Archive for the ‘Household Management 101’ Category
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Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Hellllllllooooo! Still no camera working. I feel naked without it. It is so strange to go about my day and not be able to document it. I didn’t call the manufacturer today because my work day was crazy… and I am fairly certain I am SOL because my warranty is up. Errrrg. I did manage to find my old camera. Lo and behold it still works. But it won’t take my SDHC card. So now I am trying to dig up a smaller card and the cable to connect it to the computer. If I can manage this in the middle of moving furniture and tables, then I will be back in business at least for a while!
So bear with me while I sort out camera ridiculousness and the complete upheaval of our downstairs. I will find a way to snap some pics. Fixing the floors must be documented!
In preparation for the overhaul, I have also been researching ceiling fans, because we are going to install one in the living room. FINALLY. It has been sooooooo very warm here for the past 4 days. Sweltering. A ceiling fan will go a long way toward getting the breeze going downstairs. We do have a small A/C unit that we use in the master bedroom, but that is it. Although I am starting to rethink this strategy. I usually do not mind the heat, but it does get quite balmy inside. Makes it hard to function. I find myself so lethargic, just splayed out on the couch we are about to chuck (maybe?). Heh heh.
Yeah, we are quickly losing furniture and gaining all sorts of lofty ideas about ways to upgrade and improve our space. It’s almost like we think we have the money to redecorate with wild abandon. Hah!
So it will start with a ceiling fan and we will take it from there.
In other news, can you believe it is the end of May? The last full-time Spring month. I still remember the snow. It was not so long ago — it snowed on April Fools’ Day. And now we have temps in the upper 80s and low 90s. The crickets are singing at night. There is still a sliver of light in the sky at 9 p.m. I have mosquito bites dotting my legs and the backs of my arms from planting heirloom tomatoes yesterday. I heard fireworks in the distance this weekend. Craig has a sunburn from running. I don’t want to cook anymore because it is too hot in the kitchen. We have to run the dehumidifier in the basement because it is swampy.
Summer is coming. Fast. Sweetly. I am doing my best to savor every day.
Tags: gardening, gratitude, housework, spring
Posted in Household Management 101, The Daily Balance | No Comments »
memorial day weekend and mixing it up
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
Hello! This is a photo-less post. And I am very sad about it—my camera stopped working today. I have no idea why, but I am not feeling too good about my little camera’s chances. At first I thought the battery was just dead, so I swapped out the battery for a freshie. No luck. Nothing. When I press the On/Off button I get no response. And I’m pretty peeved about the whole thing because this camera is less than 2 years old. That should not happen!
But I am trying not to let this get me down. I will call the manufacturer and see what gives. In the meantime, I cannot show you our first harvest of baby spinach and lettuces from the garden this weekend. I can’t show you the crazy thunder clouds that passed by on Friday. I can’t show you the amazing heirloom tomato starts I bought today.
And most of all, I can’t show you the comical, utter disarray that is our downstairs right now. We are in the process of vacating all the contents of our dining room and living room in preparation to have our hardwood floors refinished next week. We have been talking about this for years and years, pretty much since we first moved in. The bulk of the flooring is in great shape, but the path from the kitchen through the dining room into the living room is really worn and looks icky.
I started calling to get quotes because I do not feel comfortable attempting this project ourselves. After I got some quotes, I found a refinisher who offered us a deal we could not pass up—he had a contractor back out on a job next week, so he has an opening. And he’s giving us a steep discount.
Sign us up!
Perfect timing with the long weekend, so we’ve spent the past two days moving bookcases and tables and figuring out where to stash the loveseat and dining room table and houseplants and chairs and end tables and whatnot. Our house is pretty small, so there’s not a bunch of options for where things can go. However, I think (!?) we have a plan in place. Today we moved the bookcases that are in the living room upstairs to the guest bedroom. The dining room table is going to go out on the screened-in porch covered with a sheet or tarp. The computer and desk are now upstairs in the guest bedroom as well. The TV and TV stand will go at the end of the upstairs hallway.
The couch you ask. The couch? Well, I think this is the kick in the pants we need to finally say goodbye to it. Our couch and chair are hand-me-downs from Craig’s parents. And while they are very comfy, they are decades old—and very, very worn—and pretty much gross at this point. When we got married two years ago, we put aside some wedding money to get a new sofa. But Craig and I could never agree on one.
That was then! This is now! If we toss the ailing, sagging, worn couch, maybe—just maybe—that will force us to recommit to furniture shopping and finding one we love.
I am ever so hopeful.
I would also like to spend a little time rethinking our dining and living room layouts and maybe reconfiguring the spaces. It is almost like we are moving in all over again!
This is kind of fun. The downside is that summer decided to make its appearance quite suddenly and temps have been near 90°F for the past 3 days. It is oh-so-warm in our little abode. But we are making do as we haul furniture around, heave books, clear out the clutter, decide what we no longer need, and get ready to have our floors done.
