Category: Home Improvements

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A great Spring gardening magazines

I’m so excited. My son brought in the mail today and handed me not one, but two new Spring 2012  Native Gardener’s Companion magazines! This is like a catalog, but with tips on growing various flowers, potted plants, shrubs and trees, plus a whole lot more.

In the What’s New section, I see that they now offer a Pollinator Kit that I would like to try. It consists of a tray of 38 potted plants for moist soil situations, and from the sound of it, there are a variety of really pretty colors, and forms of plants that attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, all of which I love. Some people are afraid of bees and try to get rid of them. I’m not one of those people. I love bumbles and honey bees. The only kind I don’t like, are the ones that are long and yellow and up here, people call them yellow jackets. They like to attack and build nests under the eves, and actually anywhere they can. Those are scary and so very mean. Plus they do nothing for my gardens. I’m glad that I rarely see them anywhere near my plants.

I’ve noticed also that the Gardner’s companion has include a color coded diagrams for planting gardens in various way, including plants in pots and various flowers and grasses. This is a great idea. I like to get new ideas and ways of making my gardens look different each year. I’m so excited for Spring to get here. And getting this magazine in the mail today boosted my spirits.

 

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Looking at Mailboxes

While looking for just the right new mailbox for my house, I came across Auth Florence mailboxes, online. A friend of mine recommended that I take a look and see if there were any on the site that I might be interested in.

From what I have seen so far, there are a lot of mailboxes and other items that would be more suitable for businesses and apartment complexes, but I haven’t found anything I can put up by the road yet. I’m far from finished looking though. Another friend of mine who owns her own business, just bought a small building that she will be renting out office space and there are three small apartments on the bottom floor as well. They will all be receiving mail and needing something installed.

The friend who recommended looking at this site is buying an apartment complex and will be needing cluster mailboxes to install in his building. I honestly didn’t know there were so many to choose from. It’s pretty awesome, actually. There are also peep holes with a buzzer included, and slot mailboxes…just lots of great stuff.

Florence Mailboxes are indeed sturdy, and since my one friend will need extra sets of keys for all the apartments in the complex, he plans on getting a box to lock them up in after they have been labeled. I’m still looking for my perfect mailbox, but it’s great to look at all the various choices.

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A new Garden Trellis

Since I’ve been already planning my front yard gardening and also getting seeds, I decided I need new trellises. I’m really looking forward to getting them because I have been growing various climbing vines and they seem to be taking over the whole yard. I am going to get four, since I have four porch posts that actually look like they are holding up the roof of the porch, but are really for decoration.

I have tried a vinyl trellis in the front garden before, that my husband had gotten me for my birthday, but it didn’t last like the ad said it would. Within the season, it cracked and fell apart. I don’t think that he got it from a reputable place. I do though, give him an A for effort at getting me something that he thought I would like. I did too, but it just didn’t hold up in our weather here

I like a trellis that is strong enough to hold my runner beans, morning glories and my other types of plants that like to have something to climb on, other wise I end up with really pretty flowers laying in the lawn and they don’t look happy, plus they are really bothersome to mow around, if they aren’t picked up, then laid back down after the mowing is over. My husband used to try, but it was a loosing battle, since most of them were voluntary plants, and I had just let grow wild. I just didn’t have the heart to pull them up. This year, I’m going to do a lot of yard work and am looking forward to this new look also!

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Address Plaques are a great solution

After my mail box got hit and demolished the other night, I’ve decided to look at cool address plaques. My old mail box had the house numbers that were reflective, right on the wooden mailbox post. It was free to have the first time, from the village I live in. Now, it will cost me a mint to get another one. Since the mail is delivered around 10:00 am, and everyone knows everyone here, my mail man does not need to know my the house number, so it doesn’t need to be a reflective address sign.

I rarely ever have company in the night time, and if I do, once again, I don’t need reflectors on the house number, but I would indeed like to check out house numbers for the front of my home. I like the look of them. I’ve seen many now after shopping around on the net, that are classy, but not too fancy or overstated for me.

I also have been trying to decide if I would like to buy something distinctive for the front lawn, since my herb and flower gardens are planted there. I’ve been looking at lawn plaques. There are some really very classy, but simple ones I wouldn’t mind having. I’m still undecided, but I am leaning to these, as they would give a great touch to my front lawn and gardens.

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Mail box costing a mint to replace

After my mail box was totaled out, I found out they are no longer inexpensive like they used to be. All prices seem to have gone up on everything.

Not to mention, in this village it will also cost extra to get the house numbers that are reflective and put on the post. The price per number is outrageous. I mean, it wasn’t my fault my mail box was hit.

