Since the dawn of time, mankind has searched for ways to shelter themselves from the elements. Over the centuries, these shelters have evolved from bamboo huts to concrete towers. The last few years, there's been a push to save the planet. Are you ready to embark on a more sustainable lifestyle? Look no further. You're about to enter the adventures of Container Home Living. And now, contractor, radio and TV personality and your host for Boxcar Universe, Steve Dubell.
Hi, I'm Steve Dubell, host of Boxcar Universe, along with my co host, Erica Thompson. And here's what's coming up on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe. Ginger Martin is with us and she is the founder of the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy. It is a growing platform that's dedicated to the empowering of women to confidently tackle residential carpentry and DIY projects. All that and more on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe, your home for container Sustainable Lifestyle Living.
And we'd like to welcome all of you to the show today as we move our way ever so much closer to Christmas. And you know, one of the things that a lot of people like to do around this time, besides being with friends and family, you know, they, they take their attention towards things that they want to do at home.
And you know, I have been a big proponent of people doing DIY project projects, especially when they do the research on how to do it, that they have some talent, because that's most important, they have to have some talent to do a DIY project because if you try something that you have no clue on doing, I guarantee you something will go wrong, you'll hurt yourself, and then you'll be paying a Christmas visit to the hospital in the emergency room, which is not a good thing, especially around the
holiday season. But I have been a big proponent of, an advocate of women doing home improvement and doing, you know, basically DIY projects in the home. Because home improvement is not dedicated to just the male population. There are plenty, plenty of women out there who have plenty of skills that can do projects in construction and projects just as good as a male can.
In fact, for those of you who've listened to my show for a very long time, back in the day when we were doing my other show image home improvement show, one of my good friends, Norma Valley, she used to have a TV show on the Discovery Channel called Tool Belt Diva. And she does exactly what we're talking about here, training people, women specifically how to do home improvement projects in the home.
And I had the good fortune to make a connection with Ginger Martin, the founder of the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy, and I'd like to welcome her to the show right now. Ginger, thank you for being on Boxcar Universe. Well, Steve, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here. I'm really great that you're here, and it's a wonderful time of the season. And, you know, it's all about giving back and inspiring other people.
And that's a lot what you do to inspire women to build things, which is. It's all good. I mean, I know my experience going back in the day where I just happened to work for an amusement company many years ago, and I was in the off season when I wasn't managing some of the parks and the rides and the games, I worked in the warehouse, and that's where I learned a lot of my carpentry skills.
And working with your hand, there's a lot to be said when you have projects, things that you could build with your hands, and it has a great satisfaction value. But enough of my history. I want to hear about your history. So, Ginger, tell us a little bit about you and how the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy got started. Well, I guess first about me and how I got into carpentry is because I get. I was born in a family where my dad and uncles were all tradesmen.
So my dad was a. His father and uncle were carpenters, and so he was a carpenter. And then he went to the Marines and decided to study architecture. So he became an architect. And then after that, he started his own company and got his contractor's license. So he was a union contractor. So I'm actually the youngest of seven, and there's four brothers and three girls, and the girls worked in the office and the boys worked in the field.
And since I'm the last one, I came up seeing the difference in the pay. That was. I think what struck me the most was the difference in the pay in the 70s when my dad was, like, really contracting, my older brothers was, or the two that's above me were like 16, 15, and 17. I don't know, something along there, but they were already making $15 an hour back in the 70s as union carpenters.
And this is like 75, 76. So whenever it came time for me to graduate high school, I didn't want to go to college. I just was not interested in college. And so I decided to be a carpenter. And after a long time of having to convince my dad and my mom was completely against it, my dad was more concerned. Well, I guess they were both concerned, but I convinced everybody that I could do it. And so he gave me the chance.
And I had already been exposed to carpentry just coming up going on jobs or going secure jobs with my dad. And so I already knew all the tools. So now it was time for me to actually dive in and learn. So he had, he was retired at the time. And I just told him, I said, you got to teach me. You taught the boys. You know, I'm. I want to be taught. So he started taking jobs. What's good for them is good for you. Pardon me? What's good for them is good for you.
Yes. So he started taking jobs and he, he made me read project management books and we, we'd go out there and yeah, I just started learning and I was making good money. Well, this for me it was more in the 80s. So I was making seven something. 750 an hour, non union. And then by the time I got to be able to know enough to join the union, I forgot what the scale was. I want to say maybe $20 an hour. This was back in 1987 in Michigan.
