when life gives you bad apples...

 

we have monkey...er...ape!

summer means homemade {buttermilk} ice cream

Mister is a big fan of ice cream. Buttermilk ice cream is his favorite. Me? I would rather have a bowl of sugary cereal. I found this hand crank ice cream maker at Goodwill for $5. We were still in the second tiny casa and I loved the idea of being able to make our own ice cream so I scooped it up. It makes a little more than a quart and takes about 15 minutes of crank time to thicken up your ice cream base before you pop it in the freezer.

I do not have a specific recipe for ya, when it comes to homemade ice cream in the a-go-go house we stick to the simple churned method instead of cooking up a custard base. For a tangy buttermilk ice cream, add juice from a couple of lemons and keep your buttermilk to cream or half n half ratio more on the buttermilk side. Think 3/4 of a quart of buttermilk to 1/4 heavy cream. Add sugar to taste and pop it into your maker.

Sometimes I will add crushed blackberries from the garden but this year the berries are too good to last longer than a few minutes after picking. So good! Mmmm...ice cream!

fun at the slo mini maker faire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SLO Mini Maker Faire was  whirlwind of chaotic goodness and well...wind. Good golly it was windy but we had a lot of fun and even sold some ukes so it ain't all that bad...next week we will be in San Mateo for the BIG event. We will not be selling, just demonstrating so if yer hitting up the faire come give us a shout...

scenes from the mister's birthday

 We had the family a-go-go  over for homemade lemon buttermilk ice cream and snacks. i made a blackberry sauce for the ice cream and we set up some cones and cookies in case the whimsy took over. Our cupboards were cleaned out trying to find enough glasses for water and lemonade (and spoons, golly we have no spoons!) but it was all good and it was a kick in the pants, it was!  Rainbow sprinkles kind of make everything just a tad more festive, don't ya think? After mr. a-go-go opened his gifts, I passed around all the homemade cards mister made for me over the years. That boy sure has mad skills. Sigh. I find him quite dreamy. Adore.

maker faire bound!

Last weekend mister participated in our local mini maker faire and this weekend we're off to see the sites in San Mateo for the main event. Here are oodles of photos from our mini maker faire adventure and if you are on instagram try searching for tinkers damn or SLOMMF# to see some fun pics of mister's ukes!

aren't they gorgeous?

the goods...

information...

wine bottle slides for the canjos...

our neighbors...freakin' sweet knots!

the nephew a-go-go made this!

mister, keeping it fun...

he needed no instruction...

using the slide...

hummingbird play puppet theater

our first visitor took a turn...

our youngest fan...

he got into the groove...

I got to play this wee washboard...

From cookie tin ukes to knot tying to robot making to puppet shows, there was a lot to make and do at our fine mini event. We can't wait until next year, I'm going to join in the fun a well, what shall I teach people to make?

mr. a-go-go makes music

 

 

 

 Have I gotten all mooney-eyed gaga over the mister's ukuleles yet? He builds them out of cookie tins we scavenge from the thrift outlet. They truly sound tremendous and are super pretty to boot! We will be showing them and doing a little music demo at the San Luis Obispo Mini Maker Faire this May. If yer around town come on by, say howdy and we'll teach you how to play Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel.

put your feet up

 Do you remember how mr. a-go-go recovered our borrowed sofa and how it now is a rockin' garden o' delight? Well, that fella o' mine also whipped me up a portable table/footrest with reversible top so that one side is a cushioned foot rest and the other becomes a laptop/lap desk.

 

 The suitcases house what is left of my fabric collection save for a pile or two that might or might not be stuffed into a closet or corner or under said garden o' delight.

i think mister should number these

 

 

 

 

Slowly but surely, we're selling hem...they take a while to make so if yer looking for an awesome holiday gift contact us soon! And if you have any awesome tins heading to the donation bin, we would be interested in them as well...

my mister makes music

the cookie tin dulcimer

 When I first met the mister, he played bass guitar in a band. He even wrote a few of the songs. He never had any interest for being in a band, not exactly, but his friend at the time wanted to form a group and so he learned how to play the bass. They were a quirky college type band and even performed in a few clubs, and were included in a compilation or two. The band kinda dissolved with no cohesive method for breaking up, they just started practicing more with new people...not the mister. Word on the street is they reformed with a new name but some of the same songs. Isn't that how bands work though? I still kinda like them though.

playing the banjo uke

So after that fell apart, the mister started playing the ukulele. My oldest gal and pseudo-little sister gave us one as a wedding gift. Mister can noodle along quite nicely and I love to listen to him play. He plays a lot of oldies, The Cramps, and a Queen song or two. My brother gave us a banjo uke and soon the mister made a uke of sorts out of a cigar box.

Not only can he play the uke but boy-howdy, can that fella whistle. I think I love hearing him whistle more than noodle along on the ukulele. When he whistles, that means he is happy and a happy fella beats the pants off an unhappy guy.

the tune-a-fish special

Before we left on The BIG Road Trip, the mister made a cookie tin dulcimer and a canjo out of a tuna-fish can. You play it with a pick and a wine bottle slide. He even crafted up a bunch and sold them at Reform School. They are pretty nifty and come with a slide made by the mister.

my very own leftie

 

The mister is a researcher and so he began to figure out how instruments are made. After many trips to the drawing board, the mister is now making cookie tin ukuleles and I think they are the bees knees. I even have my own which is useful for hammering out The Wheels on the Bus to a group of tone-deaf toddlers. Recently he crafted a custom order and made his first sale.

this is my favorite

the fret board is cocobolo

his first custom order

 Whoo-hoo for the mister and his musical ways. Aren't them ukes pretty?