The mortar portion of a wood mortar and pestle set came home with me from the thrift store recently.
At least, I’m pretty sure that’s how it was originally intended to be used. It was either that or an oddly shaped bowl.
It was made from several pieces of wood (presumably mahogany) laminated together and then hollowed out on a lathe to have sloping sides.
I knew I wouldn’t use it for food preparation because, despite all my best intentions, I’ve never consistently used any of the mortar and pestle sets we’ve owned. I’m more of a food processor type of home cook.
I’m also the type of person who finds a tremendous amount of satisfaction in not killing a houseplant in the first three months of owning it.
When a plant makes it past that crucial mark, imagine me standing in my living room with arms outstretched exuberantly quoting Sally Field, “This time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!”
That plant must really like me AND want to live here if it makes it past three months. My Christmas cactus recently met that milestone and I needed a new planter for it.
So, I did what some might consider sacrilegious and drilled a hole in the bottom of the wood mortar. In case you are wondering, there aren’t mortar and pestle police, other than the ones on the internet. You can do what you want. You won’t even be able to hear the gasp from the internet over the sound of your drill, so it’s all good.
With its newly drilled hole, I could now repurpose the wood mortar as a planter for this plant that likes me right now.
It’s my first time owning a Christmas cactus, and I’m trying to remember that it doesn’t need as much water as some of my other thirsty plants.
I was going to mention that I’m not worried about my wood planter rotting because it will probably outlive whatever plant I put in it, but I just learned that Christmas cacti can live to be 100 years old.
A geriatric houseplant could outlive me. I don’t even know how to process that.
Maybe I’ll worry about it if and when it outgrows this repurposed planter.
Perhaps you and your eagle eye noticed the unique drip tray the repurposed mortar planter is sitting on.
I decided a unique planter deserved an equally unique drip tray. My default drip tray is a white dinner plate, so using a fancy dish with gold handles was a definite upgrade.
It’s also a delicious amount of fun to pair two unexpected thrift store finds together.
Have you ever had fun combining unrelated thrift store finds? Do you regularly use a mortar and pestle for its intended purpose? How old is your Christmas cactus? Tell me everything. You can always comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook. I respond to all of your comments.
Happy Repurposing!
Thanks for hanging out with me today. I hope you enjoyed a cup of coffee or a sweet treat while you were here. If you’d like another blog post to read, no need to rush off. I’ve got you covered.
How to Remove the Engraving on Slate Coasters (This is about the black coaster in these pictures.)