Handy Home Projects

living room and kitchen

2009-09-05T15:18:00.002+10:00

here are some pics for the living room - lovely and lived in now.

study before and after

2009-09-05T15:13:00.003+10:00

The study seems like it is the last thing to get finished (although there are actually heaps more things to finish - but we aren't looking too closely just yet).

more recent house pics

2009-09-05T14:07:00.003+10:00

We have moved in and are totally enjoying the new space

Love the new kitchen - the kids have their own bedrooms, we have two living rooms and a study/spare room. Total luxury. The best thing is the pantry and walk in closet though - oh and I love having my own bathroom ...

here are some pics

my front garden

2008-10-08T22:20:00.000+11:00

Publish Post

At least my front garden has not been ripped into non-existence. In fact it is looking quite lovely - if a little wintry, at the moment.

new walls, floor, shelves

2008-10-07T22:10:00.000+11:00

t
look at that beautiful sun shining into the the new bit. that is polished concrete on the floors and the new laundry - still not connected up. You may be wondering how we are managing without a laundry - well the washing machine is connected to the back garden tap and is sitting out under the back eaves - its actually not too bad. We also have built in shelves in the new lounge room.

internal new bit

2008-10-06T22:03:00.000+11:00

the plaster board is done in the new section - and there is the beautiful new roof - need to get some better shots of that. Sometimes the phone camera is not the best options.

window move

2008-10-05T21:57:00.001+11:00

this gorgeous window - Rob and I had it made and installed it 8 years ago and now we have moved it - we replaced it with double glazing and put it as an internal window in the guest room.

simultaneous holes in roof and floor

2008-10-04T21:52:00.000+10:00

actually the floor was patched up before the roof was removed - and the roof was only off for 1 day, the roof guys in fact were amazingly fast. And the new roof looks fantastic. But while it was off we could look up through the manhole and see blue sky - lucky it was not grey clouds.

more demolition

2008-10-03T21:46:00.000+10:00

more deconstruction. There are the kids, unfazed by holes in the floor. And our horrible old laundry is being removed - yay - rejoice. There is our dining table covered by a drop cloth while the builders construct in and around our furniture.

the boy finally lost his first tooth

2008-10-02T22:18:00.000+10:00

demolition before re-construction

2008-10-02T21:38:00.002+10:00

This is our current state - where the old bit of the house is being torn asunder - we were supposed to be in the new bit by this stage - but it hasn't happened that way. As you can see the ceiling has holes in it and the insulation is falling out - there is a huge great big sheets of plaster board taking up rather a large amount of space in our living room. In one of the pics you can see the new section like a beacon of shining light at the other end.

deconstruction

2008-09-05T17:45:00.000+10:00

to create you must first destroy

some internal framework images

2008-09-03T17:42:00.000+10:00

solid structure

2008-09-01T17:39:00.000+10:00

such a solid structure .. and the windows going in

2008-08-30T17:36:00.000+10:00

Am loving the light and all the windows...

this is rob doing some diy electricals

bricks and exterior on the renovation

2008-08-29T17:33:00.002+10:00

we are having part brick and then bagged and painted and part corrugated iron (colourbond).

just loving these sorts of details

2008-08-26T17:47:00.000+10:00

internal sheeting for the renovation

2008-08-25T17:29:00.002+10:00

progressing

frame work for the renovation

2008-08-25T17:25:00.001+10:00

progress on the house

solar hot water powered cooling

2008-05-16T10:36:00.000+10:00

We are thinking of ways to use the excess hot water that will be generated by the solar hot water system in summer. We are not planning on installing solar voltaic panels on the roof - although a good idea in theory - they take a lot of energy to actually produce and end up being a negative in terms of green house gases produced. However we will have all that extra energy stored in the hot water in summer. In winter we will be using it to heat our slab floor - but in summer it will just be standing by.

Rob is planning on using a rankine cycle system to make use of the power stored in the hot water to power air conditioning. see turboden. see organic rankine cycle.

I am still trying to understand it myself - but basically it is similar to the cycle of a conventional steam turbine and converts heat into work. The heat is supplied externally to a closed loop, which usually uses water as the working fluid. In the organic ranking cycle the fluid used is an organic fluid such as butane in place of water and steam. This allows use of lower-temperature heat sources such as solar.

eco house

2008-05-14T13:15:00.000+10:00

Our extension will be far from being an eco-house or zero energy house - or self sustainable house. We are hampered by using what we have - the orientation of the current house, the block and the trees on the property. Not to mention our budget. We have had to make some compromises. In a perfect world we would have a green roof and use recycled or renewable materials only and would have solar energy panels for power as well as water, we might even choose to live off the grid and be totally self sufficient for our power and water. What we will have is a grey water recycle system and rain water tanks, solar hot water and solar heating and passive cooling.

links to check out:
zero energy prefab house at inhabitat
the eco house in brazil at inhabitat
living off the grid at treehugger

solar passive

2008-05-13T12:56:00.001+10:00

We have put a bit of thought into this extension. It has taken us 2 years from first discussions with an architect to actually starting to build. Some of our main considerations were that we really wanted a solar passive house and we wanted to utilise solar energy. We are limited by our block and by the large trees that cast a huge shadow on our house. In Summer this tree is invaluable for helping to cool the house, however it does shade our roof - so careful consideration of the placement of our solar panels was need. We had to observe the roof at various times of the day and during the different seasons to optimise the energy we could gain.

Another main aspect in the planning was the direction the windows would face. We wanted to maximise the light and sun in winter while minimising it in summer - enable the house to be able to cool itself or warm itself at appropriate times. This involves use of a deciduous vine on our open deck, planting of new trees for a cooling effect in summer, and of air vents to allow good air circulation in the house.

The floor in the new section is going to be polished concrete and we have lain piping underneath to allow for solar hot water heating of the slab in winter. This means the slab will not exactly be toasty warm, but it will take the chill off. We will be extending the solar heating into the old section of the house with the use of solar hot water radiators in the kids bedrooms and the hallway. This will be just a warm radiant heat and will never get too hot. This coupled with the fact we are replacing all the windows in the house with double glazing, are insulating the walls and floor and ceiling really well and will have lovely big windows letting in the winter sun - we are hoping not to have to use any electric or gas energy to heat the house in winter - or in fact - cool it in summer.

What is passive solar:

Passive solar heating is using sunlight for energy without active mechanical systems. Converting sunlight into usable heat and using air movement for circulation - all without the assistance of other energy sources. Passive solar systems have little to no operating costs, often have low maintenance costs, and emit no green house gases. They do, however, need to be optimized to yield the best performance and economics. read more here

Passive cooling: Refers to technologies or design features used to cool buildings naturally, attempts to integrate the principals of physics into the building - to slow the heat transfer into the building and to remove unwanted heat from the building. Using shading, correct orientation to take advantage of sun and shade, cross ventilation, etc - read more here

house plans

2008-05-12T12:47:00.000+10:00

Here are the plans for our proposed extension. Well the building has already started - so it is not really proposed any more - it is in fact being actioned - Yay!

renovations cont...

