Prairie Rose House

Railing Away

2011-06-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

I removed the old rickety iron railing from the front steps.A couple of the nuts sheered off but none were hard to remove. The last step will be to hacksaw the screws down to step level. It seems weird, not having the visual barrier to the south flower beds. But it does give the front of the house a less divided look.

There's Only One Way

2010-09-06T18:54:00.000-04:00

Pulling onto our road this afternoon I noticed a new sign posted: One Way. Just like that I was heading the wrong direction. The jury at our house is still out on this new develeopment. My biggest concern would be any rescue vehicles that would travel around the block. Maybe they could just stay out on the highway and block traffic there.
Since noticing the new sign, it's amazing to see how many other driver's fail to see the changes. Just to be safe, I'll still look both ways pulling out of my drive.

Flood Rant

2010-05-03T16:59:00.000-04:00

Ever since the federal government allowed mortgage companies to set their own flood insurance minimum coverage, our rates have skyrocketed. Just got a notice from Chase that we need to increase our coverage by $5,720! Makes buying with cash all that more attractive.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T18:48:00.009-04:00

The compost bin is getting full. I spent a couple hours weeding and cleaning up the north knot garden today. The weather has been really pleasant for Spring. Usually a late frost will freeze up the daffodils by now. This batch sits on the kitchen stove, making the whole room smell wonderful. See more pictures of how things are shaping up in the garden after the jump.

The five clumps of Georgia Blue Speedwell (Veronica Georgia Blue) have just about doubled their spread since being planted last year. The tag says they bloom in summer but you can see there are quite a few blooms already.

Evening Primrose starting to fill in, about 2" tall.

Shasta Daisies clumping up to about 4" tall.

Purple Iris is now anywhere from 6-12" tall. I also noticed that they are sending out runners just under the soil. Hopefully they will continue to fill in the area.

Today's Almanac
Temperature: 74 - 40 F
Precipitation: None
Partly Cloudy

That Ain't No Lady

2009-11-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

We've been hit hard by lady bugs this year, not sure why. And with the unseasonably warm weather the past weekend, I decided it was time to install the storm windows. Hopefully the ladies will move along to a new home soon. In fact, I thought I saw a bat picking them off the side of the house last night!

Where There's Smoke...

2009-07-02T20:26:00.003-04:00

We received a notice today that the street department will be conducting sanitary sewer smoke testing next week. Say what? Apparently the best way to identify leaks in the sewer lines is to back fill it with smoke.

Under normal circumstances, if your plumbing is working properly, the smoke used to conduct this test should not enter your house.

They go on to ease fears by declaring the smoke to be "harmless to pets, food, and material goods" but fail to mention what to do if your toilet starts smoking other than opening a window.
Has anyone else ever heard of such a thing? It makes sense but just imagine the poor guy who comes home to find smoke billowing from the washing machine!

Infant Hutchinson

2009-06-25T21:00:00.002-04:00

The following article about our POs appeared in the Jan 3, 1907 edition of the Lebanon Patriot. The only record I had found prior to this article was a hand copied cemetery record. I'm not sure what the status was on our house at the time.

The infant child of Frank and Jennie Hutchinson, which was born on December 31, '06, died after only a few minutes animation. It was buried at Oak Hill cemetery on New Year's day, 1907.

Entrepreneur

2009-06-13T11:13:00.001-04:00

Our 11 year old likes to spend money. The town recently restarted the Saturday morning Farmer's Market. I'm always pulling up and thinning out the flower beds. So what better time for him to start earning some cash?
Today was his second foray into the world of business. Armed with a red wagon load of columbine, obedient plant, black-eyed susans and fresh cut mint we walked up to the courthouse square. He did all the talking while I sat under a tree and read. An hour and a half later, we walked home with only one plant left and $16 in his pocket.
Of course he has plans to spend it as I tried to explain his need to purchase more pots. New terms learned: profit, overhead, capital. His biggest sacrifice was giving up Saturday morning cartoons. But we'll work him in slowly.

Star Wars Weekend Ends in a Bust

2009-06-09T22:25:00.001-04:00

Sand People on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Took my little Padawans to the Childrens Museum this weekend for Star Wars Saturday. Our young Jedi Master dressed the part, complete with penciled in facial hair and light saber. He was particularly excited to see Jango Fett and the Sand People. Vader was there but we'd already met him at Disney World last summer. We had a good time at the Museum.
But then this evening, my other Ahsoka aspiring padawan decided to practice her light saber skills in the bedroom. The Force must have been weak because she managed to completely smash the glass, hanging lamp shade. She remained unscathed, only emotionally hurt since the antique shade is truly irreplaceable. Guess we'll be shopping the antique stores for another one!

New Theme

2009-06-02T07:50:00.003-04:00

Do you use iGoogle? Now you can add a bit of the Prairie Rose House to your iGoogle home page. Just add our theme. The roses are starting to bloom so I might make some more iGoogle themes with them.
Yesterday was our first official day of summer break, and what did I do? I turned the compost over and mowed the grass. We also walked to the library and the kids "went fishing" in the creek. But mostly we tried to slow down to a crawl and enjoy the day.

Stimulus Plan

2009-04-02T11:03:00.003-04:00

We've done our part. Do you feel stimulated? After much angst and "discussion" we decided on using Trex for the decking rather than cheaper pressure treated lumber. The only downside was that the color we wanted wasn't in stock. So our special order decking should arrive next week.

Meanwhile we are all entering and exiting through the south door - much to the dog's delight :) As you can see here, the two platforms are finished and the three step stringers are waiting to go in. I just need to add a box step at ground level.
So while we're waiting for the Trex to arrive, I started cleaning out the flower beds. All the dried black-eyed susan stems and left over leaves got piled by the curb and later the street department guys came by and picked it all up. Already the yard is looking better and now there is a hint of green around the house.

Bit Sore

2009-03-31T09:03:00.000-04:00

This week is Spring ~~Break~~ Work week and I'm sore already. Monday was a busy day. First I busted up the concrete steps out back. The hardest part was digging out the railing that had been burried in concrete. I also broke my shovel handle on that one. (It's ok, I have a second shovel - it was more irksome than inconvenient)
After lunch, I made a solo trip to Lowe's (always a pleasure) and spent $175 on framing lumber for the back steps (thanks Mom and Dad for the gift card!) The afternoon was spent measuring twice, cutting once and nailing together all the pieces. I'll post pictures later once they're downloaded off the camera.

We Have A Plan

2009-03-29T08:52:00.000-04:00

This winter, our concrete back steps have really taken a beating. The whole freeze/thaw physics pretty much destroyed one of the steps. As a temporary fix I laid a piece of plywood over the gap but the Mrs did not care for the look.
So after a little toying in Google Sketchup we've come up with a design we all agree on. The plan is to leave the crumbling concrete steps in place and build over them. We're still undecided on the use of Trex or regular lumber for the decking but at least we have a plan in place.

We're On TV!

2009-01-23T16:49:00.002-05:00

If you're quick, you can catch a glimpse of our house on tv here. The garage, arbor and back door make a cameo appearance for almost five seconds when our neighbor goes to sip his ice tea. I also believe the sprig of mint in his tea is from our patch.

Photo what?

2009-01-19T16:55:00.001-05:00

Here's my first attempt at photosynth. There is a knack to taking the photos so that they all synth up. I might try the house next, if there's a sunny day when I have the camera!

Painting Nails

2009-01-04T19:35:00.003-05:00

When you need a glossy green coat of paint with sparkles where do you buy paint? We shop the finger nail polish aisle! Surprisingly green was not a color in very many shades. But when you find one named Go Go Green, it just screams to be a pinewood derby car topcoat.
At first I tried airbrushing it on but couldn't achieve a glossy finish because it dried too fast. So armed with a lot of patience and the tiny applicator brush included with the bottle cap, we HAND PAINTED the little green monster. And with nearly half a bottle left over there is plenty for the entire pit crew to color coordinate on race day.

