Category: DIY

Treehouse Treats

While I was cruising around on Pinterest, I saw a pin of these Martha Stewart Waffle Cookies and knew that this would be the perfect surprise treat for the kids to have in the treehouse with their friends.  The Things seem to like only 2 kinds of cookies…chocolate chip and ginger snaps.  Chocolate Chip Waffle Cookies is just too much to say, so we have renamed these Treehouse Treats.

There is one thing I would do differently for the next batch, and that is to use MINI chocolate chips.  The larger ones make the thin areas of the waffle grid too fragile, making if difficult to remove from the waffle iron.  I think the mini chips will be perfect for keeping enough dough for strength, while still adding chocolate flavor. Otherwise, just use your favorite cookie recipe.

I tend to cook when it’s raining out, which is very difficult in the nice, natural lighted photo department.  Behold poorly lit treehouse treats.

 

I also think that the mini chips will make them MUCH more attractive….just saying.

Treehouse Update

Safety first kids….er, um, in our case, almost dead last.  At least we got there, right? RIGHT.

The hog panel railings are in, as is the handrail on the looong ladder.

We are debating the pipe finish.  I’m in the camp of letting it rust and age a bit, then clear coat to seal the patina.

So what does this milestone mean?  More than it looks like because now, I feel it’s OK for the Things to have friends come and play in the treehouse.  Without these key safety features, there had to be adult supervision for friends to climb up and check out the progress.

Railings = Freedom!

It wouldn’t be a proper structure without the bucket/pulley dealio, now would it?

Just in time for the weekend.  When their buddies come over, I’ll fill the bucket with their snacks so they can hoist them up for a feeding frenzy.

Foodie Flashback

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I learned how to make these parcels of goodness that are best described as a cross between Pizza Rustica and Pane Farcito.  Below is my chicken/pesto version.

It has zucchini, eggplant, red and yellow pepper, chicken, pesto* and sun dried tomatoes, all layered with cheese in between.  Grill all the veg/chicken and let cool, then start layering inside your dough.  Back then, they always used a white bread dough, but I cheated and used 2 packages of Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough.

I have not tried to make one in well over a decade, (remember when sun dried tomatoes were all the rage?) I was nervously expecting a big fail, but instead, I got lucky with only a minor glitch easily remedied next time around. I didn’t cook it long enough and the bottom crust wasn’t quite finished. An extra 5 minutes would have fixed it.

Rediscovering the Rustica/Farcito will make packing picnics for summer outings SO MUCH better, since I think that these are best served room temperature.

Back when we were making these in the cafe, there were 3 flavors…the Chicken/Pesto above, the Italian, with lots of cured meats and low moisture cheeses, and the Vegetarian, that mainly substituted the chicken for a layer of omelette. I can’t wait to play around with some other styles this summer.

I had no idea this would work out or I’d have photographed the process…sorry, but if you’re really interested, let me know and I’ll take some snaps of the next one I make.

 

*Sage/Almond pesto rather than Basil/Pine Nut.  The CC hates pine nuts.

UPDATE:  I’ve posted the step by steps here.

 

Treehouse Update

I know, I’ve been super lame-o with posting, but what else is new?  School is finally out and all that craziness leading up to the big LAST DAY had us a bit busy.

We worked really hard over Memorial Day weekend to get the treehouse in sleepover condition, and we did it.  Barely.  This does not mean we are finished by ANY means, but it does mean that you can hang out in there without getting attacked by cicadas and mosquitoes.  The last steps in bug proofing were to screen the ventilation gaps between the roof supports and the dormer over the screened door.

The CC then added weather stripping all around the screened door, and started caulking every. single. join.  Don’t believe me?  Check the fastidiousness of his entomophobic work.

He’s not done yet, but he managed to finish the most important places.  I was rendered speechless when I realized why it was taking him so long to caulk the ventilation area.  Dude is serious.

Come sleepover time, it was a tight squeeze, but all 4 of us managed to get some air mattress space on the floor with just enough clearance for the door to open.  We don’t want to build bunks up here since we’ll have the “sleeping bunker” once the bottom is done.  When it’s just the 2 of them, they have hammocks they can choose to sleep in, or just use for lounging.

We even decided to get a fan going to keep us more comfortable.  We hung it in front of the window to bring in the cooler night air.  When the Things saw our new addition, they said “Cool!  Air conditioning!”  Not quite kiddies, but this is glamping after all.

Given the floor is a bit mucky from all the dirt, despite multiple sweepings, I threw down a canvas drop cloth as some sloppy wall to wall carpeting to keep our stuff clean.

What’s left to do? A lot more than you’d think.

Porch railings.  We have some hog panel left that we will use.  We plan to have a barn door that will slide and lock over the screened one.  We’ll just get some inexpensive hardware from Tractor Supply.

I also plan to re-do the screen door so that it has horizontal slats going all the way up over the dormer to the top.  This is the way it came off the shelf.  Blech.

Add trim around the inside windows, build shelves in between the studs for both structural support and general usefulness.  The CC has to finish that anal caulking…and paint!  LOTS of paint.  Part of me is fine leaving it natural inside, but it will be easier to keep clean if it’s painted.  We won’t start to build the bottom level until it cools off in the fall.  It’s officially sticky out now.  We’re getting there though.

Treehouse Update

UPDATE:  I was able to get a few better snaps before the rain this morning…so I’ve added them in.

Again, the weather has been impeding our progress quite a bit, and this weekend was no exception. More rain, but we did manage a few steps forward.

There is now a proper roof in place, so we can officially stop worrying what all that rain is doing to our wood underlayment.

I think the only way I can get a decent distance shot of the treehouse roof is going to be to climb on the roof of our main house.  I think I’ll put that off until the final reveal if you don’t mind, so here’s your crummy visual obscured by foliage.  You’re welcome.

Nice clean edge with the flashing in place…oh, and did I mention we installed a skylight?  Here’s how it went down…..

While I would have preferred the cleaner look without them, structurally, the polycarbonate can’t span that long of a distance without supports…it’s too thin, so the CC notched in these aluminum support pieces.  Unobtrusive and functional.

 

We lined up the skylight with the window to give a sense of continuity. Another reason is simply safety.  When we enclose the bottom area, this side of the treehouse will host the ladder well, so natural light will be needed so you can see your way down into “the bunker.”

We can vouch for the performance of our new roof, as we were in the treehouse when another storm passed through, and we stayed nice and dry.

It may be noisy, but I am really enjoying the sound of rain on a metal roof.  I seriously doubt I would feel the same way in the middle of the night.

Nothing To See Here….

I wish I could tell you we were finished and camping out in the treehouse by now, but the rain gods have had other ideas about that on the weekends.

We have managed to ditch the camo cloak and get the plywood roofing finished and tar-papered…and…well, that’s about it.

The sun comes out during the week when there’s NO time to work on it…and buckets down just in time for Friday afternoon through Sunday.  Ah, Spring.

In the meantime, I try to dodge these little guys.  They like to fly right into your forehead, just to test your bladder control and ability to refrain shouting loud obscenities in front of your children.

Thing Two isn’t really bothered…this is his budding collection.

 

Chigger face morphed into chigger AND Poison Ivy torso…we now blame my tainted gloves.  FUN! While hunting for some new ones, I found these on sale at Target for $8.99.  They are super soft and awesome. It says out of stock online, but my local store had several pair left.

 

We are also thinking about all the communities along the Mississippi River who have been flooded, or will be in a few days…a link for donations to the Red Cross here.