I’m trying to think of a solution, but found that a mail box now has to be out at the road side. Great. I wonder how many times it has to get hit in order for counsel to change the “rules”.

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Sub zero temps

Deciding to get new carpet in the living room is a big step. I have tongue and groove hard wood floors and I’m really undecided about covering them up, because even though they could use some work a bit, they still are really beautiful, since this house is so old.

With the temperatures now dropping the floors, despite of the big oval rug I have laid down, get really cold. At least to me they do. Walking barefoot in the house isn’t an option now because the weather is now doing what it’s basically supposed to do here.

We could insulate more, but it doesn’t seem to be helping much. I’m still undecided. Another project might be underway soon though.

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Planning for window boxes for the Spring

As all of my family are aware of, I’ve been planning on putting up window boxes when Spring comes. I know it’s early to be planning such things to some people, but I am the kind of person who likes to plan ahead when it comes to my  out door plants and flowers. I plan all winter long for what I would like to do with my gardens and my lawn, way before most people are even planning for Christmas.

Since we have been remodeling the house, I have all new windows and I think that I want to put in window box planters. Every time I go by a home that has them, I really start getting plans in my head about the flowers I could plant that would match all of the flowers and herbs I have in my gardens, especially out in the front court yard. I think it would be a perfect accent to what I already have growing now. Not to mention that I could make more use of color against the siding of the house.

Window flower boxes would be an excellent touch to the atmosphere also. I could have the windows open and then smell the fragrant scent of the flowers and herbs I plan on planting in them. I’ve done a lot of planning on this and even my husband is in agreement that they would make a nice “finishing touch” on the home.

 

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Tarps for floor protection

Since I’m remodeling the bathroom and have to do a lot of painting, I need some tarps. I’m not a really neat painter when it comes to using a roller on, for instance the ceiling and the high part of the walls. I’m not (under doctors orders) supposed to get up on ladders, so hand painting, which I love to do is out of the question. That leaves the need for protection for my new floor tile. I knew it should have been laid last, but unfortunately my husband got ahead of himself on what was to be my project.

I looked at a tarp that I could reuse for other things, that I might need it for. I always have uses for them when we are camping or even in case of rain when we are cooking outside, because our weather is so changeable that it’s hard to tell what will happen with it at any given moment and they come in really handy. They are more pricey than what I actually need though, for just painting and remodeling the bathroom.

I’ve decided just to use a drop cloth on the floor. The way I figure it, after the holidays, I plan on starting to paint the living room next, and then going on from room to room and giving them all fresh coats of paint, so that will suffice for what my needs are at this time.

 

 

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Mosaic tile for the bathroom

Because I’m in the middle of remodeling the bathroom, I’ve decided that for one of the walls, to use mosaic tiles. There are a large selection of these and I have to make some more decisions, but I love the look of the tiles and I think that for the wall that I am going to use them on, it will look beautiful. This project is mine. My husband wanted to get in on it, and of course I will let him do some of the heavy lifting and such and putting in the new toilet, sink and towel bars I’ve picked out. The problem is, while I was gone for a weekend after I bought floor tile, he installed it. That is where the trouble began. It’s not his skill.

I’ve gone online and have done a lot of research about glass mosaic tiles and how to put them up, what to use and even how to cut them, of course. It’s a bit tricky and I’m sure I’ll need some different tools than what I am accustom to using, but I have a feeling I’m going to like doing this project.

Using the mosaic tile will offer me a variety of options, even if I change my mind and go with the metal ones.  I still haven’t decided on the colors that I would like to use, but I’m thinking about it. I’ve also spoken to a friend who has used these tiles in her kitchen on the wall behind her sink and stove, and she loves them. The up keep in minimal and cleaning is easy also. That indeed is a plus.

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Help in Austin with home problems

The other day, my uncle who also happens to be my Godfather called me. Apparently the weather has been pretty bad there, or at least had been and he had a lot of wind damage, due to a big storm that had gone through there in his city. He’s getting on in years and to be honest, I wish he knew more about maintenance on his home. I worry about him, since my aunt passed on a few years ago, because she was a very efficient woman, and he relied on her a great deal.  My uncle Al, does have a computer, but he really only knows how to send an email at best. He doesn’t know that he can also find help with matters of things like maintenance, or help with things like the wind damage or other fix it type services that can be found on the internet.

After he and I hung up, I called a friend of mine who lives near Austin and she gave me a link to a site, http://www.the steamteam.com/ and they would be able to help with the problem.

I of course called Uncle Al and told him how to look up this service on the internet and get the information that he might need and that they would no doubt be able to help him not only with the wind damage, but also any other damage his property may have suffered due to the storm.