I would love to comment to all the posts above, but I can't so far as I am very limited on time. I'll catch up by tomorrow, I'm sure. I'm too busy lugging bricks to the house. WooHooo! Thank goodness my hubby is able to help. It's not that many, but I am sure out of shape. LOL

~Angela

EG, a big old bag of...manure? Rabbit pellets?

I sprinkled rabbit pellets (alfalfa) all over my mesclun bed after I planted the seeds, and it sure is growing well. Some make a "tea" out of the pellets, so they can spray it on the plants for their immediate use, but it's messy, stinky stuff. I'd rather scatter! It works well on nitrogen loving plants, and maybe everything else as many use it in their rose beds. The pellets are pretty cheap. We buy 50 pound bags of them when we are in AZ, to feed all of our wild bunnies, and pay about $11 a bag. I'll have to try them in my lettuce containers this fall, maybe it will help get those greens growing.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

EG - the lettuce looks like boston or bibb. I don't think the packet named it anything I recognized but that's what the picture looked like. Also, getting the "nod" from you about my proposed bed design/function means a lot to me. :)

Thanks folks for the kind comments about fostering. It will be a while. I have issues with money and food abuse that I don't want to pass on to another. I am getting help, and part of that help is from my veggie-lovin' buds here! ;) (Since we're being honest.)

I'm off the 'puter for the night. (I'm never on for long anyway...not a bunch of patience with tech.)

L

Medo - Cool! If I were guessing, your frost line for your area is somewhere between 12 and 24 inches. People that live farther up north have to set posts 4 ft deep, like in Canada, and places like that.

Granny - No. No,no,no......I don't have a big bag of doodie. I would like to get my hands on some rabbit poo- figuratively speaking. I may have to see if someone I know raises rabbits.Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Laura - if you ever need my help with building anything, i'm always here. You be sure and take some pictures of your fall veggies. We love pictures. Well....ok, I love pictures! I take pictures of anything that will be still long enough. lol. Hey Laura, what part of S.C. do you live in? The reason I ask, is because i've worked at several places there, and also have relatives living there, as well.

EG

EG, I wasn't referring to the pellets that come out of the BACK end of the bunnies, I was referring to the alfalfa pellets that come in a 50 pound bag at the feed store, that go into the FRONT end of the bunnies! Bunny doo is really good, too...non-burning. But the alfalfa (feed) pellets are just a mild source of slow release nitrogen.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Laura -

1. Joining Freecycle is a great idea. I did that here, and it has a lot of stuff that is posted to the group. It's harder to get stuff, though, because it's snagged up really quickly. That's why I look at Craigslist.org first.

2. As for fostering and adopting, many fosterchildren end up getting adopted, but it is a long and drawn out process, that's for sure, and of course, there's no guarantees. That being said, my mom's last fosterparents had her all the way through her teens and through graduation. They wanted to adopt her, but for some reason that never officially happened. They were very close, just as family would be, even after my mom left their house. In other cases, the kids are awarded to the state and then adoption can be offered to fosterparents. It's not as hard to adopt through the foster system as it used to be.

3. I'm glad your lettuce is coming up great. Mine is really cute right now, too! hee hee The idea for the temporary bed sounds fine. I'm just not sure I would put Mel's mix in for a rose bed, just because of the cost. If it were cheap enough, then go for it. I might use cheaper compost instead for the flower beds if it were me.

EG - Thanks for offering your assistance with my new brick beds. My big dilemma right now, is I hate that ugly mortar on some of them. I am pain-stakingly knocking it off of some, but this will take way too much time to do for the whole garden. Do you know of anything that would loosen this stuff up, so I could more easily get it off?

Granny - Great tip on growing cauliflower. I am definitely going to try that. Also, it's so cool that your DH was so helpful in the garden! How very sweet. My poor husband was almost worked to death today, so I have some "appreciation" to show real soon. LOL

Medo - I love your plan for getting those posts in. hee hee It's nice to see your husband helped you in the garden as well. I love those "thought smacks". I do that a lot here, but when I do it (being Italian and all), I do the smacking by waving my hand back and forth pretending I'm really smacking him * whack - whack - whack * hahahahahaha... that's how he reads what I'm thinking... kind of hard to hide it when you speak with your hands so much! LOL

~Angela

Laura - That's great that you're seeking help for some problem areas. It just shows how serious you are about being a great parent when you get the opportunity to. We're here for you. (((hugs))) Just don't wait until you're perfect for it, though. If we all did that, no one would be having any kids. I'm sure you'd already make a WONDERFUL parent, and I'd even venture to say that you'd be a better one than most have these days if you think about it.