So it just was something that at the time I chose because it was easy because my family was involved and it was easier for me to go on jobs with family members than the first job I went on to that I was alone was a really big union job. It was a power plant in California. And I think the job was like over a thousand people. And I think there was like four women, one carpenter, one carpenter apprentice, a laborer, and the laborer foreman were the women on the job.
Wow. Yeah. So you were selected out along with the other three women to show what women can do. The job was just starting and so I was in the union. You sign on the books, so they kind of call your number. And my number was lucky enough to come up right at the beginning of the job. So yeah, I was able to go out there and, you know, you in the unit. Well, I don't know about out the union, but there's a lot of women that you have to prove yourself a lot in the industry. Right, I'm sure.
And I think I did a pretty good job. I'm still friends with that superintendent. Well, that's good. So. So along the way, how did you get to create the crafty Carpenter DIY Academy? Well, I've done a lot of my own contracting jobs and I would come across a lot of women that would say, I wish I could do what you could do and oh my God. I didn't know that you could do this. And they always just. A lot of women that are interested in building but feel intimidated for one reason or another.
And I understand that tearing your house apart can be intimidating. The tools we use can be intimidating. So I wanted to make it more accessible for women and just help them. Because when you understand how your house is put together, that gives you such a big freedom to be able to create your space, to match your energy, however you want to do it, you know? Exactly. And so, yeah, I thought about all the houses that I've remodeled or, you know, repairs that I can do.
And I thought in this day and age, a lot of times, whether you can afford a contractor, because contractors are really expensive these days. Yes, they are. And even if you want to use a contractor just to understand the terminology and what they are actually doing, feel like it's really important for women to understand how their homes are put together. Yeah, I mean, that's important. And that's what I tell people all the time.
You know, when homes are built brand new, or even if you buy a home that's already built in, you may have. The original owner may have had some documentation from the builder about the home and materials and equipment that's put in the home. But there's. But there's no manual on how to maintain it at all. Correct. I mean, I like to use the analogy of the owner's manual for your car. When's the last time you looked at it? Probably the time you threw it at glove box when you got the car.
And it's where it's. It's gathering dust. So. Yes, but. Yeah, so that's important to be able to go back in and share with people on, you know, they don't have to have, you know, everybody I found that has different skill levels, what they're comfortable with, but they should have at least a working knowledge of what's going on in their home, like you said. So if they don't think they could do it, that they make an educated decision on.
Well, I need to call a professional to make sure that it gets done right. And also it's. For them, it's good. It's a good. It's good backup. Because if there's anything does go wrong, you have something to fall back on. You have the professional, you have their, you know, their liability, their word on their workmanship to be able to come back and fix it. Correct. But going back and creating the academy, I think, is it what made you decide to create it online?
Well, I wanted to do something online and I didn't want to have to learn a whole new career. And so, yeah, I thought I was. I thought, I wonder if I could do this online. Because at first I didn't think I could. And sometimes I still question it because there's so many things that I wish I could just show people, but it's. It's kind of limiting right now. I've been demonstrating a lot of tools to people, but it's still.
I feel like it's a little bit limiting to me, but I feel like online these days I can reach so many more people as opposed to having a class in my area. Oh, he definitely reached more people. No doubt about. And not just people, you know, like you say in your area, but people all over the world. Because there's not just the United States. Correct. Because I'm sure there are people in.
In Europe and Australia and all over the place that I know when I check my analytics for the show, I get, you know, we've got people listening in all different parts of the world. Good. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. So people that are. Want to be able to do something but don't know where to go.
And Lord knows, there's so much information out there, especially YouTube, that is that people decide, I think they let their ego get in the way because they want to be able to show people how to do something, but then they don't. They actually go back in and they blindly go back in and try and do something, and it's not get done. Right. And it's like watching a. Watching a bad. Like a NASCAR crash on tv. It's like you. You don't want to see it, but you can't turn away.
You know, you've got to see it. And they do things incorrectly. So. And then the average homeowner does sometimes doesn't know that. So you got to be careful where you're getting your information. That's correct. I guess it's kind of like going to Wikipedia. Going to Wicked. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, yeah. Because it's not. Sometimes it's not real fact. Oh, okay. What is put on there? So it's. You got to be careful.
A lot of times as a carpenter, you go into someone's house, which I think, you know, once you become a finished carpenter, a journeyman carpenter, it's just a habit that you go. You just kind of start checking lines in the home or businesses that you go into, and you kind of look and say, well, wow, that wall's crooked. Just, you know, being able to Understand the concepts of construction, I feel, is just so rewarding. It's, you know, apart from just understanding how to repair your home.
