Building The Framework for a Rocket Stove/Pizza Oven...A New Deck

Deck building 101 will not be taught at this blog, but checkout these abs from our latest construction escapade!

Yep that's me and Mr. FT looking fit!

I'm too sexy for my shirt.....

Okay this never happened.

But this happened....

Of course I forgot to take the before pics which would have consisted of two flower planters, flanking each side of three small steps.

Our son in-law came out to give us a hand!  Thanks Tickle!

Guess I should have pulled the tan in a can out.....

Mr.FT and myself, enjoying a cold glass of H2O.
  32.5 degrees celsius on this day (in the shade)....I think that's like 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
  Hot as hell! 

All done the boards

A quick picture just after we put the tools away...

Then this...and it really did happen!

Too bad I wasn't outside for this hail storm.  I think those nuggets could have put some color into those little white legs!

Stay tuned for the Rocket Stove addition to our deck.
   Comes complete with a hand built pizza oven and a pizza chef....Mr FT   hehe.

Cheers

Dandruff Shampoo Bars.

It's time for a new batch of  shampoo soap bars! 

  I decided to make this batch for those people infected with the Zombie Dandruff! 

 It's similar to the Zombie Virus but  Zombie Dandruff  affects only the scalp.

  Now don't get me wrong, many people just have dry scalps and normally we shed this away.....no biggie, but for the undead with a nasty dandruff disposition, we're keeping our fingers crossed!

  I researched which oils would be best and came up with this recipe.

  I have no scientific proof that it will work, but if you give people a certain

 look while you are telling

 them how good it is, they'll believe you.  

  I always encourage safe soap making practices.  Wear your safety gear people!

 Feral Turtle Dandruff Shampoo Bars

1 oz. Almond Oil

1 oz Cocoa Butter

1 oz. Shea Butter

3 oz. Castor Oil

9 oz. Coconut oil

2 oz. Hemp Oil

8 oz Olive Oil

7 oz Palm Oil

2 oz. Beeswax

1 oz Lavender Essential Oil

1/2 oz Cedarwood Essential Oil

1/2 oz Lemon Essential Oil

!/2 oz. Tea Tree Essential Oil

7 oz Thyme Tea Water

4 oz. Coconut Milk

4.5 oz Lye

The thyme tea water is made by steeping a handful of fresh thyme in about 8 ounces of boiling water.  Let cool in the refrigerator.

Using a large stainless steel pot, melt all the oils, butters and waxes.  Cool to 110 degrees.

Meanwhile mix your thyme water with the coconut milk in a 1 litre glass canning jar.   Place your jar in a sink and pour in the lye.   Put cold water in the sink surrounding the glass jar.    This helps cool the mixture more quickly.   I use a wooden skewer to mix the lye water wearing my rubber gloves.  Cool to 110 degrees.  When both are at 110 degrees, pour lye mixture into oil mixture.   Stir oil and liquid together with a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon.  Now use your stick mixer and blend until the soap reaches trace.  Poor in your essential oils and blend until thoroughly mixed.  Pour your mixture into soap molds and wrap in a blanket.  This needs to sit for a few days to a week, until it is fairly hard.  Cut into bars and let air dry for a week on wire racks.  This helps the air get to all the surfaces.

That's the recipe but if you need instructions on the cold soap making process,

 you can Google it and do some research,

 or you can go to these past recipes and see my method!

Castile Soap

Shampoo Bars  

REMEMBER TO ALWAYS ADD YOUR LYE TO THE LIQUID!

I do this in a glass canning jar in my sink in case of any spills or accidents.  Always wear rubber gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection.

Some cutting and drying of the bars

An old cheese cutter modified to cut soap quickly and evenly.  Also it makes your cheese taste clean, or it makes your soap smell cheesy.

And here they are...the finished soap bars!  Ta Da!!!!

A quick PH test tells me they are safe to use.  I aim for my soap to be a seven which is neutral.  You can add lemon juice to your conditioning rinse which helps soften your hair.  

Look who popped by for a visit....and you thought I was over this obsession. 