EG & Granny - It's funny you say that, EG, about getting your hands on the poo from someone's rabbit. With all the talk Granny has been sharing with us about her rabbit, I've seriously been considering owning a pet rabbit and feeding it greens from the garden. I think it's a marvelous idea, Granny, so thanks for sharing!

Granny - That's really interesting about the alfalfa pellets. Would they be appropriate for an all organic garden? Also, it's very interesting that bunny doo isn't burning... hmmmmm... I best hurry and find myself a pet rabbit! The kids have wanted some kind of pet for a long while and this would be our first. :-)

~Angela

EG - I live in Lexington, SC, which is in the Columbia area. I know you're in Alabama...makes me think of that Lynrd Skynrd song. Love that song. :) Whereabouts? Although I don't know much about AL except fot the Vulcan statue that I always looked for on the way down to Florida as a kid from TN, Redstone Arsenal where my sister spent some time (basic? or perhaps other training) while in the Army, and of course all that gorgeous RED CLAY!! :)

Angela - such sweet and encouraging thoughts from you! Yeah, I am aware of how perfectionism can stall a person (GUILTY!) and I'm thinking that Sean and I need to just sit down and make a plan (with flexibility of course because we all know sh*t happens!).

With the 3-day weekend, I would like to get that temporary bed built! I think the soil will have elements of Mel's Mix but Angela, you're right...too expensive for a temporary bed. :)

My boss asked what I was doing this weekend and I mentioned housecleaning because I'm thinking of having a little soiree next weekend and he said, "and Gardening." And I said, "that's a given!" :)

Y'all have a good 3-day weekend!

Yes, happy Labor Day weekend to all! It's been several years now since my brother passed away. (Yes, I still love him despite everything.) He passed away on Labor Day weekend, though. He was killed by a drunk driver. So, be safe, have fun, and designate a driver if you've had too many... or just party at the house so there's no need to drive. ;-)

Laura - That's great. I do hope you sit down and make that plan with Sean. Also, I hope that temporary bed gets done this 3-day weekend. Such a fun and busy weekend, except for the cleaning part. LOL

I have some school stuff to catch up with for the kiddos, loads of cleaning since my husband didn't do a thing while I was gone in Dallas with Hannah, picking up the last of the bricks we didn't get yesterday, and hopefully there will be some time leftover to garden more than just watering the current plantlings. Wish me luck!

~Angela

Granny - Oh.....I see. And yes....the rabbit poo can be put in the garden, without fear of burning plants up from too much nitrogen. Hey Granny...hee hee. I did "something" this morning, with a big bag of "something", in my lab. I'm gonna get you that photo tomorrow! It's gonna be the greatest photo of all time! You'll wanna save this one..lol

Angela - it's all about tools....if I had to get the mortar off of some used bricks, I'd find somebody that had an air compressor and a pneumatic chisel. If you had those 2 things, you could make that mortar your b&%$h, laughing the entire time. If you don't have access to those, you can go to the big box stores, and buy a wide,thin blade chisel for use with a hammer. Be sure to wear safety glasses!

Laura - I've worked in Columbia one time, at a company called Carolina Wine and Beverage. I was working on the ammonia refrigeration system there. It was the most alcohol i've ever seen at one time, one place. I got to go by the USC football stadium one day! I was like "Woo Hoo!" I have a football stadium fetish. lol. The farthest i've ever traveled to see one was Berkeley, Cal. I've got photos!!!!
I live in Russellville, but work in Muscle Shoals - like in the song "sweet home Alabama". The verse goes..."In Muscle Shoals they got the Swampers"....
Redstone Arsenal is where the high tech military weapons are designed. They made the cruise missiles, and stuff like that. Yep, we got lots of red clay!

Angela - so sorry about your brother....I've worked in and around Dallas ALOT! I know the DFW area pretty good.

EG

Angela, think long and hard before buying a rabbit IF you want it as a house bunny. They are not always the sweet, cuddly little creatures they profess to be! I have a Netherland Dwarf, and they are not known to have the best temperament. We've had the little guy for more than six years, he's been spoiled rotten, and we still can't hold him! He's as wild today as the day we got him, when he was only 6-months old. So make sure yours is a "people" bunny. Another thing is the smell. The poo doesn't stink a bit, and they are very easy to train to a litterbox, but the pee odor is horrendous. Worse than cats by far. And I don't care what you use in the bottoms of their litterboxes, nothing manages to control the smell. We finally resorted to a non-clumping kitty litter which helped somewhat, but even then it had to be changed at least 3 times a week. Cookie used to have the run of the entire house, so we had three litterboxes in strategic places for him. After we bought the two doxie pups (April 5) he had to be confined to one room via a baby gate, so he now uses only one litter box and it is NASTY!!! but he is adorable, and when he does occasionally let me hold him, he has the sweetest little ears for kissing, and the freshest smelling soft fur for brushing my cheek against :-) With care, you can get one that would make a wonderful pet....they aren't all anti-social. But no way can you find one that doesn't have stinky pee.

