Microwave

On March 6, 2022 By CarynIn Life Hack

My youngest noticed that when the microwave is going, her bluetooth connection from her iPad to her hearing aids gets glitchy. Then my husband mentioned that when ever I start the microwave, the TV connection goes out. Our microwave is in a strange location, tucked into a hole on the end of the kitchen island. Our router and internet connection are on the counter opposite. Options on moving either device so they don’t face each other are low, and all the possibilities involve drilling new holes. So I tried taking my largest cookie sheet and propping it up against the microwave to block the interference. It seems to work. It is an ugly hack, so I might design a decorative door with patterned perforated metal in the future. Conductive metal blocks microwave radiation. As long as the holes are smaller than the electromagnetic waves coming out, it should work and still provide ventilation. Here is an interesting article on microwaves and wireless devices from Wired, which supports my thinking.

Sit and spin

On March 5, 2022March 2, 2022 By CarynIn Cats, Craft

I did another stake out to trap feral cats, but during the day when my eldest was at school. I set up a bench on the opposite side of the meadow, and brought my spinning with me because stake outs are boring spiked with moments of adrenaline. I ultimately had to abandon the spinning because the cats could see me across the meadow and get spooked. If I sat still, even staring directly at them, they wouldn’t care if I was there. I did eventually trap one, and a feisty black one at that. My eldest came home and trapped a second. She actually trapped two, but the first one was a repeat offender (her ear was clipped, so we’d already taken her in for sterilization). There are at least two more black cats in the colony, and they are definitely the most feral. These poor things will probably go back to their buddies and tell of alien abductions.

Spinning in the meadow (purple arrow points out the live trap)

Muddle

On March 4, 2022 By CarynIn Craft

mud·dle /ˈmədl/ verb

bring into a disordered or confusing state.
mix (a drink) or stir (an ingredient) into a drink.

I like both of these definitions of muddle from Oxford Languages, but today we are specifically talking about muddling an ingredient into a drink. To muddle, it helps to have a muddler, which is a hand-held specialized pestle for gently crushing ingredients in a glass. I made this muddler out of a blank of ash wood by turning it on my lathe. First, I did a sketch of my desired profile, then roughed out the blank, refined it, and sanded down from 80 grit to 600. I used the parting tool to separate the muddler from the blank (which is nervous as this is done while the lathe is turning). I did need to sand the ends to remove tool marks.

Muddler rinsed with water to raise the grain and get an idea of the finished color

This muddler needs a few coats of tung oil and some curing time, then it will be ready to send for testing.

Three more

On March 3, 2022 By CarynIn Cats

We were able to catch three more feral cats and get them spayed (yup, all females again). It took my eldest four hours doing a stake out on the traps and watching from her vehicle to catch them. I assisted, but she did most of the work. We estimate that there are at least ten more. It is a shame they are feral, they are beautiful. This brings us up to 5 neighborhood cats taken out of the baby making ring. If each female can birth 3-6 kittens, that is 15-30 kittens that won’t be adding to the population. Let that sink in. So please, if you feed outside cats, get them fixed. Only feed the cats you’ve decided to care for, don’t leave food outside overnight or unsupervised. Cats are smart and sneaky. As are the local raccoons.

That is my public service announcement for today. More craft posts coming tomorrow.

Eggs!

On March 2, 2022 By CarynIn eggs

We had a record egg day! Eight! My eldest found eight eggs in the nest boxes. We have nine chickens, so all but one laid an egg. This does not compare to other breeds that consistently lay an egg a day, but for my hatchery-quality Faverolle, 36-hour-ish layers, it was a peak production day. Here is an unusual camera angle on my nearly full egg tower, ‘cause you gotta have a pic, and I like spirals.

Critters and Craft

Month: March 2022