2008-05-11T12:27:00.000+10:00

we are now up to getting the slab down. The builders worked this morning putting in the reinforcement for the slab. And that pink pipe you see is in-slab heating which uses solar power to heat.

We are recycling the old bricks which have been removed from the back part of the house. These will have a new life as paving in a future courtyard.

home renovations

2008-05-10T12:00:00.003+10:00

We are finally, after a couple of years thinking and planning, actually extending our tiny house.

Here are some pics from a couple of weeks ago. The giant trench - right in the middle of our veggie garden - is the sewerage pipe going in.

painting floor

2006-02-20T09:30:00.000+11:00

Pine floor boards painted with paving paint. A quick drying hardy oil based paint especially for floors. Comes in a limited range of colours, the colour we chose was a 1/4 strength colour, so much lighter than the one on the colour chart. We Originally had a darker blue/grey colour which was just too dark, it make the house dark and the floor looked dirty all the time.

This is the floor after a couple of years of wear. This is the high traffic areas, we decided it need a freshen up. So in the main living areas of the house we moved furniture. And concentrating on the high traffic/high wear areas such as near the kitchen sink, near doors, and where the furniture gets moved around a lot.

We gave the floor a quick sand with a hand sander, to help the new paint to stick, to remove rough bits, and things like sticky tape and just even it up a bit. Then we cleaned it with sugar soap, a tough grease removing detergent.

Then we just rolled on the new paint.

It is walk on dry in about an hour, but still too soft to move furniture around. We gave the high traffic areas a second coat the next day.

making piragi part 2

2006-01-08T19:50:00.000+11:00

for recipe and instructions on making dough and filling please see part 1 of making piragi.

stretch dough out on a floured board

take a corner and stretch it a little more

put a small teaspoon of the filling into the corner

stretch dough over the filling and press down

cut with a glass

take 2 - stretch dough over the filling

press down

cut with a glass

take three, stretch a little more dough out - roll over the filling

cut with a glass - or small cutter

stretch over

cut

brush with the reserved eggwhite beaten with a little water

bake for 12 mins on medium heat until golden

yummy

piragi part 1

2006-01-06T15:22:00.000+11:00

Piragi - a latvian roll filled with bacon and onion.

making latvian piragi

slice bacon or speck finely

cardamon pods are ready

grind cardamon add to the bacon to cook

add ground black pepper

slice onion finely and add it to the bacon to cook

to make dough use old family recipe

yeast and sugar and placed in a dish

milk is added

mix and leave to rise in warm water

add some flour - mix some more

add salt - leave to rise

separate eggs - leave an eggwhite to use as a glaze

add sugar to eggs

add cream or milk to eggs and mix

add egg mixture to risen dough

beat for a while until stretchy and shiny

add the remaining flour and lemon rind

leave to rise for 1 hour

tip dough out and it is ready to make

recipe:

dough
version 1:
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 teaspoon yeast
1 kg plain flour
grated lemon rind

dough version 2:
1 litre water
1 cup cream
oil and eggyolks (4 tablespoons and 2 yolks)
other ingredients are the same

filling
ground cardamon
760g speck (or 3kg bacon)
2 big onions
pepper and salt

to make filling:

grind cardamon pods
finely chop speck and onions
fry and add pepper and salt and cardamon
leave to cool

to make dough:
warm milk or water and cream
add to yeast and sugar and mix
leave to rise for 10 mins until bubbling
add half of the flour and mix - leave to rise for 1 hour
mix egg and oil or butter and add to risen dough
add lemon rind
add the remainder flour and mix and beat for 15 mins until stretchy
leave to rise for 1 hour
the dough is ready

links to alternative latvian piragi
latvian piragi
folklore of latvian piragi
preparation of piragi
latvian cooking
latvians online

all for a loaf of bread

2005-09-30T14:33:00.000+10:00

1. after spending 3 solid weekends making mud oven - get up at 6am to light fire.
2. keep fire stoked for 3 hours before letting it burn down to coals.

3. meanwhile make the bread - if you use a sour dough - refresh it the day before. Use a good bread recipe - try a spelt and organic white half and half or a %100 spelt sourdough.
4. kneed it and divide into loaves - let rest in banetons for at least 20 mins. - for a really thick crust you can make it the day before and rest it in the fridge over night.

5. after the oven is red hot - about 4 - 5 hours, scrape out the coals and clean the soot with a damp mop/cloth on a stick.

6. all for a loaf of bread. let rest for 10 mins before cutting. slather with butter. eat.

Some cool pics of our Pi oven

2005-08-29T10:18:00.000+10:00

final plaster layer for the mud oven - clay manure mix

2005-08-29T09:52:00.000+10:00

Instructions to make the manure clay layer. This final plaster layer acts as a water proofing layer, more insulation and a good place to sculpt or decorate your oven.

To quote Kiko Denzer "An earthen oven is like a living thing, it breathes. When baking, it exhales steam. Putting a non-breathable waterproof finish (like cement or paint) on an oven is like putting on a rubber suit to exercise - it traps moisture." ... " So ovens are best finished with water resistant plasters such as lime sand or clay manure mixes."

Here we used a clay manure mix.

Here Rob stands proudly next to his mud oven, with the pi symbol carved into the manure/clay plaster layer.

The very finest plasters are made from fresh horse or cow manure. Naturally fine fibrous material that is moist and natually adhesive.

Fine sand, manure and clay. Check your proportions (about a third of each) crush all the lumps with your boots and folding tarp method until it is a super fine mix.

Add water and continue mixing until it is soft and workable like plaster.

Here is our mud oven with the straw layer, you can see it has started to sprout because of all the rain.

Our little helper.

Rob is grabbing handfulls of the plaster and pressing it all around until the whole oven is evenly covered.

A rest before finishing the job.

Once the whole oven is evenly covered, it is time to sculpt or decorate the plaster layer. Rob opted for a very simple shape. But you can be as ornate as you like, adding texture, scratching in a design or just smoothing it to a natural organic shape.

Once Rob was satisfied with his sculpting he carved a design into the front - the pi symbol - (the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle is constant). Symbolising the merging of ancient and modern technology.

more mud ovens

2005-08-01T09:24:00.000+10:00

More mud ovens popping up all over the place. Please go and check them out. Lots of hard satisfying work has gone into making these.