Sandman

2009-01-01T17:30:00.003-05:00

Part of the fun of the AWANA Grand Prix is working with the kids. Some dads do all the work but I prefer to have the kids do as much as possible. I keep them away from the power tools and knives but the job of sanding is all theirs. Staple the paper to a couple pieces of scrap wood and send them off. I tell them to sand until they're happy with it. The girl has sanded her car for a week. It's SMOOTH.
This is the rough cut shape partway through the sanding process.
The boy's won't be so smooth since he has less patience :)

2009 Prototypes

2008-12-31T13:49:00.003-05:00

Once again, the AWANA Grand Prix is here and thankfully, the kids have picked out easier projects. For anyone new to the idea of the Grand Prix (also known as a pine wood derby) the goal is to build the fasted or best-looking car. We are required to use the wood, wheels and axels that come with the kit but can modify the body in any way. My kids usually start with a Hot Wheels car to emulate. Some turned out better than others did, and only a couple times was I able to talk them into a unique design.

Here are this year's prototypes:

The girl chose this little green gem from her personal collection. She even picked numbers "00" so it will match. Obviously, I have another tail fin to construct.

The young man selected this sleek road monster. It has a simple shape despite all the added extras. He does not seem as excited about the race this year especially since I am having him do more of the work. The glamor is not worth hours of sanding.

Just Big Enough

2008-11-28T21:38:00.003-05:00

I love how our Honda minivan is just big enough for a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Fold down the back seat and remove the two middle seats, throw all the junk into the front seat and you can slide a sheet on plywood right in, barely.

The Mrs has this "antique" cardboard Santa Claus that she wanted mounted onto some sort of wood so that he can stand up without damage to the flimsy cardboard. So today I braved the Black Friday crowds and went to Lowe's to pick up a backing board for Santa. I chose a 1/4" 4'x4' Birch panel with really nice grain and just a couple small knots. I also picked up a 4x8 sheet of aforementioned plywood for the ongoing racetrack project.
And since Santa required some delicate cutting, he picked out an early Christmas present of a new jig saw! My old one would knock your false teeth out if the blade didn't fall out first. The new one is a basic Black and Decker with no bells or whistles but it worked beautifully.
With Santa's backing traced and cut, I spent a couple hours hand sanding the edges. Finally a quick coat of spray adhesive and he was pressed into place. Imagine Santa's surprise coming down the chimney and finding himself waving back!

Needing Attention

2008-11-08T20:58:00.004-05:00

It had to happen sooner or later. My total lack of blogging, or more to the point my lack of working on the house, has caused it to pout. There have been little things, hints at needing attention but I chose to ignore the broken sash weight by propping the upper sash into place with a stick. Weeds are now buried under leaves needing to be raked. But there is no ignoring the dryer that refuses to heat up - especially since I'm wearing my last clean (and dry) pair of underwear. Yes, it seems one of the thermostats has blown preventing the heating coil from activating. Somehow, cold air just does not dry clothes as well.
This is the second time I've replaced the thermostat. The first was justified as the Mrs thought cleaning out the lint trap was optional. You might recall a fellow blogger came with an Ohm meter to help identify the errant part. This time I tried a more daring approach. THIS IS FOR TESTING ONLY!!! Do not ever bypass safety equipment. Dry clothes are nice but not at the expense of burning down the house.
After turning off the breaker, I removed the cover panel. Then one at a time I took one of the red power wires off each thermostat and alligator clipped it to the opposing wire, effectively bypassing the trip switch. First was the one on the exhaust. Pop the power back on and start up the dryer. No heat. Replace those wires and move to the coil switch. Nope, still no heat. But the final check brought results. With it bypassed, the heater kicked right on.
I called a couple local big box stores, but no one carries parts. Last time I ordered replacements from PC Appliance Repair but this time I went with Appliance Care Store. No real reason other than they were $3 cheaper. We'll see how fast the parts arrive. Hopefully it will be soon or I might need to run to the store for a package of clean undies!

Location, Location, Location

2008-10-03T18:25:00.002-04:00

Well I guess this just proves we've got great neighbors. The Progressive Farmer named us the Fifth Safest Rural County in the US. Not bad for a few Hoosiers hanging out in the Crossroads of America. Add to that our recent property tax rate reduction and increased value assessment and we seem to be bucking the trend of our nations current economic woes.

Go Directly to Jail

2008-09-13T15:13:00.003-04:00

Today our town celebrated the annual Back to the Fifties Festival, which is mostly an antique car show with street vendors and local groups serving food. There were Beatles and Elvis tribute bands plus local performers. Overall a lot of fun.
An interesting side note was that the old jail was having an open house. It's been on the market for quite a while now. Still fascinating to walk through. You could almost hear Andy, Barney and Opie.
If anyone has half a million dollars and the desire to fix up a great community icon, have we got a deal for you. (note: my only interest is local history preservation, I make no money from this endorsement.)
If you're looking for ideas, my daughter would turn it into a vet clinic, but I think it would make a great bed and breakfast or restaurant.

Early Alert

2008-09-13T08:20:00.002-04:00

Do your fire alarms work? Last night the battery on one of ours died. We have three smoke detectors, one for each floor, and of course all the ceilings are too high to reach on a chair. So at 4 AM when one of them starts "chirping" it's a hassle to change the battery. I didn't even try to find the ladder. Instead I piled a chair on top of a stool and performed my own rendition of a Chinese balancing act. I'm sure it would have been hilarious to watch, if only anybody had been up to watch.

Holes

2008-09-07T19:37:00.002-04:00

A guy in a red pickup truck stopped by our house today and asked if we would be willing to sell some of our black eyed susans, right from the yard! Well, not being one to pass up an easy buck, I said sure. He took away a couple clumps and I had an extra ten bucks in my pocket. Who would have thought that native plants would be so desirable? Guess that's what happens when the nurseries no longer sell the better stock.

Response: Ready for a Close-Up?

2008-08-10T21:43:00.005-04:00

This post is in reply to StuccoHouse's electrical inquiry on their stove light:

When I saw the pictures of StuccoHouse's ceramic light bulb socket, I new I had a similar one somewhere in the basement. You see, I really do have a veritable museum of electrical history.
In the picture showing how the two halves should join, the bottom piece is backwards. The side with the screws would face out and there should be a threaded brass socket on the reverse. It's those threads that hold both pieces together (as a male fitting) and hold the bulb (as a female).
I would not be surprised if he brass rotted away or was accidentally broken off when someone tried to separate the two sides, especially in an oven with high temps and baked on grease.

Prime Time

2008-08-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

Finally got a coat of primer on the windows this evening. Then I sat down to watch the Olympic's opening ceremonies. Hopefully I can get a couple coats of paint on tomorrow.

Recipe: Stuffed Tomatoes

2008-08-03T21:25:00.003-04:00

Made dinner with mostly home grown foods tonight. Here's the recipe:
1 chicken breast
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans
1 bag of microwave rice

Added from the garden:
6 large Tomatoes
Parsley
Thyme
Garlic Clove
Pepper

How to make it:
Dice and cook the chicken. Cook rice according to the packaging instructions. Drain the corn and beans. Toss the chicken, rice, corn and beans in a large bowl. Add fresh spices according to taste. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and spoon out the meat and seeds leaving a hollow "bowl". Fill tomatoes with stuffing, serve and enjoy. Also tastes great on tortillas or chips.

