dbjc364's Blog
dbjc364's Blog
Last Post 7 hours Ago
Oct 12, 2008 | 3:39 AM PST
Tag: spring bulbs..
3/4 done now,ceilings up-floor is down- baseboards in place.He's working on the crown moulding today and we'll put the shelves & the coat rack in place. I got the bulbs pulled up-can put them in the rock garden this morning. As I was waiting for paint applications to dry, I cleaned up the garage a bit more & puttered around the yard picking up more garden stuff. I discovered my Azaelea didn't croak like I thought it did, just got swallowed up with weeds and tall grass.Cleared the grass & marked it,along with a few other plants to be moved next spring.I have a single rosebud thats going to bloom within 3 days if the frost doesn't get it. My female Holly is doing wonderful-she has doubled her size,they are slow growers,but have yet to find the male nearby,if he didnt croak. He wasnt doing good at all at the beginning of summer-barely hanging on. So I figured I'd have to replace him next spring.If I want the berries I have to have the male. The Hollies will be moved closer to the house when the next bed along the stockade fence gets built.A wonderful stretch of warm weather upon us now-tomorrow we get back to the carport, so we'll have 2 full days to work on that. Hosting a gathering here on Nov. 1st for the family to meet the new little one,my nieces son-Myles.So what is he to me,,? great nephew?
Oct 10, 2008 | 2:48 AM PST
Tag: so little time
Oh-my!! The mudroom is now painted..still have the trim to do -soon as I find the nail punch and spackle. Have enough left in the can for any touch-ups.Jim's actually going to get back to this & to put up the ceiling this morning too,soon as I get back from an early appt. We have Landon today- so I'll have to keep him occupied outside in the dirt with me.I can actually-finally move the Alliums today & plant the garlic.We've got at least a 5 day stretch of incredible warm temps now-and Jims got 5 days off. I think I'm beside myself that I'm actually going to have shelves & storage area for the winter-summer gear-without it being all clutter looking. I haven't found a small bench thats just the right size-- so it'll probaly be best to make one to size.There's enough lumber left over in the garage. I'll set-up the saw horses outside to do the shelves,as I'm starting to trip over the lumber piled on the floor now-so there's no sense in adding to it. Even though its only been laying there a week,I'll be glad to use it up & see that pile go. Still have garden stuff to put away & pull the last 2 celerys,but am keeping them covered with a sheet at night. The blueberries are slowly turning a nice crimson red now-this year they have to be pruned after the snow arrives.I've left them alone for the last 3 years to grow,but many branches need tidying up. The strawberry plants are huge & will need to be covered,but its still to warm.A couple strawberry plants popped up where I used to have a strawberry bed-so next spring those get moved also into the new bed.There is so much left to do outside still,so I hope this decent weather goes for another month at least.
Oct 9, 2008 | 2:35 AM PST
Tag: live wires..
