Diggin' it!

Once the garden was ready for planting, we needed only to dig the holes for the plants and plop them in!  We measured where we wanted each plant, so we knew right were they all had to go.  Here's what it all looked like before we planted:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's was pretty grim, but I kept myself optimistic!  Below are the "after" shots, which I think look considerably better than no garden at all!  We don't have mulch yet, but that's next...



And I'm looking forward to seeing the garden by the end of summer, and certainly by the end of next summer, when it will all be flourishing and the plants will look a little more substantial.  Planting a garden certainly gives new meaning to the phrase "Hurry up, and wait"!

 

Now, contrary to my depiction of how to plant a garden (ie. plop the plants in) there are a few steps you’re going to want to take in order to not murder help your plants thrive.

- First, when you've selected your plants and get them home, make sure you water them in their pots the day before you intend to plant.  I watered mine when we got home and then again the evening before I planted them.  (I suppose it goes without saying, you don't want to wait too long to get them in the ground.) I made sure the water ran right through the soil and out the bottom of the pot.  Of course, I had help:



 

 

 

 

 

 

- Remove the plants from the containers the minute you want to drop them in the ground. In other words, don't remove the plants from their pots while you dig and leave them sitting in the sun because the roots will dry out.  We planted on a 90 degree day, with full sun (not advisable), which had we left the plants out of their post, could have easily damaged the roots.

- When you take the plant from the pot (gently!), look at the very bottom of the roots. If the roots are densely packed or growing in a circle, gently pull them apart  with your  fingers, so they can spread out once in the ground.

- According to my Mom, the gardening expert, when you dig the hole for each plant, make it the the depth it was in the pot. If you plant them any deeper, the stem of the plant could rot. If you plant them too high the roots could dry out.  But I confess, we had some really tough digging, in rock hard clay. I did plant one shrub too high, about an inch, and I just piled the dirt up to the level I needed. BUT, I swear, I’m gonna watch that particular plant and keep the dirt mounded there.

- Once you fill in your hole around the new plant, don't press down too hard on the plants as you fill in the holes, lightly will do.  Over time, watering will settle them into the ground.

- Water the newly planted garden as soon as it is finished and make sure it gets watered each week, especially if its HOT.  Try not to get the leaves wet in hot sun because they can burn.  Also, it’s important not to get the leaves wet at night because if the water sits on them, they can rot.  SO, my deduction is this, avoid burns and rot altogether, and water only at the roots.  Not having a “soaker hose” I took my regular hose and set it to very low water pressure.  Then I set it at the root area of each shrub for about 5 minutes.  For the smaller plants (perennials) I set it on each for about 3 minutes.

So with the garden essentially finished, this morning, at 7 a.m., with a sore back and coffee in hand, I watered my new garden and had a few barely coherent very intelligent reflections about the garden project/birthday "gift" to share:

Digging a garden makes for a pretty tiring couple of days.  I'm starting to re-think my idea of digging our own patio...  Or maybe not...  After all, Big A is still speaking to me....

I will never again paint my toes before digging a garden, especially because apart from when I was digging the holes, I wore flip flops....

How am I gonna keep the dog out of here ....

Should we have the brown mulch or the reddish looking mulch....

But, my main notion was this  - I'm very excited to see how all of my plants grow and how they'll transform the look of our home. 

 

 

Halfway to a new garden!

The garden project is coming along!

We managed to rototill the area we want to plant, which is most of the front of our house and along the side.

It was an eventful day!  As it turns out there were a lot of things already planted in our garden-to-be.  Such as:  gigantic rocks, wasp nests, and the invisible fence line!  As you can imagine we were delighted at our findings, but rather than celebrate, we still had to ready the area for our new shrubs and flowers.

With my mothers help, I had arranged all the plants where we wanted them to go, or maybe more aptly, where they needed to go.  Big A measured each plant from the house and made a map of the garden-to-be.  I also took pictures of the area with the plants laid out so that we could use the photos as reference.



He then used spray paint to outline the edge of the garden.  I have to admit, we were not precise with the outline of the garden.  Our criteria was that it had to be about 5' out from the foundation, because some of the shrubs have a 10' spread when they are full grown.  Also, the garden itself had to encompass some of the huge boulders we have near the house so that Big A didn't have to move them!  Fair point!

Then Big A got to work with the rototiller.