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Yes, the rabbit pellets are organic. it's just ground up dried alfalfa, and alfalfa is a plant that fixes nitrogen into the soil just like peas and beans. Google "alfalfa tea" and you'll see how widespresd the use is. It's made from the rabbit pellets (the edible ones, not the pooped ones). The tea is made by mixing the pellets with water, letting it sit outside in a jug until it reeks, then spraying it on the plants. It works faster that way, but I just scatter the pellets and let them dissolve on their own.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Ahem.....Granny. Over here....hee hee. EG's been busy this morning. hee hee. I couldn't wait any longer..tee hee. OH BOY!!!!! I bet your windowsill doesn't look like this! You know what you have to do....it's right down there. hee hee. "Click".....

EG

Here is a link that might be useful:

OH! OH! OH! EG, I'm so "jell"us! I can send you my address if you want to get rid of some of that garden gold. I was just telling Mr. H that I think I'm going to have to dig out my canning jars (haven't used them since the last kid left home) and begin making jams, jellies and pickles again. Next year.

In the meantime, I have to figure out what I want to do with this:

LOVE your little Granny sign. LOL

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Hey granny - that's a whopper of a zucchini! You could club somebody with that.lol. I'm glad you liked the picture! The little chef just got back from Mardi Gras! See his beads? He must have showed somebody his melons....The little guy on top of the pear preserves (yummy!) was listening to his little ipod.... I could barely hear the song playing from his earphones. Hee Hee....the song was..."Go EG, Go EG, it's your birthday, it's your birthday.." hee hee Also, i'm glad you liked my sign....told you it would be a special picture...

EG

EG, your birthday is in May. Same day as my youngest son's and one of my granddaughters. What are you doing, trying to get birthday presents twice in one year?

OK, who showed their hooters at Mardi Gras? You or your wife?

I was honored to be honored by your sign.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

EG - what are you...superhubby? You build, you garden AND you make jelly??? Not that I'm complaining about mine. He helped me work out the dimensions of my new raised garden and we shopped for the materials. Now the garden will be permanent but not square. (Folks, welcome to my ever-changing mind! It helps me to think well on my feet but I can't stick to one plan to save my life.) I just had a long paragraph trying to explain the space, but I was boring *myself* rereading it so I'll just have to get out there and take a picture when we're at a place where you can see the shape of things. Anyhoo!!!

I bought another yard of compost yesterday, but called my son to come over to unload this one, Mr. H said he was too sore from the previous day. It looks as though I'll need a bit more, so I'm going to just get another yard and pile up what I don't use for next spring's addition to the beds.

I griped about how difficult it was to form a planting bed with no boards to hold the compost in place, and Mr. H said I might as well go get the %*^#! boards, that I always did what I wanted to anyway. Thanks a lot, Mr. H. Why didn't you say that BEFORE I spent a day trying to level those beds?

laura729, I'm always changing my mind, too. Now I think next year I'll plant potatoes where I was going to plant corn. We can buy really fresh corn, a few ears at a time, and If I plant it I'll get too much all at once. Potatoes will keep until I need them. The only problem with that is that I wouldn't be able to use that bed for raspberries in the future, which is what I really had planned on, so I'll probably change my mind yet again.

Also, laura729, I think sinfonian is pretty handy in the kitchen, too. Maybe we got short changed just a little tiny bit in the husband department?

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny..hee hee, it's a song....I just changed the words to it. Some on here will know what i'm talking about. About the presents....hhmmm...there's an idea! I'm not telling on the beads!

Laura - I've been making jelly for many years. Me and and Dad always made it every year, until he got to where it's too difficult for him to do. Now, I just do it by myself. So far this year, i've made 28 quarts of pickles, 30 jars of blackberry jam, and 7 jars of pear preserves. There's nothing like homemade stuff! Anyway, I can do MANY things. I can't be still for very long, and have to be designing, building, or fixing something all the time. Really!