Kitty cafe with final coat :: path to freedom - snail oven

our mud oven appeared on kitchen contraptions and tree hugger

some more mud oven inspiration pics - the mud/earth/cob/adobe oven comes in so many shapes and sizes, very simple to extremely sophisticated and everywhere inbetween.

solomax has this interesting mud oven pic :: tim and susan's mud oven journey and some great pics :: debtorby chile adventure - mud oven and ud oven meal mmm :: treasure hunter adventures - stay at this place with a great looking mud oven making a lot of pizzas :: adobe oven :: Bob's Palestinian earth oven chicken :: very basic mud oven :: neoanderthal - basic mud oven :: john tarletan - mud oven with a 55 gallon barrel :: baking bread in a mud oven :: outdoor brick oven building ::Barry Logan's lovely mud oven and baking and lots more pics here too :: willow frame cob oven :: cob oven at ecological solutions :: qurna mud oven - basic traditional designs :: organic farm mud oven :: lifelab mud oven :: ecoschools cob oven project :: sbpermaculture ornate mud oven :: dandelion farm mud oven :: emeral earth cob oven :: plantris cob oven :: balinsky building a cob oven :: cob workshop in Mexico :: cob oven at dacres and detailed instructions :: basic oven :: adobe bread recipe :: historical adobe oven photos :: adobe oven designs :: building my earth oven :: earthen baking oven at canel project :: the organic centre earth oven :: community of celebration earth oven :: flaming bunny earth oven :: mahan oven building ::

Mud oven Spelt Pizza

2005-07-02T18:31:00.000+10:00

Basic Recipe
Organic Spelt flour
Salt
Yeast

1/2 teaspoon of salt per cup of flour
4grams dried yeast per cup of flour - or a leaven starter
(for 2 pizzas we used 2 cups of flour)

Flour and yeast in the bowl, feeling a bit lazy so we used some regular dried yeast instead of starter, add as tsp of sugar and luke warm water to get the yeast going.

Mix to a smooth texture, add enough water to combine, soft without being sloppy.

After mixing dough, leave to sit for 10mins before kneeding, this makes kneading easier.

kneeding technique. using one hand and a bowl.
Basically pull out and stretch. Then flick and twist so it flicks back into a ball shape.
do this for 10-15 mins.

Then let it rest for 30 mins before adding and mixing in the salt. (important)
Add salt after resting, and kneed for another 10 mins. you will notice how the dough tightens and gets a sheen after adding salt.

note sheen in photo below.

Let rise for 2 hours in warm place (on top of file server in linen cupboard or in laundry while dryer is running)

When it has risen turn it out carefully, without squashing any air out of it, onto a floured surface.

Gently fold it into a ball, tucking sides into centre underneath, note stretching on top. leave to rest for a few mins to let it settle.

Once it has rested you can start the flip flop action, from hand to hand it will naturally stretch out into a flat circle shape. Letting it rest in the balls is the key to doing this flip flop action easily.

Put onto pans and add flavours (we like tomato paste, pepperoni, and cheese)

Place into mud oven (or regular oven) as hot as you can get your oven, or if you have a mud oven, after firing it for 3-4 hours and straight after removing coals.

Check base, it may need a couple of mins longer. This base is perfect.

Note about pizza pans: these pans are good quality, very sturdy pans that do not warp or flex. this is important to get good surface contact with the base, get the heat for a crisp base. Cheap pans will warp and prevent this from happening.

Enjoying the pizza, delirious with joy (Evan is enjoying a wheat free pizza - oh the happiness)

Adding a cob layer to the basic mud oven

2005-06-26T10:16:00.000+10:00

Our mud oven was just one layer of mud - known as the thermal layer, it is very dense - (sand, clay, water). It worked well, great pizza, bread and slow cooked cassaroles. We had planned from the beginning to add a cob layer but thought we would experiment with a single layer first and then decide. There are a couple of drawbacks to a single layer of mud. 1. It allows for only one batch of bread or pizza, as it cools off reasonably quickly. 2. It does get some cracks in it, although these are only cosmetic.

Adding a cob layer not allows it to bake for longer on a single firing allows some sculpural possibilities (which we have not done but Kiko Denzer's Maya oven is a masterpiece) and stops any problems with cracking.

Make the mud mix as before, but wetter (like peanut butter - not too mushy, it still needs to hold its shape). Tread it out into a big pancake and sprinkle a layer of straw over it.

Tread and turn it, using a tarp by pulling it over and treading it again, repeat until its well integrated. Add more straw and do it again.

It should start to roll up, when you can stand on the roll and only sink a couple fo inches, it's ready.

Nails poked into the moist dense first layer to give the next layer something to key into around the door so the cob layer does not just fall off.

Rough up the surface of the first layer to give the cob a good key to hold onto.

Cover the oven with this mix the same way you did with the first layer. Use a flat stick to refine the form similar to the way you did the sand form but not compacting, just smoothing and shaping, making sure the cob is an even thickness.

We used 'Build you own Earth Oven' by Kiko Denzer, published by Hand Print Press, as a reference for this project.

Technical notes here

Sunday curry with fresh bread in the mud oven

2005-06-14T15:51:00.000+10:00

On the weekend Rob wakes up at 6am to light the mud oven. Then around 8am he prepares the dough for the bread, which is left to rest and rise until the oven is ready - around 11am. In the meantime he prepares a spicy curry, sometimes using Maroccan flavours, often served with cous cous, is delicious with fresh bread or rice.

To serve 4 people.
To start off some freshly dried bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.

Fresh grated nutmeg.

Cardomon seeds.

Tamarind pulp - which comes in a block with seeds like this or already pureed in a jar. If you buy it in a block then you must reconstitute it with hot water and leave to soak for a few minutes before pushing the pulp through a strainer. This adds a lovely sour taste.

Add the meat, chunks of beef or Lamb.
Also add a good size spoon of Curry paste and mix to coat the meat. We use a good quality Tikka Masala paste which is basically made up of garlic, ginger, coriander, onion, lemon.

Then add a can of chickpeas.

Cloves.

Can of tomatoes.
Mix all together coating the meat thoroughly.
Add a chunk of butter.
Lid on and it is ready to go into the mud oven to cook for 4-5 hours.

Its all about the bread of course. Eat one while its hot and save the other for the curry.

Take out of the oven after 5 hours - perfect. If you want to do this in a conventional oven - then put it into a 200 degree C, and lower the heat to 170C after about an hour.

Any slow cooked spicy meat dish would be suitable to adjust to this recipe - A tagine for Example is a spicy Maroccan slow cooked meat dish - Usually with Lamb, often with chick peas and sometimes with fruits such as pears. Other slow cooked african spicy dishes or indian spiced curries are wonderful to experiment with.

Slow cooked Spicy Beef with Chick peas

To serve 4 people.
3-4 freshly dried bay leaves and a cinnamon stick.
1/2 a Fresh grated nutmeg.
1/2 tsp Cardomon seeds.
4-5 Cloves.
1/4 cup Tamarind pulp
Add the meat, chunks of beef or Lamb. 2- cups of cubed meat
Also add a good size spoon of Curry paste - Tikka Masala paste which is basically made up of garlic, ginger, coriander, onion, lemon.
Then add a can of chickpeas.
Can of tomatoes.
Add a chunk of butter.

