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Home improvement with young adults

Deciding what colors to paint the living room, has been a challenge for me. The room is only 13’x13″ and I want to make it look bigger using paint color and mirrors and lighting from the windows. My son is trying to help me decide on the colors and other planning, but he is color blind. Yes, he was tested and indeed he is color blind. Some people call it colored blind, so this is the same thing. However, despite of his troubles with certain colors and shades, he is one excellent-judge of them, and then mixing various colors together, that one wouldn’t think would work for wall.

We’re both leaning to a deep terracotta. I call it, baked pumpkin pie…the top, before it is cut into. White trim and ceiling. and a deep blue. The only way I can describe it, is in the old big boxes of crayons that Crayola made. After they changed the original colors and shades, I stopped buying the big pack. The color blue was the original Midnight Blue. Forest Green was another awesome shade.

So tomorrow we’ll be paint or at least some sample cans if there are any available. I love home improving, especially when one of my kids have a creative streak. I welcome their input. I also like the fact that they help me find bargains and who doesn’t like to save money?

 

 

 

 

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Saving money by rain harvesting

Talking to a lot of farmers that live in my area, and I know personally, have been telling me about rain harvesting. I personally think it is an awesome idea. We pay a water bill here now, when before the township decided to pipe “city” water in, we had well water. I am a firm believer in having a well, and also I make sure my cistern is clean and it always fills up with water from the rain. I used to depend on it for my gardens.

Rain water barrels, I’ve decided will be one of the ways I’m going to start collecting rain water.  Sometimes, thinking about it and what is now in the atmosphere, it’s kind of scary what I’d be using, but memories of my Papa washing my hair in rain water, since he had harvested rain, won over thinking about what might be in my rain water. Besides, it serves at totally useful survival tips.

I have a feeling, like the farmers I’ve talked to, that we are going to be in for some rough dry weather around mid summer. This makes watering the livestock really costly. Plus with a large family and using so much water now, I’m going to start looking for rain barrels for sale, and get quite a few of them. Better to be safe than sorry. It would give me peace of mind to be able to have water if needed. I’m still remembering also, how soft and silky my hair was after washing and rinsing in rain water that was harvested!

 

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Gardening and weather woes

Never have I been so uncertain about the weather as I am this year. I realize that it is odd all over and various states are getting pounded with elements they aren’t used to, but even my body and older age creeping in, doesn’t change the fact that I used to be able to tell what the weather was going to do, just by how my body felt. Now, it isn’t like that. I’m getting kind of tired of my joints and such, hurt on wonderful sunny days, and are better on dismal and cold rainy days. What is up with that?

My gardens and perennial plants don’t act they know how to react to the weather either. My sage and parsley of all things are growing at an incredible rate of speed, along with some other plants and even a small tree I have outside.

We had frost last night and it was cold and windy. I would welcome back the 80 degree, with a warm breeze weather we had in March, compared to this. So would my plants in the garden.

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RIP Mr. Jonathon Frid

Having been one of those people who used to take short cuts and drive too fast on country roads, ( years ago )…Needless to say, I was really into Dark Shadows, and Barnabas Collins.

Of course, I saw it on the news when it hit the television. It made me feel nostalgic and actually, really old. I shook it off and gave it an, “It is what it is,” shrug. I am however going to order the whole series.  It’s pricy, but the way I figure it, I think it would be really great to have some old friends who I never lost touch with while growing up and growing older. We were all total fans of Dark Shadows. I’m sure that it would be an awesome girls night and slumber party.

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Hot tub pumps and maintenance

For years we have had a hot tub that we’ve never had to actually put much maintenance into, but we just found out we are going to have to look at new hot tub pumps. This is fine by us though, since all of these years we have found great relaxation and enjoyment out of our hot tub, so it’s well worth the new pump.

I remember years ago, battling my husband about getting a hot tub. I wanted one right outside the patio doors in the back yard. Three steps down and we’d be in it. He refused to even look at them. At that time, I was constantly on horse back, getting older and my sore muscles totally made me feel so tensed up, it hurt. Plus at the time, my job was really very stressful. As HE himself got older, the hot tub of course, became something that was, his idea. Yep, right. At least it was one way to get my hot tub…make it seem like his idea.

