bohemian hellhole

Painting Restoration Update!

I received this email yesterday, and was so thankful to have an excuse to post an update.

'Hi, I am so enjoying your blog. I've been following your experience in restoring the old painting. I have one that a friend has asked me to restore and I am afraid of messing it up. I am wondering if you stopped your project or will continue as I can't find "the end" of your project. Have I missed something or have you just been busy with other things? Thanks SO much! Linda'

To recap for those of you who just dropped in on my painting restoration posts and wonder, "what are all these boring and almost identical photos of a dirty old picture all about anyway?", I am documenting the slow restoration of a nearly 100 year old oil painting, frame and all. {you could also read this.}

Hello Linda!  have not stopped my project, it has just been paused. We moved in {cough} February, and I have had the hardest time getting my act together in the area of setting up a workspace. In our old house the garage was right off the kitchen, and was really easy to use. I could run out and work a few minutes here and there without feeling like I was really separated from the rest of the family or house. In our new house, I have a large basement to use, but, it's not terribly enjoyable to be down there. This is mostly because I hadn't set up a space for myself yet. Over the last few weeks I have worked on carving out a work area, moving cabinets and tables, hanging up a chalkboard to make notes on, organizing tools, and things like that. I gave up my good work table for use as a kitchen table when we moved, so I am still on the hunt for a large sturdy work surface. I think I may make a few of these and set them up end to end. {its free!} The biggest piece of the problem was that the painting and frame themselves were still in storage, waiting for their new restoration studio. I realized that I was putting things off, because I didn't want to drive out to get them from storage, or have to go down in the basement to finish my studio area. So, I went and got them two days ago. Wild thoughts were running through my head as I drove up. I was certain that the painting had peeled off the canvas, that the frame had crumbled to bits, that it was actually all smaller and uglier and more destroyed than could ever be remedied...Basically that I had ruined a worthless project. But, it was like seeing old friends when I opened the storage room door, the frame was not rubble, but in a state of mid-restoration showing little glimpses of gilding and hope along the edges. The painting was much smoother than I remembered it, and had not peeled off the canvas. The little boats were still sailing on some unknown Oregon body of water. It felt exciting to see them, and motivating to move forward. It is Gilding Season, after all.

Goals this week: organize my tools and tables downstairs, and build a standing easel for the painting. Oh, also, I need to add some more task lighting.

Researching make-do burnishers, Alice

 

Ten things Alice taught me, #1

My great-grandmother was named Alice. I 'borrowed' her name a long time ago for a totally different enterprise {a greeting card company}, but it stuck around, and here we are. Alice Almighty. The almighty part of the name is not a flippant suggestion that I am all powerful or even able to do much at all, but more that I imagined my grandmother was able to do anything. I never saw her build anything, but I don't doubt that she did. I never saw her lift a giant piece of furniture, but I am sure she got the job done. She was never in pyjamas, or swallowed up by clutter, and her garden was always amazing. I think about her quite a bit, since there are so many things I have learned from her, even by accident.

#1: 15 minutes a day.

I must have mentioned this several times before but seriously, its the best advice. There are things I never want to do, like carry laundry all the way to the basement six times a day, or wash everyone else's dirty cups over and over again, or weed the yard, or most of all, get ready for the day. I'll be honest, most days I have a really bad attitude and can't convince myself of a good reason to look like I haven't just woken up. I don't really want to do anything at all, especially when everything has piled up and I am behind. Today, I thought, just fifteen minutes. What can it hurt, to put on makeup and pull my hair back, if it only takes 15 minutes? What about cleaning? Gardening? Writing to someone who I have been putting off for way too long? It made the biggest difference, not that I looked amazing or got all my jobs done, but I did get way more done than normal...most things don't even take that long. So, that's one piece of my grandmother's counsel, simple and pretty old news, but sometimes that's what my life is lacking. Basic skills.

Listening to dodgeball over at 'Monday Funday', Alice

Fit to Eat: Wheat free Carrot Crepes

For some reason, I have had a hankering for crepes lately. Perhaps it is because I keep driving by little Creperies along Hawthorne Boulevard, or because it has been a long time since I made them. Either way, today was the day that I decided to make them. A few years ago,  I distinctly remember using a strange crepe recipe involving carrots, soy flour and a blender. They sounded awful, but tasted great. After about forty-five minutes of googling that resulted in nothing that even came close to carrots in a blender, the only option was to experiment and use my foggy memories. Most of the crepe recipes I read today called for about equal parts flour and milk, and anywhere from one to four eggs, sweetener, salt, and sometimes some spices. Here is what I ended up with.

