Work Day at Eaton St

When my Granddad was not well a couple of weeks ago, I rushed to see him after working on a demolition crew all day...I was COVERED with soot from head to toe.  Everyone was cracking jokes about my appearance, etc. but Caroline my 3 year old cousin walked into the room, took one look at my soot covered face and dirt stained clothes and her eyes lit up as she yelled, "Princess Girl Fighter!"  Apparently she had told her mother that this is what she wants to be when she grows up, and so she carries around plastic tools in her toolbelt while wearing a sparkly princess dress!

I told some of my friends in Buffalo this story about Princess Girl Fighters...and they LOVED it.  So in honor of a the EastSide HouseWorks work day I was having at my house this Saturday, my friends made some rad t-shirts!  A huge thank you to all who came out...we fixed some windows, tore off a porch roof, sanded and re-mudded a bathroom, broke up some failed concrete radiator experiments, and SO much more.  Couldn't have done it without awesome helping hands.  If you live on the EastSide and are interested in becoming part of EastSide HouseWorks, please contact me ASAP so we can get you involved!

Mother's Day Bake!

Yesterday was the first F+D baking day of the season in the oven in my backyard...and a mother's day bake at that!  Everyone brought their mothers, enjoyed pizza and lounged in the backyard on such a glorious spring day.  We made F+D's famous cinnamon raisin bread as everyone shared embarrassing mother-offspring stories and had a wonderful time.  It was a great start to the baking season, and while F+D has moved on to a commercial kitchen and now sell at the Clinton-Bailey Market (congrats, you guys!), I hope they continue to utilize the earthen oven for community baking events for many seasons to come! Their breadshare season is coming up, so to learn more about the 12-week share and to get their contact info, check them out at: http://fancyanddelicious.blogspot.com/

Speaking of earthen ovens, there is a earthen oven replastering workshop at my house set for this Thursday, from 5:30-8pm.  We will talk about various plaster concoctions, the pros/cons of each, and then we will re-plaster the oven (weather permitting).  Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend!

Whew, lots of cool stuff going on these days...hard to keep up!  I know I have to keep checking the barn raisers calendar to remind me of all the things I'm signed up for. Ha!  Have you heard of it?  Check it out here: http://www.buffalobarnraisers.com/

Work Holiday at SolRise Farm

Today was the second work holiday hosted on the east side, at Josh and Emily's place, Solrise Farm!  There were many enthusiastic workers there from morning until late afternoon/early evening, ready to rip out old basement windows, cut through sides of buildings and piece together "bottle bricks" for the new glass block/glass bottle windows.


Amanda headed up the demo crew in the front of the house in the AM, removing the existing door and prepping for the afternoon crew to come in and re-frame the walls and door entrance.  Major planting progress was acheived...strawberries, raspberries...mmm!  Marisa, Emily and a bunch of other folks rose to the occasion as they learned how to build with "bottle bricks," a trick I learned out west while working with the Earthship folks.  And the windows look GREAT!  (stay tuned for a description on how to make "bottle bricks")

Once again, lunch was a success...yummy salad and baked ziti.  New people joined our crew of east side diyers, and we are glad to have them.  Next on the list...Gloria's house.  Stay tuned for siding, fencing and/or window replacement in 2 weeks!

East Side DIYers

There are no official workshops being held at my house in the near future, but I would like to announce a great way for east siders to fix up their homes, DIY style. From now on, this blog will primarily update on the progress of this group of east side DIYers, with the occasional announcement regarding continued work/bread workshops and neighborhood gatherings at 153 Eaton.

The idea behind the east side DIYers is that many hands make light work. A group of people lend a hand to their neighbor on a specific day with the expectation that a few weeks or a months down the road, it will be their turn to receive help from their neighbors. Today was the first of many future DIY parties, and it was a total success!

Creighton's house was the first guinea pig...at 10 this morning he had me grouting bathroom tiles, Gloria building a wall and some other folks drywalling and painting! A big hearty lunch was had by all (thanks Kiana!). Next up...Josh and Emily's house!
If you are interested in becoming involved in this work trade group and live on the east side, please email me at buffalobasics@gmail.com

For those leaky toilets out there...

Announcing: there is an official date for the workshop in December!
If no other requests for workshops are received (you still have time to submit a request by the way), the workshop will be on plumbing basics.

We will talk about the various ways to construct, alter and repair plumbing systems, and there will be a discussion on the pros and cons of copper, pex and aquatherm as plumbing materials. The workshop will be very hands-on, so expect to learn how to solder, how to repair broken water lines, etc.

Workshop details:

December 22nd, 5pm-6pm
153 Eaton St.

Free, open to all. Bring a jacket since it can be a little chilly that time of year! Hot cocoa will be served since that is my favorite winter drink (tea is also an option...). Hope to see you there!

Megan

Resuming workshops (fingers crossed!)

Haven't reported in a while, but there is some good news in the works: free home repair workshops are likely to resume at the house, albeit in a limited capacity. There are no scheduled dates as of yet, but look for a workshop happening in mid to late December, the week before Christmas. Also, the subject of the workshop is not decided, so if anyone is looking to gain home repair skills in a specific field, please email buffalobasics@gmail.com with requests for workshops. The deadline for requests is December 12th.

As always, you are welcome to stop by the house to talk to Pat and Brendan about future workshops or for tips in home repair, and you can chat with Maura about baking on Thursdays and Fridays. Happy Halloween everyone, and hope to see you soon at a workshop!

Megan

Finishing wood...cuckoo for coconut oil?

First post since settling in at Yestermorrow (in Vermont) for six months...

Lately, I am into learning about different treatments for wood, especially for wood that will be used in eating, such as cutting boards and spoons. I have learned that once again, it is simply a matter of common sense; if I would not eat the oil, I should not put it on the wood I will be eating off of. Seems self-explanatory, no?

Then again, susceptibility to rancidity must be taken into account. For example, I should not treat wood with olive oil since it is much more susceptible to rancidity than say walnut oil or almond oil. …but walnut oil is not extremely common, is it? I opted for coconut oil…I read it is a good way to treat wood due to its low rancidity…we’ll see how it works out. Secondly, something I did not even realize, which may be an extremely important topic to consider if giving wood gifts as a present, is allergies. If someone is allergic to walnuts, don’t treat the wood with walnut oil. Same with coconut. Makes sense, but if you are not allergic to any foods, it is not something that would immediately come to mind in choosing finishes.