Mix together and slow cook in a cassarole dish with lid on at 170 degrees C for 4-5 hours.

steam from wet mud oven

2005-06-14T15:36:00.000+10:00

Yes this is steam rising out of the mud oven dome. It rained the previous 2 days and while the mud oven was still firm it had soaked up a lot of water and took a couple of hours of heat to burn it off.

How to make playdough at home

2005-06-04T16:22:00.000+10:00

Making non-toxic fun playdough at home that will last for ages. See recipe at the bottom of the post. Basic ingredients are flour, salt, oil, cream of tarter, water, and food colouring. Lots of links to variations are also at the bottom of the post.

Mix all the ingredients according to the recipe in a saucepan.

Add food colouring and mix till smooth.

Cook on the stove on low heat until it comes together - about 2 minutes. It will thicken and become a bit lumpy at first.

Form into a ball in your hands and give it a bit of a knead.

Its all ready to use. Give kids a few basic tools such as block for a rolling pin, and some cookie cutters and plastic scissors and knife etc. and leave them to it. Lots of creativity here.

Playdough links:
canadian parents - microwave playdough, basic playdough but made in microwave instead of on top of the stove.
stretcher.com - basic playdough with variations, such as adding cool aid for a nice smell and different colouring agents.
creative kids at home - playdough with heaps of variations such as using cornstarch (corn flour) and oatmeal.
babyparenting.about - basic playdough with natural food colouring options.
allrecipes - peanut butter playdough, play and eat at the same time.
home school zone - lots of playdough recipes and ideas.
canteach - more good playdough ideas - variations on the basic recipe.
rubyglen - making a playdough kit.
activity village - playdough - using vanilla essence for a nice smell.
cooks.com - heaps and heaps of playdough recipes + yummy edible playdough recipes.
easy fun school - playdough variations - using coffee grounds to add a different tactile element.

Playschool - basic playdough recipe that I use.

Cooked Playdough

Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 small packet cream of tartar
1 tbspn oil
4 cups water
food colouring if required

Directions
• Mix flour, salt and cream of tartar.
• Add oil and water, stirring.
• Cook slowly until mixture thickens, stirring continuously.
• Store in an airtight container. This playdough will keep for about 3 months. It has a smoother consistency than the uncooked playdough.

Spelt sourdough bread and spelt pizza sourdough

2005-05-22T14:20:00.000+10:00

This is pizza dough, ready for rolling out and making into pizza. It is made out of 50% organic spelt flour and 50% organic plain white flour. We didn't get any pics after because it was so delicious we forgot about pics and just had to eat it.

(below) Spelt sour dough bread ready for the oven sitting in the linen lined baskets.

Coming out of the mud oven, perfect after 40 mins cooking.

Sliced open, perfect.

spelt sour dough

Information on Spelt flour.
What is it and why use it, what is special about it. Firstly we enjoyed the distinctive nutty flavour and wanted to find out more about it.

Spelt (Triticum Spelta)is an 'Ancient Wheat'. This term is used to define several wheats that date back to 7000BC, and whose home is referred to as the Fertile Crescent - moden day Iran and Iraq, featuring both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Spelt is an unusual wheat, in that the molecular weight of the flour's protein is relatively smaller than conventional wheat. This makes Spelt flour, and products made from Spelt flour, more easily digested by humans.

Spelt links:
About spelt
what is spelt
Spelt muffins and biscuits, pancakes and bread
treehugger
nutrients in spelt
cooks thesaurus - spelt
chef - spelt baking secrets

recipes
Sprouted grain and sourdough bread
Sour dough bread and variants
spelt polenta

'cob 101' cob / earth oven courses

2005-05-12T06:51:00.000+10:00

Kiko Denzo is offering some courses here are the details:

EARTH, ART, AND (ONE!) OVEN
COURSE OFFERINGS, as of May, 2005.
For more info, please contact the course host (contact info/numbers below)

Basic earthen building and earth art (2 wkends), June 25/26 and August
27/28, Independence, Oregon
Sponsors/hosts: Claudia & David Prevost, Buena Vista House Cafe & Lodging.
Build a garden wall and outdoor fireplace, and learn about decorative/sculptural work and finish plasters.
Weekend 1: basic cob: mixing, application, windows & openings, foundations.
Weekend 2: finish work, plasters, murals, sculpture.
Preference is given to those signing up for both weekends.
Lunch provided; accomodation available. Friday night slide presentation and dinner separate.
Registration/Information: Claudia & David Prevost, 503-838-6364.

Tools for earthen art & design. July 22-24.
Sponsor: The Cob Cottage Company. Fee includes meals and camping.
Learn simple, effective techniques for finishing all kinds of wall surfaces and for making earthen art (sculpture, murals, pattern, etc.). Techniques can be adapted to most situations. We will design and finish a simple pattern mural, and review techniques and materials.
Registration/Information: Jack at the Cob Cottage Company, 541-942-2005.

Bread and Beauty: Ovens & Earthen art, Sept 17 & 18
Sponsor: The Siskiyou Field Institute
Day 1: build an earth oven at the Field Institute in Cave Junction.
Day 2: earthen sculpture and plasters at White Oak Farm in Williams Valley.
Slideshow on Sat. evening.
Registration/Information: Siskiyou Field Inst., POBox 2169, Cave Junction, or register online.

LEARN BY DOING
Building with earth is as easy as mud pies, and dirt cheap! Perfect for
benches, garden walls, ovens, houses! The best material is the dirt under
your feet, and a few simple techniques make it surprisingly fast.

Sculptural qualities, color, and texture vary as much as soil and people.
Quick, simple decorative treatments make beauty affordable. Materials can be
applied inside and out, even on sheetrock, masonry, or plywood. And itÂ¹s
work you can do with kids!

Courses are as physical as you choose; activity is hands-on, cooperative,
and enjoyable. Space is limited.

INSTRUCTION: Kiko Denzer is a builder and sculptor who has taught in the US,
Canada, Mexico and England. He built the structures pictured here, and wrote
Build Your Own Earth Oven, and Dig Your Hands in the Dirt: A Manual for
Making Art out of Earth (Hand Print Press). He is sometimes assisted by
Hannah Field, a massage therapist, organic gardener, and baker who
specializes in traditional sourdough breads. 541-438-4300.

sour dough in the mud oven

2005-05-02T09:30:00.000+10:00

This is our first batch of real sour dough, and it could not have been more perfect. Amazing crust, and lovely chewy spongy tasty bread inside.

We used this recipe and tutorial for sour dough starter and bread - at the egullut forums site.

We all enjoyed this bread (except for me - I had my wisdom teeth out and so couldn't appreciate the crust, but I did suck on the chewy insides and it was delicious)

This is our second batch, this time we used half organic white flour and half organic spelt flour, the mixture was a bit runny and this was the result - tasty, great crust, but breads were a bit flat and a bit too open inside.