For example, when we were children, my brother was 15, and he ripped the porch off of a woman's house. And I didn't think anything of it. She had an old wooden porch. It was an older house, so her porch was wooden. And the wood was starting to deteriorate from the weather and everything. It was an old porch. And he and his friend, who out. Who my father also taught to be a carpenter, ripped this lady's porch off. And she had to use her back door for two weeks.
But they built her a concrete porch with brick pillars, and it just changed the look of her house so much. And to be able to do that is kind of what stuff like that. Or another brother, another older brother ripped the side of a woman's house out one time. And I went on that job with him. And I remember at the beginning of the. Of the job, you know, you could see from her living room, you could just look straight outside, and we would cover it up with plastic at night.
But she wanted a bay window, and he was able to do that because he knows how the house is put together, and he knows framing, and he knows how to make these modifications. So apart from just repairing your home, there's so many things that you can do, be it additions or decks, you know, different type of roofs and, you know, porches and everything else.
And I think that's the part that I really like, because I feel like, you know, I've never left a house the same way I found it because I enjoy modifications. And I just want women to be able to feel comfortable that if they don't like their kitchen, they can tear it out. They. You know, if your bathroom needs updating, you really don't have to hire a contractor if you understand just the concepts of. You don't really even know. Need to know a lot about the plumbing.
But there's some things as a carpenter that you understand from being on jobs for so long that you're able to explain. And that's part of what I do as the crafty carpenter also, is I help people walk through their jobs or their projects, you know, as. So that they can complete them, so that they can see their dream and their vision come to life. And that is so rewarding. Yeah, I mean, it is.
It's. It's really, really important to be able to do that and give people the satisfaction and the confidence that, hey, I did this. Now what. What else can I do? So empowering. What's. Yeah, it is, it's. What's the next thing? And not, not feeling, because I know a lot of people, they just, you know, if, if they fail and they try something that they're just, they, they just like go into a corner and they just won't even try it again.
Yeah. You know, if there's something else they want to do, they'll either hire somebody or they won't do it at all. Correct. Because. And I tried to create a space where you can say, okay, well, I'm, I'm failing or I'm, well, you not failing. Let's say I'm having problems with this aspect of the job and I don't know how to do it. Or I, you know, I, this is what I'm facing.
And to be able to have a space where they can come and ask questions and get answers from not only me, but other women in the school and then also to be able to post your stuff and to be able to say, I did this, whether it's something big or small or whatever level you're on, to be able to show your work is also gratifying. It is, it is. We're going to take a short break, but before we go do break, I want to just let everybody know, you know, think about this. You know, we're coming into 20, 25.
You know, you know, it's a little early to think about this, but not too, too early because there are things that need to be done. How about giving yourself the gift for Christmas of a container pool? And that is so, so important to be able to go back and think about what am I going to do with my backyard next year when here in Arizona it gets to be like 115. And for those of you throughout the country, I kid you not, 115. We've had days of 118 out here.
Okay. And having a container pool has a lot of different advantages over traditional in ground pools. So if you're thinking of doing something with your backyard and getting a pool, I urge all of you to make sure you give me a call at 602-332-6203 or email me at stevecaruniverse.com and we can touch base with you, go over your area, find out what kind of infrastructure we need to bring to it and custom make your container pool.
And if you were here in the Phoenix metro area, we do have a model container pool over on 99th Avenue and Thomas. So touch base with me. And I'll give you all the details over there and you can go actually go see it and I think you'll be totally pleased.
But we're going to go to break right now and we come back, Ginger's going to give us a little more insight into how she empowers women and some of the things and the projects that she is helping women become, you know, totally, totally comfortable with doing home improvement. So, and using those tools. And Ginger, I've got a funny story about a couple of. I know where the woman is totally used to using tools and the husband is clueless. It's a funny story and I want all our listeners to hear it.
And when we come back, you're listening to Bockscar Universe. Don't go away. Hi, I'm Erica Thompson. My name is Thompson, the Dominating Designer. A hardworking artist with a sense of humor. What is the dominating Designer process? It's just like what you see on tv. We discuss your wants and needs about your project, go over your ideas. Then I provide you creative, one of a kind options that fit your budget with respect to your home's value.
When we finish your project, you are set to enjoy your new space. I would love to help you with your upcoming project. Please reach out to me on Instagram. The Dominating Designer Stardust Building Supplies is. Your home improvement thrift store. Find salvaged and gently used cabinetry, doors, windows, appliances, lighting, plumbing and much more. Save money, be green and support the community. Shop and donate at Star Building Supplies Valley locations.
