things got kinda messy!

After the final step of a wash of thinned down white paint daubed off with a paper towel, this was the final result: 

I would so like to glue this in place, but have to paint the underside first.  However, I couldn't resist trying all the pieces in place. 

After taking them all back off again, I painted the first coat of ceiling color on the inside.

This thin plywood sure inhales the paint for sure!  But this coat is mostly for primer anyway...was standing here thinking about that and I do have to paint the bathroom ceiling so will have to make sure that's done before I glue because it will be next to impossible to reach everything without making a mess in general.  Speaking of making a mess in general, I got help for some of the last bits!

I appreciated the break, as I was getting tired of all the painting.  It was my turn to be the supervisor! LOL!  Have a great day all!

Metal Roofing......

By Debra from Olde Cape Cod, 31 July

I was excited to try out the roof pieces on the Summerhouse,so propped them in place to have a look. While looking at the roof as a whole, I realized that there is no way to hide all the tab slots and have the "seams" line up. I was puzzling about this when I decided to check out images online. So, on most of the roofs the seams lined up, but then there were some that didn't so I guess I am okay. I'm not sure how much the seams will show anyway after I do the verdigris work. Have to go finish some grass mowing, then I will be back. 

Was dragging my tail feathers after mowing the lawn! LOL! Almost a 1/2 acre with a push mower! Whew! After looking at the pictures of roofs online, I noticed that on some of them the seams lined up with the middle of the spaces on adjoining pieces of roof. My layout has pretty much worked out that way too, so I am happy with it. I started by painting the main sections of the roof with the Bronze.  After a light sanding, I temporarily put them on the house to start laying out the seams.  Here is the front roof piece with the seams almost complete. It's been a little tricky covering the tab slots and lining up the seams, but I figure life is full of imperfection, right? LOL!This still needs a piece here and there and then the painting can start! Have a great evening all!