Fairy birthday cake instructions

2005-04-25T14:26:00.000+10:00

I made this cake using Delia Smiths all in one sponge cake cake recipe, she has a very good tutorial on her website so I won't repeat it here.

ingredients are:
3 eggs, 175g soft butter, 175g caster sugar, 175g S/R flour, 1tsp baking powder, pinch salt, drop of vanilla essence (variations for choc cake - add 1 desertspoon of cocoa powder or for pink cake add a few drops of pink food colouring) - mix all together for a few minutes, bake in 175 degree Celcius for 20 mins. Use 2x round pans or 1x rectangle pan.

For this fairy cake I made 2 x the recipe, with one lot I made 2x round chocolate cakes, and with the other lot a large rectangle pink cake. The round cakes are for the face and wings, the rectangle cake is for the hair and body.

You will also need icing sugar and butter, pink food colouring and cocoa for the icing. And for decoration I used mini m&ms and sprinkles and flouro decorating gels in tubes.

To make a firm base to decorate the cake on, I cut a large piece of cardboard and cover it in foil.

Icing recipe:
Icing mixture and soft butter: for this much cake you need about 250g icing mixture and 250g butter. I make a bit at a time and add the butter slowly to the sifted icing sugar while mixing with electric beaters to get it to just the right consistancy. Then devide the mixture into 3 leaving the largest portion for pink, leave one portion white for the face and add a tsp of cocoa powder for the hair.

Here are the cakes chopped up. The dress is made by chopping the top corners from the rectangle cake, these peices become the hair. then chop 1/4 edge off the circle cakes for the wings and the left overs are joined together for the face.

Place the cake pieces on the prepared foil board and start icing. I made chocolate icing for the hair, pink for the body and wings and white for the face.

Before decorating its good to do a quick sketch to know what you are aiming for.

Once the cake is iced and is reasonably smooth (try dipping knife in hot water to help smooth icing), draw decorations, facial features etc using the gel tubes.

I filled in the love hearts and circles with orange sprinkles and edged the body and wings with the mini m&ms.

For more cake decorating ideas and tips some links here.

baking bread

2005-04-23T08:55:00.000+10:00

we made this bread last weekend. It had a lovely crust, but was slightly undercooked inside.

Thank you to Kei from Waimangu who suggested this book 'The handmade loaf / Dan Lepard
ISBN 1-84000-966-7' (available through Amazon) for sour dough making. Which led us to lots of great sour dough links - so stay tuned to our sour dough experiments.

here are some sour dough links for reference. If anyone has any more let me know.

The Dan Lepard website - this site is a UK baking site with lots of UK baking links, bakeries, bread, a bakers forum etc.
Egullet cullinary institure forum page has this great tutorial on sour dough bread making.
The science of cooking has a good bread page with starter recipe and also a good metric conversion calculator.

Earth - Mud - Cob - Adobe - Horno - oven links

2005-04-15T16:01:00.000+10:00

Some more great links and resources for those wishing to make their own.

Handprintpress for Kiko Denzers book 'Build your own earth oven'
Maya - Kiko Denzers masterpiece
Cob Cottage - lots of pics, FAQ and information
D acres cob project- great informative instruction with drawings
Traditional oven has some great pics and links - this site is mainly for those building a brick oven - but has lots of info on burning wood - cooking in a wood burning oven and recipes - as well as a great tutorial on building a brick wood burning oven - and lots of pics of various ovens people have built.
City farmer - oven and shed, lots of great info and photos here
inner explorations - a kiko denzer inspired mud oven - experiments with floor construction and bread making
Building a cob house -
Masonry stove builders - Earth oven resources and links - lots of information about cooking, building and using a traditional oven - some beautiful pics of historical ovens. Lots of prefab and brick ovens here too.
Cal earth eco dome - this is getting away from the earth oven a bit - but still very interesting - I love this, next project maybe?
More cob houses at alternatives and Stanley park and green home building
This is an early adobe oven at California, and this is a Quebec adobe oven,
This is an article about building a traditional 'Horno' or adobe oven, by Micheal Moquin
Excellent pics here about building an earth oven - Gregs earth oven
more here, and here and here at lifelab, and here, more pics here, a cool version here, fertile ground cob oven, a few different earth ovens here at ben's art, more here - adobe structures and straw bale structures,
Article about earth oven building and baking here
And an article here about Kiko Denzer at Permaculture magazine
Article at Mother earth news on building and getting the most out of your earth oven
Katipo - pics of earth oven construction
waimangu - earth oven pics
Masonry workshop - cob oven workshop, school camp cob oven, eco school workshop adobe oven, very pretty adobe oven here, and a beautiful oven here at cobincornwall, gorgeous photos here making a cob oven, great photos here in Mexico, and a Chile mud oven
William Rubel - traditional cooking - some links
great pics here - wood burning oven project, and another gallery of building pics

Baking in the mud oven

2005-04-11T13:08:00.000+10:00

First scones:

Basic Scone Recipe:
2 (6oz cups) cups S/R flour (or plain flour and 4 tsp baking flour)
60 g butter - firm but not hard - cut into cubes
1 desert spoon of yoghurt
milk to mix
pinch salt

Start with rubbing butter into flour - use light fingers to keep air into the mix - until it resembles breadcrumbs
Then using a butter knife - add yoghurt and some milk - cutting the mixture keeps the air in - until it just comes together - not too moist
don't kneed it - just tip it onto a floured board and shape either into a round and cut or use a round biscuit cutter
place on tray and put into oven for 15 mins - its ready when you knock it and it sounds hollow

The scones turned out fantastic, crusty top, moist inside, perfect.

For the bread we used a basic white bread dough and mixed the dough in a bread machine - but next time we are going to try a traditional sour dough. It came out perfect - beautiful crust - great flavour - moist inside.

Then we did a slow lamb roast. We added rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, butter and red wine and wrapped it all in foil, put it in the oven for 4 hours and it left it alone. 4 hours later the moistest, most tender - delicious roast lamb I have had a in a very long time. The juices made a delicious gravy and we ate it with the bread. mmmm.

Finishing the mud oven

2005-04-11T12:59:00.000+10:00

Cut hole in hard shell and scoop out sand.

See how hard it has become.

Making door to fit cut out hole.

Stand proud - great job.

Some cracks have appeared but don't seem to affect it.

lol

Next step is baking.

How to make easy kids pants

2005-04-06T12:23:00.000+10:00

I am always being asked how I can whip up 20 kids pants in a day. Its easy I say. They say "I could never do it". I say anyone can. Here is the instructions. First cut a pattern from a pair of well worn favourite pants. If the pants are for a child under about 7 yrs old - then the front and back can be the same. This is what the pattern should look like. take the pants and turn them inside out and follow the line. if you are unsure about this method then buy a simple pattern for kids pants and alter it a little so it looks something like this.

cut it out in the fabric x2 for 2 legs.