For more info, visit stardustbuilding.org Discover the. Future of sustainable lifestyle living with Boxcar Universe. Your go to source for cutting edge container home and container pool information. Want a dream container home or pool? We can build it for you. Hi, I'm Steve Dubell from Boxcar Universe. For the latest in container innovation and expert insights, tune into our weekly podcast Boxcar Universe. Ready to start your project?
Call us today at 602-332-6203 or email us at steveoxcaruniverse.com Remember Boxcar Universe where your container dreams come to life. Listen, learn and build with us. Looking to transform your space with over 30 years of construction experience and featured on radio and TV, Ideal Home Improvement and Legacy Custom Homes. AZ does it all from repairs, remodeling and restorations to new builds, container homes and container pools.
Plus cutting edge solar systems to help homeowners save money on their utility bills. Hi, I'm Steve Dubell. Let us help you design and build your dream home with the expertise that comes from Decades of experience in the business. Call me today at 602-332-6203 or email me at steve@idealhomeimprovementaz.com to get started. Remember Ideal Home Improvement and Legacy Custom Homes az where your dream home becomes reality. Don't wait. Call today.
All right, we are back and you're listening to Boxcar Universe and we are talking with Ginger Martin and we are talking about the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy. And for those women out there who are looking to understand more about tools and things that you could use those tools for, I mean, everybody likes, I gotta believe, Ginger, that everybody that has, you know, any kind of thought of doing something will get a lot of satisfaction out of learning more about tools and stuff like that.
Because it, it's just so important to be able to be handy. I mean, you know, I mean, I see people see women online, you know, on dating sites that turn around and say, you know, I sometimes I wish I was as handy as my boyfriend, you know, or I learned how to do, wish I knew how to do this and somebody would take the time to show me. And I think that's so important that people understand that.
But I wanted, I wanted to lead into the segment and talk, tell you a little bit about my friend and his wife who are a well known personality here in the Phoenix market. And the husband doesn't have a clue about the name of what tools. I mean, he could look at something and he, if you tell him what it is, he'd probably look over the whole table and couldn't pick out what it was unless he used it before.
So they were worth doing a DIY project one day and him, and, him and his wife, well, pretty much mostly his wife was doing it and he turned around to her husband and said, hey honey, would you go in the garage and get me that pair of channel locks on the, on the workshop table? And he said, sure, honey. And he went in the garage. Okay? Now this is the only way that he was able to find it, okay?
And his wife, being such a smart lady, turned around knowing that he had no clue about how to name tools. Is that previously she went in there with a sticky notepad and she put sticky notes with the name of the tool on every tool. Okay? So, so when he, when he went in the garage, all he had to do was find the sticky note that said channel locks. That's so smart. And that was it. So, but, but this is the kind of thing that, you know, not everybody can do that. I mean, it Sounds pretty simple.
But when you think about it, you know, it's better to get to know the tools and use the tools and understand what some of the things are for. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. But I think that's a really smart idea. Like, she met him at his level. Yeah, exactly. That's exactly what she did. And you know, because otherwise, I mean, and he's, he's a person, you know, in the media, you know, and he knows his craft. Yeah, but it's just, just when she told me that I just thought it was extremely funny.
I just about fell off the chair. It's like, okay, you know, but, you know, but I've been doing this, you know, my whole life. So tools were not, you know, my dad was a mechanic and I got involved in woodworking back in the 70s and it just, it grew from there. Yes, but so anyway, so let's tell. Go through some of the things that are on, and I want everybody to make sure, you know, you want to see some of this. I urge all of you to go on YouTube and just search for the crafty carpenter.
And you will see Ginger's YouTube video where she goes through some of the things that we're going to explain. So this way you could put the. The picture with, you know, what we're talking about. So, Ginger, go through a little bit about what's on the video for the YouTube channel. I started, I started off with just starting to explain tools.
I do see YouTube channels that have that teach about tools or they'll show something that you can do, but it's almost like you already have to have an idea of how to use the tool whenever you're looking at the channel. So what I wanted to do was just take it slow, break it down, make it very, very beginner friendly, explain what the tool is, how to use it, and, and just give a little bit demonstration of the tool itself. So I've done, let's see Sanding.
There's a YouTube video on there about sanding and, you know, how to sand the different grits of sandpaper and what the different grits are used for, whether you're, you know, stripping paint off or just sanding and making a smooth finish so you can stain furniture. There's a video about using a drill. I don't know. A lot of people aren't familiar with a tool that's called a five in one.