For awhile, I bought the hot tub chemicals and maintained both the hot tub and the pool also. Now though, it’s up to him to maintain both. I have done it for years and it’s his turn. Kids are nearly all grown and if they want to use either the hot tub or the pool, they too will have to take turns at buying the chemicals and taking care of levels and such, because it’s my turn to relax when I want to and not worry about such things!

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Missed auction

Of all the auctions to miss, it was the items for auction from the home my daughter and her family will be moving into tomorrow. Things came up and I had to do some important errands, thinking I could at least make it to the tail end of the sale, but didn’t.

I went for no doubt the last time to my daughter’s “old” house, tonight and she had told me that she wished she had known what I wanted, and she would have placed bids for me, but then she also knows that I will bid on boxes of what seem like junk and come up with a treasure, I’ve no doubt wanted for a long time. I’m very fortunate like that. I consider auctions an art.

I’m going to the new home tomorrow to wander through and tonight I got joy out of seeing my daughter so excited and happy. She’s so excited to show everything to me, and I’m excited to see it all. She deserves this and so do her kids.

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The cost of solar panels

My daughter and her family are moving into a very large home this coming week. Because of the size, she and her husband will be looking into solar panel costs. I believe with this house, in our climate, this would be totally ideal for them, if they decided to use solar panels in their home. I’m hoping that they will eventually be putting them in.

Because of the fact that this home is so big, and my daughter’s husband bites off more than he can chew, I’m sure he has not given the price of heating and cooling a thought. He is out for looks and size, since he is that kind of a guy…what one owns and the more of it, to him is what counts. My daughter on the other hand has been raised with solar energy in our homes that we had while she was growing up. She is the one that makes sure the bills get paid and is also the one in that family that worries.

The home has five bedrooms with attached baths, not to name the other numerous rooms in the house, that have to be heated or air cooled. I’m going to tell her to continue showing her husband the pros and of course some of the cons, ( but there aren’t that many cons) to using solar panels. It’s would help with money matters and also be some piece of mind for my daughter. I believe in solar energy, and it might be a solution to a major heating and cooling problem that I know my daughter and her family are going to have in the future.

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Feathers, glitter and fancy fixings

Yesterday I went shopping at the hobby store and though it was a fast trip in and out, I did pick up a few items to make a mask for my daughter’s prom outfit. This year the prom theme is  Masquerade.

I was informed last night after being told by my daughter for months that she didn’t want to go to her Senior prom, she indeed was going and that she needs a mask by next Saturday. I work well under pressure, but this is cutting it thin, considering I’ve never made a mask before. With my costumes that I make, I work with big time make up to finish off the costume.

I bought a few feathers, two masks, and some little fixings and such, as I do have some ideas in mind. I’m going to mess around with the things tonight and then add to the list of items I’m going to need, once I get a creative brain storm. I might even have some of the items I need and that will save some money.

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Gardens for my daughter

After looking at hundreds of garden plans, my oldest daughter has put the decisions about what to do with the yards of her new home they will be moving into in a week. I realize I don’t have the time that I need this year to have them looking great, but it’s awesome that she would like my advice. She was never into gardens and gardening while she was growing up.

I’m thinking about putting in some simple raised beds for the time being and when she finds what she would like, then we’ll go on from there.

I have a feeling this is going to be an exciting but long summer for some beginning gardeners, for instance, my oldest daughter and my son, who is starting to get into it also!

 

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Auctions in the area

The village news is all filled with various farm auctions in this area, a long with the contents of barns, sheds and outbuildings. It’s sad to see some of the very old homesteads being sold. No doubt the houses will leveled and the land sold to make sub divisions. Some of the families are not able to, or just don’t want to contend with the cost or the hard work that it takes to run farms now, so a lot of these places are going to auction because of those factors.

The great thing about these auctions, is I’ve been finding all kinds of treasures, that I actually have had my eye out for. I make lists of items that is listed in the paper and then compare it with the list I have had been adding to in my journal, and it’s a good system so far, that saves me from spending a lot of money on things I don’t need, but just want.

There is an auction this Saturday that my whole family would like to go to. I should be able to round them all up early for this. Hopefully, they won’t overbid me, as this will be the kid’s first auction.