If the fabric is plain - then to make the pants more interesting add a cuff in a bright contrasting fabric, here I have used a striped cord. Simply cut a lenght the same width as the pattern.

if you are adding a cuff then, sew the cuff onto the bottom of the pants first.

the cuff sewn on the pants.

now sew the two pieces of fabric together - sewing the crotch sections first.

When the crotch sections are sewn together it should look like this.

turn it over to look like this. Sew the inside legs together starting at the crotch and sewing down the legs.

then over lock the top and bottoms

fold the cuff in and sew it wide so it can be turned up. if not using a cuff then turn a wide hem so it can be turned up.

pile of pants ready to thread the elastic

sew on pockets, these could also be done before the pants are put together

some pockets i sewed a design on ready to go on the pants

if not putting on a cuff, then an opportunity exists for some decoration, ribbon or lace looks nice on girls pants.

threading the elastic. as a rough guestimate 1 1/2 times the width across the front of pants

thread it through the top hem in the gap you have left using a large safety pin

at the end sew the elastic together and finish sewing the top down.

Mud oven Project - technical notes.

2005-04-04T06:40:00.000+10:00

Basic oven is a simple, dome shaped shell of mud and sand
we built a simple one layer oven - however you can build up to 3 layers

dense thermal layer
less dense layer with straw
finish layer

to figure how big to make the oven - start off with deciding how often and for what you will be using it. lay out loaf/pizza pans to see how big a circle you need to contain it - thats how big the oven needs to be.
location of site - you need to think about:

wind - direction
wood - storage
water - proximity
roof - protection

materials list:

water
dirt - subsoil - amount will depend on clay content (don't use top soil)
sand to mix with mud - sharp sand not round
sand for oven form - needs to be able to hold its form
straw if doing an insulating layer
foundation - use bricks, wood, concrete, urbanite (old broken up concrete) etc - height determined by how low you want the door
floor of oven - firebricks (expensive), standard red bricks (approx 28) new or used but must be smooth and flat
wood for door
newspaper

note on waterproofing oven: Denzer says an earthen oven is like a living thing and must be able to breathe. When baking it exhales steam, by putting a non breathable finish on like paint or concrete on top of the oven it is like putting on a rubber suit - it traps moisture. and the steam will condense and soak back into the oven - possibly cause collapse. the best sort of water proofing is a roof - leave at least 3inch ventilation gap.
Mud: dig down to where the subsoil layer is - hard solid mass of earth. recognising subsoil - its hard, it doesn't crumble. add water and you can mould it, when dry it is hard and not crumbly, it feels sticky and greasy when wet.

final cob mix needs a mix of 75% sand and 25% clay
give mud/cob mix test to see if it is right consistency - dampen mix lightly - not paste, listen to it crunch - squeeze and hear grinding. add more sand if it doesn't.
then the snow ball test - make it dry not too wet, pack it into a firm ball - this might take a few minutes. drop it onto the ground and it should hold its shape if it crumbles add more clay, if it goes flat add more sand, if it holds its shape - perfect.
more technical details in the book about shrinkage and strength, which we didn't really bother with.

foundation: must support the weight, be at the correct height, protect against the elements.
see our post on building the foundation out of wood and using prefab concrete at a base.
read the book for urbanite solution
about the sand form for the oven void: draw the circle around the brick floor - and fill with sand - it should be moist enough to form into clumps and hold its shape, shape it by walking a wooden board around and moisten with a light sprinkle of water. till it is smooth and firm.

measure height of oven, the door must be 63% of height. - why 63% research of traditional clay oven found that was the optimum ratio for perfect baking.
dome height is 60-75% of dome diameter

making mud: mix ratio of sand and clay to form fine granules - get all the clumps of clay out. put dry mix on a tarp and stamp and twist on it, working the clay and sand together. roll the tarp over the mix back and forth until it looks evenly mixed. add water slowly adn mix with tarp again, and then jump in and twist about breaking up the clay.
apply mud in layers around sand form. press handfulls around the base and press down with thumb and fingers - being careful not to damage the sand form - at least 3 inches thick - use your hand a guide - thicker oven requires more fuel but will stay hot longer.
when its all covered - take your flat board and whack or tamp it until smooth and solid. to add another layer rough this one up first. then add straw mud layer and then sculpt.
cut door and remove sand - remember your dimensions.

From "how to build your own earth oven: a low cost, wood fired mud oven; simple sourdough bread;perfect loaves" by Kiko Denzer printed in 2004 by hand press, USA.
this can be purchased through Amazon
More books by Kiko can be found at Handprintpress, he has some new books coming out soon. He not only writes about mud ovens but about making art out of mud, making bread art and making beautiful things with your hands. Check it out. Hand print press.

Some pics and links to mud oven projects:
Maya - Kiko's huge mud oven
Cob cottage - info on workshops and techniques
Cob cottage pics - lots of pics, not only for mud ovens but for houses etc
Earth oven faq -

Mud oven project. Part 2

2005-04-03T15:05:00.000+10:00

Building the mud oven. gather bricks for the base of the oven. layout for minimum gaps between bricks. We numbered the bricks to easily transfer. Fire bricks are best but they are $6 each so we went with old Canberra Reds (solid clay bricks)

mixing mud. we got this first batch wrong. too much clay and we didn't add any sand. but this first batch was only for the outside of base, to hold in the sand.

Making the border to old the sand base.

You can see it is quite wet and muddy, too much clay. it cracked really badly.

This will be filled in with a layer of road base and a layer of sand, then the bricks will sit on top of the sand.

layer the bricks carfully on the sand in the formation previously designed. the flat side must be facing up, and they must be very close together. Mix and match them to get a good fit.

laying the bricks closely together.

are you going to help or just take photos?

if you havn't placed the bricks correctly you will need to remove them and smooth the sand over again before putting the bricks back. things to ensure: there is enough room at the back for the wall and the front where the door will go.

the front hearth bricks hang over a little to make a little shelf and to enable ease of ash removal.

next is collect the sand to make the sand form. the dome must sit in the middle of the bricks. any kind of sand that holds its shape is fine.

getting enough sand.

begin the dome, compacting as you go.

the dome will the size of the inside of your oven.

still a bit small - add some more. the optimum size - height is 75% of the diameter.

Adding water stops the sand drying out and losing its shape.

fill in the gaps.

use some 2x4 to smooth the sand dome and compact it a little.

thing of beauty.

next mix the mud. the best mud mix is made up of clay - subsoil - and sharp sand. not too wet and well mixed - no lumps. We used the drop test where you roll up a ball of the mixture and compact it 50 times between your hands them drop from waist height. If its right is will deform but not break. I thought it was a very sandy mixture but this is what is required to avoid shrinkage and cracking. All the details are in this great book .

mix mix mix. get all the helpers involved.

using a tarp to fold over the mud mix is an excellent way to achieve even consistancy.

more sand.

cover the sand dome with wet newspaper. this is to 1. keep the sand moist and 2. enable easy removal of sand after the dome is finished - so you don't scrape the mud away whilst removing the sand. I actually reckon you dont really need the paper and the wrinkles leave an impression on the inside of your oven.

digging some clay for the mud mix.