After we sat on the deck contemplating what had just happened, we walked back inside,she realized she needed to call next door to the sister-in-law for more towels.It was then he headed back downstairs for shutting off the electric-assuming the thing he was shutting off went to the dishwasher.I told him to kill the main power supply, all of it,just to be sure.I can tell you I'd have that boys butt insured to the hilt if I was her.But her- being only slightly ahead of him in the common sense department,doesn't.Of course, the in- laws want to know why she needs more towels, so it irked him a bit to know that they now know what he did.He comes back upstairs,I walk back in the kitchen,sopping up more water,he snips the electric line to the washer with cutters,a loud snap,sparks flying,and whatever noise electric makes, he jumps back, all wide eyed,,I had my back to him, and the sound jumped me 5 ft in the air,yelling "what the hell"?holy ****, he says.I thought that was dead..." "Kill the freaking main power!" Wingnut.She's lucky he didnt fry his ***.This is a man who has little knowledge of repairing anything,no intention of going out of his way to learn,and he's screwing with electric.I wallked back outside and told Jim I would watch Landon while he assists him to make sure he doesnt fry himself.Jim says he walks down cellar to find him cutting lines-instead of taking them apart at the nuts,,,he kills the fridge line,{he's got the main shut off by this time}and something else,so for the next 45 minutes,as Jim stops him,he's got to put them back together.Well- he finally gets the power back on,Jims had enough, and we head home-by this time he's on the floor hooking up the dishwasher. I had a feeling at the start of the day,my hands were not going to get to play in the dirt with the flower bulbs that day.Well-that was enough for one day for me,I needed a little sanity at my own house.I finally got the front strip cut,its raining this morning- so I get to finish up the mudroom painting.Her dishwasher runs great-and all parts work right. The door on her old one was broken-he didnt want to fix it-so she bought this one for $50,which was great.So for xmas, he's getting the "Home Depot Improvement Book,and hopefully it will assist him,in the needed repairs he finally does get around to.With all the hustle & bustle going on the last 2 days, Landon hasn't had an afternoon nap-so he'll be tired and ready for one today.Yesterday-we loaded up her truck for the dump- the left over building debris from the door, regular trash-& the old dishwasher.We had a full rounded load-done.I'll be so glad to get back to the dirt & talk to somebody sane...
Oct 8, 2008 | 9:41 AM PST
Tag: later on..
Unfortunately, I have an appoinment-so I'll continue tonite with part 2...
Oct 8, 2008 | 2:02 AM PST
Tag: oh-but theres more...
Sometimes-more often than not around here...plans get shot all to ****.I got on the phone in the morning,Jim headed out to the garage,and armed with his to-do list.After talking to the nice lady at the mill about the pellets-she gave me the list of retailers they supply so I could check to see if maybe any of them had any left.It didn't matter about the traveling- we just didnt want to have to use the oil.Sure enough,1st call,not far away-20 min. had some.It doesnt happen often, but I had a live person on the phone- who was nice to boot-and had a clue about their business operations. She said if I couldnt find any after going thru the list- she would do what she could to scrape up a few bags to get us thru,till an area store got some in.I hope that lady gets a raise this year.Jim hooked up the trailor and away we went.We got a 1 ton load,that should hold us till our order comes in.We cleared the area in the garage,and was done unloading in a 1/2 hr. She also said their production was coming along better than they thought, so a possibility we may get our order sooner than Dec. After lunch, a short rest,we loaded up the dishwasher going to my daughters.I knew it would get banged around if we left it in our garage.We were just going to tuck it in a corner out of the way- till they found someone to install it.Her hubby comes home right after we got there,without asking her what the plan is,or what is she going to do with it-?..us 2 women-we're inside focusing on clearing a space in the hallway-out of the way.He sees us moving the filing cabinet.Now-mind you,if I had had a video camera rolling at that point,I'd be sitting here a richer woman,winning the prize for Americas Funniest home video's.At this point we're not paying attention to him-which was probaly our 1st mistake-just moving the cabinet into the corner,and the dishwasher goes where the cabinet was. All of a sudden, he grabs the dishwasher under the counter,and starts tugging on it.Then he says to Missy-"grab that counter and lift up." Well,neither of us have a clue as to what he's doing,we thought he was trying to get the door closed- as that's always been off kilter anyways. Well-it turns out so is my Son-In-Law...but I already suspected that.