Another One Bites the Dust

2008-07-20T22:31:00.001-04:00

I broke another window today. It was the old wavy glass too. In fact, working on this window today was a bit of a pain. I needed to replace the glazing on the upper sash of a big 36" window. Problem was the PO had installed metal weather-stripping that required lowering the sash all the way down before pulling it out. That required stripping all the paint from the lower half of the channel first. Then when I went to pull out the parting bead, it split in two. Apparently, they had NAILED it into place. The final straw was half way through removing the glazing when the glass cracked right in two. That sick feeling in the pit of your stomach just is not fun. So now, I have to buy a big piece of glass. Rats.

Married At Angola

2008-07-11T20:37:00.004-04:00

Wedding of Frank E. Hutchinson and Jennie Pugh Occurred last Night
------

Thursday evening at 6 o'clock at the home of the bride in Angola occurred the marriage of Frank E. Hutchinson and Miss Jennie Pugh. The Rev. W. F. Shearer, pastor of the Christian church of that place, and brother-in-law of the bride, performed the ceremony which was witnessed by the relatives and immediate friends of the contracting parties. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson, after a brief honeymoon, will take up residence at (###) North Lebanon Street in a home which has already been furnished by Mr. Hutchinson for the reception of his bride.
Mr. Hutchinson is the prosecuting attorney of Boone county and a man [of] splendid character and ability. His bride is the daughter of Mrs. Elizabeth Pugh, and is well known here where she was employed until this year as teacher in the Lebanon High School. The many friends of the couple extend congratulations and wish for them the happiness and success in life they so richly deserve. They will be "at home" after Oct. 18.

reprinted from the Lebanon Daily Reporter, Friday, Sept. 29, 1905

Cost of Living Increase

2008-07-05T16:50:00.003-04:00

In the mail today I received a letter from our gas company stating they had performed their annual budget bill recalculation. Our monthly bill will be increasing by 28%. Just as an example, that's like a gallon of gasoline going from $3.13 up to $4. Has anyone else seen such a large jump in their gas bill?

Porter's Pennant Push Prepares Prime Plans

2008-07-01T08:26:00.002-04:00

Found this article on the PO from June 26, 1908. The next day's paper had parts of the followup article cut off but it was clear that the team lost, badly.

--------
COURT HOUSE BASEBALL TEAM TO SEEK HONORS ON THE DIAMOND

--------

Walter Porter, the genial custodian of Boone county's dog tax and hog tax, has exerted his ingenuity to the sticking point by organizing a baseball club that has been basely termed by one of the prominent news sheets of Lebanon, as the Court House Rats.
Porter is to be named the man behind the bat for the aggregation, while Huber, the yellow-haired lad who sets things down in black and white for keeps in the recorder's office, is to perambulate with more or less energy in the outfield back of first base. Chester Darnell, the Arlie Latham of the court house club was signed by Porter, but the appearance of lassitude in the work of J. Chester caused him to be released to Mechanichsburg, last Tuesday. County Superintendent Guillion has been signed to play second, and Walter Hodge, title expert sometimes, has signified his willingness to attempt the stopping of all wild throws toward first base. Otha Hedrick, bell-weather of the auditor's office, thinks he has the ability to corral the swift ones between second base and third, and has so impressed Carr Porter. John Hornady, when first approached in regard to signing with the team, seemed very much impressed with the proposition, but on second thought remembered that he had recently installed a new garden at his residence lately acquired, and feared that baseball and Celtic tubers would not affiliate.
The question of a box man worried the astute manager for some little time, but upon the representations of George Darnell, who used to be taken out of the box with startling regularity by the Danville Browns, Porter, with a sigh of resignation permitted him to affix his name to a contract. Frank Hutchinson, he of the blatant voice, was inveighed into promising his efforts to the club, and great things are expected of him in center field.
As a whole, the club promises to be the most heartrending association of athletes that has appeared in the spot light for many moons. While it is not the intention of Fatty Porter to weary the teams by long road trips through the effete East, he will, nonetheless, book only those teams that seem worthy of the court house club's steel. The South Side Business Men's Club, and Adler's and Eichmans' are to be the first opponents to this scintillating team, and further the affiant saith not.
With the proper backing, Porter believes that his aggregation will make as many runs in the whole game as do their opponents in one inning, and to those who follows the dope, the hope seems to be well founded, indeed, indeed.

NOTES

Hodge is expected to be a shining light at first, his great point being his ability to coach himself, in critical pinches.

----

A dispatch from Mechanicsburg to the effect that Darnell will be returned, was received late today. An effort will be made to sell him to Ratsburg, in the Eastern League.

----

It seems probable that Frank Hutchinson will replace porter in the catcher's box, as Porter is not inclined to abstain from his habit of argument and eating, and it is feared by his team-mates that his obesity will not be sufficiently diminished in time for the opening game.

Arbor Day

2008-06-26T21:37:00.004-04:00

Another major landscaping expense came to fruition today. For several years we've ogled over Godwottery's copper trellises, arbors and lawn ornaments at the Boone County Gardenfest.
A few weeks ago, we bit the bullet and ordered a custom arbor to frame the south door. There are already climbing roses planted there, we just need to train them up and over.

For some reason, the Mrs wanted the copper to look "bright, shiny new." So she employed the kiddos to rub it all down with steel wool. She'd really like it to stay shiny and not tarnish but that isn't happening.

It was also recommended that the posts be buried in concrete but that just seems like a pain when she decides to move it somewhere else. So I just dug four holes about twelve inches deep to set it in place.
If you're interested in purchasing your own lawn ornamentation, contact Loren Myer.

Open Another Window

2008-06-23T19:15:00.000-04:00

Ever since we purchased the house five years ago, the three windows on the stair landing have remained shut. The PO, for what ever reason, had decided to seal them closed. After several hours on a ladder with my trusty scraper, two of them now open.
Now they weren't just painted shut, no! They were caulked, nailed AND painted shut. For a while I thought the best way was to remove the glass then tackle the frame, just because the glazing was so bad. But eventually they worked loose.
The funny thing is that even after they barred the windows, the owners kept the screens. So at least I have them to put in while I'm glazing the windows.

Carousel of Progress

2008-06-20T19:37:00.003-04:00

Just got back from hot and sticky Florida where we were visiting a large rodent and his Magic Kingdom =)
One lesser promoted attraction was the Carousel of Progress located in Tomorrowland. It was first presented by Walt Disney at the 1964 World's Fair and depicts all the great advances made in the 20th century. The hook is that the audience spins around a circular stage rather than the set changing, thus acting like a carousel.
It's not as thrilling as the roller coaster rides, but as an old house lover it was fascinating to see all the changes in architecture, decor and styles of living. I've often thought our electric was a great illustration of the various wiring methods through the years. In the 1920's part, it was fun to see knob and tube wiring strung down the wall and cloth covered braided cords plugged into the ceiling lamps since wall outlets were not available. And they even blew a fuse! (Know how that feels?)
Of course the whole experience is sensory overload, but one other detail that caught my eye was the progression of British architectural styles in the United Kingdom shops at Epcot. In just four rooms they presented Tudor, Baroque, Elizabethan, and the Arts and Crafts styles. I have a feeling most people only see the trinkets on the shelves and miss the larger illustration.

How To: Install Steel Edging

2008-06-03T09:28:00.003-04:00

The first step was to plan. Measure. Change plans. Draw up the plans on graph paper. Discuss the plans with the Mrs. Erase plans. Argue. Redraw plans. And finally COMPROMISE. (Don't forget that last step, it's the most important!)
Then if you're like us, once the plans are agreed upon, we put off starting the project for several months. It could be due to lack of funding or just not motivated after all the effort put into the planning stage. But eventually the work begins:

Supplies
We used almost 125 linear feet of 14 gauge steel landscape edging purchased at the favorite big box. It came with pre-attached stakes and in varying lengths of 2, 4, or 8 feet. Also needed were a few corner stakes and end pieces.
Our pathway will be filled with pea gravel, so we also picked up 400lbs of rock while there.
Total cost of materials: roughly $200

Prep Work
After laying out the path, I cleared the are of any plant material, hauling it to the compost bin. This gave us a chance to walk the garden and see if we still like the design before committing to steel. Since the house doesn't sit square to the road, I did a lot of measuring and marking of sight lines making sure the perspective was right.

