Ice-scape Wonderland

the top of my car this afternoon...

(click pic for bigger)

Black Coffee

I've been listening to Peggy Lee's first album, Black Coffee (1953/1956). I never was a fan of Peggy Lee, my earliest exposure to her was probably from Lady and the Tramp, and perhaps a variety show appearance on TV in my childhood. Love this album! What a great voice and delivery. An original singer/songwriter.

Black Coffee (title track)

of course any song with references to nicotine and caffeine always catches my attention.

I got lost online reading about Peggy Lee, following YouTube links. This is the video I stopped at. I love seeing the tracking lines, having a bit of nostalgia for the old VHS.

Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack (1973)!

Annie Lennox

wow...

Halloween Follow-Up

It was a very successful Halloween this year! We had maybe 40 people at the party, not too many trick-or-treaters though (it was raining). Here's some pics of family costumes and props... it was fun making all this stuff but it's good to be done.

The Alchemist's Medallion and Jefferson Twilight's vampire teeth necklace

Dr. Henry Killinger: Magic Murder Bag, mask, slippers, handcuffs

The Sovereign (David Bowie): Gitanes

Orpheus, Twilight, Sovereign, Killinger

(a rare shot of Twilight with facial hair. we realized rather quickly after this that the rubber cement was going to scar Betty if she didn't wash it off soon)

and from the back

The Triad "does their thing"

The Order of the Triad prepare smokie crescent rolls

Venture Bros. Group Shot!

(J's room-mates came as Col. Hunter Gathers and Baron Werner Ünderbheit!)

USEFUL BAGS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM

"USEFUL BAGS, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM" is an article from the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 561, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 2, 1886. Written in, well, an 1886 flowery kind of style. Very cool. I think it may be of help to us while making Dr. Henry Killinger's Magic Murder Bag (basically a doctor's bag) for Halloween.

a quote from the article regarding the selection of materials:

"... has a good appearance for some time, but, like all articles of imitation, it has only cheapness to recommend it..."

it's a good thing we got authentic naugahyde to make our bag!

we still have several props and costumes to finish, in addition to the bag. finished items will get posted soon!

Making Mole

a week or so ago betty laid open her women's day magazine to this chicken mole recipe ('kid friendly', quick). i wasn't too inspired to make it (plus we didn't have any almond butter in the house). then i was looking around at rick bayless recipes (which the above is based on) and found the one he made for obama at the white house, Oaxacan Black Mole. My mole is a modification of the latter.

green tomato and tomatillo puree cooks down

Clockwise from upper left: grated semi-sweet chocolate, mix of dried and fresh chilies puree, paste of pecans, peanuts and tahini, puree of banana, onion, garlic, dark toasted bread and spices.

the purees are cooked together in succession and start the hour simmer (not black! a lovely fall red/orange)

we'll see how this turns out later today...

Peach Cobbler

The next day after B and I processed that big box of peaches we ended up getting more in the CSA!

Peach Pie

Eat a Peach

Betty peeling hot peaches

Sliced with sugar and Fruit Fresh in bags for the freezer...

"busy"

i was feeling a bit harried this morning, too many things going on. which is all relative of course, being as that i am living a cushy, unemployed sweet life right now. even with setting myself up to experience the lowest stress level possible, things still manage to build up in my mind. i find it very interesting, maybe very human. life is good.

beer finishing up fermenting in the secondary

fresh local peaches await on the counter

making vampire fangs for the jefferson twilight 'blacula hunter' costume

brew day

i really like brewing beer. it's chemistry, microbiology and cooking all in one! cooked up an IPA today, based on a recipe i found at Menu In Progress (San Diego Pale Ale). just waiting for the yeast to kick in...

the digital thermometer has replaced the old one (which is so slow to register temp that it may actually be dead)

the grains (carapils, biscuit and crystal 10L)

a tiny mouse i found in the garage (there's at least 3 out there!)

hop pellets, 'whirlfloc' tablets and recipe worksheet

boiling wort

a very venture halloween?

completely distracted lately from building the sanshin. a habit or trait of mine that was pointed out to me in my youth (i get excited about new projects, and leave a trail of unfinished crafts etc. behind me). oh well!

i am gearing up to start brewing beer again, just waiting on an order of supplies to arrive this week. been working on getting equipment assessed here, formulating recipes. i will do an IPA for B&R (i'm thinking san diego style ale). also, will make a second attempt at a gluten-free beer for paul. should be fun.