He says "lift higher-she doesnt have enough strength,,I grabbed the other side of counter-and asked him "what are you trying to do?" I'm taking this out he says. I yelled" WAit! -Don't you have to turn the supply lines off,? Like water or something? Now-mind you, he's a big guy-Naw" it'll come right out,followed by a huge tug from him,{dont ya know it was screwed to the under counter-duh}..this happened in a matter of seconds ,mind you. FOLLOWED BY A HUGE GYSER OF WATER-PUMPING OUT 3 GALLONS A MIN ALL OVER THE click laminate FLOOR,FOLLOWED BY 2 FEMALE HIGH PITCHED SCREAMS.He's yelling to Missy-put your foot on it to stop the flow-{he doesnt know theres a shut-off under the sink}..its hot water you know-he races down cellar- I'm grabbing the kitchen trash buckets,,,he had ripped the water line right off it.It took him a bit to find the shut off down cellar.Within 90 seconds- every towel in the house was on the floor-thats floating with 2 inches of water.We just stood there trying to comprehend what just happened.Missy was soaked completely from the gyser- I just got one leg wet-we both turned,and walked out to the porch to smoke a cig.-shaking our heads in disbelief-saying at the same time"I cant believe you just did that"....then started laughing at the whole mess.The 1st thing I said was I could be sitting here a rich woman if I'd had a camera...thru all that hysteria..>writing this doesnt do the experience justice,believe me..that was part 1...
Oct 7, 2008 | 4:32 AM PST
Tag: hard frosts now..
The grass was quite high- took me a couple hours to cut it,got all but the 2 front skinny strips,which I will finish today. Got the batch of "Skagitt Tulips" in,now today onto moving the Alliums & whatever else I can get my hands around while the sun is out.I can be doing that while Jim puts up the ceiling in the mudroom-& we wont be in each others way.Once hes done,I can do a skim coat,as I tried to make sure I got good coverage on yesterday. This time I picked "Copper Classics" wanting to stay in a warm group of color so it didnt look to much like a circus coming to town-flowing from room to room.The trim & shelves will be a bright white.We wanted to update our snow shovel at Home Depot-but they haven't a clue about real life. Its much more important to overstock with Xmas items,than prepare for winter. Thats ok- we can brush off the stairs with an artificial tree...
Here in Maine,we've had an unprecedented wave surge since early spring, of pellet stove sales-and it hasn't stopped yet.Even bigger than sales of wood stoves selling in the 70's and 80's.We looked at many in person-plus online,& ended up getting a Napolean.It took us 3 months to get ours.It depends on what brand you want- etc.We're glad we picked this one-especially after seeing others & their features. Out of this energy crisis,emerged mills & jobs & they have ramped up production of pellets,and others started making-selling them for the first time.We're on the list and dont expect ours till December.We'll keep looking,but will probaly have to use the oil till we get some-and next year be all set to go.We dont care if oil drops to $3.00 a gal, we're still switching to alternative forms of energy.The stove gives off a nice heat-and so much nicer than oil, but we still have to get the cellar area all situated around.
I haven't read the Almanac yet,to see what we're in store for this winter.I have a feeling we're gonna get some snow amount as the season is totally different. I lov snow, and would rather have it to bank the house, than not have it, and it gives us physical workouts clearing the roofs..so we dont have to go to the gym. One last batch of tomatoes to do up today,and pick some sage leaves for the winter to dry. A busy day ahead..
Oct 5, 2008 | 5:20 AM PST
Tag: nice heat..
When I got home-the crew had set up the new pellet stove & was standing around watching the fire. We were shown how to use & care for it,then they left. A yummy dinner at Mom's,then home to watch the fire for some Saturday redneck entertainment for an hour before turning on the tv to watch a movie. We're not disappointed in this stove.It heats well on low-unless its really cold out- we probaly wont have to turn it up.We'll purchase the bricks & logs in the near future.Today Jim gets to work on the carport again- he did a little yesterday.He got my mudroom finished-now I can finish priming.Its sunny out and no strong breeze like yesterday-so it'll be nice planting today.The garlic goes in today-along with the other bulbs.We don't have to go anywhere, so lots of action here today...
Oct 2, 2008 | 2:24 AM PST
Tag: high grass again..
