Naomi – Author at Plaster & Disaster

It seems like only last week that we were complaining that we never have time to do crafts anymore (actually, it was). That post reminded me that there actually is a craft that I haven’t shared with you all yet – and, yes, of course it involves cement!

It also involves my second favorite blog topic, stuff that we salvaged from the high school in my area before it was torn down. We had cleaned out a bunch of old test tubes and beakers from the science classrooms and, because I am a hoarder, they’ve been sitting around in my basement ever since just waiting to be used.

Sage used a couple when she made a vase out of old chemistry supplies, so I was totally jealous and wanted to share my own creation, too!

For this very high-class craft, I assembled a set of matching test tubes, cement, and a mold made out of a cereal box.

If you’re going to try this or any cement project at home, please don’t forget that it is dangerous to work with. You shouldn’t breathe in the dust, get it in your eye, or let the mixture come in contact with your skin. If it touches your skin, wash right away. You may not feel the burn at first, but you’ll feel the damage later! You should always use gloves, goggles, and a mask of some kind.

I mixed the cement to be pretty watery, as I wanted it to easily fill the mold and knew this piece wouldn’t need to be super sturdy.

(I made a larger batch than that, but it gives an idea of the consistency I was going with.)

To stop the cement from sticking to the mold and soaking through the cardboard, I coated it in packing tape and slicked it with a bit of oil. I then propped it up between two bricks (to help it maintain its shape), filled it with cement, and stuck the test tubes in at even intervals.

It took a little bit of work to get the test tubes evenly spaced and standing up straight. I positioned them carefully and slowly, and did a lot of squinting at it from all angles. Using a flat piece of wood along the top helped me get them stuck in at a uniform height. I also paid attention to the markings on the tube, and lined them up to match so it wouldn’t look messy.

I then let it sit for a while (in this case about an hour since I was using quick cement, but I would have done overnight with the normal stuff), and carefully removed the mold.

I let it cure a while more outside of the mold, and then it was done. That easy!

It is a fun way to display simple flowers.

I have always liked getting a bouquet and then dis-assembling it and spreading it around the house to share the cheer in all the rooms, and this sort of a vase really helps to do that. (On a similar but actually totally unrelated note, I used to make my parents spread out the decorations and put a piece of christmas decor in every single room of the house, too. But I don’t think we really need to get into that here and now.)

I like that it is a little organic with the variation in the cement, and a little modern/industrial, as well. Also, I just really like making stuff out of cement 🙂

Thanks for checking it out!

While we’re no where near cool enough to have a podcast of our own, we’ve both gotten pretty into listening to them. There are a lot of times over the course of a typical week when we are busy doing important stuff that is still pretty boring – running, commuting, cleaning, etc. Podcasts are great because they keep your mind occupied while you get adult things done. Also, you’re also not left at the mercy of what happens to be on NPR when you finally get yourself out of work; you can just pick up where you left off in the morning. They’re like the Netflix of radio!

You can also listen to podcasts while doing DIY projects, which is our tenuous excuse for talking about them here on this blog. Check out our favorites below!

Naomi’s favorite podcasts

When I pitched this post idea to Sage, I admit that I felt a like a bit of a poser. (For those of you not born in the 80s, FYI that is just about the worst thing that you can be.) Sage has been talking to me about the podcasts that she likes for over a year, but I’ve only recently gotten into it. However, I’ve gotten into it hard because with my new job I have pretty long solo commutes (45 minutes to an hour and a half each way). I find it hard to follow audiobooks while driving, but podcasts are saving my sanity!

The first podcast I got really into, which is still my go-to when I want a great distraction, is Stuff You Should Know. It’s a pretty well known podcast, but for a good reason. Josh and Chuck sound like just to regular guys who have read a bunch of stuff on the internet about a particular topic, and you get to listen into their somewhat rambling, funny, informative conversation.