The ground was very dry and had a lot of clay and rocks - big rocks.   I wanted to run the rototiller myself, however, when I saw how much it was pulling, even for Big A, I thought I'd better not push my luck.  (At that point we'd already been stung by wasps and I didn't want to end up in the ER with a missing limb...)  So while he rototilled, I raked, cleared out the sod and rocks, and maybe most importantly, dealt with our other two helpers - the dog and the 4 year old.  Helpers can be hard to manage!  But I have my ways:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished with the area rototilled and raked ready for planting.  This part of the process took us about 7 hours total.  We were very happy when it was finished, cuz it was admittedly a long and tiring day, compounded by finding wasp nests, and dealing with 90 degree heat. By 5 p.m. we called it quits and headed to my in-laws pool!

Which. Was. Heaven. :-)

The Dead Fly and DIY

I'm not a morning person.  Well, technically I am.  I get up early, but as anyone who knows me well will tell you - if you know what's good for you, best not to speak to me until I've had at least two large cups of coffee. This morning was no different.  I got up and shuffled into the kitchen to make myself a cup of personality.  I was lost in thought, thinking about the day ahead.  Big A was going to borrow a rototiller and we were going to get the garden dug along the foundation.

Yesterday, my mother came over and we had placed all of the plants and drew up a slap-dash very precise map of said garden.  I took a ton of pictures of the area so that I could use them as reference as to where the plants were supposed to go after we dug the actual garden.

I got my coffee made and poured myself a large cup: extra cream and sweetener.  (I know, I use sugar-free sweetener, and full fat cream - remember, I walk on the wild side).  I took a big slug, heaven!  But wait, in my peripheral vision, I think I saw something.

Floating. In. My. Coffee.

Which only a millisecond before had been undoubtedly close to being swallowed!  My brain struggled to catch up - what was it?  Surely just coffee grounds!  Maybe a large crumb of bread?  Please let it be bread!

I said please!  But to no avail.  It was:  A big, dead, nasty fly!

I shrieked. THAT is not the way to start the day!  Nor does it bode well for the rest of the day!  Was it a bad omen?

Big A suddenly swooped in and took over.  Thank God for that man, he knows I am cranky in the morning, and that it was in everyone's best interest for him to get me another cup, STAT.

I finally calmed down and realized I had survived the ordeal, and was going to be O.K.   With a little trepidation, but a bug free cup of coffee in hand, I headed out to inspect the job site.



It actually looked harmless enough!  Yay!  Use the rototiller around the foundation and around the large rocks - and like magic - ready to dig some holes.  I'm pretty sure even Big A, the one who gets stuck with the hardest work, was fairly optimistic!

But alas, the fly was a bad omen, and it wasn't quite that easy... Looking back now, I can almost smile.  I say ALMOST, because these words are in the forefront of my brain:  heat stroke, missing limbs, bees nests, and dog poop.   All of which made for an interesting morning!  But that post will have to wait until tomorrow.  After I've had my coffee.

(No people or animals were harmed in this project, yet.)

Flower Power!

Planting around the exposed foundation of our new modular home is on my big "to do" list, so I'm very excited to have to opportunity to get started.  My birthday present from my parents was a whole bunch of plants from the local garden center, which with my Mom's guidence I got to pick out!  What an awesome birthday present!

The house has two areas in the front that I'm really excited to adorn with some plants. Let's face it, that exposed foundation looks like H. E. double toothpicks.

[caption id="attachment_320" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The front to the right of the porch[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_321" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The side of the house[/caption]

I didn't really want to plant any high maintenance gardens, because although I adore gardens, gardening is not exactly one of my strong points.  Ideally I wanted some pretty substantial shrubs and plantings, perhaps that will fill in and spread on their own, with little effort on my part.

So yesterday, my mother and I headed to Dickman Farms, where we spent a couple of hours in flower and plant heaven!  It was not only a bright sunny day, but only about 70 degress - beautiful!

[caption id="attachment_322" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Butterfly on a butterfly bush[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_323" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Flowers everywhere[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_324" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Love the yellow![/caption]

Eventually we stopped drooling over plants that wouldn't work for the "gardening disadvantaged", and got down to business.  We found 6 shrubs that fit the bill, and various other perenials, like hostas, day lilies and astilbies.  (Pat on the back to me for remembering those plant names!).