We had one day of cloudy,now we're back to rain for a couple more days.There's some unusual looking fungus growing on the lawn-quite funny looking.I did finally have 1 hour to plant some tulips-hyacinths-a new iris- in the rock garden.Got the batch of "Skagitt Valley" tulips out of the hosta bed -now waiting for this weekend to get them in-and they had lots of babies.Have another small batch of red tulips to dig up and move.That will be great to see spring bulbs in the rock bed.This has turned out to be my favorite bed.I dont have to compact the soil at all by treading on it as I can reach all spots from standing-sitting on the flat rocks.Did a Home Depot run for additional materials to finish the 3 areas we're working on. Raining now-housework today and clear-contain the clutter building up. Lots of rain here-more today-tomorrow,then sunny-cloudy for the weekend. The stove people called-our stove is in, they hook it up saturday. Eeha..We got the chair rail & baseboard up- layed the lineoleum,will do the edges tonite. One wall that's finished,and looks great- so the anticipation of the whole room eventually getting done is exciting. I get back to the mudroom today-tomorrow.More planting of bulbs on saturday. A new bearded Iris this year- a gorgeous blue-look forward to next summer when it blooms. A new red tulip, & one giant white Allium. Will also move the purple Alliums to the rock garden. Jim is happy he can get back to the carport this weekend,finishing the walls, and I'm happy to move the wood pile to its final destination. Lots of grass to cut...
Sep 28, 2008 | 3:58 AM PST
Tag: git' er' done'
I quess we both decided this was going to be the last time we worked on this-and disrupted with making a mess.With 2 days of rain, and more on the way,it was a good time to do this.All materials on board- and didnt need much,I got 3/4 done with chalking & Radiant Barrier on Friday-,we always had a small leak under the window area,puddled on the floor- but this time it didnt leak, but we've had no wind yet either.Since I cant remember if it leaked after we put up the gutter in July-it may have stopped it then.Anyways we decided the darn thing is getting done.He hangs the OSB today- & I can start priming.It was cheaper than sheetrock-which was overkill for a mudroom. On tuesday morning,no rain scheduled-we go to the outside,take off the cheap housewrap-plug every hole & crack,then put up Radiant Barrier again.Then we can lay the lineoleum,knowing it wont get wet. We also layed out the stove area lineoleum for that to smooth out for a few days before securing it down.When the sun gets to the corner during the winter,we get incredible heat from the sun heating up the mudroom-so I open the door and it helps to heat the living room for a good 5 hr. stretch.But dont you know I also get the flies,which make a mess.So I'll look for something besides the sticky tape-non-toxic,that can deal with this. Sometime this week the perennials bulbs will go in. Everythings got a good drink of water now & its back to a drizzle- and some flowers are blossoming again. It poured hard last nite.No wind yet- as its just barely going to scim the coast they say-so we may not.
Sep 27, 2008 | 4:47 AM PST
Tag: chalking..
I dont know how many times I'll empty out this mud room before its all completely done-but it sure would be nice to get it to the sheetrock. I made a little more headway yesterday,picked up more garden stuff laying around that needed to be stored away anyways-but in anticipation of this next hurricane gaining strength,their saying strong winds possible on sunday. We're suppose to get as much as 4-6 inches of rain,it rained late yesterday-not hard,just steady,and its barely raining now this early a.m. I emptied the mudroom again-found the chalking gun and 1 tube of chalk.Will make sure I have more on board today. I did the last of the stuffing around the windows-washed them down,chalked,then started putting up the Radiant Barrier. Have to take down the heavy coat rack before I can continue today.I always make a mess,piling stuff in a pile,and littering the counter.Theres something to be said about trying to live in the space your trying to build or remodel...maybe I can contain my mess a bit more in a box in a corner out of the way today till the projects done.Need 3 pieces of sheetrock for this project,hope its just drizzling long enough to go get some this morning-as the lumber yard is right up the street. After its sheetrocked we'll build a built in coat rack & shelving.Couldn't get back to the perennials,but it looks like Monday & Tuesday will be ok for planting before more rain rolls in. Our foliage is turning quickly with its reds & oranges,but we'll lose alot if we get the winds.