EG

angel, that's cool. the part italian and all, i'm part indian and part german, so that makes for a really hot temper at times!!! LOL funny thing is...hubs has part german and part indian, LOL almost the same amounts LOL but he has different kinds. LOL

eg-i went to lowes and got some landscaping fabric. i only found the 3'x100' so i stuck with that one. or i coulda went with the 300' but that's much to rich for my blood!! WHEW!! ok, now i do have a question. right up your alley actually!! i have a gh, and when my brother started putting it together he didn't make sure it was level. so now i have to do that part. WOO HOO :'( so one neighbor suggested i put a 10' x 10" treated wood to the front. only it would be kinda exzpensive to me. my dad said i could go ahead and get it level again, and then have dirt hauled in to level it out, and then block the sides so that the dirt won't come out. like when it raines. ok. what's your thoughts??? ~Medo

EG -

1. Thanks for the tip. I figured that a chisel was my best bet, too. I was just hoping there was a magic pill. That was hilarious thinking about the compressor version.

2. Dallas is about six hours from us. We're going back again on wednesday and coming home on thursday after my daughter's appointment. I never would have guessed you work there a lot when you don't live in Texas.... small world, huh?

Granny - Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww... what a cutie pie your bunny is! Also thanks so much for the all the detail you put in your post. I absolutely must have a social one... yours looks so cuddly, I'd never guess that it isn't letting you hold it.

~Angela

Medo - Is the greenhouse already assembled, and needs to be leveled? Or has it been assembled to a point, and it's been determined that unless it's level - it won't go together right? Either way, I can help you....no problem. I'm very good at stuff like that. I have a 12 ton jack, and when I was building the house, my wife decided that the 6"x6" post supporting part of the upstairs flooring was in the wrong place. So, I took my little 12 ton jack, and raised the entire upstairs flooring about 1/2". Then I moved the post where she wanted it. lol. She 'bout crapped! Anyway, I think what your Dad was suggesting was to level the building with something rigid, then back-fill with dirt, and put something in place to keep the dirt from washing away. I have some more questions, before I can properly assist you.

1. What material is the flooring constructed of?
2. How high off of the ground is the building?
3. Is the building in a spot that collects water from rains?

EG

1. dirt.
2. ground.
3. no
right now its just the frame, and only not the top part. as in the frame to the top, just not the pitch. its the 10x12 by harbor freight. i didn't want any kind of flooring in it so i could keep it nice and warm in the winter. and use them big barrels and fill them with water and let the water heat it at night. i am also thinking of caulking all the panes so no air will get in. i want it to be as air tight as it can be. we had it leveled befor. LOL then when we mowed, hubs knocked the blockes out of the way. errrr!!! LOL "smack" LOL dang man!!
it is on a gradual slope! so i'm ok. i do know that i need to get a move on it. LOL its almost sept!! and fall is here!! ~Medo

Medo - I think you should first place blocks under the appropriate corners, making the whole thing level. From what you are describing to me, at least 1 corner will be sitting directly on the ground...maybe even two. Once you have the whole thing level, send me a pic of it viewing the sides that are off the ground, and i'll help you determine which permanent method would be most beneficial for the situation. Measurements of space between ground and leveled building would be helpful to decide which materials would work best, and be least expensive. :)

EG

I'm kind of that way too, EG. We bought an older mobile home in AZ, on 7 lots about four years ago, and I have been working at renovating it each winter. Whoever set the mobile in put on plywood skirting, then built the soil up around it to floor level....didn't even bother to put the plywood under the drip edge, not to mention it wasn't treated wood, so you can imagine the condition it was in. I, almost single handedly (two neighbors, even more elderly than I, did help occasionally) dug a trench 2-1/2 feet deep by 3 feet wide around two sides of the 12'x65' mobile, removed the rotted skirting, replaced it with exterior OSB wrapped in weatherproof paper, backfilled and then built a patio, walkways, rebuilt the stone retaining walls and extended them further around the peremiter. I did all this by myself, Mr. H helped only with the actual installation of the skirting (it took one to hold it in place while the other one screwed it in). I used concrete pavers for the walkways, grouted them in with redi-mix concrete that I had sifted the rocks out of, using 1/4" hardware cloth. That was done on purpose, as I also had a use for the small rock. I just swept the dry concrete into the cracks and then misted it all lightly with water, worked quite nicely.

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Mr. H and his friend did a lot of visiting while I was working :-(

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Believe me, those blocks are HEAVY!

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The small rock, sifted out of the concrete mix, worked on the edges of the angled walkway.

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And when I was finished, I was rather proud of myself! Notice we also sided the carport...and we (Mr. H and I) did it as a team!

