Author Archives: joel

CRT2019: Houston Zoo

Posted on April 20, 2019 by joel
We got really lucky at the Houston Zoo - the thunderstorms arrived right as we were leaving. The whole place was full of Live Oak trees like you see below - I love the way they grow out rather than up. They look so cool and gnarly.


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CRT2019: Houston Hermann Park

Posted on April 20, 2019 by joel
First stop on the 2019 roadtrip was Hermann Park in downtown Houston, Texas. There's a man-made lake that we walked around, and saw lots of wildlife. Someone gave Carter a handful of peanuts, and she hand-fed the squirrels. We lots of turtles, and a whole bunch of baby ducks. And it stayed dry the whole time, even through it threatened to rain the all morning.





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More Pottery

Posted on April 20, 2019 by joel
Just a pictorial update on how the pottery is going. The glazes are starting to look a lot better. I'm still learning how to be more consistent in getting the forms I want, but the practice is definitely helping.

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Glazing Pottery

Posted on February 17, 2019 by joel
We've finally gotten the hang of glazing - this is the first batch of stuff we'd be willing to let somebody else see. :) This was a random collection of stuff - there are several bowls there, plus a pie plate, a couple of small dessert plates, a couple of planters, and a mortar and pestle.

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Getting Started with Pottery

Posted on January 27, 2019 by joel
Lori and I got a pottery wheel over Christmas, and I've been learning to throw some pots. I've always wanted to learn, after getting a small taste of it in high school. I'm just getting started, so nothing looks particularly amazing yet. But I'm starting to get a little more consistent. We've yet to fire or glaze anything, but expect more photos of that soon.

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Sean’s Drawing

Posted on January 27, 2019 by joel

Sean has been watching a bunch of YouTube videos about drawing lately, and he drew this. I think it came out great! It's currently on display on our fridge.

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Cherry End Table – New Top

Posted on January 27, 2019 by joel

As I mentioned in the earlier post about this table, I thought the original tile top was just too plain. I replaced that tile with this hexagonal mosaic tile. I think it looks *much* better - far more interesting.

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Kitchen Backsplash

Posted on January 27, 2019 by joel
I redid our kitchen backsplash over the Christmas break, but forgot to post photos of it. The old one was white square tiles with pictures of grapes and flowers, or something - not really our style. So I replaced it with this natural stone mosaic. I love the way it came out (especially with all of the minor color variations in the individual tiles) but working on the 45 degree angle like that was torture - it meant every single sheet of tile needed to be cut on at least one edge. I'm sure glad it's done now. :)

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More Patches

Posted on January 27, 2019 by joel
I made a couple more patches on the embroidery machine - the one on the left is Mario in the Megaman suit (found the image online), and the one on the right is a motto I can really appreciate - "built not bought".

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Fermentation Experiments

Posted on November 12, 2018 by joel
I've been experimenting with some fermentation recipes lately. From left to right they are:

1) A red hot sauce from fermented Fresno peppers and garlic. Delicious and extremely flavorful, without being crazy hot.
2) The brine the red peppers fermented in. Only a tiny bit of heat - it's more like a salty brine that you can add to things like a baked potato, etc.
3) A green hot sauce from fermented green Fresno peppers and jalapeno peppers from out garden. This one fermented so aggressively that the jar would foam over every time I cracked it open to relieve the pressure. It's not really hot - it's more "peppery". Also delicious.
4) We've also been trying to make some homemade miso. It needs to age in a crock at room temperature for about a year before you can use it. While it is fermenting, it gives off a liquid called tamari, that is basically just like soy sauce (and can be substituted for soy sauce in any recipe). As the miso ages the tamari it gives off will get darker and darker - this tamari is from early in the process, so it's still pretty blond.

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