Sep 26, 2008 | 3:23 AM PST
Tag: tomatoes..
Mom gave me all the plants she pulled up from her garden-glad she didnt use any poisons this year-else I would have declined.2 huge black bags- 1 more to come. The compost pile is high now! I feel like a lucky dog with all this garbage! Jim will remove the soil from the 2nd bin to its own spot & I'll start the 2nd compost-after the rain spell we get.I'm emptying the potting soil from the window boxes & containers into the flower beds-need to add some more peat & some compost. I'm not as concerned about those beds-but would like the soil to be a bit better than what it is,as ours is on the clay side. I'm looking forward to a nice sunny cool day to gather & shred the leaves. I love playing the yard in the fall..more than any other time.We got the set of stairs moved to the back door with the tractor-yippee! Done. I need to get that chalking gun out and do around the mudroom windows both sides-wonder if there's time today..& do I have chalk on board? 3 more celery plants to pull up and its all done.A wonderful recipe for Tomato soup last nite-was yummy. 1 pint of fresh tomatoes-{grinded up}-put in heavy saucepan-but I used a bit more- 1/2 teas. baking soda,, in another saucepan- 1 qt. of milk- 1 can of evaporated milk heating on low. I added parsely- salt & pepper, put it all together after the tomatoes boiled a bit.I didnt puree' them all the way but left little bits of tomatoes.So much more flavor than Campbells.Great with grilled cheese-sliced tomato & onion sandwiches.
Sep 25, 2008 | 2:56 AM PST
Tag: playing with dirt
Where are those darn bushes? We're getting regular hard frosts every nite now. When a company asks me when would you like these shipped by,,and I say the 15th,that DOESNT mean the next week-or we'll let you know when they go out.That means they go out the door by or on the 15th.I know what my climate is and how we deal with it.Otherwise I would have waited till spring.Never mind, I told Jim to cancel the order.Not interested anymore.I'll deal with a different company in the spring.I am totally #@!$ed off & moving on..Next- the Pellet Stove people...
Jim took the new car to work yesterday,said it was a nice ride over the potholes & cracks for a change. He's taking the Honda today to give me a turn with it, & Mom wants to see it.He did get my bed tilled for me last nite-it was just one side that needed it,then flipped my compost with the tractor.Mom gave me 2 huge bags of compost -another today. Yesterday I went to the daughters in the morning, so we could pull up what she had in her small flower bed to add more soil-compost,and reposition the flowers.This was planned for quite some time-just waiting for a decent day.She didnt have much in there,as unfortunately when she weeded it she also threw away some flowers.We had some tall stuff in there that just didnt look right for a small bed,so will put the small clump of daylilies near her yard border-where they can grow to their hearts content-as they multiplied rapidly.I have a small tray of Muscari bulbs she can have,as those multiplied nicely the last 2 seasons-and their small & tidy.We've been trying to remove some vining flower from the previous owners,that takes over the whole bed. I dug my way to china removing all the little roots I saw.Fixed the rock border that shifted.Rain due in for 2 days-so we'll take a break and resume next week. I put my Rosemary-potted up for the winter in the mud room for now-before I have to bring it in the house for the winter.Today I'll start planting those perennials & playing with some more compost.
Sep 24, 2008 | 3:38 AM PST
Tag: slightly behind schedule..
The car arrived yesterday! 2 more items to go...we puttered till it was time to leave and didnt get home till 8 pm last nite. We stopped at our discount place for groceries on the way home , and also switched cars. I stalled it 3 times,trying to get use to the gas-clutch,just trying to get out of the parking alot.I'm so use to the truck now with its hard clutch,this is a much more delicate item.A beautiful blue,and enough cup holders to go camping in.Much more room than the Honda-and kinda like a spaceship feeling.lol..He'll be taking that to work to save on gas now.The tiller is sitting there waiting to get to work on the bed,hmm- I wonder if he'll zip that for me before work...I hope the bushes have arrived at his work..
mm...
