Here We Go Again

That picture is correct, the sashes are gone and I'm sitting on the window sill seven feet off the ground. This is the same place I was last fall, scraping paint off the kitchen windows.
Most of the larger surfaces I can get with the drill but all the little sides to the jambs must be done tediously with a scraper. The sashes will need glazed but at least those can be done on a workbench.
The biggest improvement was using a scrap block of wood and the hammer to drive the frame back together. The gaps between all the pieces didn't look like much but altogether the frame tightened up by a half inch. No wonder there was such a draft in winter! And the sash on the left side fits better now too.
Just a bit more scraping to do and then I can start sanding. Oh what fun!

Raising The Bar

What do you do when the cutting bar on your reel mower only raises to a two inch cutting height but you want to cut the grass at three inches? Make extensions!
HOW TO: Simply remove the adjustable plastic roller bar holders and cut some scrap lumber to the same dimensions, only longer. Drill out the holes for the roller bar axle. Next, set the mower to the desired height and mark the holes for the bolts. Then drill out the bolt holes and finally attach everything back.
After trying it out on the lawn, everything seemed to work fine. The increased blade angle caused the handle to stay higher but was still pushable. So that leads to my next question. Why would they tell us to cut the grass at three inches but sell a mower that only goes up to two? Do I have the wrong grass or wrong mower?

Vote For Opie

This afternoon we had some home cooked vittles at the Mayberry Cafe. Located right on Main Street in Danville, Indiana, the Mayberry Cafe is an all out tribute to Andy Taylor, Barney Fife and the whole gang. Memorabilia adorns the walls and a non-stop string of reruns play on the TV in the corner.
Beside the food, our main reason for stopping was to enter the boy in the Opie Look-alike Contest. If he wins, the prizes are a $100 savings bond and a free kids meal every week for a whole year!
It's always encouraging when you're walking past the clientele and they're already commenting that he really does look like Opie.
So if you find yourself near Danville, Indiana from May 1st to the 15th and would like a bite to eat, be sure to stop by the Mayberry Cafe (it's the one with the old police car parked out front) and vote for Opie #11.

Lawn Spreader

With the promise of rain tonight, I finally finished a wacky project with the lawn. The idea is to amend the hard, clay soil with nutrients by spreading a half inch layer of compost right on top of the grass. The compost was made by ourselves, so the price was better than manufactured chemicals.
After filling the wheelbarrow at the compost bin and navigating the cars and fence row, I'd finally dump each load in the south lawn. Then using a garden rake, try working the black gold down around the grass so as not to smother it. It was pretty easy in all the bare spots.
I think it took about a dozen trips and didn't even cover all the lawn, just the really bad places. I'm hoping the rain will help leech the nutrients into the topsoil and encourage the grass to pop up through.
I really wanted to rent an aerator before spreading the compost but time was against me. And there may be problems getting one through the 30 inch gate. It may also take a couple years of this before we see a difference in the soil quality. But at these prices, I can wait.

Pump It Up

I'm battling a nasty cold so there's been little to share besides sleep and medication but we did perform another rite of Spring. I hauled the compressor out to the garage and inflated all the kids' toy balls: soccer balls, basketballs, footballs and assorted sizes of bouncy balls. I think we're just about ready for warm weather.

Another Hangup

The Mrs brought home a HUGE hanging plant she received for her birthday from one of her students and it's been sitting on the back porch. So I decided today that a hanging plant really needed to, well, hang.
So here's the process. First dig up an old screw on hanger and a piece of chain leftover from the dining room light installation (pictured here).
Then, by setting the plant on the floor where it needs to go, measure the approximate distance from the wall to where the hanger should be installed. Set up the ladder - wait, before we get started, let's talk about shop safety. Set the kids down and pop a video in to keep them occupied, then send the dog outside.
Now we're ready to get started. Climb the ladder and mark the location for the hanger. I prefer to pre-start the screw by tapping a smaller nail in and if you're really in a hurry try rubbing soap on the threads. But if someone is watching and you need to show off, just skip those steps and start cranking on the plant hanger.
Once the hanger is secured to the ceiling, attach the leftover chain, adjust to the desired height, and then hang the plant up. If you find that your head keeps bumping the plant, try raising it higher. And one last reminder, now that the plant is actually getting sunlight, you might need to water it more often.

