Category: Home Improvements

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Summer or Fall

When I should be doing things in the gardens and also sprucing up the rest of the yards and patio, for the last four days, I’ve been stuck in the house because of the cold, damp and rain. It’s kind of a bummer.

Of course there are lots of things to do inside. I’m trying to find carpet that I like for the living room, the exact paint color I want also. I just haven’t gotten up the Ommph to do any of this, because it’s so dismal outside. I did however have the furnace cleaned out, since I had to actually turn on the furnace because it reached the low of 52 inside, and that is way too cold for me.

Hopefully we will have a proper summer, but if this weather right now is any indication of what we are actually in for, I’m not going to be a happy camper. I should go back to Florida with my daughter when she has to leave next week.

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Keeping Cool with EDS Air Conditioning Repair

As some of my readers know, my youngest daughter is home from Florida for a visit and so we can celebrate her 20th birthday. She should be used to hot weather, but we don’t have an air conditioner because it dries my throat out and also makes me cough. She told me about that her air conditioner stopped working and how she used a repair service called EDS Air Conditioning Repair they got it fixed in no time flat and didn’t charge a slew of money. In fact she saved a great deal compared to some of the places she had called.

I think my daughter is getting to be a very good home owner and is and not just hiring the first company she comes to in the telephone book! She went online and then read testimonials of others who had used the service. I’m very proud of her. She has a handle on living by herself and my “baby girl” has grown up to be a kind of wise young woman. Besides that, she loves to save money and find good reasonable prices for repairs and also for other things in life.

She of course misses her air conditioning here, but I have lots of ceiling fans and other types of fans. Perhaps one day I may get an AC for the spare room that is still her room when she comes home. It would be a nice surprise for her and make her more comfortable in this heat.

 

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Wallcovering Projects

Just a few posts ago, I believe that I said I didn’t want to start another indoors project, but I am very inconsistent when it comes to me sticking to home improvement. What I say and think I will carry thought with doesn’t apply in this case since checking out a site with Wall Covering Projects and loving the ideas! Now my mind is ticking again and the wheels are turning. I’m looking around my office and am thinking it needs something to really spruce the place up and show “me” in the room. I’d like to have a classy comfortable Tuscany feeling to it.

While looking through the Product Installation Gallery, I was rather in awe of the rooms set up and decorated with the accessories and furniture that can come along with the wall-covering. Very elegant but not overwhelming. For me however, I’d like to go with a wall covering that will catch my fancy, and then go shopping for the exact items I want to have furnishing the room. This gallery showed the possibilities of the room after the wall covering had been installed. There were some beautiful ideas also!

Now that I know there is another project that will be spinning in my head, I’ll just start browsing more and have a paper and pen handy for my lists. Yes, lists…more than one. Way more!

 

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More changes and improvement

Being somewhat satisfied that the inside improvements are coming along on the house until fall, I’ve moved onto my projects for the outside. I have lots of ideas, but don’t want something that can’t be finished in a short amount of time. I’ve considered a walk way in the back yard to the pool instead of walking through the yard. It’s a pain in the you know when the grass has just been cut and even though it’s raked we still get bits of grass in the pool. Yes, despite of a foot bath bucket to dip feet in before going into the pool. (This still isn’t the best way to go).

I saw a really awesome walkway while browsing the inter net yesterday.  It was on a timeline, and I thought it was really beautiful. A lot of planning and work, but still unique and a work of art in it’s self. I also collect rocks and stones. I have even when I was young. This project I would have had to start as soon as it got warm enough outside though. And since I just found this photo, I may have to wait for this one. But I do want a walk way so perhaps after we get a plain one down, I’ll at least have a base of sorts.

 

 

 

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An Organic Lawn Care Service

As the years go by, I can’t count the amount of money I’ve put in to my gardens and lawn. I’m having problems with the back yard and the grass that is growing back there. A friend of mine told me about TruNatural Organic Lawn Care Service that she had used and I wanted to get the info about it. While checking out the site, I must admit that I was and still am totally impressed!

I was worried if I hired a lawn care service that there would be chemicals and treatments that could harm the family and our pets, but with an organic lawn care service, this particular one anyway, the products are certified by the EPA, which gives me the peace of mind I need. Various lawns need different kinds of care and TruNatural offers it all!

Professionals actually are doctors for your lawn and unlike doctors today, these professionals make house calls! I think that statement kind of says it all, considering I know my lawn isn’t up to par and needs help. It just doesn’t look as green and lush and it’s supposed to be. There are literal plans that meet my lawns certain needs and since I don’t know what exactly it needs, I’ve decided it’s well worth the time asking lots of questions and also worth the money that I’ll actually be saving with an honest service instead of one that just does the minimum for my lawn but charges a fortune. It indeed is worth checking this service out!

