This weekend was an adventure on Making This Home – the sort of adventure that isn’t followed by a bunch of happy exclamation marks. Did you try to come visit? Did you get absolutely nothing? I’m so sorry.

Our server crashed. It fell harder than any crash I’ve known; Making This Home and hundreds of other websites vanished. I kept calling my brother in a panic for several hours (he’s my server guy). While we’re literally in the same time zone right now, it’s like he’s in Hawaii and I’m back in Berlin. And let me tell you, he really was just hanging loose about the whole thing. “Our sites will come back, they’ll come back,” he kept reassuring me.

Martin prepped me for the worst – disappearing comments, disappearing posts, nonexistant pictures. At 2:30 in the morning, my brother sent me an email when the server was supposed to be back up (I was asleep). The server ended up losing everything.

Now thanks to my fab brother and husband, we’re back up because of their wonderful backup skills (and teaching me to backup). The only thing I lost were pictures from the last few months.

And now while I’m disappointed to lose so many things and be sitting here feeling all buggy eyed as I reinsert pictures, I have to tell you a secret. I had a really great weekend. I got the chance to begin working on some projects that I’ve been wanting to start all summer. It was so easy to turn away from the computer and have an unplugged day. A crashed server? I guess it’s not ALL bad.

We ate a homemade lunch with fresh bread, Martin brought gingerbread for everyone at the airport, and I met this neighbor for the first time (he lives on my mile long walk to the mailbox and always acts so shy).

Thank you for being so patient with us this weekend. I’ll be working on adding pictures again. If you run across anything funky, please please let me know. Hope you all had an amazing weekend full of creativity and good things.

You’re the best.

Katie

Remember this sweet little fella we were giving away a little while ago?

Well I’m sad to report that we never heard back from the winner.  Sad for her… but maybe a really bright moment for one of our other entrants?  Random.org and I had a brief little meeting, and we’ve got some good news for one of you.

Our Winner Take II is… Lori.

Not sure which Lori?  This one, the one who wrote, “Wow, this is an awesome light fixture. I would get the brushed steel one to replace the too-dim light that I picked out for our foyer. My family lights up my life! And I light up when I get to sit and read through my blogs.”

So CSN Lighting and I wait.  Lori, send me your address.  One of these lights really really wants to go home with you.

We kicked off a great week of flying with something a little different this time: two bowling balls and two paper bags of flour.  No we weren’t testing the forces of gravity with rolling balls around inside the plane, and we weren’t trying to take out the pesky gophers trying to dig holes in the gravel runway.  Nope.

We were lining up behind a row of other airplanes for an annual fly-in.

Fly-ins are these really cool small town events that bring communities together to look at planes and ride in planes and play with bowling balls and planes.  A lot of pilots come to the event.  But more importantly, a lot of people who don’t dream about airplanes every night get to see a different side of aviation than the usual commercial flights.  Volunteers take kids on small flights.  Local organizations host pancake breakfasts and bbqs.  You don’t have to be a pilot to attend a fly-in, so keep an eye out for them in your area… especially if you’re interested in the bowling balls.

All of the planes lined up on the runway.  The air was warm and damp from rain.  We all knew the flight pattern – a big rectangular course over the airport at a designated speed and altitude.  Then one by one, we’d fly above a stack of oil barrels in a field and drop our “bombs”.  First came a bowling ball for pilot bowling.  Martin flew the plane while I held the ball out the door.  He had to turn the plane just slightly so I could open the door far enough to get the bowling ball out.  I could not have held on without the longest straps we could find drilled to the balls.  Then I held on – the strap on my hand inside the plane, the ball outside the door – while he counted down and straightened the plane.  ”3… 2… 1… drop.”

Let me just say it’s a good thing the Air Force didn’t recruit either one of us after high school.  We were way off target.  Except we didn’t know.  We couldn’t see our ball or the target after we dropped the ball because the rear of the plane blocked our view.  As we continued on the flight pattern, we couldn’t see anyone else bowling, either.

