Unique Indoor Plant Displays
I overwinter many of my porch plants (ferns, geraniums, petunias) on our sunporch, and don’t have a great way of displaying the plants that makes it easy to care for them and looks aesthetically pleasing. First world problem, I know. My Current Plant Display Setup: The plants do seem to like it out here, and the photo below shows the best my current sunporch plant display has ever looked this winter. I have a couple of boards perched on top of a seed table that we don’t use for starting seeds. Because of these boards, I can rest three plants on top of the table, so I guess we do…
Building Fieldstone Stairs: Part 1
My friends, it is time for our next project, building fieldstone stairs! Have we done this before? Nope. Is that going to get in the way of a good time? Maybe. This project needs a little context, so let’s step on up and get to it. Where will we be building fieldstone stairs? Outside, of course. There is a set of wood stairs in our backyard (4 steps) that we walk down to get to the first floor of the Carriage House. The stairs are set in the middle of a loosely stacked fieldstone wall and below a slightly out-of-level flagstone. Why we are replacing the old steps? For kicks.…
Daffodils Along Our Stone Wall
The last few years I’ve been planting a gift for Future Me to enjoy – daffodils along the stone wall that runs the length of our property. This stone wall “protects” our property from the road, meaning it’s very visible to anyone who drives by, so I’d like to think these daffodils are a gift for my neighbors too. Everyone likes daffodils, right? Surely they must be one of the least controversial things on this planet. I put the word protects in quotes in the above paragraph because I’m not sure how much a 2-foot tall stone fence or wall really protects us from anything. The mailman and the deer…
Caught On Google Street View
Have you ever been caught on Google Street View? Turns out I have! What a way to be immortalized. Hahahahahaha. It really captured me in my element too. I was doing what I pretty much do every day – try to save this house from ruin. The jury is still out if I’ll be successful. The forces of nature are a strong foe, but I am a determined woman. Being caught unaware aside, I am a big fan of Google Street View because you can access the archive of every year Google has photographed your home. Have you tried it? In the top left corner of Street View, there’s a…
3 Reasons We’re Clearing Brush On Our Property
We’ve been clearing brush on our property for five long, long years now for three important reasons. One of those reasons is not because we are gluttons for punishment. But sometimes I wonder. It’s also not because it is our idea of a good time. It isn’t. Here’s the view of our backyard in 2019. Looks like an idyllic scene, right? Many things can look idyllic in the right light and from a distance and with the sound turned off, including history. What that photo does not show is that twenty years ago, most of the trees and brush behind where the kids are playing did not exist. That’s approximately…
The Best Part Of Summer
We live in a place on the East Coast that typically experiences four distinct seasons and we’re currently wrapping up one of my favorite seasons – summer. The best part of summer is being outside. In summer it’s like the entire area comes alive with activity. The air is buzzing with positive energy. The trees are leafed out providing shade just when you need it. The flowers are bursting with color. The trails are full of bikes and foot traffic. The water is packed with swimmers and paddlers. The parks have festivals, movie nights, and summer concerts. We see our neighbors more during the summer even if it’s just to…
The Age-Related Reason Why We’re Removing Tree Stumps
I’d be willing to guess that most people reading this blog post live on or have lived on a property that has a tree stump or two dotting the landscape. Our property has several tree stumps! It’s not unexpected. Trees do have a lifespan. They become diseased. They might become damaged. They might grow in an area that threatens a structure. When any of these things happen, the tree is cut down and, often, the stump is left to rot away. Do you know how long it takes a tree stump to fully rot away? Decades. It can take decades, especially if the tree was a hardwood species. We recently…
Petite Bench For An Outdoor Coffee Table
I spruced up a petite bench to use as an outdoor coffee table and have zero regrets, especially since this was a free project. Free meaning I didn’t have to buy anything new. Those are the best kinds of projects. This petite bench was hiding under a stack of pool chemicals in our pump house. It was left here when we moved in and I’m guessing it was originally part of a kid-size picnic table. Hence, the petite part. The bench needed a bit of love. I sanded off the flaky bits and added a few new nails to hold it together. I didn’t do much about the areas that…
Adding To Our Concrete Pool Deck Ourselves
Patience is not one of my virtues but I did wait almost 4 years for us to add a 5-ft x7-ft section to our concrete pool deck. Yes, we poured that concrete ourselves. I should rename this blog “Gluttons For Punishment.” Another suitable blog name would be “We Like To Save A Buck But Dang That Concrete Is Heavy.” Thankfully, Handy Husband has experience pouring concrete and I’m a decent assistant as long as I’m not required to lift more than a handful of 80-lb. bags of concrete. After that, it is possible that whining occurs. It’s ironic that Handy Husband ran a concrete line pump when we first got…
Our Deck Is Ready For Summer
It’s almost Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off to summer in the U.S., and our deck is ready for summer fun! And by fun, I mean eating. I have my priorities. Most of our dinners in the summer are eaten on the deck. Then there are the Double Ds. Drinks and dessert. Those are best enjoyed on the deck in the summer too. We’ll often turn on the party lights and sit on the deck with a drink in hand as the sun goes down and the temperature becomes tolerable pleasant. New Jersey summers are not to be trifled with. They can be hot, humid, and let’s not forget about the…