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny - that was alot of work! Good job! I worked on my drainage problem today. I dug a trench underneath the entire width of the bed - where the zucchini was located. The landscape fabric was left intact, I just tunneled under it. Then, I cut a 5 foot long piece of corrugated 4" drainage pipe (with perforations)and placed it under the bed, with the holes in the pipe facing up. I then covered the pipe with gravel, and backfilled with the dirt that was removed. I'm gonna try this, and see what happens. If it's not enough to keep it drained, i'm gonna install another one next year. I'll put a link to the picture of the work below.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful:

EG, I did that with my front flower bed this year. Our driveway drains into it, and the neighbor's sprinkler was coming over the fence, into our driveway and running into the bed until it was completely saturated (the guy thinks he has to sprinkle all night, every night). It got to the point where the water was backing up on our driveway and causing the concrete to crack. So I removed all the flowers, dug a trench and installed a 10 foot section of 4" drain pipe, holes facing up, then I covered that with screening material, the type you install over rain gutters, to help keep dirt out, then topped it with crushed rock. I ended up with about an 8" wide area of crushed rock and planted the flowers behind that. It has worked all summer, no more puddling on the driveway. It remains to be seen how difficult it will be to keep it cleared of pine needles, as it is situated right under the pine trees (and nobody here all winter to keep them cleaned up).

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny, you are an inspiration to me! I need to dig post holes and a trench (hopefully this morning, hence the early hour) to put my new raised bed in on a slope and I told him I'd do it myself and he looked at me funny. He helps a lot, but I'm the "digger" in our house. Really I am. You have to tell me to stop. ;) Now, Sean is the one who works best with power tools. I'm good with some but not so much the ones with sharp edges. I like to work fast (read: impatient), and you just shouldn't do that with sharp stuff, ya know?

see i just love this ot thread and forum!! woman who work and arent afraid to!!! LOL
i like that laura, i'm the same way, i shovel, and use some power tools, i'm kinda afraid of the chain saw, but the others i'm not so afraid of. but i'll use the heck out of!! LOL i use the drill lots, circular saw. i have to or if i wait on hubs it'll never get done, he works all the time. now i'm teaching tabor to use them properly. ummmm....my way!!! LOL i hope its properly!! LOL but i teach him to use the glasses and such. LOL

granny, my goodness, why didn't you just go over and ask him to move it over a little and tell him all his overflow is coming into your yard and flooding your plants and cracking your cement?? you are much too nice!!
but i sure do love how you get in there and work your buns off and just get er done!!! LOL

eg, i'll get that done, then take the pic and show ya, its on the north side, it was the only side that was open. that has good sun!! LOL hmmmm....anyone seen msyoohoo or carol?

laura729, I'm also the power tool user in our household. In fact, I just bought myself a new power miter saw to take to AZ, so I wouldn't have to pack my old one (that I bought myself for my birthday YEARS ago) back and forth. Last year I bought myself a battery operated hand saw, and it is the greatest thing! I use it mainly for pruning trees and big old creosote bushes on our AZ property, which is about 99% natural desert vegetation that has to be kept under a bit of control. It also has a metal blade that cuts right through metal T-posts when my fence line isn't exactly straight ;-)

I have always done all of our household and yard maintenance. But I have to keep Mr. H around to open jars for me, LOL! I have absolutely no strength in my hands, and the older I get the worse it is...gnarly old arthritic hands.

Last winter I even learned to build rock walls. Here is a photo of the old mobile just before we bought it (excuse the quality, it was a "drive-by shooting")...note the bucket covering the hitch, and the rickety rail on the front porch:


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Then I had the digging and skirting replacement:


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And the end result, complete with a drip irrigation system for the plants. Mr. H built a nice railing around the front porch and removed the old mesquite tree while I was renovating the inside:


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The INTERIOR was fun, too *g*

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

EG - GREAT job! I love the pic and agree that the little "Granny" sign was just the right added touch! So, you also have pear trees, too, huh? I'm jell-ous, too!

Granny -

1. I just showed your bunny pic to my husband. He and I both did not realize that was a real pic at first. I didn't tell him anything, and he thought it was a drawing. I told him that was your pet, and he had to do a double-take to realize that it was a real pic rather than a cute drawing.

2. Great looking zucchini!

Laura - I would have loved to be "bored" reading about that new permanent bed! I'm so excited for you that you don't have to do a temporary one after all! Way to go on changing your mind on that one! I'm looking forward to the pic when you can get us one.... Well, I thought I could be patient, but I can't stand it... so it's not square... what shape IS it? LOL

~Angela

Granny -

1. Wow! Mr. H allowed you to get the boards! WoooHooo! I understand it feels like a lot of wasted effort for that day, but you KNOW you're excited! hee hee

2. Why wouldn't you be able to use that bed for rasperries (LOL) after planting potatoes in it?

3. Wowweeeeeeeee, girl! That is an awesome job you did on the house and the carport! I really like how it turned out. It's amazing that you headed all that up without DH doing most of it. I'm the handy person around here as well. My husband, Steve, just doesn't have the desire to do anything like that. It's hard to get him to do anything like that. If I have it all planned out, though, he'll help.