New episodes are out all the time and about a bajillion are already posted. I tend to not listen in order, but to scroll through the episodes and pick out ones that interest me. There are plenty to choose from, and topics range from how x-rays work, to tea, to the origins of fairy tales, to the Great Wall of China. Some of my favorite episodes include How Anonymous Works and How Bitcoins Work – really fascinating! Also, I listened an episode about cats which made me quite a hit at Sage’s most recent party. Did you know that cats have four kinds of fur?

I also love listening to a podcast called Writing Excuses. It is a podcast for writers, but I really think that anyone who enjoys reading fiction would get a lot out of it. Also, it is not a big time investment. Episodes are short and the conversation is fast-paced and engaging.

They are currently spending time on somethign they call “elemental genres,” where they dig into different story types (basics like thriller, adventure, or romance to more obscure types like idea or wonder) and pick apart what makes these stories work, and talk about examples within each type. They also talk about how these elemental genres are then used as a supporting genres in other stories, so you can have a narrative like Harry Potter that combines wonder and thriller, with a whole bunch of little mysteries thrown in along the way. It is fun to pick apart what you loved about different stories!

Finally, I’m going to throw a strange one in here, The Mystery Show. It is a fun, whimsical podcast that follows host Starlee Kine in solving life’s little mysteries (the first episode is about why a particular video store closed very suddenly in her friend’s old neighborhood).

She does an amazing job getting you really into the mystery and attached to the characters that you meet along the way. It is fun and uplifting, and I’m usually smiling while I listen! Once you get into it, you will be really sad that there are only 6 episodes. However, a new season is supposedly in the works!

Sage’s favorite podcasts

Unlike Naomi, I take public transportation to work and I prefer to listen to music while commuting since I find it hard to focus on anything too substantive in the hustle and bustle of the subway. When we take long car trips we’ll listen to podcasts, though (and Hamilton, there can never been too much Hamilton), and the other time I listen to podcasts is while running. I actually don’t listen to music or podcasts for shorter runs, because I just prefer to listen to the world around me and think. But generally if I’m running more than 12 miles I will put a podcast on, as it definitely helps the time pass for those longer runs.

Because I only really listen to podcasts when I have hours to kill, I prefer longer format episodes — shows that only last 20-40 minutes require stopping and changing episodes way too frequently and make the run seem longer by breaking it into many short segments.

One of my favorite podcasts is Radiolab.

It’s a bit like This American Life, but usually focuses on a single story for the duration of the episode which I really like. It covers a wide variety of topics so I never feel like I’m sick of any particular theme — recent episodes included one focused on the paparrazi who cover Korean Pop music (“K-Pop”), another about the role of race in high school and college debate, and one about tiny underwater creatures called snapping shrimp. So now I am an expert on all those things.

I also feel like I have to mention Serial.

I can’t imagine I’m introducing anyone to Serial because it basically became a national phenomenon, but I was lucky to start listening to the first season right when it began airing and I highly recommend it. I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t love the second season, but I do like the “one story told week-by-week” format and the first season is definitely a great investment of time if you haven’t listened to it.

Another one of my favorites (which is totally a guilty pleasure) is The Last Podcast on the Left.

I want to be clear: this podcast is not for the faint of heart. It is a show done by three very funny but also very NSFW conspiracy-theorist comedians who cover some truly strange topics often in incredibly brash and offensive ways. Why do I listen to this show? Primarily because they do occasional episodes on famous serial killers, which I find to be totally fascinating (which is a weird thing to be fascinated by, I know…). They do a fair amount of research into these episodes and each feature is typically 2-3 episodes long with each episode an hour or more — which makes them really good for long runs. If I’m running 20 miles, I can listen to a single series from Last Podcast on the Left rather than trying to find 6-9 unique episodes of a 20-30 minute long podcast.

Yes I realize this is a strange thing to enjoy, but it’s kind of like getting to watch Law & Order while running. Sometimes I want to learn things, but sometimes I just want to zone out and listen to something entertaining and mindless, and this show does the trick.

We hope you’ll check some of these out, and let us know what you think! What podcasts do you like? Do you listen to any of these? Do you even listen to podcasts at all?