[caption id="attachment_325" align="aligncenter" width="300"] We had 2 wagons full[/caption]

Thank you Mom and Dad, so much!  We have our work cut out for us, getting all of this planted.  However, I can't wait to plant, and see what these guys look like in a couple of years (if I manage to keep them alive!).  Big A is happy too!  I think his exact comment was "Thank you for all the work you're creating for ME!"  I'm sure he meant it sincerely, so that's why, as a special thanks for all of his hard work, Mom and I bought him his "dream tractor" !

[caption id="attachment_326" align="aligncenter" width="300"] NOT![/caption]

I'm Packin' Heat

I just finished using a gun.  Okay it was only a staple gun, but for me, that should have been danger enough for one day.  However, as I keep telling my kids (to annoy them), I like to live on the edge!  So I also used a knife.  The kind with the razor blade slide thingy, oh, wait, I just looked it up - apparently that is called a "utility knife".  Very fancy. 

Anyway, last week I started thinking about reupholstering  my ottoman, and couldn't find any of my staple guns.  After several false starts at many different projects, I never did find my staple gun(s), and I basically got nothing accomplished.  Finally, Big A came to my rescue and found a very old rusty staple gun in the bottom of one of his big tool chests. I decided I had better at least finish the ottoman and get one thing done this week.

Here was the problem with the old ottoman:





All four corners have split and although I have sewn the edges back together before, years of the "little darlings" jumping on the furniture, has not helped my cause.  So now it's definitely time to either re-cover the thing or buy a new one.  At this point in time, I'd rather cover it than spend the money, but we'll see how it looks after the restoration!

Taking a good look at the ottoman, I realize that it's not in terrible condition structurally, and, I really am too lazy to don't even need to take off the old fabric.

First, I unscrewed the legs, which took all of about 23 seconds:



Then, using the utility knife, I plucked the buttons off of the top of the ottoman - another 17 seconds.  This is my kind of work!  I laid out the fabric, wrong side up, which is a leather-like  material (sounds so much better than pleather).  And then plopped the ottomon in the center, upside down.



I made sure the edges wrapped up and around the ottoman, with about 3" spare on the underside.  I pulled the fabric taught, and started stapling all the way around, keeping it tight.  After I got staples around all four sides, I went back and filled in with staples, about 2 inches apart.



When I got to the corners, I spent what seemed like several hours (in reality was 10 minutes) trying to get the "pleats" to look nice. With limited patience, here is what I said to myself: "Oh for goodness sake, just staple the dang thang and get this over with!".  And so I did.   I used the handy utility knife to cut the excess fabric, and I screwed the legs back on.  Presto!

 



I have to say the pleats may drive me to distraction.  But after spending only an hour of my time and zero of my money, I think I'll try to live with pleats, rather than rips for a couple of weeks, and see how it goes!

 

 

 

Planting a Front Garden

Time marches on.  NO, time FLIES!   It's already the end of June, and there are still a lot of things not crossed off on my To Do list!  However, the summer means birthdays in our family, and one really good thing to having another birthday is that my Mom and Dad surprised me, telling me that I need Big A and his truck in order to get my birthday present!  I need a truck for my present?!  How exciting!

It turns out they bought me a bunch of plants, that are waiting for me at the local garden center, Dickman Farms.  And that means I'll be able to cross another task off of the dreaded To Do list.  Cuz now I can plant a garden around the foundation!

I've been googling: foundation plants, gardens, container gardens, easy gardening, and more...

So pretty!  This picture below has 3 levels, and I love all the green.  I know day lillies will spread quickly and fill in a lot of space.

I love the next garden below.  I love hostas, and I love the hanging baskets with a pop of color.



Hostas and lillies below look really lush and full.  And I like the bricks edging the garden.



And this one is so pretty - I love yellow!



So now I have some ideas.  Time to grab my Mom and pick her brain for ideas on what is actually feesible in our space, and get to work.

 

 

 

 

 

A Day of Rest

At 6:30 a.m. we woke up to thunder, and a deluge.  We got the kids off to school for their penultimate day of school and headed to Home Depot. Despite the apparent weather restrictions, we were optimistic and I personally had a day of DIY planned.

First on my list was to recover an old ottoman.  Second was to finally re-spray paint our wrought iron outdoor furniture.