Installation
I started with one end and began snapping off the stakes for each piece as I was going to use it. Don't snap off all the stakes, just the ones you need, that way any unused pieces can still be returned.
Even though I had made careful measurements (even trying to remember pi to figure circle circumferences) things rarely match the diagrams perfectly. So by starting at one end and continuing around the entire outside edge, I could tweak the overall shape before committing it into the ground.
To get a nice two foot wide path, a scrap piece of wood cut to 24 inches helped as a spacer between the two sides.
Once everything was positioned, I used a scrap piece of wood to soften the hammer blows as I drove the steel into the ground. The edging was 4 inches tall and I drove it about halfway into the ground, knowing that it would get backfilled with the pea gravel. If you're using it beside an established lawn, you'll probably want it deeper to avoid the lawn mower blades.

Results
It took me about six hours to install all the steel edging but we had some elaborate configurations and I'm a bit of a perfectionist on the spacing. A simple lawn edging could take just a couple hours. We chose brown but the edging also came in green.

The final step will be laying the pea gravel. Perhaps I can rustle up some friends to help haul rock :)

Pictures

related articles: Product Tip

Pathway Project Pics: Corner Closeup

2008-06-03T09:09:00.001-04:00

edging closeup
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

Here's a close up of the corner. The two foot straight section off the front steps mirrors a similar configuration in the knot garden to the south.

Pathway Project Pics: Installed

2008-06-03T09:06:00.001-04:00

edging installed
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

Now you can see the edging in the ground. It will get backfilled with pea gravel for he path and compost for the flowers. It's hard to see but the path continues in another circle around the far tree.

Pathway Project Pics: The Supplies

2008-06-03T09:03:00.002-04:00

steel edging supply parts
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

Here's the steel edging we purchased. the stakes snap off both ends. We purchased fifteen 8 foot sections, one 4 foot section, one 2 foot section, two ends and six corners. Total cost was a little under $200.

Updated info in reply to Anonymous question: The stakes are attached at two points. I had to take channel lock pliers and rock the first stake back and forth until it snapped off. The second stake was easier after the first was removed. A couple times the stake would bend at the skinny end but a couple quick taps of the hammer straightened things out.

Pathway Project Pics: Before

2008-06-03T09:00:00.002-04:00

path cleared
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

You can see the new pathway cleared. It was like cutting a swath through the jungle!

Pathway Project

2008-06-02T08:30:00.000-04:00

It's June 1st and the summer projects have begun! First up is making a garden pathway. I really don't like mowing grass so I've been waging a war over the past few years to create more garden areas.
One place we've struggled is the front yard. In the concept of outdoor rooms, the front yard is more like a parlor - everybody sees it but it's not the most comfortable place. It all started with the knot garden, a formal arrangement that brought curves to a linear house style. After that concession, the Mrs conceded that a similar look would compliment the opposite side of the front yard.
So after clearing much of the topsoil and moving some plants, the first summer project has begun. The goal is to install steel edging with pea gravel for the walk. We decided to go with steel rather than brick like the knot garden. One reason is that there just isn't anymore spare bricks laying around and it would be too expensive to purchase enough brick. And another thought was that the type of plants in this area would crowd the edging blocking most of it from view anyways.

Remembering

2008-05-26T14:30:00.002-04:00

wipe down
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

Since it's Memorial Day, we visited the local cemetery where the POs are buried. Robert served in WWII, somewhere in the Pacific. That's where he learned photography. We left some irises on Florence's grave. They were the only flowers in bloom yet.
You can see how large her headstone is compared to a soon to be second grader.

A Little Edgy

2008-05-26T14:07:00.004-04:00

After clearing much of the garden pathway for the formal front garden, we find ourselves contemplating what edging material to use. In the knot garden, the path is pea gravel and the edge is brick. But all those bricks were just stacked up in the garage and came to us at no cost. (We did have to buy the house to get them but the roses alone made that purchase worthwhile.)
Do we continue the look and spend the money on bricks? Saw a nice metal edging in brown at Lowe's this weekend that was affordable. We're pretty set against plastic or cheesy looking stuff. And with 100 feet to edge, more than a couple packets will do.
One other thought was to mix our own concrete, add coloring and create a custom concrete edge. It seems to be all the rage among landscaping companies at the home shows.
So what do you think?

The Big Reveal

2008-05-21T21:26:00.006-04:00

I went to get the mail and there it was; the June edition of This Old House magazine. It's arrival is usually something to get excited about but this month's has been especially anticipated. Here's the whole story:
quite a while ago I posted a picture of my favorite putty knife on This Old House. No big deal, just a whim. Compared with monster power tools, who really cares about an old hand tool.
But then I received an email from Denise Sfraga, photo editor at TOH. They saw the putty knife online and wanted to use it in a future magazine. Would I be willing to ship the knife to NEW YORK CITY for a photo shoot? (Not me, just the knife) Well, of course!!!
Then began a string of emails and phone conversations. First a new gal called me (perhaps an intern?) gathering basic information about me and the knife. Then a couple follow up calls from the section editor. And finally the fact checking department weighed in. If nothing else, my knife had a thorough provenance investigation.
One time, I was working outside when the phone rang. The Mrs answered and then yelled out the door, "It's This Old House on the phone!" Both kids went nuts. They thought for sure that Norm was on his way to fix that one squeaky stair. If the boys ever did visit, there are many other gaping holes or primary systems that need attention before that one stair tread. And that stair comes in very handy at Christmas time.
A couple weeks ago, Denise returned the knife leaving me no more excuses to put off working on the windows; unless I get one of those glass display cases. Perhaps we could keep it on the mantle? The knife's return told me that the magazine had gone to the printers and would soon be on my doorstep.
So if you just happen to have a copy handy, on page 115 you'll find the infamous putty knife. No plans for a book deal or European tour, yet. Perhaps I should submit a photo of my screwdriver the dog used as a chew toy. It's not very ergonomic but it's got great grip!

Columbine

2008-05-18T20:55:00.001-04:00

columbine
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

many of our Spring flowers are in full bloom. The columbine seems to be sporting a deeper red this year.

front door color

2008-05-18T20:52:00.001-04:00

front door right
Originally uploaded by Meditechguru

here's a little bit of potted color the Mrs put together to help liven up the front entryway. Not sure about the bird on a stick but guess that's decorative :)

Boys of Summer: Broken Dreams

2008-05-06T20:43:00.003-04:00

It's been a rough evening. Started out with the boy deciding to lounge on the couch watching TV while the rest of the family worked outside. He didn't ask, just decided not to help out. So we had a little "talk". He ended up with a peanut butter sandwich for dinner while the rest of us ate at Hardee's (no big deal, he probably preferred it anyways).
But because the evening got off to a rough start, when he asked to go outside and play catch I couldn't turn him down. We spent about twenty minutes with some great throws and catches. Then it happened.
He decides to rear back and hurl the wild man throw without looking at where it's going. Where it went was over my head and through the garage window. If one of the cars had been in there they may have lost some glass too. Some days your patience really gets tried.

First Harvest: Rhubarb Crunch

2008-05-04T14:21:00.004-04:00

The crops are already coming in. I decided that this year I'm going to make better use of the rhubarb, more than just jelly that the family won't eat. Both plants are well established with several stalks. So after cutting off about four cups worth I composted the noxious leaves, rinsed off the dirt and baked some Rhubarb Crunch.

