The new wall is painted a lighter shade of turquoise than the foyer. The working space is tight so it's all about accomplishing one small step at a time. Once we put the shelves up on that wall and can empty the free standing ones then it will be easier to move around the room to work.

The wind was slight, the temperatures perfect and I felt great. A perfect morning for a ride with Moon and Shrek. He's probably going home to Olympia soon so we need to get in as many rides together as possible. I'm beginning to think "horse" instead of "mule" as this was such a pleasant way to start the day. I may not want to wait for Dinah to be finished and safe.

This video of Matt Harding dancing around the world makes me laugh and cry at the same time. With all the strife and anger in the world it's always good to see it as a happy and friendly place to be.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo

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Hint: Touch Pause and let it load entirely before playing.  It's more fun to watch without all that buffering.

This man's Thursday night is his Friday night. After a hard week of work, his idea of relaxation is to shoot a few rounds at plastic liquor bottles. I joined in for a bit then went into the kitchen to cook dinner. He still had a few guns to warm up.

Even though we had house guests this last weekend and were keeping busy with the fun of entertaining, Eric found time to build a wall for the water closet in the pantry. His precision in measuring, cutting and fitting the wood was a joy to witness.

It's tiny but economy breeds a creative use of space. The wall is only six feet long but enough to house a 4x2x2 stock tank and a marine toilet. I can see shelves for candles to light when soaking in hot water on cold winter evenings.

Last year it was the bathroom project that I documented in phases. This year it's the pantry/water closet/guest room that is going to appear here. It means a wall and shelving being built, plumbing for a toilet and soaking tub installed and the painting and decorating. The ceiling is going to be finished with foam board just as was done in the bathroom. There will still be room for the freezer and all the cooking tools that I keep there. With the shelves going all the way to the ceiling I feel confident that this year's garden bounty will be canned and stored with ease.

My brother-in-law, Mike, was the valued help I had last year on the bathroom remodeling job, this year I have a house mate, Eric, who is very accomplished help on this project. His enthusiasm about having a second bathroom and more storage has motivated both of us to get it done. Right now the room is a terrible mess and a difficult place to work in but we are confident it can be done. So the "doitlikeawoman" team is at it again.

We have house guests this week so I've been cooking for six people. My kitchen appliances consist of one induction stove top and a small toaster oven. I purchased a roaster for preparing larger quantities of food. Now I'm able to do a big batch of ribs, cook a whole roast or chicken and casseroles. I made lasagne to feed the troops and still had leftovers. It's a marvelous tool and it's actually more efficient than a conventional range.

I like to roast butternut squash and put a layer in the lasagne. Leftover rotini served as a layer too. The casserole turned out great and no one complained about the use of gluten free pasta. The picky six year old even ate all of her dinner. I consider that a grand compliment.

Thank goodness for gluten free lasagne noodles. I was almost sure I'd never fix and eat it again.

I like this color (Ace's Autumn Sunset) on the bedroom walls but it has become just a bit much. Until I decide whether I'm going to paint it all with a new color I decided to hang canvas on two of the walls. I've done this before and found it made the room cozy and quiet. Like being in a Berber tent.

"...And the night shall be filled with music

And the cares that infest the day

Shall fold their tents like the Arabs and silently steal away."

The Day Is Done
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The doitlikeawoman team is at it again! We put up temporary pasture to utilize the

Organic Lawn Mowers to bring down the grasses on the west side of the property. The equine are happy to have some fresh feed as they have mowed down the big pasture fairly well and hay is expensive now. Moon is the first to try it out and being the herd boss, there is a lot of screaming back and forth between the three. Moon is calling to them with her mouth full.

One of the joys of living out in the country is not having neighbors or traffic past the house. It makes having an outdoor shower sensible in the summer and early fall. It was a necessity last year when the bathroom was torn out for remodeling but I enjoyed it so much I decided to keep one every year. There have been some modifications and improvements. I bought a hose designed to handle 160 degree water, I've tapped into the washer supply valves in the basement so the water can be left on all the time and I put up a bracket to hold the shower head ( garden spray nozzle ) for hands free showering. The gate with the outdoor carpet still serves as the platform but it has been moved to a more discreet site just in case there happens to be a farmer passing on his tractor.