We Built This City

on plastic and cardboard (cue air guitar solo). Since we're having a spring snow storm, it became a stay inside and wear pajamas day. The kids drug out all the Hot Wheels sets and created quite the layout. That's one nice thing about hardwood floors. Plus it was motivation to clean up their rooms!
And yesterday the little princess went to Build-A-Bear for a girlfriend's birthday, bringing home a very adorable puppy named Patch. So naturally we needed to make him a dog house from an empty cardboard box. Good thing there is plenty of leftover paint in the basement.

Burnin' Ring of Fire

With snow predicted for this weekend there just isn't much motivation to start any projects. I did go out and burn the brush piled up in the fire pit. It took forever to die out but finally did. Now my clothes smell smokey - nice.

Bickering

How long can this go on? This afternoon while cutting the grass, the kids were arguing over who was going to push the rotary edger. They both WANTED to help. I had to find more yard work to make them happy. Please don't let this end!

I'm No Arborist

but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn. This winter I noticed a limb, pictured here, hanging precariously in the neighbor's tree. It broke off in a winter storm but got hung up on some branches directly over the city street, high enough that trucks didn't hit it, so no one seemed to mind it swaying gently in the breeze.
But you know how something little can just bother you until you can hardly stand it? The spot where it hung was directly at the end of our driveway. And since we pass under that limb at least twice a day, odds are it would fall on us. So I finally decided to do something about it.
No, I did NOT call the street department. That would have been the safe and easy thing to do. Instead I dug out some leftover rope, tied it to a stick of firewood and began throwing it up at the broken limb. It's amazing how much traffic comes down the street once you begin throwing objects. But persistence pays off, after 45 minutes I finally snagged the limb with a good hold.
A quick pull told me that this limb was not coming down easily, but I couldn't just leave the rope hanging in the middle of the street. So with some frantic heaving and grunting, the limb finally came crashing down. I cut up the branches and added the limb to the firewood pile but most importantly, no one was hurt in the process, and the streets are safe once again.

Salvage Yard

Just a couple days ago the kids wanted to run around the yard with their shirts off and tonight we have snow. I tried to cover the most delicate plants with a few pots, it's too windy for bags to work. But there is a sense of fatalism to a "native" landscape - if they can't survive a little April cold snap.
The tulips on the sunny south side were fine but the north-siders were already drooping. So they got cut and brought into the kitchen. Once inside though they really perked up and even bloomed. Pretty nice arrangement for thrown together.

Spend The Night In Jail

The old Boone County Jail is up for sale again. I'm thinking Bed and Breakfast. Wouldn't that be a hoot?
Meridian Real Estate is pleased to offer the HISTORIC BOONE COUNTY JAIL for sale, one of the original "live-work" properties in central Indiana. The sheriff and his family resided in the front part of the property with its soft and striking residential appearance. The clientele entered through a massive door on brass hinges. were booked in the center part of the property, and resided in the back two thirds of the property. Both residential space and corrections space utilized all three levels and were safely separated by a proprietary cell door entry system identical to the mechanical locks at Alcatraz. All of these features remain virtually unchanged since 1939.
There are rumors that a tunnel passes under the street connecting the jail to the courthouse for transporting criminals to trial. It's just a great building with lots of historical character and I'd hate to see it destroyed. More pictures and info here.

Sharpening Skills

For several years I've cut the lawn with a reel mower. It's quieter, no stinky gas fumes, and gives a cleaner cut (if only the grass would grow). Really, the only maintenance required is the annual blade sharpening.
So that's what I did today. Pop the wheel off, attach the handle, goop the pumice on the blades and crank briskly for 7-10 minutes. It's actually very simple. With gas prices on the rise, I've seen more of these around the neighborhood and in stores but I wonder how many people actually maintain them.

Moving Around

Nope ,we're not selling out. I just moved a few plants this afternoon. We scavenged two clumps of daffodils (white with golden centers) from the in-laws' woods. They were planted in the shade garden under the huge maple tree. I used the scatter method and buried them right where they landed.
The hostas and Virgin's Bower Clematis were divided, finding new and exciting homes. The hostas were simply spread out and the clematis start was added to the south fence. Oh, and another move was the baby's breath, which divided into three pieces, spreading along the south wall to dress up the roses.
I'm also happy to report that the knot garden is coming back to life. The strawberries survived the winter and some of the herbs are already thriving. It's also fun to watch the tulips pop up between the mums. Before you know it, I might just have color almost all year long!
It's a good thing all this gardening was done this afternoon because at tonight's indoor soccer match I pulled a hamstring. Nothing too bad but climbing stairs is rough. Now if only the hammock was up, I'd be set.