I sat down in the living room to take the legs off the old, ratty, ottoman.  Years of kids jumping on it, and using it as part of their endless fort building, has rendered it less than appealing.   And barely functional, for that matter.



 

 Using the giant brass tray to disguise it just isn't working anymore, so it's time to re-cover it.  My game plan was this:  take the legs off and recover with some really cool leather fabric my mother had left over from a chair upholstery project.



I figured this would only take about an hour.  I took the legs off, and then proceeded to spend several hours, rummaging through the basement looking for just one of my many staple guns.  Mission aborted and project on the back burner!  Every time i need a staple gun, it goes MIA, and I buy a new one.  I refuse to buy any more staple guns! 

So, until I find the strength to spend any more time in the basement, I decided to move on to spray painting the outdoor furniture.  I figure this will only take an hour or two for the first coat.  I bought a really cool speckly black outdoor spray paint, and I think it's gonna look much better with a clean coat of paint.  Too bad I left the spray paint in my husband's truck, and he's gone to work until 11 pm...

So, I guess it's gonna be one of those days.  Even the cat is exasperated with me:



He wants me to chill out and take a nap.

Pressure Washers

I got thinking about Pressure Washers, as one does, and they really are useful, and not too expensive.  When you own a home, there are a lot of time saving uses for one.  Now, I'll confess, it's usually my husband who uses ours, cuz, frankly, our power washer is too heavy for me to lug around.  But if my man gets it out of the basement and brings it to me, I'll happily find a use for it...



Now, they're a power tool, even if you don't picture them as a some manly jack-hammer or something.  And, because they're a power tool, they can be dangerous.  One does have to be safe when using them.  The water comes out very fast and it can harm soft materials, like your body!  Don't get your foot or hand in the way!  And don't be tempted to wash the dog with it!  Similarly, use caution on car decals, or molding on the house, etc.  And, best to wear safety glasses.

Here's just a few of the uses for a pressure washer:

Wash the car or boat.  Or maybe you have a jet.. You can use the pressure washer to rinse off, then suds it up, and rinse off again.  But, as mentioned, be cautious if you have any decals on your car (or jet).

Power wash the drive way or side walk.  The water pressure will further damage weak concrete, so be careful.

Decks and porches.  Over time, wood decks and porches tend to get a dull grey look to them.  The pressure washer washes that away so you're ready to stain, or treat the wood.  Similarly, you can remove old paint from porches, or steps.

Lawn or patio furniture can be pressure washed. Although I wouldn't advise this with wicker - you may end up with pile of wet kindling.

You can wash your siding.  Just be sure to be careful around moldings and glass.

Use the pressure washer to clean out your mower deck.  My husband thinks this is very cool, although I have to admit, I can't fathom why you would want a clean mower deck!  (This falls under my category "Whatever makes you happy honey".)

Rinse away grime from your BBQ grill grates.  Do you know that the BBQ instruction book instructs one to clean the BBQ after every use?  I don't know about you, but I just close the lid when I'm done cooking and burn it off for a minute or two.  I always thought that would suffice, but when you take those grates off, they're in need of some serious cleaning.

Power washing is perfect for cleaning the garage floor (assuming you can get to the garage floor!).

Speaking of floors, I actually used the pressure washer to clean an area rug when our cat had an unfortunate stomach problem.  I really couldn't face cleaning the rug with my hands, and the pressure washer was all hooked up in the driveway...  I just took the rug outside and blasted it with the power washer, sprayed it with Resolve, washed it again, and hung it to dry in the breeze.   Way better than the alternative!

Anyway, in my humble opinion, pressure washers are a pretty cool tool to have around the house!

 

 

 

 

 

Father's Day Gift Ideas

It's Father's Day weekend, and even though my Dad's getting a voucher for a night babysitting our kids, here are a few things any Dad would like to receive on Father's Day:

Car wash vouchers. As my hubby says "A clean truck is a happy truck".  Whatever honey!

A hammock. To escape to some far corner of the yard.  They have hammocks that hang from the trees, that can be moved anywhere in the yard.  They have hammocks for couples.  Hammocks to take camping, and hammocks that keeps bugs out.

Gorilla Garden Cart. These things are super handy around the yard and they're way easier to maneuver than a wheelbarrow!

Frog Toggs chilly pad.  Just wet, drape around your neck, and stay cool (even though you look silly, who cares!).

