Hmm - family photos

So the Parents-in-law are taking photos of the family to take back to show all the relatives when they visit Holland in July. Hmm our picture taking is not so good but at least the picture in front of the computer is pretty accurate. I would say that was the hottest seat in the house.

A new sport in our house

The boys have been on at me for over a year to learn how to be a trampolinist. Trampoline classes are probably the most expensive sport there is where we live. Not only has the cost put me off but the travel too. Now we have moved we live only 500m from the trampoline centre. So this term they finally started lessons. Three weeks later and they both earned their first certificate. Eli also did his second certificate (blue) but they did not have spare ones to fill out so he will get it in a couple of week.

They already can do complete flips and land on their feet. I am hoping that it may mean the end of Eli cracking his head open as he learns to control what he does on a trampoline.

They insisted on goofy photos too.

 

How to make a cutting table - a bit of upcycling

Take one really manky Rimu set of drawers that were cut off a wardrobe and good for nothing. Ask the second hand dealers to screw a top on that is 1/2 inch bigger than my cutting board. $60 later and we are ready to get started.

Get stuck in with the sander, make sure you get dust all through the garage, all outside and over everything. Remove the handles of the drawers before you do the draw fronts. Grunty 60grit sandpaper is the way to get the varnish off. Then go down to smooth as a baby's bottom 180 or 200grit.

Use plain vegetable or canola oil and oil all sanded areas really well. Clean out all drawers etc.

Put a Scotty Dog oil cloth that you bought from HERE onto the top with a staple gun. Tuck it under well so that no one sees the work.

Put some gorgeous paper in each drawer to line it and then stand back and congratulate yourself. I am so thrilled with this it is not funny. Now it is time to sort out the mess that is my craft room to be.

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Mother's Day Cruise and a Celebrity suprise

 For Mothers Day we took the parents-in-law on a cruise on Lyttleton Harbour. It was a great day and we saw many things including the endangered Hectors Dolphins.

We could not avoid doing some posing around the boat. At one stage we found the exhaust shafts we were sitting by were really warm. So I spent some time lying on them. It was like being on an outside electric blanket - fantastic. When the camera came out I had to do some poses. 

The need to take updated family photos back to Holland with them in July. So lots were taken

The three generations

The requisite selfie

Doing a bit of posing

Eli meeting Gary McCormick

At the end of the day we went to Freeman's Bar and Restaurant for live Jazz on the deck. A favourite thing of ours to do. Gary McCormick was there and Jakob and Eli did not believe me. They listen to their show on the radio in the morning. So I interrupted his Sunday after to introduce Eli. He was so amazing and very generous with Eli. Thanks so much Gary.

My freezer is a banana graveyard

There was one banana looking sad in the fruit bowl, so I thought Ah ha, I will make banana muffins for lunches this week. I know there are other bananas in the freezer waiting for some baking as whenever my bananas look sad, I chuck them in there to keep until there are enough for a cake.

Well today when I rifled through the freezer I felt that it should have R.I.P on some shelves. Yes there was a total of 11 old frozen bananas. Some in pairs and some by themselves!! So now there are a lot of muffins. I guess it will make the boys happy!!

Now where did that other one go?

Karen "The Tool Woman" Schulz

There were many other names for the title of my post which I auditioned -
"This is how I relax before I go to sleep" (referring to me starting and completing this at 10.30pm in my PJ's).
"I normally start a DIY and then get my Father in law to fix it". A very common title for me to use but could not use that title as I did it all myself!!!
"How to make a fish smoker for $2.50".

So at 10pm (after a hectic day spending the price of a small car on various items for our new house) I had started making a fish smoker. And I finished making it 10 minutes later, which is just as well as all my family-in-law are over for lunch tomorrow as a thank you for helping us move. And I am making smoked salmon.

And yes you read a title correctly. I made this for $2.50. The metal lunch box and the cooling rack coming from the same Thrift Store at this bargain price. Due to all but one latch being broken it would be hard to sell it at all. When I explained to the shop that I needed a metal cake tin or similar for smoking fish I think they thought I was mad.
Anyway referring to the title of the blog - I have to fake my amazing DIY skills as I have NO IDEA what the name of some tools I wanted to use were. But have since found out that it is a wire cutter (grr do you know how many years I cut chicken wire with  - not sure the tool name but they are like pliers but with a cutting edge - only to find out that we had a special tool for this that took seconds to do and not hours!! sigh) and a hacksaw.

Cut the cooling rack down to size, put it in the tin, add some manuka shavings and we will be on fire tomorrow.

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