The recipe is from Helen Guyer and was found in the Dana, Indiana 49er's Club 1974 Home Cooking cookbook. Here's the recipe for you to try:

4 cups rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Dice rhubarb; add sugar and salt; place in bottom of 8" x 11" shallow baking dish.

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg

Stir above until crumbly, spread over rhubarb, sugar and salt. Melt 1/3 cup butter and spread over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool. Top with whipped cream.

Don't Fence Me In

2008-05-04T14:13:00.004-04:00

Spent the day pulling out a fence row on the old family farm. Winds were steady at about 25-30 mph. Bit chilly but still good working weather. I'm in the background working on digging out staples. Payment? A big country farm lunch with enough leftovers to carry over to dinner.

Back Home Again in Indiana

2008-05-01T22:23:00.004-04:00

I've been holding out on you. It's not that I didn't want to tell you, I just didn't want to jinx anything. But today the prodigal has returned home. You see, a few months ago I received an email from This Old House magazine regarding a tool I submitted on their website. They wanted to fly my putty knife to the Big Apple for a photo shoot. Not me, just the putty knife. (I honestly expected to see it appear on Letterman or at Yankee Stadium) And so today, after a long stint in the big city, my heirloom tool has returned. After the magazine hits newsstands I'll give you the full story.

Opening Night

2008-04-26T07:08:00.004-04:00

After weeks of building set and wrestling with electrical issues, the kids finally pulled off opening night. The Wizard of Oz was a big hit. We had a sold out crowd and even opened up the bleachers for overflow(standing room only!) I'll try to recap some of the construction highlights.
First was the rake or ramped floor. Built in 4x8 sections that could be reused, they combine to provide a 24. diameter semicircle. The straight edge runs flat with the front of the stage and the center back has a max height of 12".
Then came the cyclorama or half circle wall. Built from plyrood and 2x4 studs, the cyc provides a dramatic backdrop and helps reflect the sound out into the audience. With limited lighting, a white background and brown floor (instead of the traditional all black) has helped illuminate the entire stage.
The set pieces were the next challenge. The script called for a rotating covered bridge. Reusing a plywood base with castors, we added 2x4 posts, cross bracing, and a roof. Painted the whole thing red and still continue to laugh at the absurdity if it. What's amazing is that it's the piece which made the paper!
Of course there has to be a house for Dorothy. Made from two flats and a platform that used to be a putting green (Uncle Henry can practice his short game right on the porch!) the addition of classic Victorian spindles and gingerbread give the house a familiar look. I even used the old screen door from the side of our house!
Act 2 provides its own challenges. We needed to switch back and forth between the Emerald City and the witch's castle. So rather than paint a lot of green, aluminum foil covers a partition made from spare doors. This allows the set to reflect whatever color is projected onto it. A shower curtain provides the display for the backlit shadow puppet of the "great and terrible OZ" and then doubles as the witch's magic picture.
Several BIG thank yous need to go out to Gary Varvel's art class who helped paint the set. Also his son Brett, who stayed with us until 2am on Wednesday working on lights. And BIG props to our two tech crew/stage hands. Yes, all the set movement, curtains and lighting effects is done by two stuents: Luke Petro and Jenna Cook. Great job guys!

First Cut Is the Deepest

2008-04-19T18:17:00.001-04:00

Dragged the push mower out of the garage tonight. There were some clumps of grass that were getting out of hand. Overall the lawn seems to be coming in ok. As usually there are "weeds" and other things not approved by the lawn chemical companies but I don't mind. At least it's not mud :D

Way Above Average

2008-04-09T23:08:00.003-04:00

While checking out my gas bill online I noticed a cool little feature that would compare my cost/consumption with comparable homes in the area. So after a short survey, my fears were confirmed - we live in a gas guzzler. At least I feel justified for dropping the thermostat down to 60 a couple weeks ago :D

Freebie Tree

2008-04-06T09:16:00.002-04:00

Went to the annual Gardenfest yesterday and got my free tree provided by Indiana Soil & Water Conservation's "Plant a Million Trees" Project. I opted for a Dogwood since we're on a town lot with limited space. The sapling is only about 18" tall but has several branches and a good root system. Since trees are so "permanent" today's decision about where to plant it is really big.

Now in Technicolor

2008-04-03T16:37:00.003-04:00

After several days of construction, today we painted the set for Wizard of Oz. Painting must be every one's favorite activity since over a several students showed up. They painted the wall white, the covered bridge red and a few trees bright green. We also brought several items out of storage to be used as props. It was a busy day. I'll post more details on the actual construction techniques in later posts. I need a nap right now - zzzz

A Different Rake

2008-03-31T19:59:00.004-04:00

It's Spring Break and I spent nine hours at school - but that's because I'm using the time to build the set for our musical, Wizard of Oz. It's an ambitious set design but one that I'm excited to be working on.
As with any school play, we have a very tight budget ($1000) and limited space: the stage is literally a box on the side of the elementary gym. So I decided to create a semi-circle rake with a half circle, curved wall behind it. The idea is to force perspective, making the stage appear deeper than its mere 24'. Remember, there's all of Kansas and Oz to be crammed onto that stage.
In the picture you can see the joists laid out for the rake. I built each section as an individual piece that could be reused on other productions. Here's how I built each section: two, eight foot long 2x8 boards were ripped on the diagonal, producing four joists. Add some 14" long blocking and nail a sheet of plywood on top. I was able to locate some "slightly used" plywood on campus so that helped with the cost. There were a couple odd shaped pieces added to make it more circular.
Several students showed up to help, but since none of them brought tools, there wasn't much for them to do. In the afternoon I started on the wall but will post more about that tomorrow.

Back In the Saddle Again

2008-03-29T23:38:00.003-04:00

Spring Break is finally here, and I can now focus on work around the house. It has been way too long. I'll probably regret it tomorrow but spent around six hours today cleaning flower beds. All that was finished was the knot garden, but it looks so much better - motivation to clean up the other beds.
I pulled all the black-eyed susan stems and cleared the leaves that had collected. The roses were pruned and fresh compost added.
Th three bin compost system is now in full swing with the fruits of two years being a full cubic yard of compost that has the color and consistency of chocolate cake. The second bin is well on its way and the third was cleared to receive all of today's clippings.
There is nothing better than dirty hands :)

A Grand Ending

2008-01-27T08:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the big AWANA Grand Prix (pinewood derby) race for the kids. This was my second year as commissioner and another great learning experience. We had 50 cars in three divisions (10 in Open, 24 in Sparks, and 16 in TnT). Here are some construction pics of my own kids' cars.
The boy wanted an Indy car - Andretti Green to be specific. I cut out the rough shape, he sanded and painted it black with white detailing. It eventually had a balsa wing on the back. He won 1st place in Design.
The problem we encountered was weight. Without adding anything it came in at 2.5 ounces, half the allowed amount. So I drilled through the center and ratcheted in a lag bolt making the silver head appear to be the engine. But that still wasn't enough. So we added a plate to the bottom but the screws that held it on were 1/10 of an ounce too much. Of course I was busy with registration so another dad helped him hot glue the plate on, but after one race it started dragging on the track.
The princess had a really creative design but unfortunately the judges didn't see it that way. I cut down the original block of pine and glued a piece of firewood on top. She applied a walnut stain and hot glued feather butterflies on top. It really did look like butterflies riding on a stick with wheels! She was disappointed to not bring home any trophy. Her car came in right at 5.0 ounces with no modifications. I probably could have worked more on the wheels to tweak out more speed but again, time was against me.
We used a Perfect-N system with each car running once on each lane. Points are awarded for finish order and the top eight from each division went on to a single elimination finals round. The turnout was great but with several people showing up early we didn't get a good chance to review with the volunteer staff their roles. That caused some confusion early on. And as usual my computer setup decided not to work, but all the data files were on flash drive so we jumped onto the Commander's laptop system. Lot's to mull over and consider modifying for next year.