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Months are flying by

It seems like it was December just yesterday and I was shopping for Christmas gifts. Now we are about to welcome in June and my goodness the months seem to be flying by. My youngest daughter will be coming home for her birthday on the 26th and will stay for a month before she has to leave and go back to Florida and work. I’m glad she was able to take the time off and it will be so great seeing her and hugging her, hanging out and just having her around again.

As I welcome in June, I’ve noticed that all the flower seeds and other plants I put in the ground after Mother’s Day are coming up nicely and the annuals I have are in full bloom! Yes, its starting to look like a garden again!

I have a lot of home improvement projects going on also. From flag stone for the patio, to new flooring in the living room and bathroom. Also the job of finishing the living room paint job and buying new curtains and adding some decor that matches the whole thing. It’s been a busy few months but worth it!

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Seeds and Sunburns

After spending yesterday getting my garden soil ready for planting and then this morning planting seeds, moving various plants to another section of the garden, and also removing weeds, I am quite sunburned and the day isn’t over yet. Then of course tomorrow it’s supposed to be another beautiful day, so I’ll be out doing more digging, weeding and planting. It’s always hard telling what the weather is going to do, so I want to get as much of the gardens here finished. I have a long way to go.

Since I spend time with my mom who is getting older and not as spry as she used to be, I help her around the house and take care of the heavy work in the yards. There is a corner of the back yard that I’m turning into a place she can sit in the shade and also be surrounded by plants and flowers. I’ll post photos of before and after when I’m finished.

So far I have planted cherry tomatoes, scarlet runner beans, zinnias, hyacinth beans, and various herbs in the front yard. The back yard, which is bricked except the corner where there is a small patch of grass and along the privacy fence which I dug up to use for herbs and flowers is started but I have a long way to go yet. Her gardens here are my creation and also my show piece, I’m conceited enough to say! 😉  Since I have gardens at my home up north I’ve also been revamping them and changing the look of them just by rearranging the flowering herbs I grow and also adding more varieties. I’ll no doubt be working on this all summer, which is fine by me since gardening is the love of my life! I just have to remember to use a lot more sunscreen!

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Porch needs a new roof

Once I got the nerve up to climb a ladder, since I am not afraid of heights but do have the terrible fear of falling if that makes sense, I was in total disbelief how the porch roof looked. I cleaned the gutters and eaves troughs, but there were shingles that had blown off during the winter and I do need to get a roofer out here to fix it.

I have a dear friend I’ve known since my early teens who is a roofer and he really knows his stuff. My husband who passed away at a young age was a roofer and siding contractor. He taught my a lot, but this job I can’t do myself because of the falling fear factor.

I’m sure my friend will give me a good deal, as he is actually considered family and comes to all our family get together’s. I’ll barter with him and cook for him, since he is a bachelor! He loves my cooking, so it’s a win win situation as long as I buy the materials!

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Entry hall revamp

After some time, I’ve decided that I would like to make the front entry hall more useful than what it is now. Since I’m planing on getting new carpet in the living room, I want folks to take off their shoes when they come over,  or come home, especially the guys in my family who are slackers when it comes to removing their shoes and also hanging up coats.

I’ve been looking at a lot of different DIY sites for ideas on more storage room, and also ideas for a bench so people can sit to put on or take off shoes, but also that would serve as a storage for gloves, hats, and such. I don’t want a coat rack, so I’ve been looking at antique hooks to hang coats and jackets on.

The floor without a doubt will not be carpeted. Not in an entry hall. I’d be just asking for dirty carpet, despite of people wiping their feet on the mat I have on the porch, and another inside the door. I’m thinking about going with a sort of stone floor look. I’ll of course know it when I see it. This week I’m planning on going to this carpet outlet store near here that also sells wall paper and other types of flooring besides carpet. Pictures of the finished entry hall, will be posted once I get my camera to work right.

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Help from a home energy audit

After hearing how having a home energy audit could save me a whole lot of money on my heating and cooling bills, I’m seriously thinking about looking into having these professionals come in and take a look at how I could cut my bill costs down.  Right now, they are nearly unfordable especially during the winter months. Just thinking of saving even a little amount of money on these makes me want to find out more about it.

I’m told that there are home improvement grants to be had also, something I didn’t know and am curious to see if these folks could help me with applying for one. I noticed so much that needs repair and improvement in this house, when I was doing the little repair work I do while spring cleaning. A home improvement grant would help so much and also make our property value increase.

If I can get a insulation contractor to come in, that would be great and these home energy audit people can help with this, I believe. I know that during the winter it could be a whole lot warmer in the house if we had a professional come in to insulate properly, we would indeed save quite a bit of money on our heating bill.