But it's a really, really inexpensive, handy hand tool because it, you know, you can use it as a scraper and a paint roller cleaner. And I Just I want people to, to know all these tools and gadgets that are so cool to have around the house. And mainly, like I said for women, I want women to know how to use their tools. Women, right. Women can love tools just like men. You know, I remember requesting tools for Christmas. Yeah. And I still would take tools for Christmas. Well, yeah.
I mean, and I think it's important, you know, I know, I know plenty of women that are, you know, or single, that are. Have a home or even. Even live by themselves in an apartment. Okay. That they should have like a bag of your typical, you know, screwdrivers, hammers, you know, maybe a level, a tape measure, you know, things like that. They would be able to go do certain things. Because obviously, obviously a lot of people, when you move into a new place, what's one of the first things you do?
You, you put stuff on the wall, you know, so you got, you have to have nails and you got to know what kind of nails to use. I mean, you know, and these. And there is a video on there about wall hangings. I do have a video on wall hangings because I did think about that. Not well, actually. One of the ladies in the, in the. Expressed that she had to hang some window blinds and she was unsure about how to do it.
So there's a video on there that shows the framing that's around your windows and your doors. And then I can explain to you. So this is where your wood. The wood is that's behind the wall so that you can easily easier know how to, you know where, where your nailing is to hang your wall hangings. Exactly, exactly. Because if you don't know where to place it, you know, you, you could possibly hit, you know, you may miss the framing.
And then if you don't know what other kind of anchors and stuff that you need, you, you may not. You mean you, you probably wind up going to Home Depot and finding somebody at Home Depot that, In that, the hardware aisle that has a little bit of knowledge. That's another thing you got to be careful of. Go to Home Depot. You have to find somebody that might be knowledgeable. That or any big box store.
I don't want to single out just Home Depot, but any big box store because a lot of those people, they, they give them training and if they don't have a history, you know, experience in that field, they won't know. But I mean, you know, I could walk in there, I could tell if I'm looking for something, how, how much experience they have because they know exactly what I'm looking for. Even if it's something that's off the wall, you know. Yeah. And, you know, I do go over different wall anchors or.
Yeah. Wall anchors to use. If you are wanting to hang, hang a wall hanging and you have no nailing, if it's like, if it's out of center, if you want it in a certain spot and your stud isn't behind that spot, how can you hand hang it? So there's, there's a little portion of that in the video. And like you mentioned reading a tape measure. I think they should teach that in school. I just. Reading a tape measure is just so. It's not hard once you kind of get the hang of it and you, you're.
It's just. You can do so much with it. I mean. Yeah, well, a lot of people deter. It's one of the essentials. Yeah. I mean, it's an essential thing to do and to be able to know. And it all depends on the class. You know, I would have somebody, for instance, go to your website and check out how to use the tools. And if you do have a specific project that you would like to do, then, you know, I would say, okay, like I say, always do your research to see what somebody else.
If somebody else has built something or fixed something that you want to do yourself on the web and see, well, they use this tool or that tool. And maybe, you know, in between knowing what the tools are and seeing what someone who has built on do. I mean, I know back in the day, I mean, you know, if there was something that I didn't know how to do, and I'm going to date myself here, but that's okay. You know, I'd go to Home Depot and I'd buy a VHS tape. Oh, okay. That had the. That had. So, hey.
Well, it shows you how to do. How to do this or frame or flooring or do something much like YouTube is now to be able to watch it. But not everybody can watch something and then, oh, why didn't I know how to do that? It's so easy, you know, so. Well, you know, I think one of the benefits of the school community also is that watching the YouTube channels is good. Going to Home Depot class may be good, but it lacks the opportunity to ask why?
Because like you were saying, everybody doesn't learn either just on the first time, or maybe there's something missing from there in their mind that they're not grasping. And you can't ask YouTube why. And the classes at the facilities, they're on a time limit. And so to me, one of the things that I do encourage is to just keep asking why? Until you feel confident in yourself to carry that project out, There's a lot of whys you have to just keep asking. That's true.
Now, being it's right around the holidays time, we were talking in between the break about some home projects that you could do. And, you know, we've been talking about fixing a lot of things in home, but, you know, talking about, as we talk, like the name of your academy, the Crafty Carpenter, talking about craft building.
And some of them, like you said, were, you can actually, like, make your own cutting board, which around the holidays, I mean, is so essential because you don't want to destroy your countertop. You better have a cutting board. Yeah, so I do have one of my cutting. This was one of my first cutting boards. It's not one of my best cutting boards, but it's. It's maple and oak.
It's just, you know, a nice little cutting board that's hard wood that you can make for gifts or you can, you know, you see these things in a store and you think that it looks so complicated, like, how do they get those pieces to smooth out and stick like that? And it's really not hard.
