Since my house was built about 30 years ago, it is a given that it has popcorn-style ceilings. I have no idea why anyone ever thought popcorn ceilings were a good idea, but whoever invented them is most certainly my worst enemy right now.
Luckily, I am not the one actually doing the work on this one. We hired someone to do this for us, and believe me, it is worth it. The method they are using is to scrape off all of the popcorn, prime the exposed drywall, texturize the ceiling, and then paint it. It seems relatively easy. What's the worst thing about this project? The fact that the entire first floor is covered in a quarter inch layer of white dust. While the contractors did put up sheets of plastic to keep the dust to its designated room, it doesn't appear to have helped. The coffee maker had to be moved to the upstairs bathroom, the stove cannot be used, and I am pretty sure that is not flour in my blender!
The contractors assured me that they would clean everything up once they were finished, but I am skeptical. I anticipate the ceilings on the first floor should be complete within another week, and then on to the next project!
23 July 2011
22 July 2011
Construction: According to Pandora
My husband and I have lived in our current house for a little over a year. We have a history of remodeling every house we live in, and this one will be no exception. After putting up with the green "faux-marble" laminate counter tops, abnormally shaped pantry, and awkward flow of traffic through the first floor for the past year, we have finally given in.
Historically, we begin with one small project which quickly snowballs into a full-on remodel. In our first house, replacing one interior door turned into replacing all of the interior doors; painting the bedrooms; re-carpeting the stairs; painting the stairway, dining room, and living room; installing new flooring in the living room and dining room; and installing new light fixtures. Let's just say, our motto has become "Go big or go home!"
Our renovation on our current house has begun, and I will be occasionally posting on the progress. Please keep in mind that I know very little about construction so the way that we do something might NOT be the "right" way. But it will most likely be entertaining!
Historically, we begin with one small project which quickly snowballs into a full-on remodel. In our first house, replacing one interior door turned into replacing all of the interior doors; painting the bedrooms; re-carpeting the stairs; painting the stairway, dining room, and living room; installing new flooring in the living room and dining room; and installing new light fixtures. Let's just say, our motto has become "Go big or go home!"
Our renovation on our current house has begun, and I will be occasionally posting on the progress. Please keep in mind that I know very little about construction so the way that we do something might NOT be the "right" way. But it will most likely be entertaining!
17 July 2011
One Enemy Defeated
Based on where I live, I was convinced that deer were going to be the biggest enemies to my garden. There is a walking path behind my house where I have literally seen a herd of deer going for a late night stroll, straight down the paved walkway. I have seen them step over our neighbor's fence and also pick every single apple off of my apple trees that was within 10 feet of the ground.
Even though I decided to put in a four-foot fence around the yard, I figured this would do little more than irritate them. To my surprise, I have not seen them in the yard since the fence was installed. This might be in part to my dogs Ajax and Dante who patrol the yard and bark at anyone or anything that might so much as even look in the general direction of the yard. Needless to say, the neighbors adore them.
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| Caught! |
Even though I decided to put in a four-foot fence around the yard, I figured this would do little more than irritate them. To my surprise, I have not seen them in the yard since the fence was installed. This might be in part to my dogs Ajax and Dante who patrol the yard and bark at anyone or anything that might so much as even look in the general direction of the yard. Needless to say, the neighbors adore them.
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| Dante and Ajax |
I have read about numerous methods to deter deer, such as putting out human hair, rubbing soap on trees, and even urinating around the perimeter of the yard. But it seems as though the best deterrent is having two big, loud dogs. Glad I dodged the bullet on peeing around my yard, and I'm sure the neighbors would rather put up with the dogs.
03 July 2011
Sneaky zucchini
Zucchini has always struck me as some kind of mystical vegetable. It has a way of magically appearing in the break room at work, hanging in bags on strangers front doors, and even finagling its way into birthday gift bags. A check of the garden in the morning yields nothing, but by the time the evening sets in, a zucchini the size of a VW Beetle has miraculously appeared. The guiles of the zucchini are limitless.
The inexperienced gardener, such as myself, is often tricked into planting several zucchini plants. The instructions on the packet of seeds directs you to plant two to three seeds per hill. What the seed packet does not state is that every seed you plant WILL grow into a plant. In my situation, I planted four hills with three seeds in each hill. That is a total of twelve zucchini plants. And, I have learned that every plant will produce approximately (this is a rough estimate) one million pounds of zucchini.
The problem then becomes what, exactly, to do with 12 million pounds of zucchini. So far, we have grilled it, sauteed it, baked it into muffins, and fried it. Soon we will be experimenting with options such as stuffing it and baking it, making "hash browns" (squash browns?), and using it as lasanga noodles. Perhaps I could use it to build a log cabin. The possibilities are endless!
The inexperienced gardener, such as myself, is often tricked into planting several zucchini plants. The instructions on the packet of seeds directs you to plant two to three seeds per hill. What the seed packet does not state is that every seed you plant WILL grow into a plant. In my situation, I planted four hills with three seeds in each hill. That is a total of twelve zucchini plants. And, I have learned that every plant will produce approximately (this is a rough estimate) one million pounds of zucchini.
The problem then becomes what, exactly, to do with 12 million pounds of zucchini. So far, we have grilled it, sauteed it, baked it into muffins, and fried it. Soon we will be experimenting with options such as stuffing it and baking it, making "hash browns" (squash browns?), and using it as lasanga noodles. Perhaps I could use it to build a log cabin. The possibilities are endless!
27 June 2011
Zen Garden?
Well, the garden is in full swing, to say the least.
