Finishing Up and Erika's Baguette

Finishing up the cabinets in the kitchen with some crown molding. I decided to make my own molding since Japan has a very limited choice of moldings available.

Each piece required five different angle cuts on the table saw and some unusual miter cuts on the compound miter saw. 

These are the base pieces for the molding that are installed before the molding.

Here's a side view of what I was trying to accomplish. 

These are the base pieces installed before the molding.

Here, the crown molding is being fitted and installed. Who is that old guy?

The finished crown molding for the cabinets.

This is one of the vegetable bins installed earlier this year. We've been harvesting carrots, and several varieties of lettuce and cabbage.

Here's one of our purple carrots.

They look great in a salad and taste pretty good too.

Erika can bake very well! She researched how to make baguettes and did a fantastic job!

Wow! These look and taste amazing.

The bread was light and airy and chewy. She is going to experiment with some other recipes in the near future...please stay tuned.

No, Erika didn't bake the pecan pie. She ate it though. Yeah, it's that time of year. Right now, I'm working on a glass panel for the top of the stairway. I'll be taking some pictures for the next post. Please stay safe and be careful for the holidays. Wishing you a much better New Year in the future.

 

Garden update and how to make a spout from bamboo

I enjoy this time of year. Autumn brings some fantastic weather for working in the garden. I've been wanting to add a water feature in the garden for some time. Here's how I made a basic water spout out of some bamboo that was growing in the neighborhood.

The spout is made from three pieces of bamboo. I cut some 1" and 2" diameter bamboo. The 2" bamboo was cut to one bamboo knuckle (about 6") and the 1" bamboo was cut to about 18" and 24" lengths. I just used lengths that looked about right for a water spout (I guessed).

This is the 2" diameter bamboo not cut to size. I chose only one segment (knuckle) to use.

Here's the 1" diameter bamboo cut to length.

This is where the water feature will go.

I dug a shallow hole for the PVC liner.

I added some rocks that I found in the yard and placed them on top of the liner. The BBQ metal screen adds support to the rocks so that they don't fall into the hole. Once the water feature is up and running, I'll add plants and some small stones to cover the exposed liner. I'll take my time with this step because I want to make sure the fountain works properly in the wind.

Here's the 2" segment of bamboo cut to size between the knuckles.

Next, draw the lines for the 1" diameter spout and vertical post.

Here's some tools I used for cutting out the holes in the 2" bamboo. Just a simple keyhole saw and a drill.

An oscillating sander comes in handy for smoothing the holes, but it's not required.

I drill the line I drew earlier...

...and cut with a keyhole saw. The bamboo is 1/2" thick so take your time.

Next I use a 1" spade drill to hollow out the bamboo core for the water tube.

Slide the water tube into the spout and then slide the spout into the 2" diameter bamboo. No glue required. Friction should hold things together.

I pounded a piece of rebar to support the spout when it gets real windy.

I then routed the water hose into the vertical bamboo. TIP: I used a coat wire hangar to guide the hose into the drilled holes. It would have been impossible otherwise.

Here's the liner I used for the water feature. Liners can be found at home centers.

I installed the solar powered birdbath pump and filled the liner with water.

Ready to go!

I'll test the feature for a month or so before I add the finishing touches.

Here's an update on the raised garden beds I posted a few months ago. This bed has lettuce, cabbage and carrots we have been harvesting during the year.

This bed has broccoli.

The winter crop is just starting to sprout. This is daikon.

Here's the water feature with some azaleas and a weeping maple. More plants will be added later.

I'm also taking cuttings from the New Guinea Impatiens we have been growing all year. Hopefully they will be ready for planting next spring. when it warms up.

New Guinea Impatiens

Well that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed the lesson and I'll be updating the progress of the garden real soon. Take care, stay safe, and don't forget to vote.

 

NGC 2175

Here's an image I took last year and processed this year. NGC 2175 is about 6350 light years from our planet. The image was taken at the Tsukahara Observatory using an Edge 11HD with a 0.7 focal reducer. Integration time was about 8 hours taken with Ha, SII, and OIII filters. Each exposure was 1200 seconds (cooled to -25C) using a QSI 583WSG on a Paramount MyT and guided with an OAG. Processing was done with Pixinsight and Photoshop using a Hubble Palette. Please stay tuned for more images...

 

Wheat Harvest (seed faith) stained glass

I really enjoyed this project. The design is from Glasssmith Studios "The Next Book". I purchased the book in 2003 with the hope that someday I would have the time and skill to do this design justice. Well, after waiting 17 years the time was right. I had to make some modifications, but it's very close to the original. This piece reminds me of my father. He passed away in 1994. He was a religious person and often spoke of seed faith. The stone marker on his grave has a wheat stalk engraved on it. I have always believed that wheat represented seed faith. I'm not a religious person, but I found this piece to be inspirational and a symbol of having faith in our future. Please stay safe and healthy.

Building a raised bed garden

Our volcanic soil is fertile, but rocky. Plants do very well for the first couple of years then the soil runs out of nutrients. Raised bed gardens are an ideal solution for this. First I dug out an area roughly the size of the finished bed. I edged it with concrete block. 

Next, I cut the treated 2x4's to size.

I stained the lumber to match the house. I also used a rubber paint on the concrete blocks.

I repeated the same process for the other beds.

The second layer of wood is for a hinged lid. 

The beds are 56cm (22 inches) deep. This should deep enough to grow potatoes and carrots. 

After all of the pieces are cut to size, I attached the first layer of wood with adhesive. The blocks keep everything thing flat and level while the adhesive dries overnight.

The soil is made locally at a farm which consists of horse and cow manure, and rice hulls. I also throw some garden soil in to balance the mix. The purchased soil is well rotted and has no smell. The plants love it. We use it all over the yard. A K-truck load is only 1000 yen...super cheap!!

I drilled some holes for the frame supports.

Next, I installed the PVC frame supports. Just a single wood screw is all that is needed.

Slip a few T-fittings onto the PVC pipe and bend the pipe to fit into the frame supports. The pipe bends easily especially if it's warm outside.

After the hoops are bent, add the cross bracing. No glue is required. Just snap everything together.

These clips lock everything together. No clips...tye wraps will work.

Here's the finished supports. The frame can be covered with plastic to keep seedlings warm in the early spring. Netting can also be used to keep the insects out.

Here's a view of the hinges. I grounded one side of the hinge pin so that the pin can easily be removed. With the pin removed, it's easy to remove the top (hoops) for storage. This is important when growing melons and other plants that require a trellis.

Here's some komatsuna being grown under netting. I'll be planting cabbage, daikon and brocolli for a fall harvest. Next year I have a bunch of "unique" things I want to grow. Stay tuned...