When it was our turn again, I waited for Martin’s countdown.  Delaying for even one second would mean we’d be hundreds of feet off the target.  Well we were hundreds of feet off the target.

The good news is that so was everyone else.

We made one last loop around the airport.  Martin flew directly over the windsock while I held two paper bags with flour in them.  I couldn’t even see if the crowd was watching.  The bags nearly ripped open as I tried to wedge the plane door open with my foot and slip the sacks out when Martin radioed “drop!”

When we landed, neither of us could stop smiling.  It isn’t every day you drop a bomb with people cheering you on, you know.

I’ve been promising you a few behind-the-scenes looks at our house ever since I took you on our official Tire House Tour.  And because you’ve been so very patient, I thought we’d start at my desk – you know, the very place where the blogging action happens.

It isn’t much.  But I’ve learned that sometimes the most enjoyable places really are the simplest.  They’re easier to clean, and it’s so much easier to clear my mind without all the distractions I might otherwise want to decorate my desk with.

Martin and I bought the entire set from Target for around $300 a few years ago.  That’s the desk, chair, and filing cabinet that also serves as a sewing machine table.  If I have time at the end of the day, I like to swap out the computer for the sewing machine.  Keeping my desk simple is the only way I can alter its purpose. (You can see how we’ve made Martin’s desk in Germany a multi-purpose space in our living room right here.)

Our desks are the only pieces of furniture in the Tire House that belong to us.  One day – when I know my chair will be used by someone more than it is stored – I would love to reupholster it with a bright patterned fabric that suits me more.  With thoughts of dust, I don’t.  Part of making this home is learning to make do.

Luckily, I sort of found something else to look at – a view that goes on forever.

What are your thoughts on creating a work space of your own?  Is it simple, beautiful, or maybe just completely un-functional?

(Images for Making This Home)

With all this talk about food these past few days, we’d better hurry it up and announce the latest giveaway winner before we all gain ten pounds.  What do you all think of that?

I thought you’d be nodding in agreement.  Stonyfield Farm kindly offered up this cute care package for two lucky winners to dish out to their favorite bubbly babies:

And just who are those two babies?  Well I have no idea.  But thanks to random.org, I can tell you of two folks who love those kids.  They are:

Brenbren who just happens to combine her nibbles with hummus and

LauraC who prefers frozen chocolate fudge bars (oh yum!).

You know how it works, ladies.  Send me an email and we’ll get that Yo-baby prize to your front door pronto.

Thanks again to Stonyfield Farm and their yo-mmy little package.  I think we’re about to have a couple of very happy babies on our hands.

Making the homemade marshmallows we shared with you yesterday was a gooey, fantastic experience.  But if my sister and I could only make one s’more ingredient from scratch next time, you can be sure it wouldn’t be marshmallows – at least not with this graham cracker recipe in our hands.  

We all loved these graham crackers more than the packaged ones you pick up at the store.  Plus this recipe is really easy (and really good raw).  So why don’t I quit the chatter and just give you the recipe, huh?  It’s adapted from a recipe in a really old Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Fresh Graham Crackers (makes 20)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine butter, brown sugar, and honey in an electric mixer.  Mix on medium until fluffy (2 or 3 minutes).  Reduce speed and gradually add dry ingredients.

2.  Roll out dough to around 1/8 inch thick and cut to desired graham cracker size (we used a cup for a cookie cutter since marshmallows don’t squish into perfect squares anyway).

3.  Lay crackers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and pierce several times with a fork.  They don’t really expand, so space them about 1/2 inch apart, and you’ll be fine.

4.  Bake 9-10 minutes until slightly brown and firm.  Try to let cool as you cook the next batch.

See?  I truly wasn’t kidding when I said they’re easy-peasy.  Or that they’re really good…

Liked this recipe?  Then you’re in luck.  We’ve shared our favorite homemade applesauce and chocolate chip cookies (with German adaptations), too.

(Images for Making This Home)