EG -

1. It's neat that you and your dad made jelly together for so long. I wish I had memories like that, but at least my kiddos will!

2. That looks like a lot of work with the garden repair. I sure hope it works for ya.

~Angela

Angela, he's real alright *g* Here are a couple of my favorite pics of him (click to enlargen).

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Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Medo -ok, just let me know when you get the photo, and i'll take a gander at it.

Angela - We have 2 small pear trees that are in their 3rd year, but they only produced maybe 15 pears this year - not enough for making pear preserves. A large bag of them was given to me from a friend....and you know me - I had to make the good stuff!!!Woo Hoo! Me and Dad came up with our our technique, and just started making all kinds of stuff. I'll always have those memories for the rest of my life. He still enjoys eating it, even though he can't help make it!The garden repair wasn't too difficult...my cat helped me. lol. It should work. I'm glad you liked my little photo for granny. I figured a special granny deserved a special picture.

EG

Angela, potatoes carry the same diseases as raspberries (and tomatoes). If they were to contaminate the soil, the new berry canes could be infected and that's not a chance I'd care to take.

Medo...We are WOMAN!!! When we bought our property in AZ, we had planned on moving the old mobile off of it and putting in a newer double wide. However, I had to do some cleaning and painting just to make it temporarily livable, and I had so much fun with the renovations that I got carried away. Now, four years later, I love the old place and don't want to replace it! Here is some of what I (yes, I...not we) have done (can't hire anyone to help in this tiny town, couldn't even get someone to install carpet and/or vinyl flooring, so I learned to do it myself).

Click to enlarge.

Kitchen before & after:

Small bedroom before & after (second renovation, first was yellow & white...all that "sunshine" kept me awake:

Small bathroom before & after (Mr. H did install the new sink & toilet):

Living room before & after (that's Mr. H center, with sellers). Mr. H picked up a paintbrush for the very first time in this room, and painted the ceiling. I never let him touch a paintbrush again LOL:

Larger bedroom before & after:

Main bath...can't do anything about that ugly olive green tub & surround, so didn't do much here!

Have I bored you all to death yet?

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny -

1. Oh, heavens! That bunny is SO cute. I wish he were also the cuddley kind... I hope to find a bunny who is as cute as he is and cuddley, too!

2. No, you haven't bored me at all! It's amazing to see how much you've done with that place! Way to go! I've thought numerous times about buying and old mobile home that needs some work and just paying cash for it and fixing it up. We live in a wonderful two story home, but it would be a terrific paid for rental in no time, so this home could be an income property and the other could help us be rent-free or mortgage free really. It's just a thought, but I bet we stay in the two story as ours because we're spoiled, and it's wonderful. Plus, now that we have four kids, having enough room to get away from them every now and then is an issue. LOL

~Angela

Perhaps we should start a new forum altogether...anyone know how to do that? We can call it: WOMEN WHO DO IT ALL. ('cept that I don't really. My hubby does a LOT...I just come up with all the crazy schemes and he does the math if I give him time, and then we both do the work if we both agree to it.)

EG - you can be an honorary member. ;)

yes you are woman!! :') you did a fantastic job!!
ok, now this is fantastic for me, i went and fixed my hp full disc on my recovery!! WOOO HOOO i have been working on it all weekend!! then my mom say's well medo whatchya doing?? i said well my fricken dang recovery disc is full and i have no memory left on it, she said well medo, why don't you go to the computer and check under there, maybe you can find what your looking for under it. i did and lo and behold i found it, so i went in and copied my one from 11/22/07 i know it was good. a full back up. and then i went and deleted the others. so now i have 82% free in there!!! WOOO HOOO I am getting better at this!!! :') so now i think i'm finally good to go!!! YEEE HAW!!!! ~Medo

laura729, I think we should let sinfonian in, too.

You know,that's really not a bad idea. There is strength in numbers...we could conquer the world!! OK, maybe not the world, but we could all pitch in on what color of blue to paint my garden pot. This bright blue just isn't working.