Begin to shape the clay around the sand form using your fist as a measure. go around and around in layers.

pressing down with fist to firm the mud and keep a square edge. Dont ever pressin to the sand form, push down against the mud already layed.

keep it consistant the whole way around.

note the consistancy of the mud. it is very sandy.

build it up.

cover even where the door will go - this gets cut out later.

need to mix some more mud.

nearly there.

smooth over and compact the mud by whacking it with a plank. If you are adding another layer then scratch the surface before adding next mud layer. other wise you can let this dry before cutting out the door.

stay tuned for next week when we fire her up.

blue fescue garden - before and after

2005-03-29T12:56:00.000+10:00

New garden - Before.

Before.

After. Planted with blue fescue and topped with eucalyptus mulch.

still havn't planted this one but have prepared it. so stay tuned.

one more pic. This took me and rob only half a day. to top up the garden bed, add sand and then top with newspaper to stop weeds and mulch. Then to dig up grasses from other parts of the garden and separate and replant with some blood and bone and water well. Most of them should survive, there was just a couple that didn's separate so well.

Stove Pot Coffee - The Essence

2005-03-25T16:03:00.000+11:00

The humble stove pot. Few people have unlocked the potential of this ubiquitous kitchen artifact. But with the correct method this device is able to produce a coffee of outstanding quality. That method is detailed here...

First of all you will need to knock out the last plug of spent coffee and carefully clean the seal. This is very important as the device needs to build up pressure in the base if it to make good coffee.

There is still a bit of coffee jammed in here on the right. It doesn't pay to let inexperienced users have free reign of your stove pot!!

A bit more cleaning required...

Give the top a good rinse as well to make sure there is no old residue in there.

Rinse out the base and fill it up to just below the pressure relief valve.

Its best if you can grind your coffee on the spot with a proper mill grinder set to the "fine" setting.

Grinding away...

Good quality fresh coffee will form fluffy clumps in the grinder bin.

To fill the coffee basket, put it in the base and form a barrier around the top with your fingers.

This makes it easy to fill without spilling coffee. A few taps on the exposed rim will help to get the coffee moving.

See why you need the barrier! you need the basket full, if you dont fill it it will not build up the pressure need to make good coffee. Thats why these pots come in different sizes to make different quantities of coffee.

Now before you remove your finger retaining wall, lightly squeeze your index finger and thumb together to push the heaped coffee towards the centre.

Look at that beutiful pile of fresh coffee!

Cup your hand to form a cavity in your palm...

then lay your cupped palm on the coffee. There is no pressure here, we are just shaping the coffee.

Note the palm print!

If its good fresh coffee you will need to add a bit more now to get the right compaction.

You are aiming for a profile like this...

...to match the base filter in the top section of the pot.(note the clean seal)

The top docking with the matching base. The bottom rim was scruplously cleaned so that no coffee will get jammed into the seal - this is critical to success. If coffee is jammed in here it will comprimise the seal and prevent the correct pressure build up. It will also, in time ruin the rubber seal.

Screw it together nice and tight - its all about pressure!

On to the stove...

This method makes a stong short black or add hot water for a long black - or...

If you like a milky coffee, fill some cups now and warm them in the microwave.

A watched pot never boils... and thats what we want here. You have to watch the coffee coming up so you can pull it off at the critical point.

Here it comes...

Just look at that crema!

Black gold - Texas tea!

Chaos theory in action- watch the swirling crema patterns forming and disolving.

Note the flow steadily increasing as the pressure builds as the essential oils and flavours are extracted from the coffee below.

The critical point! note the bulge in the top of the flow. All of the best and richest flavour "the essence" has now been extracted. If you keep going now you will start to unlock all the bitter flavours from the spent coffee as the super heated steam blasts though it.

Snap the lid shut now and pour it as quickly as possible to get the purest essence into your cups.

The residual heat in the pot brings up the bitter dregs. These smell and taste horrible, if you let the pot go until it starts steaming and sounding like a rocket engine then you have destroyed the essence of your coffee and you should chuck it out and start again. Some people have said to me that this is a waste but that is nonsense you would no more drink the dregs of your coffee than you would eat a teabag after making a cup of tea.

A really good coffee with a coconut macaroon...

hmmm...

Postmortum.
Care to examine the stool?
Note the firm dome shaped mound of spent coffee with the imprint left from the filter.

You should be able to poke your finger into this and feel it smoothly compress. If your finger falls into a void underneath the top surface then the basket was underfilled and you would have noticed the more rapid flow and lack of crema as you watched the pot.

If you couldn't make a small dent like this one then it was packed too tight and you would have seen early spitting and very dark coffee. The early spitting means that steam is getting past the seal as the hot water is blocked by the over tight coffee. If your seal is in very good condition you may even see and hear steam comming out of the pressure relief valve. Too much heat and pressure is as bad as too little as it extracts the bitter flavours.

A happy customer

Pizza oven Project. Part 1. The base.

2005-03-21T17:58:00.000+11:00

Pizza oven project. Part 1. The base. Cutting the pine logs to the correct length.

Cutting the wood.

pine post length - 400mm under the ground and 800mm above the ground, for a finished height of 900mm with top to add on (see stage 2).

Surveying the scene.

Chain saw for this job is probably overkill.

watching the men working.

Cutting rebate for cross beam to fit in. measure to fit a sleeper slightly proud of posts for the top to lay on.

cutting out slots.

Then chisel out.

Chisel out the slots.

Measure length.

Make sure you look as cute as possible.

More cutting. be a man and do it by hand.

Don't forget to take a piss.

When cutting the slots - set the blade depth to the thickness of the cross beam, and then holding the saw as level as possible cut every half inch or so as level as you can. It is not difficult at all, and makes chiselling them our easy as pie.

More cuteness to make working easier.

finished posts with rebates ready to attach cross beam.

Did I say finished, one more to go.

Take it easy on the last one, don't get sloppy.

Cutie pie.

Cutting the cross beam. cut these to your desired width, we did ours 800mm as we are using 2x 400mm prefab slabs.

cutting cutting more cutting.

cross beam is place in the slots.

Drilling and screwing the cross beams into place.

Check triangulation.

Ready to go into the ground.

draw out the spot.

helpers hard at work.

Digging holes time.

helpers digging - not in the right spot.

Using the crow bar to dig the holes this time.

Place posts in holes.

hole digging is fascinating subject.

There is a real art to hole digging. watch and learn.

dirt - yummy yellow colour.

check level and adjust by scraping some gravel into the hole and lifting posts slightly.

levels.

adjusting levels.

home made umbrella. what an invention!

rapid set concrete. put in water, concrete, slosh around and don't move the posts.

as usual the woman does the cleaning up.

done for now. next phase is doing the bench top.

Front garden - pics

2005-03-21T17:24:00.000+11:00

Front garden.