New Year Libations

2008-01-01T19:19:00.000-05:00

There is nothing like ringing in the New Year with a house project, and this one includes alcohol! After celebrating with our neighbors, I went upstairs to get the kids' rooms ready and that's when I discovered the marks. The boy had been playing with a new toy that follows any thick black line drawn on paper. But he failed to realize it was bleeding though onto the wood floor. So shortly after midnight I pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a couple cotton balls and began cleaning the marks off. At least my cleanup job wasn't as big as Times Square :)

What's the Catch?

2007-12-08T06:17:00.000-05:00

The latch broke on the side door - inside the door. So every time the dog wanted out or in we had to lock the door just to keep it from blowing open. You see, we still have the original lock mechanism complete with drafty keyhole and with temps well below freezing it just isn't fun to wake up and find the door has been standing open all night.
So I removed the door knobs and pulled the mechanism from the door. When I opened it up, it was obvious that a tension spring had snapped in two. Where do you buy replacement parts for a 100 year old door? Trying to match the make at an antique store would be tedious and time consuming. So I opted to make my own spring :)
It appeared about the diameter of a standard paperclip. After twisting and shaping one it was curious to find that the old spring was also the same length as a paper clip. Perhaps I'm not the first to make such a repair!
While the lock was opened up, I hit it with a shot of WD-40; both for the lubricating effect and to slow down the rust. After replacing all the parts and screwing it back into the door, it works really slick.

Parker House Rolls

2007-11-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

Here's another little gem about the PO unearthed at the library. The following recipe for Parker House Rolls was found in the 1926 Presbyterian Cook Book, published by the Woman's Missionary Society.

1 cake Fleischmann's yeast, 1 pt. milk, scalded and cooled, 2 T. sugar, 4 T. lard or butter, melted, 3 pts. sifted flour, 1 t. salt.
Dissolve yeast and sugar in lukewarm milk, add lard or butter and one and one-half pints of flour. Beat until perfectly smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place one hour, or until light. Then add remainder of flour, or enough to make a dough and the salt. Knead well. Place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about one and one-half hours, or until double in bulk. Roll out one-fourth inch thick. Brush over lightly with butter, cut with two-inch biscuit cutter, crease through center heavily with dull edge of knife, and fold over in pocketbook shape. Place in well-greased, shallow pans one inch apart. Cover and let rise until light - about three-quarters of an hour. Bake ten minutes in hot oven. -- Mrs. Frank E. Hutchinson, Lora Lovingfoss.

The Hutchinson's were world travellers, so perhaps it was a desire to bring refinement and culture to something so common as a church ladies cookbook. Whatever the reason, the only recipe Jennie submitted wasn't even her own. A quick search led me to Boston's Omni Parker House who claims to have originated both Parker House rolls and the Boston Cream Pie in their restaurant.

Caution: Holidays Ahead

2007-11-23T20:48:00.000-05:00

Spent the morning sorting out the lights on the Christmas tree. I'm beginning to think the elves run around and jumble them up during the summer, rather than working ahead on next year's toys.
At what point does it become easier to purchase a new tree already strung with lights? It also appears that one out of every ten bulbs is burned out. Speaking of which, is it too early to be tired of all the holiday madness?

Old photo

2007-11-15T21:47:00.000-05:00

Found this photo in the Indiana History digital library. It's photo of the Hall Hardware store in Indianapolis, circa 1916. I know our heat deflector was patented in 1915 so it's quite possible that it came from this very store.

Hot Green?

2007-11-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

I can appreciate keeping our environment safe and being responsible for the world our children inherit, but does green have to be so cold? Sure the old gas lamps produced a lot of smoke but they also gave off heat. And those uncool incandescents, they gave us the easy bake oven. I have yet to have a fluorescent fixture cook me dessert. Come to think of it, if I switched out the electric saving 40 watt bulbs for a few 60's, I might be able to take my sweatshirt off a couple times this winter AND see where I'm going. Oh well, at least we can still light a few candles - I recycled some old crayon stubs and a broken shoe string:D

Heat Shields

2007-11-11T17:24:00.001-05:00

Heat Shields
Originally uploaded by Prairie Rose House

This is one of the heat deflectors that came with the house. The words read:
NEAL
pat 7-6-15
9-7-15
Hall Hdw Co
Indpls
The sides are pretty sturdy, maybe iron but the deflector is light weight, perhaps aluminum? I think the bulges on the side are to hold waterso that evaporation would help keep the humidity up.

Does anybody have a similar device or seen one for sale?

Yellow Maple

2007-11-10T15:25:00.001-05:00

Yellow Maple
Originally uploaded by Prairie Rose House

Walking back to the house I was struck by the way the yellow maple leaves were backlit by the sun. This tree is always the last one to lose it's leaves.

2007-11-04T14:50:00.000-05:00

I continue to be amazed at the popularity of my post about building a tree swing. Written two years ago, it's still receives the most hits. I noticed that someone read the article this morning from the middle of downtown Manhattan, NEW YORK! Are they going to put one up in Central Park?!?
I know the stat tracking software only recognizes the general location of the Internet server and not the actual end user, but still...perhaps a Spiderman wannabe? As I zoomed in the satellite map to see what lies between 34th and 35th street all I could recognize were taxis and buses running down 5th Avenue.
The closest tree appeared to be a block away on Madison Avenue. Two blocks to the east, there are several trees in the median of Park Avenue (one of the rich spaces in Monopoly) so maybe our humble swing was researched by Daddy Warbucks as a surprise for little orphan Annie!
I don't know who you are or why you're researching tree swings, I'm just glad you came to read my blog. So whoever you are in downtown New York, enjoy your new tree swing. Ours is still working great and hopefully you will get years of enjoyment from your swing too.

Raker

2007-10-28T13:02:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love yard work? I spent about an hour raking leaves and loved every minute of it. Now it might be a different story if I had a HUGE yard, but our is just the right size. I also find that raking several times over the course of a month is easier than one big bulldoze session at the start of winter. It seems to keep the leaves from killing spots in the grass too.

Bulbout

2007-10-22T21:22:00.000-04:00

Pfft. Dark. squeak, squeak. Oh, hello!
Changed a light bulb tonight.

Under Cover

2007-10-19T21:03:00.000-04:00

The two wrought iron lawn chairs needed new covers and so the Mrs had bought the stuff for it earlier in the summer. Well it's now the middle of October and we finally got the job done :)
It was a fairly simple reupholstering job. The seat bottom was a thick piece of press board that the old covers were stapled into. The new cushion is a piece of pre-cut foam that just needed the corners trimmed to match the rounded seat back. She also found an old orange, vinyl tablecloth (the kind with a thin layer of batting on the back) to use for the new cover.
I simply cut the tablecloth in half, wrapped it over the foam and stapled it to the bottom of the press board. It was sort of like wrapping a Christmas present, trying to get all the corners neat and even! In the end, the toughest part was getting the pattern on both seats to match. So now I'm not sure why it took us so long to get this project done.

Greenhouse Effect

2007-10-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

The great features of greenhouse design are failing me today. You see, we're having record highs near 90 degrees - in October! The wide overhanging eaves that are great for blocking the hot summer sun, just can't stop a steamy Autumn blaze. Guess I shouldn't complain, we'll revert to cold and wet soon enough.

