Rachel made persimmon drop cookies!

My “make things, not content” t-shirt gets a surprising number of compliments. The number of people who see the sickness in the usual mode of life online and the need for a more embodied experience is not small.

Made a pasta tree for Rachel to dry her homemade pasta.

Rachel made a zucchini pie and–you know what?–it’s really good. (Y’all, we have so many zucchinis.)

You know what? The pickled kale is fantastic. Crisp and sweet and sour. It would be good on sandwiches or just by itself. Good use of a pound of kale from your garden.

Today: pulling nails on salvaged, century-old 2x4s and listening to Colter Wall’s new album Little Songs.

Attempting pickled kale, using this recipe. I added two cloves of garlic and a jalapeño. Now it sits in the refrigerator for two days.

Make your own toothpaste: 4 tbsp melted coconut oil, 3 tbsp baking soda, 3 tbsp bentonite clay, 10-20 drops peppermint essential oil. Reduces plastic use when compared to standard toothpaste. And fewer chemicals, if that’s a concern.

Plans for my next woodworking project:

• Get one of my hand planes in working order
• Build Rex Krueger’s low workbench out of salvaged 2x4 studs.
• Build a desk. I plan to make the top from the lovely old trim I salvaged recently, which I’ll then attach to some black metal legs.

Inspired by this video from Rex Krueger, I decided my best way into hand planing would be to go cheap and put some work into making them better. Coincidentally, I won a Target gift card in a contest at work, which I used on the two inexpensive Stanley planes on the ends. Then I went to an auction and got the three in the middle for a few dollars. So now I’ll be following Rex’s instructions on getting them set up and sharpened.