And I would love to show people and then the different types of woods, you can just get really creative, even with cutting boards or another thing I. Christmas idea I had is a wooden potholder, which is kind of basically would be like a cutting board with legs on it, because that you can set hot pots on instead of sitting it on your counter or rags and stuff like that and. Sure. Yeah. And that's.
That's important because, I mean, you know, some of the surfaces now in your kitchen, they claim that you, you know, you could put a hot pot on it or something. I personally, you know, depending on how long it's going to be there, I would always put something underneath a hot pot. You know, because back in the day when we only had Formica tops, that was one of the.
One of the things that always used to see when we used to replace them, where somebody put a hot pot on a Formica and they just burned it. And that's not coming out now. The one thing before we wrap up for today, I want to be able to let you know once say one thing. One of my favorites that I think people should always have besides those tools that you mentioned in the video is. And I would suggest if you go to Home Depot or any other big Box store or Walmart or any one of the Target.
Wherever you, wherever you decide to shop and you go into the tool, you know, tool area, I would buy one of those combo kits of tools, like one that you could get like a screw gun and a drill. Because you're going to need a drill anyway on certain things, and it does. And instead of buying them piecemeal, let's buy them in combo packs because usually you're going to save a boatload of money, especially now around holidays.
And I know right after Thanksgiving, you know, that was a time where in Black Friday where Home Depot had all these pallets in the middle of the aisle wrapped in black plastic. They had signs on it. You know, black Friday items do not peak. Yeah. Do not peak. So, but they're all, they're all out now. But I would suggest it. And sometimes some of these things, the sales are seasonal and you get some really great pricing on some of this stuff. So I, you know, tools are always a good gift.
A good gift. Always. Actually, there's a link in my YouTube and on the school for a. It's not a big box, it's a smaller store where people can buy tools if, you know, if they want to do that. Right. I always tell people, if you're just getting started, you may not, you may not want to invest in the most expensive tools, but if you find that you're getting hooked, then you're going to want good, quality, lasting tools. Exactly. Yeah. And there's plenty of places out there that have.
They have cheap tools. I have a story. It was while I was still an apprentice and I was cleaning wood. Back then, you pull the nails out of the wood. You clean the wood. And I had a wooden handle hammer and I would pull the nail out and the hammer would snap. And I went through like three or four hammers that week until my dad said, that's enough, we're going to go get you. Yeah. Really good to say.
Yeah. So the quality, if you're going to do this for a while, if you, if it's something that, like a commitment, I do suggest getting good quality tools. Absolutely. Rather than, you know, a little something that you're going to have to buy over and over. Absolutely. And there is, I think I do have a video on there. I think it's like the top five tools that's needed. Hand. Yes. Yeah, there is, there is a video on there. I saw that.
Yeah. So it goes over everything you need just to, just to get started and function properly. Right. Yeah, Right. And I. And I agree with you. I urge all of you to go out to your favorite store and go buy yourself a five in one tool. Because they are, they are so good and they've got. You could use it for a whole bunch of different things. Screwdriver, if, you know, like to tap.
I wouldn't call it a hammer, but if you just have something to tap in place and just so many things, they call it a five in one. But I think the video that I did on the five in one tool, I actually said there's 10 uses for this tool and maybe more that you can think of. Right. And for those of you trying to visualize what we're talking about, the best way I can explain it, it's similar to maybe like a 2 or 3 inch putty knife that's got a whole bunch of different cutouts in the sides.
You could use it to pull nails. You could use it to scrape for hard to reach stuff that won't come off with a regular putty knife. It just has so many different tools and it's definitely one that you should have in your tool arsenal. No doubt, no doubt. But, Ginger, tell our listeners how they could find all these good things that we've been talking about online. So you can find me on the crafty carpenter on YouTube. The channel is the Crafty Carpenter.
And then there's a school community, which is spelled S K O O L community. And when you get to that website, there's a search bar and if you type in the Crafty Carpenter, I'll come up and you can always tell it's me because there's a black house with a turquoise roof for on both channels with some tools surrounded. And the school channel is called the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy for Women. There you go.
All right, Words of wisdom from someone who's been there and is trying to give back to the community. And Ginger, thank you so much for being on Boxcar Universe today. We really appreciate it. I thank you and I really appreciate it. And you have a very merry Christmas and happy holidays. All right. You too. All right. That was Ginger Martin from the Crafty Carpenter DIY Academy.
Again, all our women listeners out there who are interested in checking out and becoming more crafty, more handy, as they say, please make sure you check out those links and we'll have that also on our Facebook page, too. So I want everybody to stay tuned. Don't go away. More coming your way from Boxcar Universe.
