unschool plus

Thursday, August 2, 2012

keith's workshop

Lisa recently wrote a post about the value of networking, and I can tell you that she lives this. Last fall when I was visiting and noticed her ukuleles, I asked if she'd ever thought about learning to play—the idea had just recently begun to take shape in my own head.

Lisa instantly said yes, mentioned her musician/luthier friend Keith, and picked up the phone to call him right then and there. After Keith had patched up the Gaspar uke, he gave us a couple of introductory lessons.

Fast forward 9 months and now I'm happy to call Keith a friend of my own (thank you, Lisa). He has taught us many more things since that day, met my music-obsessed son C and invited him to play trumpet—an instrument C was not at all comfortable on but willing to do with Keith's encouragement—in his Friends of the Library band, and has of late taken time out of his always-busy schedule to guide C in building a lap steel guitar.

C and I went to visit this week when I asked Keith to set up the new concert ukulele DH gave me for my birthday. His barn workshop is a fun place, because you never know what you will see upon entering.

cases & necks

tools, bundles of horsehair, vintage radio equipment

banjos, bandsaw, molds

chair seat made from a drum head

baritone ukulele parts

an assortment hanging from the stairs

3-string MJB coffee "canjo"

Next to it, an 8-string ??? made from...

...a Dutch oven lid

custom guitar stenciled with a design by Keith's friend, Bob Armstrong

And these pictures barely scratch the surface. There are rows of violins, a sousaphone modified with parts from the hardware store, a gigantic harmonica, and lots of wood. There was a pot of beeswax left over after Keith had spun off his honey; he also keeps bees.

Outside, he had rigged up a solar wax warmer to melt this down into candle wax.

I've loaded this post with photos even though they're not the best, because it's the only way to convey how rich and amazing Keith's workshop is. Maybe you can understand why C and I love to visit. It looks like somewhere you could discover anything at all, doesn't it?

Be sure to visit Keith's website, particularly his instructions for making instruments with kids: keithcary.com

Sunday, July 22, 2012

more popsicles

Today was a typical Central Valley midsummer day: dry, still, 100plus-degree air. DH and I did not stain the fence like we'd planned. C did not go running. S opted out of a paintball game.

What we all did instead was cool off with popsicles. It would seem this is somewhat common around here. Popsicles are the perfect summer treat: cool, tasty and fun. I grew up in this very same valley with my mom's original milk popsicles. Though I never learned how to make them from her, I often blended up fruit and yogurt to make another version for the kids when they were small. Sometimes, like Jen, we started a particularly hot day with them.

You don't really need fancy molds for popsicles, and you definitely don't need recipes. Anything that tastes good in liquid form will make a good popsicle. This summer we've made:

strawberry-lime (a blenderful of strawberries, a splash of lime juice, a little sweetener)

berry mashup (blackberries, raspberries and grapes, if I remember correctly—no extra sweetener required)

and one night after a party, I poured the leftover sangria into molds and made:

It is DH's favorite on a day like today.

We tend to make popsicles with what we have on hand, but I wonder what else one might use. The kids' favorite Arnold Palmer concoctions? It's been done. A green smoothie for health? Check. Mint tea? Here it is.

Do you have any favorite popsicle combinations?

Friday, July 13, 2012

why i love cold brew coffee

I like coffee. So does DH. We usually have coffee together every morning, but we don't have the same coffee.

DH uses a French press and adds lots of milk.

I drink coffee black and make cold brew.

I won't go into all the hows and how-tos of cold brew. It can be found all over the web: here is one place, and here is another.

I have made my brew in different ways. Currently, because the cork for my Toddy (no affiliate connection) went missing, I am soaking my favorite coarse ground in the Vitamix pitcher overnight and straining the liquid into a carafe in the morning. A 12 oz bag of coffee makes concentrate for about 30 cups when diluted.

That's a full ~~month~~...~~2 weeks~~...10 days...or so worth of coffee, depending on your consumption level.

Even in these baked July days, I still like my morning cup hot.