I am so excited to refinish our red oak floors! I cannot wait! But here is what we are still stuck on… the finish. We are going to go au naturale with just a clear, low-VOC water-based polyurethane. However, do we go with a satin finish? Or semi-gloss? We have to decide by Tuesday. We have a satin finish now. And I like it. But I do wonder what the space would look like with a little more sheen… Decisions, decisions. I don’t want it to look like a bowling alley, but I also wonder how a little gloss might transform the rooms? Our living room gets a ton of light, so I don’t know if semi-gloss would be too reflective? I keep going back and forth.
Have you redone your floors? What finish did you go with? Any suggestions or recommendations? I would love to hear your thoughts.
And I hope you are having a lovely and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!
Tags: gardening, home improvement, housework, lettuce, spinach, spring, tomatoes
Posted in Household Management 101 | 2 Comments »
lawn chives
Monday, April 25th, 2011
You know, if this whole trying-to-grow-new-grass-thing doesn’t work out for us, we could just plant more chives. Somehow chive seeds ended up in the lawn a few years back, and now they are spreading just gloriously.
Snip a few chives, pluck a few dandelion greens, and wallah! Dinner is served.
Tags: gardening, lawn, organic, spring
Posted in Household Management 101, The Growing Season | No Comments »
how to add new soil to reseed a lawn
Sunday, April 24th, 2011
We spent this past weekend diligently adding 10 yards of new soil/compost to our old, tired lawn in order to fertilize and reseed. It was quite a project for two people, but Craig and I did it!
It all started bright and early Friday morning when we got ready for the soil to arrive. We de-mossed our front lawn in preparation for the soil delivery.
We had raked up all the moss on the front and back lawn, added lime, and aerated the soil (translation: Craig walked all over it with his crampons. Handy trick!)
Then came the soil man in his big dumptruck!
Holy pile of dirt! That’s a lot of soil. I stared at it in awe for quite some time.
And then Craig and I got to work. Using two wheel barrows, we methodically shoveled and dumped, shoveled and dumped, transporting wheel-barrow-fulls to the backyard.
We kept wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. This had better work.
After several breaks, we finally got started raking out the new soil/compost mixture. We spread it as evenly as we could in the backyard and front yard where we had gotten up all the moss.
We added at least a few inches of new, fresh soil/compost on top of the bare lawn. And we also brushed some soil into the existing grass using a push broom to give it some new soil top dressing.
While Craig finished up the front lawn using the remaining soil, I snapped some more pics from our second-story window.
We got all 10 yards of soil spread out! We finished around 7 p.m. And we lucked out because Craig’s parents invited us over for a late dinner. How could we resist after such a long day?
When all was said and done, we were exhausted and very, very, very sore. I literally had trouble using a fork and knife at dinner. No grip left!
Saturday was spent recovering. And putting down organic fertilizer. And today we finally reseeded the whole lawn.
We also spent today doing some serious kitchen floor cleaning from all the dirt we tracked in:
But we did it! This coming week will be a testament to our watering prowess, keeping the soil moist so that the grass can germinate. Wish us lots of lawn luck!
Tags: grass, lawn, organic, spring
Posted in Household Management 101, The Growing Season | 4 Comments »
fixing a lawn with moss
Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Gulp. It starts with gulp. Because I have a gigantic confession to make (that which I have already stated more than once). I suck at growing a lawn. Sigh. I am a pretty darn decent organic gardener. Veggies! Flowers! Bushes! Houseplants! But! My lawn skills are subpar. Why is that? I mean, I love my lawn. And I think I tend to it okay. But I have not been very successful at growing awesome grass here at the homestead over the past 5 years.
It’s kinda sad. It’s definitely humbling. But I WILL NOT give up! Craig thinks I am in over my head this year. Because, well, I have pretty much been tearing up our moss-fields. We grow moss. Tons and tons of perfectly green, pretty, organic moss.
You see, we do not use chemicals on our lawn. We haven’t since the day we moved in nearly 5 years ago. And I will not resort to chemical fertilizers and such to grow grass. However, we’ve got moss.
Craig takes a snoozer after raking up the moss.
The moss grows so well, it almost seems a shame to keep trying to get rid of it. Our moss problem is due to super dense shade (two HUGE maple trees in our backyard) and a perimeter fence, and hemlocks on the border of our yard that block out even more sun. So we don’t get the right amount of sun and drainage. The area is just dark and wet for so much of the summer. We even aerated the lawn last Spring, but no luck.
However, we are total yard idiots and always up for yet another garden experiment. So, this year we have painstakingly raked up most of the moss. Again.
And later today, we are getting a boatload of “super soil” delivered… a premium blend of compost and garden soil. 10 yards worth. Holy moly. Are we crazy or what? Yes! We are going to attempt to top-dress our de-mossed yard and then re-seed.
Yeah, I am a bit nervous. I am a bit apprehensive. And, well, I am a bit excited. So excited that I am taking the day off! This is serious business!
Wish us luck! More photos and updates coming real soon!
Tags: grass, lawn, organic, spring, yard work
Posted in Household Management 101, The Growing Season | 1 Comment »