Making butter

 

Sandi and I had cream that wasn't doing anything so we decided to try our hand at butter.

 

Isn't she cute!

 

A handmixer really doesn't work all that well - it splatters cream all over and it takes a long time.  we couldn't imagine doing it the old-fashioned way with a butter churn.

 

A Kitchen Aid is much better.

 

It worked!

 

 

We put our homemade butter next to store-bought butter and were impressed with the similarities.  The only difference we could tell was ours was a little harder to spread.  Next time, we'll add salt and see if that helps it spread easier.

Early spring

Spring is here and its time to plant the garden.  Last year, we had 3 small planter boxes along the side of the house.  This year, we decided to combine the 3 into 1 large box and create two more (the cedar is still drying in the garage; stay tuned). 

 

At the Beaverton Farmer's Market, we got sage, thyme, dill, and cilantro and planted them with the rosemary, oregano and chives.  We need a few more herbs to complete the set, but its a good start.

 

 

Mom and Dad, the rasberrys and rubarb look promising.  They may not be as full as last year, but certainly promising. 

 

The blueberries are looking good too!

 

 

We love how our backyard is turning out.  If you are in the neighborhood, we'll have to have a bonfire.

The woes and trials of a utility sink

 

Sandi mentioned to me one day that she would love a utility sink in the garage.  I think it had less to do with her desire for a sink in the garage and more to do with her desire for me (and my paint brushes) to clean up before I came into the house.  I completely agreed with her but warned that if we were really serious, it might take a plumber. 

 

I was poking around in the garage and came across a plug in the wall.  Curious, I removed it and discovered it was the part of the draining system used by the washing machine.  If I tapped into the hot and cold water at the washing machine, we'd be in business. 

 

 

drain and faucets already in place

If the plumbing is already in place and the location between the water heater and washing machine pre-determined, then all I need is a sink.  Restore, the Goodwill of home improvement came into play with a $10 used sink and $2 used hoses. 

With plenty of scrap wood at my disposal the cabinet was fairly easy to assemble and made for an interesting Saturday afternoon. 

 

Though we tried, we couldn't find a suitable faucet at Restore, so we splurged at Fred Myer and bought a new set - nothing but the finest for our garage.  It even had a sprayer attached.  The coolest part of it was when I was looking through my cabinets and found an un-opened soap dispenser designed for integration with the counter.  Again, nothing but the finest for our garage. 

 

The bummer about working on plumbing projects is the unfortunate reality of plumbing.  What I hoped would be a couple hour project attaching the water hoses to sink and then instaling the drain turned into a weekend fiasco. "How cheap can I make this project" turned into "how much do I have to spend in order to not call a plumber."  Everything that could go wrong did: I snapped brass fitting in half trying to stop a leak; I bought all the incorrect size pipes and joints, I took at least 4 trips to Home Depot and I had a splitting headache by the end of the day.   

 

Determined not to be beat, I took another trip to Home Depot on Sunday afternoon hoping to solve it.  Within a couple hours, everything seemed to fall into place. I was actually home free with water entering the facuet and leaving the sink with no leaks. 

 

We are both pleased with the end result - it does everything we want it to do including storing our laundry soap.

 

I have every intention of never doing another plumbing project in my life.