One of the most exciting and calming things at the end of a day is to walk out to the garden and see what is happening. It seems as though one short day, where I feel like I accomplish next to nothing, can yeild so much activity in that little garden world. Did I tackle even half of my "To-Do List"? No, but the zucchini has tripled in size since yesterday! I did not get all of the errands taken care of, but there are beans that were not there this morning!
Through this experiment, I have learned something unexpected. This garden is nourishing more than my body. I am re-learning how to take time, even just a few minutes a day, to marvel at the way nature works. Just because I have a bad day at work or forget to buy something at the grocery store, doesn't mean that the world stops. The tomatoes keep on growing, the zucchini keeps getting more and more monstrous, and the sugar snap peas keep flowering. Is this what is meant by a "Zen Garden?" That will require a little more contemplation, but expect more to come on that topic!
One of the most exciting and calming things at the end of a day is to walk out to the garden and see what is happening. It seems as though one short day, where I feel like I accomplish next to nothing, can yeild so much activity in that little garden world. Did I tackle even half of my "To-Do List"? No, but the zucchini has tripled in size since yesterday! I did not get all of the errands taken care of, but there are beans that were not there this morning!
Through this experiment, I have learned something unexpected. This garden is nourishing more than my body. I am re-learning how to take time, even just a few minutes a day, to marvel at the way nature works. Just because I have a bad day at work or forget to buy something at the grocery store, doesn't mean that the world stops. The tomatoes keep on growing, the zucchini keeps getting more and more monstrous, and the sugar snap peas keep flowering. Is this what is meant by a "Zen Garden?" That will require a little more contemplation, but expect more to come on that topic!
04 April 2011
Welcome to the jungle room
Anyone who has ever planted seeds before is familiar with the vague directions printed on the back of the package. "Sow 1/4 inch deep, spacing 6-8 inches apart. Harvest in 65 days." The package might as well say, "Put in dirt. See what happens." And that is what I am doing. I am taking the directions the supplier gives merely as suggestions. "Plant 18 inches apart." 18 inches?! That is so much space. How about 12 inches? I am sure that there is a reason they suggest 18 inches (each plant needs more room to spread out, competing for resources, etc.), but I am trying to maximize my space.
A few posts ago I reported on the seeds I had planted. Well, due to my impatience, I planted more seeds inside about a week ago. Realistically, I still have at least four weeks before I can plant any of these little plant babies outside. My thought was that if I started them early, then they would be big and strong once I was ready to plant them outside. One thing I did not count on, however, was how quickly some of them would grow. My miniature greenhouse has a plastic lid to keep heat and water in. Within one week of being planted, the bean plants have become so tall and so strong that they were literally lifting the lid off the greenhouse. All of a sudden the story of Jack and the Beanstalk came back to me, and it all made sense. Those weren't "magic beans!" Jack simply started them inside in a small greenhouse way before he should have.
These latest seeds that I have planted have far surpassed the previous ones both in speed and strength. Seriously, not only are these bean plants as big around as a drinking straw, but they emerged from the soil two days ago and are already nearly three inches tall. The laundry room may soon become known as the jungle.
A few posts ago I reported on the seeds I had planted. Well, due to my impatience, I planted more seeds inside about a week ago. Realistically, I still have at least four weeks before I can plant any of these little plant babies outside. My thought was that if I started them early, then they would be big and strong once I was ready to plant them outside. One thing I did not count on, however, was how quickly some of them would grow. My miniature greenhouse has a plastic lid to keep heat and water in. Within one week of being planted, the bean plants have become so tall and so strong that they were literally lifting the lid off the greenhouse. All of a sudden the story of Jack and the Beanstalk came back to me, and it all made sense. Those weren't "magic beans!" Jack simply started them inside in a small greenhouse way before he should have.
These latest seeds that I have planted have far surpassed the previous ones both in speed and strength. Seriously, not only are these bean plants as big around as a drinking straw, but they emerged from the soil two days ago and are already nearly three inches tall. The laundry room may soon become known as the jungle.
03 April 2011
This should be interesting
The garden is taking shape. Several weeks ago, we rented a tiller and tilled the area for the garden. After much deliberation, I decided on an area that is 39' long and 17' wide. That is 663 square feet! I seriously considered creating another garden of the same size on the other side of the yard, but that would have been more than 1300 square feet for me to take care of. I did not foresee that turning out well, so I stuck with what I had.
During a conversation with my mom and sisters, I realized that, perhaps, I have little to no idea what I am doing. But that is not necessarily a bad thing! We were discussing potato plants because my sister plans on planting hers in a container of some sort. I explained that I had just planted mine and then planted strawberry plants in between the potatoes. My sister laughed and said, "You know that you will have to start digging potatoes up a few feet around where you planted them, right?" This could very well mean that I will have to dig up the strawberry plants to get to the potatoes. We will have to see how that goes.
After tilling the garden area, we realized that our dogs might invade it, so we decided to build a small fence around it. I think it looks pretty awesome! Talk about sustainable living. I just hope our neighbor doesn't care that we took all of his branches.
During a conversation with my mom and sisters, I realized that, perhaps, I have little to no idea what I am doing. But that is not necessarily a bad thing! We were discussing potato plants because my sister plans on planting hers in a container of some sort. I explained that I had just planted mine and then planted strawberry plants in between the potatoes. My sister laughed and said, "You know that you will have to start digging potatoes up a few feet around where you planted them, right?" This could very well mean that I will have to dig up the strawberry plants to get to the potatoes. We will have to see how that goes.
After tilling the garden area, we realized that our dogs might invade it, so we decided to build a small fence around it. I think it looks pretty awesome! Talk about sustainable living. I just hope our neighbor doesn't care that we took all of his branches.
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