Headphones with hearing protection for your ipod.  Let's him listen to music, not the mower!

Laser level.  Soooo cool - I want one!  Black and Decker has one that suctions to the wall.

Power washer.  If he doesn't have one, they're handy for washing everything from your porch, to porch furniture, to the sidewalk, etc.

A coal miner-like flashlight.  What guy doesn't want a light strapped to their head  when bravely spelunking in the basement?

And if all else fails....



Yes, a carstache!  (If you ever see one on the open road, I want you to send me a picture immediately!)

Happy Father's Day !!!

 

 

 

 

Lattice DONE (well, almost!)

The lattice is finally (almost) finished, and although I was originally nervous about staining it black, I like it!  You may not be able to spot the area I didn't tackle, but it's right here:



Yup, beneath the steps!  And, as you can imagine, the idea of crawling on my belly under the stairs, or wriggling under on my back, does not thrill me.   I would try to sweet-talk my husband into doing it, but there's no getting around the fact that he simply won't fit under there!

So, as Scarlett O'Hara might say "Tomorrow I'll think of some way... after all, tomorrow is another day".

Painting pictures

Yesterday was a complete deluge, so I wasn't able to take any pictures of our handiwork!  The Master Painter and I wanted you to see what we had accomplished, so here are a few pictures.

This is the unpainted lattice.  We chose a black stain, in hopes that it would look good with our black shutters.

 

 

 

Here it is stained.   I think it looks pretty good, and when I finish the whole porch (rather than the 1/2 that is done), I will post a picture of the front of the house.

 

 

 

 

 

We also managed to paint our second-hand steps to the back of the house.  Yesterday I posted a picture of the stair treads I'd like to buy too.  However, my lab decided she would decorate the steps for me.  Wasn't that thoughtful?

The Master Painter gets it DONE!

This past weekend I swore I would accomplish two projects: paint the lattice on the front porch, and paint the second-hand steps for our back door.  Weeeellll, things don't always go as planned.  I've been pretty darn sick, plus had a teenager who had to get ready for her 8th grade school trip to DC, and another teen with a bad foot and two doctor appointments.  Still, I tried.

So, here it is TUESDAY morning.  All was not totally lost because I did manage to paint 1/2 of the lattice and, with the help of my 4 year old Master Painter, the second-hand back steps are done, even though it was 90 degrees in the shade.  Not too shabby, as the Master Painter mused.

Today, however, the heavens have decided to open, so I'm not going to be able to show you any pictures of our handiwork.  However, I am going to give you a few words of advice on painting lattice and second hand steps.  Notice that I didn't say whether this was going be good advice or bad advice...

I googled "painting over weather beaten wooden steps".  The results were overwhelmingly ambitious. Quite frankly, I wasn't feeling too ambitions.  Our back door to nowhere (eventually it will be to the patio) is hardly worth ambitions.  We were given a set of steps that happen to fit the space pretty well, but they had been sitting in a hedge row, and needed some attention.  On Saturday, I spoke to the paint guy at Home Depot and explained that my steps are old and are only going to be used in the interim until we put in the patio.  Therefore, I wasn't inclined to put in too much work.  Even the Home Depot guy wanted me to put in a little more effort than I was really prepared to do.  So I smiled politely and pretended to head in the direction he sent me.

The four year old Master Painter and I considered our options.  This is what we decided to do:  We bought two 3"  "economy" brushes (read: $1.30 each).  We bought 2 quarts of outdoor ultra pure white paint and left Home Depot before the Home Depot guy could spot me not following his advice.

First things first - my handy hubby did power wash the steps and that did clean off a lot of loose paint chips, which are now firmly planted in the grass. After the steps dried, I took a paint scraper and went over any rough spots. I then took out my broom and just gave them a good sweep, to get rid of any dust and/or bugs.  Prep work done!

The Master Painter and I each grabbed a brush and got to work.  I put the paint on pretty thick, but tried to make it fairly even.  The Master Painter had his own unique way of putting on paint - which was to press the paint brush bristles flat onto the wood, and push the paint around.  This is more of a "brush mashing" movement than a "brush stoke", and is surprisingly effective.  (A tutorial may follow.)  Once our first coat was done, we waited a couple of hours and put on a second coat.

To jazz things up, I think I'm going to order rubber stair treads something like this.