B has big plans for us for halloween. we will make costumes for the entire family, on a theme which we all love! this will be very interesting.

butternut body progress

i glued up the body pieces last week, and started to shape it.

i've been stalled out trying to decide what to do next. cutting holes in the body to receive the neck requires getting the neck height figured out. neck height needs me to figure out the pegbox first, kinda. so maybe i'll drill the pilot holes for the pegs. even though this is 'trash' wood i still get hesitant, don't want to make a mistake!

here's the body resting where it will attach to the neck, just to get an idea of final product. that neck is seriously curved. the small piece to the left is the plum wood, shaping it into a peg.

Okinawan Eisa

i've been immersing myself in all things sanshin lately. here's a video of Okinawan ladies performing an eisa dance; sanshin and taiko! reminds me of the feeling i got when i first saw the SF taiko dojo in japantown. very very awesome.

swedish cabinet scraper

today i learned how to use, and sharpen, a cabinet (or card) scraper. this is a fantastic tool! it can really get in and shave away wood where the plane can't reach.

overall it's been slow-going. i spend a lot of time thinking about what i want to do, planning. the wood is natural, not perfectly even, so a little difficult. the neck has a curve that i'll have to compensate for, maybe with the bridge placement. but the final product will be reflective of the life of the trees from which it comes. i like that.

here's the end of the neck (i think of it as the "dowel"), that will fit inside the body. i'm tapering and squaring it up, getting a ledge built where it will sit flush against the body. love that scraper.

Sanshin - Pt. 1 (The Wood)

i'm going to make a small sanshin for mr. sha. sanshin is a three-stringed ("san"-"shin") instrument from okinawa, like a shamisen or banjo. traditionally it has snake skin for the head, but i don't think i'll be going that route. one never knows though, i'll tackle that part later.

vicki in smithfield offered to let me dig through her wood piles, from tree-trimmings etc., and also to look at her neighbors black walnut tree. i really should have gotten some pictures of the land out there with the trees, very lovely. the walnut tree died a couple of years ago, it is still standing and it's massive! i'll try to get pictures next time i'm out there. it makes me very happy to get this local wood, much more satisfying than to spend money on crap wood from lowe's or especially anything super expensive for proper luthier work.

here's what i came home with, from top to bottom; plum, walnut, butternut ("white walnut") x 2.

i scraped and chiseled off the bark, and hand sawed the limb nubs off. for the butternut, rick cut the limbs lengthwise with his tablesaw, to make boards. the plum was cracked, so i used a mallet and chisel to split it completely.

the walnut is very hard. it might do nicely as the neck/dowel. i chiseled and planed one side flat ("fret board" side, although this will be fretless). here is the neck and a closeup of the flat part, so far.

the butternut is so nice! the top plank isn't smoothed yet (you can see saw burns, and a ridge down the middle since the blade was not high enough to cut it in one pass). these will make the body. they make a very nice sound when struck together.

the plum i might use to make the pegs. it is very hard. not sure yet, but here's what it looks like.

banjo-paint-can-lid-slide (made of junk)

this is a short summary of my first attempt at making an instrument, from last winter.

Neck: Red Oak (broken library chair)

Body: Paper mache

Pegs/Bridge/Tailpiece: Wood of unknown type

Nut: Pork Bone

Head: Paint can lid

Wood Finish: Tru-Oil gunstock finish

Strings: Leftover acoustic steel guitar strings

and a brief demonstration of its tonal qualities...

sheepskin slipper repair

i finally got around to cleaning and repairing my slippers.

here are the before shots, taken two months ago.

i read a little online about what not to do, then ignored the advice! i scrubbed them in the sink with liquid dish soap and cool water. it looked like some of the dye in the leather leached out in the rinse water, but they really needed the cleaning. i tried to focus the soap on the inside (fur), but the shoes were completely soaked in the end.

then i let them air dry outdoors (it's been in the 90's here, and mostly very dry). they took a couple of days to dry out. they didn't seem to shrink much, at least i can still fit them on my feet.

now to the repair. was trying to find good strong thin rope or something. i didn't want to spend money to buy anything special. betty mentioned dental floss! i rejected that idea at first, but realized it is terribly strong and i could sew multiple layers to achieve the thickness i wanted in the seams.

and besides, i still have a ton of this stuff sitting in a box from the old J&J days:

here are the after shots. the fur is very nice and fluffy. the suede outside got a bit dry and tight from the detergent and drying, but it's starting to soften up just from handling it to do the seam repair. the dentotape i used was waxed, which worked great because each stitch adhered nicely after i pulled it tight, avoiding stitch slipping.

i wear these things constantly in winter (outside in rain and snow, in the garage to do woodworking, in the kitchen to cook) and they take quite a beating, so i'm glad they will have some life left.