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Our advanced insulation solutions seal every crack and crevice for maximum comfort and energy savings. Call I Foam today for your free inspection at 623-401-3626 or visit us@ifoam.com so, what's in your attic? Hi, I'm Sean with Mr. Electric, and I have a tip to help make your life better. One important reminder is to call a qualified electrician when you have frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers.
When a circuit breaker trips or a fuse blows, it's indicating that you have a problem with some other part of the circuit. If your breaker trips more than once, you should have a qualified electrician come out and take a look at it. Contrary to what may be acceptable, you really shouldn't try to continuously try to reset the breaker because there may be a problem somewhere else down the circuit, and you could be causing a fire hazard. There could be a loose connection or.
Or some other form of problem on the circuit, and every time you reset the circuit breaker, it could be causing a spark at the other end. We recommend having a qualified electrician come out and check on the condition of the circuit and make sure that the circuit does not have any problems. And it could just be a bad breaker also. But you definitely want to have a qualified electrician check that out.
To have someone come out from our team may only take a portion of a day, but it could potentially save you a lot of money or your life. And that's just another way Mr. Electric has the power to make your life better. All right, the train is coming down the track. And on the train in the boxcar, we have our resident chef with us, Mary Heitmeier from Chef de Jura. Mary, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you doing? You know, it's just peachy here in the valley of the sun.
And, you know, and it's sunny and, you know, sometimes we forget that it's. It's almost Christmas. Especially when you hear all these temperatures, that any storms that are coming to the Northeast and the Midwest this weekend, it's like, I think there was something on the news this morning from North Dakota, said It was like 12 degrees. I'm thinking better there than here. Oh, absolutely. I hear it's 46 degrees in Tempe. Yeah. Today it's not bad at all. Not bad at all.
Well, Mary, tell us a little bit about. I mean, you know, with your vast experience and obviously with, with what you've done in having. Having hundreds and hundreds of satisfied clients with your business. Tell us a little bit about what, what, what could we make for the holiday season in the way of cooking, baking? What have you got on your plate for us today? No pun intended. Right. Well, the one I have today, it's a little bit of putting together, but it's not difficult.
It's really festive looking and it's absolutely delicious. So no, there's a little bit, there's a tiny bit of baking, but it's just to crisp up some French baguettes. Okay. Should I, Should I get it, Should I get in the car now and make a strafing run for fries before all the crowds come or what? Oh, absolutely. This goes over really big. I did it for a opening for a new office and I made tons of them and they were gone. Okay, so what is this wonderful thing called?
Well, I made the recipe myself. I didn't give it a name, so we're just going to call it, I guess a fig and prosciutto bruschetta. Okay, that works. How about something simple? You know, it really is. You don't have to buy any figs. Okay, well, tell us how. How does it all come together?
Okay, you just want to get yourself a nice baguette, and then you're going to slice it at an angle, maybe about a half inch thick, brush it with a little bit of olive oil, and then just put them in the oven just long enough to get a little crispy. They'd like about 350, but keep your eye on them because you don't want them breaking people's teeth, so you just want them brown. That's how my son got a tooth to come out. We went to my friend's house.
She made Mac and cheese and some kind of toasted bread. And her husband says, oh, I can get you to get it out. Take a bite of this bread. And it worked. Oh, my gosh. So just get them lightly browned, and then you need to let me give you ingredients. That's probably the best way to do this. First, a French baguette, a little bit of olive oil, mascarpone cheese, fig jam, prosciutto, arugula, and already made. Gosh, I can't think of the word. A pre made balsamic reduction.
And all of those things can be found like in a sprouts or who else has them? Trader Joe's. Then sprouts has a really good price on the fig jam. And I have found it at regular grocery stores, but not very often. So now that you know what the ingredients are and I'll email them to you with the recipe. Okay. Once you get your baguettes nice and toasty, you put a nice little smear of the mascarpone cheese and then you put a little bit of the fig jam on top of that.
And then you put a piece of prosciutto on top of that. And then very pretty, put on some arugula. So now you've got the sweet and the savory and the spicy. And then you take your reduction. You can make it yourself, but you can buy it and it tastes just as good. And you just drizzle it really, really pretty. It makes a really festive dish. It's very tasty. It's a finger food. I'm not a big fig person and I. These are delicious. Really?
Yeah, I'm not a big fig person either, but it sounds, it sounds interesting. We have the different. You got your sweet, you got your salty, you got your savory and then you got your spicy because arugula has that spice. The jam has a little bit of sweet. The mascarpone is your savory so it kind of fit. And then the, of course the prosciutto is your salt. So it hits all the things that. Make a good recipe that you could and how long. And you said this, you, you created this on your own?
