a little craziness in terms of skateboards

Soooo.....  There is this skateboard I want that is handmade in Spain.  Seventy inches long.  But how do even know you might like that length unless you try it.  My Beloved and I put together a board to try.  I made the pattern.

Then we tried to figure out how much wood the board need to be.  We decided on trucks, bushings, wheels, and bearings.  

Glued up the top.  Sanded it.  Finished it and added grip.

Add the wheels.  A 70 inch skateboard.  I have to admit it does not have the flex I would wish so we will make the deck again but even so this is fun.  Our street has a bit of hill because we are on the natural levy.  I just carve back and forth down the street.  It really is not hard to push and Small Mister loves it.  I would have a picture of him trying it out but most of those were naked.  

Not quite back to the drawing board and not bad for a first attempt.  It is fun!  Makes me smile.  Does not mean I still do not wish to get the skateboard from Spain but we have more things to try.  My Beloved likes making these too.

bing cherry mojitos

After all our hard work on the bathroom this weekend, we decided that adult beverages were in order.  My Beloved likes rum and I had a mojito recipe that I wished to try.  The cherries it actually calls for our out of season so I had to go with bing cherries.  It was not a hardship!  And these were very refreshing.

My one suggestion is to never let my Beloved make them for you if you have anything else to do that evening.  He forgets to count!

bing cherry mojitos

Note:  These measurments are per one 8 ounce drink.  

8 cherries (about 1/4 cup fruit)

1 stem mint with leaves

2 ounces rum

1 ounce simple syrup

the juice of 1/2 a lime

soda water

Tear the cherries apart and take out the pit.  Add the mint leaves and lime juice.  Muddle.  Add the rum and simple syrup.  At this point, I let this sit for 10 to 20 minutes.  My Beloved actually did not muddle, he whirled in the blender.

Put ice in a glass.  Strain the rum mixture over the ice.  Add soda water to your taste.

This was lovely.  

earth plastering

This weekend was all about horrible allergies and working on the back bathroom.  Many years ago, the Tall Short Person came to us and said "there is a hole in the bathtub."  After talking to some contractor friends, we found out the bathtub had be installed incorrectly.  Therefore, it cracked and a hole developed.  That had to come out.  The carpet had to come out.  

It took more years then I would like to admit for us to do something about it.  This back bathroom has very strange dimensions which made finding a tub to fit it a difficult proposition.  The better statement is an affordable bathtub was hard to find.  But I did recently.  

We had our handy man come in and fix my Beloved's sheetrock job.  Mr. Hill said it was not the worst he had ever seen.  Especially for the first time doing sheetrock.

On Saturday, out came the earth plaster.  It is clay and sand with water and pigment mixed in.

Then many hands got to work.  Small Mister kept saying "DIRTY!"  It is mud.  

By the end of the weekend, we even got a laminate floor installed.  The tub is sitting the bathroom now but it is not plumped.  Now, I will freely admit that the floor and the baseboards are not perfect but there is nothing square, flat, and true about this room.  I am a bit amazed they look as good as they do.  I am very pleased, especially since I have felt like total crud most of this long weekend.  Something blows in in the evenings or opens up and I can no longer breath.

Next week will be better.  Mountains, here we come!

bicycle/skateboarding dresses

I have finished a bit of strange sewing for myself.  I like to ride my bicycle and skateboard in dresses.  I ride my bicycle every day to work so that means I need a few dresses.  Remember when I wrote that I felt like all my dresses were falling apart at once.  It is true for these as well.  

I thrifted the fabric and used bits from my stash.  I really like them.  They are a bit longer and fuller then my others.  Which means, strangely enough, that I am a bit cooler at 95 degrees.  They really remind me of Holly Hobby.  I do wish I had enough scraps for pockets but  I did not.  And I did not think about adding them until afters.

I also picked up a new helmet this weekend.  Mine was showing some wear.  High vis yellow.  Yes, I am that crazy lady on a bicycle - dress and high viz yellow helmet.  People know me!

caesar blue cheese salmon

We eat a bit of salmon around here.  It is my favorite fish and it is a good way to get fish oil in me that helps the arthritis not hurt so bad.  But sometimes, I just need to snazz it up a bit.  This was an experiment that turned out to be one of those "Oh, we can have THIS again!" types of experiments.

And it is quick.  I served it with salad and the roasting of the salmon took all of seven minutes.  The dishes afterwards took longer!

caesar blue cheese salmon

about a cup of caesar salad dressing

about a cup of blue cheese crumbled.  I had a smoked blue cheese that was lovely.

8 to 16 ounces salmon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove the skin and all possible bones from the salmon.  Mix the dressing and cheese together.  Spread over the salmon.  

Put the salmon in the oven and roast for seven minutes.  You want very moist and hot but not dry through.

This is on the make again list.