There was a picture in my paper today of a bunny, exactly like mine, laying on a child's stomach, outside on the grass. So there really are gentle Netherland Dwarfs, I guess, we just didn't get one of them. I held some at the fair last year, and they were sweet and cuddly. Mine came from a nice home, where they decided they couldn't handle him (they kept him caged, 24/7). He may not be sociable, but he'll have a good home with us for the rest of his life. Actually, they have an expected life span of 5-7 years, and he'll be 7 in October. But he has never been sick a day in his entire life, so he may be the exception...I think the oldest ever recorded lived to almost 12.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

that is awesome, so you may have a few years with the little guy!! and maybe a few to get to let him be more lovable!! LOL :') hmmmm.....maybe i can talk the hubs into getting a rabbit, there'd be one form of manuer i'd need!! WOO HOO!!! LOL then i'd just need 3 more, the bat thing didn't really pan out, so far!! so sad, and i really don't want the dog doo, that just grosses me out!! icky!! i could handle the pig poo!! LOL

~Medo

Granny - I'm thinking about sending a couple of my maintenance guys up there, and letting you train them for me! You're a whole lot more skilled than they are. lol. That was really nice what you put on your blog....I'm so glad that I've got the macho, manly thing going for me, or I probably would have boo hooed!You're awesome granny. When I grow up, I wanna be just like you. :) Also, i'd like to comment on one of your statements. Sinfonian should be included, he makes jellies, pickles, and stuff like that also. He's a super guy, and I really look forward to reading his blog when I get time...

Laura - Let me get this straight....you want me to be an honorary member of the "We are WOMAN" club? Oh god....blech. heh. that's funny.....I think it's a good decision to wait on your garden. A permanent garden has so many variables to consider, that it is best to plan for it. An old saying that I have is - "If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail". Your hubs does math? Cool! I love math. I use the different numbering systems alot at work - like decimal, binary coded decimal, hexadecimal, octal, etc.

Medo - so you finally got that pc fixed? Very good. How's that fall garden doing? I've got all of mine out, and so far, so good.

Angela - I picked another cantaloupe today, and also found some little holes bored into about three more. It's not a good sign. It's either the pickle worm, or melon worm. I'll put some photos on your thread later...

EG

I was rolling with the comment from you, EG, about the women's club that you and Sinfonian will be honorary members of! hahahaha I think it'd be hard for me to go with that one, too, if I were male. Although, I think it's wonderful how our women are so macho and all. hahahahaha

It's good to know that the bunnies like yours can be social ones and how long that they usually live, too. I am getting more and more interested in getting one. I think, if at all possible, I'll get a baby one that we can expose to lots of cuddling and love right away. I agree with Medo, that bunny poo is gonna be great for the garden! I'll have two kinds of poo if I play my cards right. I'm hoping for bunny and worm poo. I think that'll be enough for my garden.

I was all upset earlier thinking my Kentucky Wonder green beans were dying or something. They've had leaves that curled up black on the ends just since I moved them here, but today they perked right back up and are looking great. I guess they just had shock from being moved back here from my mom's house.

My lettuce got a bunch of rain, and they're still babies, of course. They're all stumped over and matted into the soil now. Poor things just look terrible. The rain has stopped so hopefully they will spring right back up. They just look so weak and sad right now. I hope they will be okay.

It sure is amazing how much I have to learn with gardening being that I've never had the opportunity to take part in it much at all. It's like I know nothing. I have no idea what any plant will look like or anything. It's just blowing me away to see how beautiful each plant is, etc. My squash are by far the biggest and healthiest looking plants out of everything so far. Maybe the "accident" cantaloupes could make a close second, though. I wish I knew what these squash tasted like that I planted. LOL It was so late in the season when I got seeds, that all I could get at first were green hubbard, buttercup (not butternut), and acorn squash. Just recently I found zucchini, so I went ahead and tried planting a couple of those but they aren't up yet.

~Angela

Medo - I noticed you updated your page, girlfriend! Great job! I also noticed you have an INSANELY long want list. That is SO cool. What you have to offer is abundant, too.

I saw that you had listed orange trumpet vine seeds. I have those plants here and have been looking for their seeds. Where on earth are they? I was starting to think you had to have a cutting to get it to go. I see that it's rooting itself all over my yard. I'm having to pull it like a weed actually, but yet I still see no seeds. Maybe I just don't know where to look? If I'm not careful these plants are going to swallow my 2 story home up whole!.... I do have vines that have reached the roof already.... SCARY!

~Angela

EG - LOL! Ok, so perhaps you and (I'm guessing) Sinfonian (and perhaps Canada Mike) wouldn't much care for being surrounded by estrogen with muscle. I'm LOL thinking about that! And yes, my hubby dern tootin' well better be good at math...he designs bridges! Although, much of that math is now done on computer but I believe he does understand it. He could in theory do wonderful carpentry (now THAT impresses and fascinates me...all the fractional math...eeeeek! and that, folks, is the REAL reason I don't operate carpentry tools). I say in theory because as I type this he's playing Half Life on the Xbox. It's a little habit that I keep thinking he'll grow out of, but at 40, I think I'm stuck with it. Oh well, he's got too many good points to set him free. ;)

Laura - hubs is a bridge designer? Cool! Oh yeah....he'll definitely be able to design you a nice looking bed, with the utilization of Pythagorean Theorem, and everything! Oh! And I bet he uses Autocad....sweet! Maybe they make a "carpentry" game for Xbox? That'd be awesome.....