1 cup rolled oats {you could substitute another flour here, but I can't stand by the 1 C measurement...you may have to play with the amount.}

1 cup whole milk

3 eggs

3 whole carrots {I suppose you could use about 3/4 of a cup of baby carrots}

2 T Demerara sugar {or sweetener of your choice, this is just the only thing I had on hand}

1/8 tsp salt

*Optional, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, or vanilla {or any spices you like, actually}

Coconut oil {for the pan} Put all the ingredients in a blender, and blend on high until smooth {it took about two minutes in my very underpowered, cheap blender} Heat an iron skillet over medium heat, once hot,  add in some coconut oil. Pour in crepe batter, tipping the pan to make a thin disc, as large as you feel comfortable flipping. The first one is almost always a throw away, so don't be disheartened if it falls apart and looks gummy. Toss it. I like to use a super thin all metal spatula with no holes in it. I got it at the goodwill, and I pick them up whenever I find them because it seems they are scarce. Spatulas are all giant and silicone these days, or else they are 'man sized' for grilling. Yuck. Once the crepe has little bubbles all over it, you can flip it. The cooking should go really quick, maybe a minute per side. Add a little oil in between crepes so that they don't stick. We ate ours today with homemade apple preserves from a friend, but they are also delicious with honey and yogurt, fresh berries, jam or even just butter, cinnamon, and sugar. This recipe makes 8-10 seven inch crepes. In our case, it served one very excited 5 year old.

Thinking of Rita, as the weather is hot and I am unmotivated to do anything at all today, Alice

Ask Alice: A follow up

Dear Alice,

Can I reconstitute dry skin?

Signed, Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Hahaha! I laughed for a while about this, and thought I had better post it as a great follow up to 'can I reconstitute dried clay'. While I don't think soaking yourself in a bucket and using a drill attachment will help dry skin, I am sure that there are all kinds of strange remedies online for curing what ails you. For some reason this reminded me of the original batman movie, where the bad guys dry up all the world leaders, and keep them in little jars. Of course, Batman and Robin save the day by reconstituting them, while wearing spanx. I am sure all of this is helpful in answering the incredibly serious question at hand.

Making shredded beef for Cinco De Mayo! Alice

*all photos via the m0vieblog

Ask Alice: Can I reconstitute dried clay?

Dear Alice,
I have some potters clay that has not been fired but is completely dried out. I have heard that you can rehydrate it and get it to a workable consistency. Is this true? And HOW do you do it. When I tried, it got so mucky you couldn't do anything with it.
Thank you. Monica

Dear Monica, I did some reading, since I am not a potter myself, and haven't made anything out of clay since the eighth grade. {for the record, I made a ridiculous 'bust' and my mom still has it out on her counter. She must love me.} There were wildly varying accounts of how to do it, ranging from, 'put the clay in a bucket of water and wait', to 'add some beer' to more complicated multi-step instructions involving kiddie pools and watering cans.
The scenario that makes the most sense to me is this one, and I quote*:

"First, the clay needs to be broken up into chunks no bigger (and preferably
a bit smaller) than your fists. This will be easiest at this stage if the
clay is truly bone dry. Lay it out on a sheet on the ground and pound
(careful for your shins!) with a sledge hammer.

Slake the clay in water until it becomes slip. Stir well to homogenize it.
Once it's liquid enough, you can accomplish the stirring with a paint or
glaze stirring attachment on an electric drill.

You'll need to allow the slip to dry out, back to the plastic stage of the
clay, and for this you'll need some sort of absorbent containers. You might
try making large, shallow drawers with hardware cloth bottoms and lining
them with heavy muslin or canvas, then stacking them up on a network of
cement block supports and filling them with slip. Another possibility {this seems way easier to me...} is to
pour the thick slip into pillow cases or something of the sort and hang them
outside from a strong support. This is difficult, as the pillow cases will
be *very* heavy and awkward. Of course, there's always the time-honored
method of using plaster troughs, depending upon how complicated you want to
get. If you just let the slip sit in plastic buckets, it will eventually
evaporate (unevenly) to a consistency you can work with, but it'll take a
long time. I hope someone can give you an easier method for this.

Once the slip reaches plastic stage, you just knead it and go. "

*from Potters.org

I had to quote from the forum, specifically so that no one out there would think I actually know what I am talking about! If it doesn't work, blame Cindy.

