$80 Headboard

Hey everybody, this is Mandi's husband John. I built a simple headboard for Mandi this past Mother's Day and thought I would share the basic step by steps of how it was done not because it was any great feat of construction (c'mon I build skateboard ramps) but because it's easy, quickly done, fairly inexpensive, and a perfect opportunity to use the finishing nailer you spent $100 on last March and seldom-to-never use.

1. Buy enough 2x4s to build a simple frame that will be tall enough and wide enough for your bed. In this case I needed 5 boards to make the headboard 73" wide and 58" tall. I doubled the legs at the bottom with 10" blocks to add strength and allow a perfect 4' for the bead board to attach to the frame. 3" drywall screws were used for everything.

2. Next take the leftover scraps of 2x4, cut some 45 degree angles on the ends and screw them into corners to make the whole thing stronger, tighter, and allow for more points of contact with the bead board that you just realized is much thinner and flimsier than you had hoped for at $15 for a 4'x4' area! (Notice I added an extra treated 2x4 I had lying around.) Now you're ready to attach bead board with that finishing nailer and 1 1/2" brads. (When it comes to bead board I like the 4" sections that are tongue and groove as opposed to the sheets that only look like bead board. It's too easy to tell the difference especially if it's for a small room or small project like this.) Bead board is sold in 8'x4" sections and all I had to do was rip them all in half with the miter saw and nail them down. Easy.

3. Once the bead board is down go around the sides and top with 6"x 1" pine boards that match the pine bead board perfectly. Then fill in the seams with 2"x 1" pine strips. Both are nailed in with the finishing nailer and 2" brads. (By doing this you've just covered up all the drywall screw heads so no need to use wood filler on this project unless brad heads bum you out.) The above picture shows the headboard after it was carried in and moved into position, ready to be screwed down and painted.

4. Secure the headboard to the wall using 3" 45's and 1 5/8" drywall screws. I used 4 45's total: one on the inside of each leg into the baseboard and one near the top on both sides of the window facings. Since the base is hidden there's no need to add trim or cover the 2x4's.

5. Painting is totally up to you. Keep it natural wood. Paint it. White wash it. Whatever. For ours Mandi wanted a white-washed look but with the same grey we painted our living room and dining room with. I mixed less than a cup of the water-based satin finish paint we had sitting in the shed with the same amount of water, stirred it up, and... painted. It went on easy, dried quickly, and gave it an interesting color but allowed the wood grain and knots to show through.

6. Once the paint's dry you're ready to push the bed frame and mattress against the headboard and attach them with a couple more 3" drywall screws. On our headboard the bed frame attaches with holes really close to the 45's holding the headboard to the wall so everything feels really solid and the thing is ready for the countless bounces and wrestle matches it will endure from Moonpie and Buddy. The final touch for our headboard was the two yellow cast iron birds perched on each end Mandi picked up at a local downtown furniture store.

7. So there ya go. A simple design and a custom fit that took less than two hours to finish and I'm guessing saved us a little $. Bye.

gone broody

Blackberry, my australorp hen, has gone broody on me. This is common for a hen her age, and for her particular breed. I suspected something was up last week when I went out to spread scratch and she didn't come. Typically she is my most voracious eater and chirps happily at snack time. But she was nowhere to be found. And this has gone on for 4 or 5 days now. I began to worry and started forcing her out of the coop to eat and drink. Broody hens can sometimes starve or become dehydrated if they are not watched closely. I realized she had gone over the edge when I was holding her and realized all of her chest feathers were gone. GROSS! She looks like she could be wrapped up in cellophane and sold on the super market shelf!

So what to do with a broody hen? We don't have eggs to hatch and her hogging the coop is discouraging the other chickens to lay. Not to mention that she has stopped laying as well. The best way to discourage broodiness is to separate the hen from the rest of the flock into her own smallish pen. I've read that it's best to make the pen as uncomfortable as possible. John is going to rig up something tomorrow, so for the time being she has been banished- to glory land. Her punishment is free reign of the entire backyard.

Take that, Blackberry!

Signs you have a broody hen:

1. her comb has gone from red to pink

2. her chest feathers are gone (this is so the heat can be more easily transferred to the eggs)

3. she puffs up and pecks when you come near her while she's nesting (fortunately, Blackberry is extremely docile- not one peck!)

4. she doesn't leave the nest- even to eat- and when she does, she guards it fiercely

Those of you that are more chicken knowledgeable than I, please share your experiences and advice!

3 things

1. First off- tomorrow is Market Day out at Home Sweet Farm. We're going to be there again peddling granola. Please come out and join us!

2. Target sells Monchichis! All together now:

"Monchichi, monchichi, so furry soft and cuddly!"

Do you remember the line "monchichi, monchichi, I can do karate!" or did I make that up? That is very much how I remember the jingle going as a child!