Yeah, brusquetta. And I thought, it's the same way all the time. I'm going to try something different. And so did some, you know, test kitchen stuff and this one came out and it just turned out really well. My son made it for Thanksgiving for his soon to be fiance and he said they ate half of them before they even went to her parents house. Funny how that happens. Yeah, he was being a little selfish. He asked for the recipe, he said, I know they really like it. And then he sent me a text.
He goes, kind of did it more for me. That's not very cool. That's amazing. That is amazing. But how is. What, what do you got? What are you doing for, for Christmas? Well, as you know, I'm moving back to Arizona. Right. So we are going to be moved out of our apartment a block from the beach. I'll miss that. And since it's Christmas time, the Moving people are a little bit behind because it's a corporate move. So first we're going to move somewhere around here to be put up in a hotel.
And then I believe they're putting us in corporate housing in Chandler while we look for a place. So it's going to be difficult. Steve knows, Dan doesn't. But down. I've had like four balls in the past year and a half. I got Covid and then I got long Covid. And apparently it can affect your balance. Yes, well, yes, it does affect your balance. So right now I have a hairline fracture in my left ankle, a broken right ankle, two breaks in my right fibula, and a torn ligament.
So I'm just a gimp some. I'm glad it's a corporate move because there's no way I can be out before then. Yeah. Really? That makes me. That makes me sound kind of selfish after falling out of an attic about a year and a half ago. Boy. Yeah. I mean, these are things that, like anything else you got, you. You got to be careful. And you never know. You never know. You know, you could be like Mary. I know some of the injuries she had were where.
I mean, she just was just going about normal, normal day to day stuff. And then all of a sudden something happens and it's just like you got to. I guess if you, if you walk, you got to be careful. If that doesn't. It doesn't have to include a ladder either. Yeah, you don't need a ladder for it. You know, Eyes up. I was down. I actually have probably injured everything but the bottom of my feet in the past year.
Oh, my God. So I am being super careful because my goals for 2023 is to get really healthy, get my strength back, get really fit, and lose some weight. Because when you're laid up in the hospital and then you're laid up with different injuries, this is just my latest. So it's just hard to get out into your exercise. And I was so excited. I was doing soft sand walking and it really, really gives you a workout.
And then after about two weeks, had this fall and it was just walking back from the beach, I was just on the sidewalk. Next thing I knew, I was on the sidewalk. You got to watch those hard surfaces, right? Yeah. I didn't bounce, I didn't hit nice and softly, but I'm healing. That's all I can do. Well, you know, had. Just have some more arugula. Oh, I can eat arugula right out of the. Oh, I know, I know that you had me when you said that, it was like. It just. His stuff is really good.
Mary, thank you so much for coming on the show. And when you get back, we'll have to have you in studio. I know you want me to bring food. That's. I want you to bring Valentine's Day. Yum, yum. Valentine's Day. Yeah, sounds good. I think that's coming up really good. Now, Mary, you always just. She was. She's the perfect guest. She always came with. With stuff, which is great, and we really appreciate it.
I don't know if they wanted information for me to interview me or they just wanted some food. Yeah. Hey, your information is so valuable. You know, no one, no one could. Could argue the fact that, you know, if we wanted just food, he could have ubered food in. Okay, well, I'll take that as a compliment. There you go. All right. That was the way it was. All right, Mary, take care. You have a merry Christmas and give my best to everybody out there. And then we'll see you soon on the way back.
And keep me posted on your. On your move. And if we could help you find any place here when you. When you get to that stage, just, you know, just give us a holler. First place I'm going is get a Cornish pasty. You're not pasty, pasty. Okay, so it's so nice to talk to you and I'm looking forward to seeing you guys. I shall be out there beginning of January, so. All right, we'll be here waiting for you. Okay, everybody, take care.
Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, whatever you celebrate, right? There you go. All right. Holidays. Mary Heitmeyer from Chef du Jour. Always a fountain of information. Obviously, you know, not just creating good, good dinners and stuff for people for their homes, being a personal chef, but she's. She creates food now. I want to thank all our listeners for listening to Boxcar Universe.
Remember, we are your source for cutting edge information on container homes and container pools, plus remodeling and renovating your existing home. You could always email us @Steve Car universe.com Remember, Boxcar Universe can be heard weekly on any podcast player. And always remember Boxcar Universe remodeling and renovating your world. Have a great weekend. You're a great American. I love.