Hopefully that helps you out somehow!

Listening to the crickets on my back porch, Alice

all photos via Gary Jackson

A vacation for my mind {I think I've taken one or two of these before}

This week I was intending to overhaul my front porch, or at least clean it, but I got slightly distracted by looking for *ideas* on Pinterest. One rabbit trail after another led me to Birch + Bird, where I found these photos...the most amazingly quiet and wonderful house. I want to just stay there for a while, so instead I just sat and looked at them, like a Pinterest zombie. Maybe I'll get a red bull, make a bunting, bake some bread and weed the garden. Maybe.


Waiting for the UPS truck, Alice

Magnolia Street {an etsy shop}

This shop just opened up today on Etsy, and already many of my favorite items have been sold! A good friend {who has impeccable taste} is hand picking vintage, lovely items from the Portland area and offering them to you, at wonderful prices. Please, head over to Magnolia Street on Etsy, before everything is sold!

Doing the dishes by hand. Because I have to, Alice

I have some amazing friends....

One of these friends is venturing into furniture making, and I wanted to share some photos of a piece he just finished. I have the utmost respect for craftsmanship and beautiful details. Using a chop saw and a drill is one thing, and I can do it, but creating perfect corners without glopping on wood filler is another.

If you are in the northwest, and are in the market for some amazing custom furniture, please let me know, and I will get you some contact information!

{all photos via Two and a Half Hours}

Taking apart the dishwasher, Alice

p.s. I now really regret giving away my giant American flag.

William Morris What?

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." This is week whatever and whatever of the William Morris Project*, happening again, weekly in 2013.

*Pancakes & French Fries started this whole business a while ago, and I have been trying to keep up ever since!

I have officially been pulled under. Somehow, I have become the person who can't even find two socks that match, or remember which day of the week it is, make dinner or plan anything ahead, even if I have a hundred calendar reminders. I am tired, but really, what do I do everyday? I honestly can't remember most of the time. I know a year ago I was knocking of like 30 items off my list each week, this year I barely made a list. In the last three weeks, I have managed to do nothing, really. I began contact papering my kitchen drawers and shelves, but I only did three drawers. Two were easy because they were empty. They were empty because they hold the kitchen towels and I am severely behind on my laundry.  Whoop-de-do.

I hung up three pieces of art, made a mess on my dining room table in the name of cleaning out, and took apart the dishwasher filter and put it back together again {the 'new' dishwasher has developed a wonderful death grind, which I hoped would be solved by finding something stuck down in the filter, but it's louder than ever. Apparently I have to remove the whole dumb thing and take apart the under-portions of the machine, to remove the pump, probably break something and be back at square one.}.

What it comes down to is that I just fiddled with things in my house, moving them around, rather like a crazy person; not really progressing in any way towards any clear goal. So, I am going to have to call in outside help or join a support group or hire a coach. Something. Who wants to read introspective whining each week? Not me!

Googling mental disorders and planning notebooks, Alice

 

The William Morris Project, Year 2, Weeks 12 & 13

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." This is week twelve and thirteen of the William Morris Project*, happening again, weekly in 2013.

*Pancakes & French Fries started this whole business a while ago, and I have been trying to keep up ever since!

It's spring break here in Portland, so we went to the beach. It was actually warm enough to not dress in blizzard wear, and there were just enough people about to make it seem festive, but not too crowded. It was really quite nice. We also visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory, which was totally swarming with people wanting to taste test little cubes of cheese. The ice cream was delicious though.

 

Taking a trip was a nice intermission from the endless curtain sewing I have been doing. For the past two weeks I have been chipping away at my burlap panels, pressing, pinning, hemming, sometimes re-hemming. They are finally all up, and with one exception they are all the right size. There is one that is a bit too long, but I took out the hem and tried to correct it twice already, so it is just going to stay behind the couch and hide. As soon as I hung them up I had a vision of another layer of curtains over these ones, sort of a semi sheer red/pink/green/patterned panel with fringe and enough weight to drape nicely to one side...the trouble is finding the perfect fabric now! In the meantime it is really nice to have something on the windows to filter light, and soften the hard surfaces. The fabric cost me $1.50 {but with shipping it ended up closer to $3} a window, adding in tension rods, each window cost between $6 and $8. I think that's pretty economical. The finished result is a simple, natural fiber panel, that adds in a casual element to a fairly formal group of rooms. I am quite pleased, even if passers by say, 'is that burlap?'.

Cleaning up for Easter dinner, Alice