Now, similar to the stairs, I googled "painting lattice".  Holy Moly!  Here's what most experts wanted me to do...

1. Take the lattice off the porch

2. Power wash it or wash it with soap and water with the hose

3. Dry

4. Primer both sides

5. Buy a paint sprayer

6. Spray one side

7. Dry

8. Flip over and spray other side

9. Repeat 6-8

10. Re-attach lattice

Well, I probably don't have to say this, but really?  That's a lot of work, or at least too much work for something that is going to be covered up  by foundation plants!  Sometimes in life you just have to either A.) fake it or B.) get it done.  I'm not even remotely suggesting that you should follow my advice or that my way is the right way to do things.  Cuz I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble.  But here's what I did:

On Sunday, I bought 2 more 3" economy brushes, and a gallon of stain, we happened to want to try the black.  I waited til the Master Painter's nap time, and I took my trusty broom and brushed the lattice to remove any unwanted bugs, dead leaves, and dirt particles.  Whatever refused to move, got painted over. I took my cheap paint brush and slapped the stain on as fast as I could.  It was 90 degrees out and not only were my shoulders burning, I could barely see cuz the sweat was dripping in my eyes. Well, I got it half done, and I have to say it looks pretty darn good!

This week am going to finish the other half of the lattice when the rain subsides, and then I can cross off another task on my to-do list.  Which, I have to say, is a pretty satisfying feeling!  I just hope that my "cheating" to get these projects done doesn't come back to bite me!

What projects do you feel you "cheated" on?   Did it backfire?

DIY tips

Building a modular home or any home often leads to a loooooong to-do list.  Try to make your life a little easier with these DIY and home improvement tips from me.  Actually, some are more of a "warning" than a "tip", but you'll get  my drift.

Make a plan.  Your plan should of course reflect the order in which things should be done, time it will take, cost, etc.  I think you can see the value in this, so I won't pontificate on it, but I will tell you a true story.  And I will give you the moral of this story right now: Don't be me.  I didn't make a plan once (alright I try to go plan-less all the time, but I don' recommend it).  Anyway, I decided to repaint a bedroom.  I gathered all of my painting supplies, and set to work sanding and cleaning the walls.  Next, I primed the walls and let that dry.  I set to work painting for painting for the next two days, a really beautiful chocolate color.  It looked pretty darn awesome!  And then I painted the ceiling white. (In case you don't get it, a plan would have come in handy here. Take my word for it.)  Moving on...

Do what's necessary!  (Or, to be clear, don't do unnecessary things!)  For example, unless you can afford a landscaper (I wish!), use your natural surroundings.  Instead of removing trees, consider giving them a little trim, and leave them there.  Instead of moving a boulder, plan around it.  Our yard is full of trees, and yes, they're a pain to mow around.  But they're beautiful.  And frankly, it's easier to mow around them than to cut them down, drag away the branches, and cut up the wood.  Also, several boulders turned up when we dug our foundation.  Rather than haul them away, we kept the nice ones and plan to plant around them.  (In 2023.)

Budget your projects. The harsh reality is that your project, no matter how big or small will cost up at least 35% more than you anticipate.  This is something that bites me in the butt all the time!   I guess a good rule of thumb is to add 50% on top of what you think your project will cost, and if you can afford that, yay! Just painting buys me at least three extra trips to Home Depot!   Halfway through painting I need more paint, or the dog runs off with my paint brush (happened!), and I need to buy a new one.  And I never budget for those extra trips! Then end up eating only stale bread for two days to save money.  Again, don't be me!

Be realistic about your skills.  Some things you just have to be brutally honest about.  If your toilet is backing up into your tub and that "water" is flowing out of the tub and onto the floor, I don't have to tell you that if you're not a plumber you should probably call one, do I?  Similarly, if you think you can fix a faulty electrical outlet with a knife, well, you probably really need an electrician.  Whatever your project, think carefully.  Not only is your budget important, but so is your skill level.  If you get half-though a project and you find you can't finish it yourself, you're going to call a professional anyway, thus messing with your budget big time!  I'm really struggling with whether or not I am able to do my patio installation project myself.  But, it could be an interesting future post if I tackle this myself, and can't finish the project.  The title might be something like "Who needs a patio, when you could have a Shallow Hole?" or "How to find a good Chiropractor"...  We'll see.