3. Speaking of monchichis, my hair on the no'poo regime was beginning to resemble one, so I washed it. With shampoo. I'm pretty sure it saved my marriage. After almost 2 weeks of John moving in for a kiss and me shrieking "DON'T TOUCH ME! I'M HIDEOUS!!!", it was time for a change. A change in a cleaner feeling direction.

richie rich

This just in! Turns out I'm the 190,434,783 richest person in the world! Which means that I'm in the top 3% of the richest people in the world!

Being rich is all relative, right? Here in the US we would be considered lower middle class. I think. Or maybe upper working class- did I just make that up? Whatever it is, we aren't considered well off in any light.

But it truly is all how you look at it. Never in my life have I felt as 'rich' as I do now. I'm doing what I love, with the people I love. I have wonderful friends, and most of my family is within 2 hours driving distance.

Back to the dollar amount though. As one who is in the top 3% of the world's wealthiest, what I am I doing with all of my riches? Are the needs of others being met through our income? Is there a child somewhere, not in my own home, that has a better life because of us? These are things I think about, almost daily. How we can meet the needs of those around us, and teach our children to have compassion on those in need? Very important work.

here's moonpie, age 4, mailing the money she raised to buy chickens and goats

for families around the world- through world vision.

There are so many wonderful organizations to support. There are also wonderful ways of serving sans organizations. You know, neighbor to neighbor, that sort of thing.

Take a minute to find out where you are ranked. You may be surprised!

Now, what to do with all those riches?

Organizations worth your time and money! (that I have had personal experience with):

Bite Back

Compassion International

World Vision

ServLife

What organization would you add to the list?

no'poo update- edited

i have one word...

ick.

that's how my hair feels. that's how i feel about my hair.

remember when i was saying, bragging really, how i probably wouldn't have much of a detox period? uh-huh. famous last words.

let's just say i'll be rocking the head scarf this week!

____________________________________

i have just read that i shouldn't be putting the apple cider vinegar on my scalp. just the ends. it's the ACV that makes the hair feel so oily. good to know. maybe i can go back to bragging about my no detox hair after all! : )

i have to add that this is so like me. i get the basic recipe and don't read the directions, assuming i'll just 'figure it out'. yeah, that really worked out well for me here!

WAIT!!! there's more!

no'poo

Well...I've up and done it. Started going the no'poo route on Monday. So far I haven't had any gross detox, but I haven't used real chemical based shampoo in about 5 years.

I have long hair. Long enough that I consider it a public service for my hair to be looking at least a smidge decent when I leave the house. This is what has been keeping me from using the baking soda/water wash and the apple cider vinegar rinse. But I have to be honest. I am tired of paying lots of money for my organic shampoo and conditioner. Especially when I am not getting the results that I would hope to. So I'm going to give the no'poo method a whirl and see what I think. So far I like it! This is the formula I'm using now:

No'poo

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup water

- mix until the baking soda is dissolved. The solution should not be gritty at all.

rinse

1 tablespoon ACV

1 cup of water

I'll post pictures soon!

making peace

I've been thinking about the upcoming mother's day weekend. I have never loved anything more than motherhood. Right now the gentle background noise of my two playing in their tree house is my soundtrack. And I have to say, I think it is my Greatest Hits. If I were to have such a thing. But, this mother's day will be a little different for us, I think. With losing our little one in December through miscarriage, I know my thoughts will from time to time drift to her on that day. She's on my mind today quite a bit, praying prayers of thanksgiving for the brief amount of time I was able to spend with her as she was within me. She wasn't old enough to know her sex, but we are all certain that she is a girl.

We have had a bumpy road in fertility these past 2 1/2 years. Most of that time has been spent in tears and wonderment. Confusion. Worry. Our journey came to a screeching halt the day I miscarried. After a period of grieving, some things began to become clear for me. First off, the desire for a baby is ok. It is good even. But it can't be all consuming. A wise friend told me one day (in speaking of her own adoption journey) that it's not about the baby. It is about the very specific plan God has for our lives. This was built on by another dear friend when I lost our baby. She reminded me that it is not even only about the plan God has for me and John, rather, that God has very specific plans for the little ones He places within us. Within our wombs, our families, our hearts. I have to tell you, that this has allowed me to make my way to peace over the issue of not being pregnant (I've chosen not to 'own' the term infertility).

So what was the plan for our sweet baby? Why her brief little life? Well, for me, she proved that I can get pregnant. She reminded me to be thankful for the little ones I already have. Her life and death revealed a different side of my God to me. One that was mother-like in His tender care over me during that very sad time. She showed me, again, that God's ways are not my ways. His timing is not my own. And all of that, all of that, brings me such peace.

Finding peace is not the same as making peace. I have found peace in my Heavenly Father, but every day I must choose to make peace with the journey He has chosen for me. And that is what I'm doing now.

What a relief it is!