I will let you know how my guinea pigs fair!

Actually this won't be tested on any guinea pigs!

I only test on family and friends!

Cheers!

Linking up with

Katherines Corner

Glitter Glue and Paint
Chase The Star

Canned Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

3 Red Mangoes

3 Red Pepper

2 large Oranges peeled

1 Sweet onion

2-3 Jalapenos

2 green onions

1/3 to 1/2 cup lime juice

1 TBSP Amchur (Green Mango Powder)

1 TBSP grated ginger (optional)

salt to taste

Dice all ingredients and mix.  Add lime juice.

I found it to be very liquid, but no worries as it thickened in the canning process.

I sterilized 5 pint jars and lids.

  Each jar was filled to 1/2 below the top, except the fifth jar. It was only 3/4 full so it went in the fridge and was consumed in about three minutes.

Then I felt like that guy that saw a double rainbow on YouTube a few years ago.

Crazy guy.

Dropped them in the water bath and processed them for thirty minutes.

Hopefully this prevents any botulism from happening, 

 I will let someone else do a taste

 test before I dare dip my chip in there.

  Kinda the way royalty had tasters and that's why,

 It's salsa for a queen!

Cheers.

Hollow Core Door Hangers

A hanger for a hollow door can be a real challenge.  You can buy the "hang over the door" models which scratch the bejeebers out of your finish, or you can risk a cup hook screwed into a thin veneer, and store your flyswatter on it.

  In my master bedroom makeover, I have two doors.  A new door and an old door.  Not wanting to rip the old door out and replace it with a new one, I decided to put moldings on it to mimic the new one.

After two more coats of paint,

 I was still left with a flimsy hollow core door. 

 Note the two holes drilled in the door in the above picture.

They go right through to the other side of the door.

I went to my old stash of wood and after a few slivers, scrounged these.

 I drilled some clearance holes in the barn board for nuts and washers so the heads would be below the surface.  Some white molding was added to the top and bottom of the barn board to mimic my door and window trims.

  Hooks were attached to the barn board.  I used a scrap piece of molding to set the hooks at the same height from the top.

 I placed a barn board hook assembly on each side of the door.  A bolt with a washer was put through both and secured with a washer and nut on the other side of the door.  The above door picture is the bolt side and the below picture is the nut side Note only one side of the door has molding on it.  The other side is my closet/ laundry room. 

Now to cover the unsightly bolt heads and nuts....

 I scrounged some old wooden door knobs and cut off the necks,

 put them in a box to spray them

silver!  A few coats were needed.

 Pulled out my trusty glue gun and hot glued those babies right over the fasteners.

I now have a place for all those designer work clothes to hang!

Cheers!

Faux Concrete Countertop

 I have been working on this area for two years now.  (Turtle)

Click here if you want to see where all this mess began!

 I built this little cupboard to sit in between my washer and dryer, which is the center support for my counter.  Nothing is nailed down!  If I ever have to pull either appliance out, the whole assembly comes apart.

I used some scrap OSB from my stash as  I didn't want to buy any plywood for this job

  I was ninety nine percent sure this would be a fail!

Two layers of OSB were used  and I added a front strip with glue and brads,

 to hide the edges and also form an overhang.

Thinset mixed to manufactures specs.

 Spread it on evenly with a trowel.  If you close one eye, cock your head slightly, and punch yourself in the open eye, it's pretty even! 

When it dried, I sanded the ridges down and added another coat.

  

I sealed the piece with a few coats of water based Varathane.  Brackets were mounted on both side walls.  The counter sits on top of these brackets and also on top of the center cupboard.

And here she is, my favorite room in the house.....just kidding.

*If I do this again I will use plywood.*

The laundry room walls will be getting the same treatment as

  the master bedroom. which you can see here at Ghetto Inn....if you dare!

Click Here and  you can see the completed barnboard  

  K.  She found her way to the laundry room countertop

 after she fell from a wall shelf and she's still intact!

I can't say this would be strong enough to use in a kitchen, but I am pretty certain it will hold up to some heavy duty laundry folding!