Phew, all this talk of DIY and projects, and it's the weekend!  Home Depot in the morning and I think I have two things I'm gonna cross off my to-do list.  But it's not a promise.  More of a threat than a promise.

 

 

 

 

 

Pansy Telepathy

I'm feeling under the weather with a bad cold, and can't quite summon the energy to do much of anything but sit around like a bump on a log.  I figured some fresh air might help, and folded myself into rocking chair on my front porch.  Feeling comfortable and warm in the sun, I looked around my yard and happened to glance to my right.  This is what I saw:



Doesn't it look like my pansies are looking at me quizzically!?  As if they're saying "What's she doing?"   "Why is she just sitting there?"

I couldn't shake the feeling that they were chiding me, and eventually they guilted me into trying to get something done.  As a new home owner, all kinds of things need to be done, including constant decoration, picture hanging, moving furniture... it takes a long time to get it right and get a feel for your home. So I guess I may be a little paranoid thinking my pansies are actually bullying me.

Anyway, I've been looking at decals on the web.  I love the way they look and the way you can transform an entire wall (should you wish to), in a couple of hours.  They're ideal for decorating when you don't want to, or can't, commit to paint or wall paper (ie. dorms, apartments).  They're fun, and they're inexpensive, and you can move vinyl decals with ease.

So one rainy day, I was on Amazon just looking around, innocently, when I came across the decal section and accidentally hit the "add to cart" button.  I got one wall quote and one large decal.  Just a note:  when I say inexpensive, I mean under $20 for a 6' wall decal, and .90 for the wall quote.  Now, they're a steal, but it's not the kind of thing you want to overdo in your home, obviously, less is definitely more in this instance.

I bought a large tree decal which I put up in about 2 hours.  The vinyl pre-cut branches and leaves came on a separate backing, and you had to place them one at a time.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  And fun!  If you put a leaf on and it doesn't look good, just peel it off and try again.  Now, this is a good thing, because now I have the entire tree up (by my front door), I want to move it.  I'm not sure I like it there, but I do like it.

The picture is taken from my dining room at an elevated vantage point, but you can see the tree reaches to the top of the door, so it's a good size.

 The other decal I bought was a wall quote for the laundry room.  The wall quotes look like stencils, but their a little bit easier to transfer than painting an actual stencil. The wall quote didn't come with instructions, but I had bought one of these before and knew what to do, luckily.  The letters come on a sticky transparent transfer sheet.  Basically, you peel off the non-transparent backing and stick your quote on the wall, making sure it's level.  You use the palm of your hand or the edge of a credit card to rub the letters onto the wall.  Presto!



 

 

 

 

Finally, a pantry!

I have spent my whole life with too little cabinet space, barely any closet space, and certainly without a walk-in pantry.  Over the years, regardless of how little space I had, I loyally joined BJ's and Sam's Club, stocking my imaginary pantry, only to face the reality that I didn't have room for anything in bulk.  So when we were designing our modular home, I was pretty much giddy at the thought of a walk-in pantry!

A lot of the modular homes we saw featured kitchens with built in pantries.  However, to have one specially built for you would be an easy adjustment.  In fact, we had ours made larger than the model home had shown.



Our pantry is built into the corner of our kitchen.  You can clearly see the door to the pantry, and the wall that juts out.  It's hard to see from that picture, but that area is approximately 7 feet wide x 6 feet deep.  We do lose a little space in the kitchen, but we still have room for our island (with seating) and a kitchen table with seating, even with that space utilized as a pantry.



The pantry came with these beautiful built-in shelves.  There's plenty of room for anything we need to store.  And we store a lot: dog food, small appliances, paper products, canned goods, unruly house guests, empty chip bags, etc...



 

 

 

 

 

And, there's still plenty of room left unused!  Making use of a storage system would give us even more room, if we need it.  Clearly, I need a shopping day at Target!  I've been doing a little "window shopping" on line, and there are literally hundreds of ideas for storage containers - from plastic, to stack-able baskets, to crates...  Not only Target (I just always wanna go there!), but dollar stores or garage sales are always good for ideas too.

Here are some awesome pantry organization ideas... Not that I think our pantry will ever be as organized as these!



I love the idea of hanging the tin bins on the inside of my pantry door.





 

I like these baskets because they slant so that you can see inside them!