Sep 23, 2008 | 3:08 AM PST
Tags: landon says , "Ewe stinky"..
Ok- nothing arrived in yesterdays mail,& no phone calls. I mowed the yard while Landon rode his machine and played with the dirt & trucks. I cleared beds some more, I'm almost done now-had 2 huge loads of compost.Brought in 1 more load of tomatoes to ripen up and I'll be done with them.I made up a batch of speg. sauce of just Romas yesterday,after Landon left I weeded the Rock Garden,Jim will give the one side a quick till for me today- and I'll start planting the perennials.We've gotton 3 hard frosts so far. I did the no till thing in the cement bed-laying the cardboard and newspaper down-wet it-then some soil- now putting in compost,gave it a few good scoops of compost activator.I'll empty the container soil in there today-and it should do well covered over with black tarp. Moms got a load of compost for me to pick up today. I'll plant the 2 small low-bush blueberries in that bed in the early summer-and that gives me 2 more holes for the highbush. The regular compost pile is doing well also-with activator also breaking down,but I need the tractor to flip it much easier. I have 2 small water barrels-one we're going to make another batch compostor with. This winter,he's going to build a brackett so I can flip it around easy to mix & put it on the back deck closer. This winter I'll use my regular black one-its just harder rolling it around with no handle.That one I have to empty today- and fill the milkjugs with its tea.As I'm not planting anything in the veggie beds next year-I'll keep topping them with compost and cover them.I never thought compost could be so interesting & productive.For Xmas,,I definitely want a food dehydrator. My daughters eyes glaze over when I talk compost & I almost cried when she chucked hers to the dump,as I would have gone & picked it up.Now she knows to save it for me.Heck I'll even come and take the plants out of the bed for her. She's not getting the idea that the soil makes the difference,as I could see from her produce. I have a feeling it may end up just a flower bed,but thats ok too. I don my gloves & have a good time messing around with the garbage pile...while humming- singing,"Da-do-dee-dum-dum,cau
se breaking up is hard to do,dont you leave me here in misery-lets give it one more turn you see,just dont take your love from me, just give me some good veggies please,,da-do-dee-dum-dum...
Sep 21, 2008 | 5:04 AM PST
Tag: whirlwind of activities..
The bushes were mailed out last week, the holes are dug,just have to mix compost mixture up for them. We're No. 18 on the pellet stove list-they think 20 are coming on this next truck.woo-hoo..! I told jim everythings going to come at once...lol. Well- as if we were bored with no projects,,the kids got the new 2nd hand couch from hell,,lacking 2 inches to go in, the door was rotted out anyways and needing replacing. posted in the September Album.The son-in-law lacking the knowledge & tools, we jumped in with his brother, and now its almost done.The previous owners never chalked or flashed the door- attaching the deck right to the house-promoting the rot from the snow & ice. It was an Atrium door and was also quite cold in the winter. All is much better now a week later- the door will be set into place today,he'll just have to finish up the inside wall- matching the interior pine up-or whatever hes going to do. The "Fair" was good, came home with four new tulip bulbs, one Mt. Everest Allium,2 Hyacinths,tomato seeds, garlic to plant,red clover cover crop seed,and a tired body. Also picked up a large "Birdhouse Gourd Kit", to putter on over the winter. On the way home, a large barn sale had a large piece of lineoleum for $12,,so back we go to pick that up this morning along with a washer & dryer from his sisters. Then its back to the kids place for the door placement.I think Jim can get back to the carport on Tuesday. I'll take Landon to the playground today while the guys work on the door project & keep him out of their way. I can get back to my stove wall tomorrow. Been pulling up whats done for the season to compost,and a boxful of tomatoes still to pass out.