Day At The Track

2007-10-02T21:48:00.000-04:00

Profuse apologies for the severe lack of posting lately, but having changed jobs and putting in 10-12 hour days while learning the ropes doesn't leave much time for more than changing light bulbs and taking out the trash. We did manage to salvage enough time to have a 10th birthday party for the little prince. Hard to believe he'll be driving in a few years! We took him and a few buddies out to Indy Slots for an evening of fun. No that's not an OTB facility, but model slot race cars. We spent about three hours there and had the large eight lane tri-oval all to ourselves. These cars are much larger than the HO scale we race at home and came complete with electronic timing. The boys had lots of fun and everyone took home a ribbon, but the birthday boy won the trophy.

Back To The Fifties Festival

2007-09-15T14:08:00.000-04:00

This weekend is the big 50's festival in town. Here are a few pictures from the day.

They block off three sides of the square (all the streets except the state highway) and several other side streets in town. Most are filled with antique cars while other are lined with vendors, politicians and community groups hawking all types of homemade goods or services. And since trailers are prohibited, there is a definite community feel rather than the usual overblown commercial junk.
Several local groups perform demonstrations such as the local karate class and the community band. But it's the antique cars that are the reason for the celebration. My favorite vehicle is the VW Camper. It's fully loaded and ready to hit the road. Just imagine cruising Route 66 in that beauty! I also like the snapshot of the multicolored line of Thunderbirds with the Courthouse dome in the background.
Other highlights are the Frito-Lay booth where they hand out free snack size bags of chips produced in the factory located just north of town. This year they were introducing a new line of healthy snacks called Flat Earth. The Apple Cinnamon Grove baked crisps were very tasty and supply half a serving of fruit in every ounce.
But for the boy, the real show stopper is the Lego display that the library sponsors. This year Brian Darrow returned with another amazing layout. His BlackTron Intelligence Agency layout takes eight hours to assemble and was constructed over four and a half years. Sounds like most of my weekend projects! Checkout more photos from his collection here or his video here. You can also see Brian's work during the Great Train Expo at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in October.
With blue skies and cool weather, it's been a fantastic weekend to recharge from the hectic pace of school.

We Have A Plan

2007-09-04T17:59:00.000-04:00

This is the design idea for the front yard, you know the one that EVERYBODY sees, the one we haven't really done anything with for six years. Each square on the graph equals one square foot. The scraggly tree is already there, we're just adding the gravel path to mirror the knot garden. Plants are still to be decided. Here's what we agree on so far: climbing roses against the house with black-eyed Susan's and obedient plants along the sidewalk. It may be next year before it all comes together. This weekend we ripped out a LOT of wildflowers and irises, some have been replanted elsewhere and others given away.

Suspended Rant

2007-09-01T20:28:00.000-04:00

Just recently I made my first and only eBay purchase. Not a week later, I received two spam emails through the eBay mail system and then a notice that my account had been suspended due to "safety concerns". I think I've been hacked.
I sent an email to customer service but just got a standard reply. You would think that if someone was spamming under another users account they would want to look into it. But no, guess I'm guilty until I can prove my innocence. So I'm cancelling my account. Sorry everybody but you'll just have to send it through freecycle.

Framing

2007-08-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago while trying to move a picture I accidentally dropped it, busting the glass and splitting one of the corners. It also left a gouge in the hardwood floor but I try not to think about that.
So the Mrs finally prompted me to get the picture fixed. First I had to remove the backing and all the staples holding the picture in. Then I carefully removed all the shards of glass. So now the frame was ready to be glued back together but corners, especially with moulding, can be difficult to clamp. That's where this fancy little doodad comes in handy.

I believe it really is a corner clamp. Whatever it's real name, it worked great. A couple hours later I was waiting at the hardware store for a new piece of glass to be cut and installed. It was rainy so there were several men hanging around, just chatting. Hopefully now I can get the picture back on the wall without breaking it again :)

Best Time To Sweep

2007-08-25T08:49:00.000-04:00

Do you know when it's the best time to sweep hardwood floors? When the humidity is over 80%. All that dust just clings to the floor making it much easier to vacuum or sweep. When it's dry, the dust just flies around but lately we've had great dusting weather.

It's So Hot

2007-08-07T18:11:00.000-04:00

that this morning when I went to get the milk, a fly flew inside the fridge and refused to come out! It took forever to shoo the thing out of there. The weatherman is predicting a record number of consecutive 90+ degree days. Nice. So I came down to the library where I can work on the computers in air-conditioning.
Sorry for the lack of serious posts but with school starting soon I've been rather busy. That and the heat. Did I mention how hot it is?

Hit 90 Today

2007-08-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

If the first week in August is unusually warm, the winter will be white and long. That's what the Farmer's Almanac said.

Day At The Museum

2007-07-31T22:06:00.000-04:00

Took a day off and took the kids to the Children's Museum. It's just a great place. We had to check out the new SpyMaker exhibit and the Magic Show was a BIG hit with floating assistants and a talking severed head. Egyptian mummies, scuba diving, trains, dinosaurs, and over 5000 Star Wars toys filled our day - and there were still three floors left unexplored! That's why we bought a season pass.

Weedy Weekend

2007-07-22T18:44:00.000-04:00

I figure I spent about eight hours pulling weeds this weekend. That's on hands and knees...pulling...one-at-a-time...every...single...weed. Plus the two hours spent burning brush. No wonder I'm so tired and sore. The sad part is I'm looking forward to going back to work Monday morning!

Motivation

2007-07-21T09:46:00.000-04:00

Here's just the thing I need to get me motivated to scrape paint outside on these HOT summer days: a Utilikilt. Here's how the company describes it:

The Workman’s was designed with the hard working man in mind. It comes in 12 oz. Duck cloth that feels just about tough enough to stop a nail gun. It features two exterior rear pockets and has two multi-chamber saddle pockets with room for all the nails, screws, tape measures, cell phones, wallets and beer bottles you could want.
The Workman’s also features “The Grip” retractable side hammer loop. This sturdy and adjustable loop can hold everything from a ballpein hammer to a DeWalt cordless drill no problem, and will keep even the biggest tool tight and secure all through your working day.
The Workman’s is sort of the mutant child of a Utilikilt and hardcore toolbelt.

The only drawback is my Scottish frugality's resistance the $200 price tag.

New Identity

2007-07-14T13:10:00.000-04:00

The daughter of our former neighbor stopped by to say hi and happened to mention a bit of info regarding one of our flowers. She said it's called False Dragonhead or Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana). Now our neighbor, before she passed away, had told us it was called Martha Washington's Plume but an Internet search proved that false. Her daughter indicated that she has some of the same stock and that it came from her grandmother's home near Hanover, Indiana. I'm always excited to correctly identify one of our heirloom plants, and to learn the heritage is just a bonus. The only disappointment was to learn that Obedient plants are part of the mint family, but that explains it's rapid spreading and will dictate its future placement.

Floral Arrangment

2007-07-11T21:56:00.000-04:00

The Mrs hosted a jewelry party last night so the past couple days have been filled with frantic cleaning and hiding of junk. But one particularly enjoyable task that fell to me was filling this basket with cut flowers from the garden. It was somewhat challanging since most of the blooms have yet to peak due to the current dry stretch.
Can you name all the flowers? There is Mint, Baby's Breath, Daisies, Coneflower, Black Eyed Susans and a few wildflowers that I have yet to identify.

