Studio is Finished!

Hooray!
I'm all moved in!

And here is the first new doll I finished.
Her name is Sophia.

I'm happy!

Bottling Laundry Soap

Here is a photo of the laundry soap I bottled up today.
I ended up with around 10 gallons.
There is still some left in the bucket.
Total cost was less than $3 for all this soap.

Materials were Fels Naptha Soap, Borax, and Washing Soda.

Each time I make the soap it takes one bar of Fels Naptha, so I just buy it by the case.  The boxes of borax and washing soda have lasted through three 10 gallon cycles and still are at least a third full.

I'm going to record the date in my bullet journal and see how long it lasts.
One capful per load is plenty.

Also, we put a dehumidifier in the basement yesterday to see if it would make a difference in the smell of the house. This old house was built in 1930 and when I returned from Spain, an "old person" smell hit me in the face when I walked in. I'm hoping the dehumidifier will make a difference.

I just checked it and there's already over half a gallon in the container and it's only been running 4 hours.

Getting the house back in order, minimizing, and working on the studio has been fun, but tiring. I'm looking forward to spending a few days at the beach next weekend with some friends.

Did I tell you we have a neighborhood turkey? She leaves eggs at the neighbors and we share them.  They're much larger than chicken eggs and really rich. We aren't sure where she came from but we're happy she has adopted us!

I love being home!
It's always such an adventure!

Love,
Annie

A New Studio

Life has been a whirlwind since I got home from Spain.

I'm in the process of getting my life organized - trying to minimize is always a priority when I return from the Camino.

Today I made 10 gallons of laundry soap. Here is the recipe I use, in case you didn't read the post:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2013/01/diy-soap-for-14-cent-per-load.html

I've also been watching Joe as he completely rebuilds my new Art Studio.  When we moved into this house, there was a hot tub in a glass-sided building out on the back patio.  We used it for storage for a couple of years, and this year, I decided I'd like to use it as a studio where I can read, do watercolor, and just be outdoors.

When he began tearing into the building, he found much more of it was rotten than we'd thought.  There were rat holes everywhere. In fact, he pretty much had to tear it down to the bones.

The inside was rotten and full of rat holes.

Off comes the old front

Yuck

When he got the old facing off, all the wood had to be replaced.

Nice new front.

New braces

From the inside

The roof had some damaged and rotten wood

that needed to be cut out and replaced.

There were shingles missing.

Nice new wood

New window

I had him cut a window in the yard side. 

I think we'll need to cut one on the other side for 

cross ventilation, as well.

All the old insulation had to be replaced.

All new insulation

From the inside

Yesterday the building got a new plywood floor. 

Joe will seal it for me with a low VOC sealer.
He also started the drywall.

Today he is putting in the new door.

Stay tuned to see the results!

Annie