Front garden. There is still alot of work to do here. But nevertheless I am proud of what I have done.

Garden good bits - pics

2005-03-21T17:22:00.000+11:00

More good bits I like about my garden. Although I am not saying they couldn't be improved.

Pittosporum walk.

some grasses I recently planted.

Our circle lawn. Very happy with our perfect circle, just big enough for kids to play handstands and tumbling on, and small enough to keep green with grey water direct from the washing machine.

Our screen we put up a few months ago has helped to shape our garden and enable garden 'rooms', we are planning on turning this area into an entertainment area and putting the mud pizza oven here.

kids playing under the big maple. while this tree dominates the yard it provides excellent shade too.

We love our chooks. this is 'sticky'.

A better pic of the screen.

This area is a great place for kids to explore.

I love these native grasses - poa. So easy to grow and they looks fantastic.

Am also very proud of our curved garden edging.

this is another reason to love the lawn and the shade. This kids loved this, this summer.

Garden good bits - more pics

2005-03-21T17:09:00.000+11:00

Good bits of the garden. This is under the huge maple tree. the garden seat is a little rustic but I like the grasses and natives I have planted here, and the path that leads through the garden.

the secret pathway made out of recycled cement pavers.

More pathways.

Back corner is very private and colourful with another rustic bench, this is a great secret spot for the kids. |\

Future project no. 8. painting the exterior windows.

2005-03-21T17:03:00.000+11:00

As you can see we have run out of steam on this one.

Those damn windows again.

And while we are at it, the back step. UGH!

Future project no 7. the deck

2005-03-21T17:01:00.000+11:00

this is the front deck and the step needs to be fixed, but otherwise the front deck is alright.

Back deck - this will be demolished when we do the extension.

note the terrible angles and the step up to the original deck. not satisfied with the job we did here.

another reason to start again, the wide gaps between the treated pine.

This is the roof of the deck, I think we did a pretty good job of this.

The terrible step up to the old section of the deck, the reason this is bad and annoying is that it makes for two smaller and thus not so usable areas.

Back deck step.

Future project no 6. the kids play area

2005-03-21T16:55:00.000+11:00

this sand pit is in the wrong area and is badly designed.

old play equipment, this badly needs updating.

close up of rusty kids swing.

close up of edging on kids play area. we not only need to get rid of this, it was a bad idea, but move the play equipment and maybe even build a cubby.

Future project no. 5. Tidy up back corner

2005-03-21T15:23:00.000+11:00

which is where the chooks and veggies reside.

compost area, we would like to extend the chook run to here, and maybe plant some citrus.

Chook house.

Chicken run is in sad need of repairs and extension.

One of our beautiful pet chooks 'sticky'.

Back view of shed - ugly as you can see.

our garden shed.

Future project no. 4. Gate and drive way

2005-03-21T14:32:00.000+11:00

... leading to the shed. Not only is the gate awry and ugly but this whole area is a mess.

This is the unsightly mess - this has got to go the tip. but it just keeps returning.

view inside the shed.

Future project no. 3. The driveway.

2005-03-21T14:18:00.000+11:00

There are a number of issues here. First the garden edging and widening of the drive with some gravel or other substance for a pathway is needed here next to the garden.

next of the driveway list is the pavers, they are bumpy and uneven due to the trees root system.

Future project 2. Fixing this fence.

2005-03-21T14:08:00.000+11:00

I am pretty sure this is the original fence from when this house was built in the '50's.

fence problem.

Future garden project 1. getting rid of unwanted plants

2005-03-21T13:58:00.000+11:00

... like these 25 year old crazy thorny rose bushes

And this old plum which is sending up suckers all over the place - it does provide great shade and has beautiful blossoms which is why I have let it stay so long.

And this old vine which is growing down the side of the house outside the kids bedroom window. Not only is it huge and ugly but when windy it knocks on the windows and blocks the light. Also I would love to turn this area into a retreat garden.

And this tree (one of two) which was strangely planted under the powerlines 20 years ago.

And we still have to remove this stump. An old almond tree which had to be removed to make way for possible extension and it was in telephone lines.

How to cook chocolate brownies

2005-03-07T13:16:00.000+11:00

Chocolate brownie recipe

eggs and sugar being mixed together

beat eggs and sugar till light and fluffy

eggs and sugar - beat for a few minutes on high till light and fluffy

taste test

sift cocoa

everyone has a turn

sift flour

test the flour for...

mix melted butter and flour and cocoa into the sugar egg mixture

taste test

licking the beaters - the best part

crush the walnuts

add the crushed walnuts to the cake mix

happy customers

mmm yummy

mixing and tasting

that cake was yummy... who needs to cook it

scraped the leftovers in a pan to cook

chocolate brownies - dusted with icing sugar

the brownies are a success

thats all thats left

Finishing the clothesline

2005-02-19T14:09:00.000+11:00

Project 1. Part 3. Putting up clothesline.

Very important. Read instructions

Instructions.

Following instructions. Screws, nuts, bolts getting used.

Undoing screws. Must read instructions.

Reading again

Children crying in background

Tools for this job

Do I have to undo it again?

Stringing the line on

frame up. am not undoing it again.

Better just check those instructions properly this time.

Concreting in the clotheline posts

2005-02-16T12:04:00.000+11:00

Stage 2 of the clothesline project.

First measure the post.

Some more measuring. Ideally the post height should be 10cm more than the height of the user.

Perhaps some more digging to get the holes just right.

Bit more digging is needed to get the holes to the right depth.

tools for digging holes

Next measure out the water for the rapid set cement. 5litres of water for 40kg of cement. You will need 40kg per hole approx.

Placing post in hole

Pouring water into hole.

Open rapid set. its pretty dusty, good to wear a mask.

Pour rapid set in evenly around the hole.

Hole is filling up.

Rapid set

Mixing with a stick to get it evenly distributed.

Bit more mixing is needed

Stand up, have a stretch and a scratch to survey a good job

Admire the work

Make sure you pull up your pants before cleaning up.

helpers usually run off at the clean up stage.

Digging a hole the old fashioned way

2005-02-16T11:54:00.000+11:00

Project no 1. Part 1.

Replacing the old clothesline.

First we dug the hole and when we couldn't get down any further we loosened the soil with a good old fashioned explosion.

Here is Rob measuring the gun powder

Close up of Gunpowder and fuse

Putting the gunpowder down the hole. We drilled a small hole with an oldfashioned hand drill using a really big drill bit.

Placing fuse down hole

block up the hole with some toilet or tissue paper and put some dirt over it and tamp it down gently

Scooping some more dirt into the hole and tamp down some more

Tools for the job

Tamping down hole some more with a gentle sledge hammer

Light fuse with a blow torch

Run quickly and watch from a distance

Explosion

Checking the damage

Scoop the loose dirt out of the hole

Stopping to admire the job

Keep digging and square up the hole

tools for the job

Bit of measuring before moving on to stage 2 of the project.