Great Pair of Legs

2007-07-05T22:35:00.000-04:00

Their long, slender and only took two hours to get a hold of - yep, the folding table legs for the racetrack. After checking online, the only store that stocks them is Home Depot. Now I'm more of a Lowe's person but didn't have much choice on this one.
I also decided to call ahead, just to see if they really had any on hand. The operator looked them up using the SKU# from their website and found that sixteen should be on the shelf. But she transferred me to the department so that a sales associate could double check. Finally convinced my trip wouldn't be wasted, I headed in to town.
After wandering the store for 45 minutes and still unable to locate the table legs, I finally swallowed my pride and went to the service desk.
There I met Ashley. She was young and naive but cheerfully willing to help. She directed me to power tools where another young man offered sawhorse legs. When that failed he pointed me in the direction of storage items. Of course I had been through that aisle six times already and although there were folding table legs, they were already attached to round plastic tables.
So once again I ventured back to the front of the store where Ashley tried a different course of action. She actually looked up the item in the computer. We then trekked back to window blinds where a man answered my inquiry with "You called about those earlier, right?" I finally found the Wizard of OZ and he gave me a new pair of legs.
So if you're ever in Home Depot on the west side of Indy, and you need a pair of folding table legs, you can find them right next to the crown molding. Don't know why I didn't look there first.

Playing the Slots

2007-07-04T18:47:00.000-04:00

I just started a fun, hobby-type project - building a slot race car track. We had an old Aurora track growing up, the kind that connected together with pins and clips. But recently I was able to pick up a brand new Tomy AFX Giant race set. That's 62.5 feet of track! But even though the newer track is easy to assemble, it still takes a lot of time to set up and tear down. So I decided to make a more permanent layout.
Big kudos to HO Slot Racing's website. It provided most of the direction and help I needed.
The first step was to figure out how big a layout I wanted. I spent several hours designing a layout that had features both challenging and fair for lanes. Of course my first designs were HUGE but evntually I pared it down to five feet long and three feet wide. A standard table is bigger but I wanted to be able to stow it in the van in case we should ever take it somewhere and I already had some plywood that size.
The next step was to start building the table...

Excuses

2007-06-16T19:27:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a thing done on the house today, but I have a REALLY good excuse. The boy and I spent the day down at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway watching the F1 time trials for the US Grand Prix. Of course with all the foreign models speeding around the track, what's my kid attracted to? A yellow Corvette sitting in the parking lot. Hope he's not expecting one in about six birthdays, because we have a bathroom renovation to do before then!

Drain Plugged

2007-06-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

Remember the problem with the freezer a while back? Apparently the real problem wasn't resolved. The drain line was still frozen shut. So tonight I emptied the freezer, took all the access panels off and began the joyous task of chipping and blow drying the drain.
After an hour, it finally cleared. It appears that there is a bend in the drain, probably for cooling efficiency or something. But because the fridge doesn't quite sit level, the water was pooling and finally froze closed - sounds a lot like cholesterol! You would think that an access panel would have been provided to clean out the trap. At least we're back in business, and I only "had" to eat one Popsicle that was melting :)

Castles In The Sand

2007-06-11T06:02:00.000-04:00

That's the only thing I've been building lately. We just got back from camping at Indiana Dunes State Park.
We've been to the beach several times but never camped overnight. The newly renovated campground was very pleasant. Shower house and toilets were clean and the beach would have been a short walk away but the girl insisted on taking a "shortcut" over the dunes.
Hiking a couple trails, searching for shells and checking out the
Nature Center filled our stay. We also saw quite a bit of wildlife;
deer, heron, squirrels, chipmunk, raccoon, a snake, hummingbirds and
seagulls. If you like ecological variety in your camping trip, I recommend visiting the Dunes!

Exhausted

2007-06-02T21:38:00.000-04:00

We worked our tail feathers off today. Technically it's still Spring so I guess this counts as Spring cleaning. Basically we moved the older child's bed frame over to the younger kid's room so that we could finally put her box spring with the mattress. What it really meant was a total rearranging and thorough cleaning of both rooms. And each room still has a large pile of "stuff" to be sorted (toss or keep and if so where).
Another big project was the storage of all the school stuff. It's amazing how many supplies teachers buy and store for themselves. Somehow it fit in the basement but now we need to sort through all the displaced items before the next big flood.
At least the laundry room remains in order and we can now see the couch even though you couldn't sit on it :)

Bugs Beware

2007-06-02T07:47:00.000-04:00

How to make a bug catcher: Our youngest just loves bugs. She can often be found looking under rocks and chasing down butterflies, so of course she always wants another bug catcher for her collection. Here's an easy way to make one yourself.

You will need: an old, cleaned out peanut butter jar. (Our picky Mom chooses only Jiff so we have clear plastic jars with red screw on lids.) And an old piece of window screen.
Drill a hole in the middle of the lid. Take the blade off a coping saw. Thread it through the hole and reattach it to the saw. Now cut out the inside of the lid, about 1/4" away from the sides. Then cut the screen to fit inside the lid. There you have it, a homemade bug catcher.

Down Under

2007-05-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

We discovered that there really is a basement in our house. Who would have known there was so much space once all the junk was gone? Some of the boxes had been sitting there since we moved in five years ago.
Here's the "after" picture of the basement. Notice how you can see the walls and floor? We spent $84 on plastic storage boxes from Wal-mart and they will be stacked against the wall, filled with clothes. The plan is to swap out summer and winter clothes in the same totes.
So what happened to all the junk? Here it is, sitting in the living room. We're sorting it into garage sale, trash and keep piles. I can live with a little chaos, knowing that 80% of it will not be coming back into the house. That's the one rule: if it doesn't sell, then it's gotta go.

Arbor Day

2007-05-23T05:54:00.000-04:00

Today I fought the climbing rose on the arbor. It was a close call but I think I won despite several scratches and thorn pricks. Several sections were dead, not having survived the late snow.
This rose blooms once, around mid-June with clumps of smaller pink flowers. So the best time to prune is in July after the blooms are spent. Last year I kind of let it go, because it blooms on the previous year's growth. Now it's a bit overwhelming. I think later this summer I'll really cut it back to a few organized branches.

Frozen Pipes

2007-05-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

Not usually a problem in May, but I did spend some time yesterday clearing the ice from a frozen water line. It didn't have anything to do with our plumbing, instead the defrost drain line on our Whirlpool fridge had frozen closed.
The result was that during the defrost cycle, all the water was collecting on the bottom of the freezer instead of running down to the drain pan where it should evaporate. This has apparently been going on for a while since the freezer floor was a solid sheet of ice. What tipped us to the problem was the water running down the cold air vents into the fridge where it collected in the crisper drawers.
I'm not sure what caused the drain line to freeze up in the first place. At least it looks nicer after clearing all the ice and wiping down the freezer. I'll probably pop the cover off again in a couple weeks to see if the glacier is returning and if so, we'll need more exploratory surgery to identify the cause.

Play Ball!

2007-05-12T08:47:00.000-04:00

Last night was Employee Appreciation night at Victory Field. "Recognized as the 'Best Minor League Ballpark in America' by prominent publications such as Baseball America and Sports Illustrated."
We enjoyed a close game - lost by one in the ninth, and fireworks afterwards. The weather was fantastic; cool breeze, partly sunny but not too hot. We even saw some family that just happened to have seats in the same section. You couldn't have asked for a nicer way to spend an evening.

Mending Fences

2007-05-10T21:52:00.000-04:00

Once again the pooch's zealous jumping on the front fence has produced nasty results - a board fell off the front gate and some of the slats along the front popped out. The unfortunate problem is that I only have inch and a quarter long screws and that's why it's not holding up to eighty pounds of pouncing.
A quick check of the clock told me that the local hardware store closed in five minutes, so I dashed up there. After a hasty purchase of two inch long screws I was back in business. Now I may have gotten a little carried away with the drill but the fence is not coming apart anytime soon.

Burnin' Down The House

2007-05-09T17:41:00.000-04:00

Went to plug in the fluorescent light in the laundry room and all I got was a slow hiss followed by a large plume of white smoke. It stank too. So I unplugged the light and worked on the laundry with just the single incandescent bulb to illuminate my work. Guess I'll have to get another cheap shop light from Wally World.

Here We Go Again

2007-04-30T21:37:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-28T21:08:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-28T20:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-24T21:21:00.000-04:00

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.