Angela - Yes, the plants look beautiful, especially when the blooms appear. I'm still working on getting the new garden blog up to date, and plan on putting tons of pictures on there, as well as many different blog topics. I've got a butternut planted, and it is doing fair....I've never grown any winter squash before. lol. I'll take lots of pictures of it, as it grows!

EG

Here is a link that might be useful: EG's garden blog

OK, either I'm getting senile, or I lost a post. (Shut up!)

Anyway, I'll just post it again. If I can remember what it was.

Oh, yes. Something special is happening on my blog tomorrow, and you are all invited to join me. I'll probably just publish it tonight, 'cause I'm getting sleepy and I have a lot going tomorrow.

I have a feeling EG, Sinfonian and Mike are all secure enough in their manlihood that it wouldn't bother them a bit to be included as "one of the girls".

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Don't forget to visit Granny's Blog tomorrow!

Laura - You said, "Oh well, he's got too many good points to set him free. ;)". LOL!!! That's hilarious as that's what I've told myself for the last 13+ years about Steve. hee hee Just a heads up for anyone that wants to remember, our anniversary is Sept. 13th... We were married on friday the 13th... Isn't that funny? LOL
(Although, it's not like we planned it that way or anything. We didn't even think about the fact that it was friday. It was the soonest we could get married to win our cruise ship took off!)

EG - I would SO totally appreciate you taking as many pics as possible and posting them on your blog. Too Cool! And, thanks!

Granny -

1. On your blog, that pic of the yellow crookneck squash, TOTALLY looks just like my cantaloupe plants do right now! Too Cool!

2. I couldn't agree with you more about the value of money being ridiculously overlooked by our young people. I totally think you're bad to the bone. It's hard to believe you're a granny when you're sooo darn gnarly! Cool, awesome, or whatever new words you want to use... my DH would say, 'da KIND! So, you're 'da kind, Granny, big time!

3. As for having no food waste, that's hilarious to me. I'd never think of such a thing. It's hard to find anything 'green' to compost around here. Every week we put everything that's left into a big pot... then, I think real hard to get some creativity into it... throw some herbs and spices that I think will go, and usually some new stuff into the pot that's not leftover scraps, and tuh-duh! You've got a brand new soup each and every week that's never been introduced before and can never be repeated, either! It's just a "one-of-a-kind" sort of deal...

4. Okay, I stayed up late and everything... still no sign of this awesome news to come... you got me REAL curious right about now! :-D

~Angela

LOL...Angela, my sister got married on Friday the 13th this year...June 13th. And she married the same guy she divorced a few years ago after 25 years of marriage!

My dear, don't you know 70 (almost) is the new 50? One is only as old as one perceives oneself to be. Dang, that sounded so...WISE.

You are awesome! I love hearing how you have no leftovers! I just cringe when I'm around my children/grandchildren, they are all so wasteful! They didn't get it from their parents/grandparents. I always kept a big plastic ziploc in the freezer, and all the veggie and meat leftovers went into it for "Garbage Soup" one day a week! It was darned good soup, too. Now I feed it to the puppies or the composter, but I'm learning to cook for two. It's just taking me a few years! Having raised five children, I was so used to fixing large meals, it was hard to cut down.

Speaking of the puppies. Can anyone tell me why my two doxies will turn up their noses at most everything I cook for them...boiled or grilled chicken thighs, lean ground beef, whole grain pasta, brown rice, soft boiled eggs, fresh garden veggies. But they were both out in the compost tonight, while I was moving it to another part of the garden, and joyfully devouring the garbage they found. Annie chowed down on a piece of moldy bread and Otter was thoroughly enjoying a watermelon rind.

The news isn't exactly awesome, I just wanted to share with those I love...you guys.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

Granny -

1. Totally cool about your sister. Happy anniversary to her coming up! She outdoes us by at least 14 years as this will be our 11th year of marriage (even though together -in sin- for two more). I'm so glad to hear that she's remarrying the same man! WoooHooooooooooooo! and, AMEN!

2. And, yes, you ARE wise, girl! Yes, you sure are!

3. ROFL! Garbage Soup? Are you serious? My four sweet blesssings ask me every week what the name of this soup is... LOL... I try to name it, but I usually tell them that it doesn't have a name... GUESS WHAT?... hahahaha... Mama just named that soup! ROFL!!!!! I love the idea of throwing stuff in the freezer. I literally have an old plastic coffee container that all my scraps go into. My soups are pretty good, too, like you mentioned yours were! The kids sometimes ask when am I gonna fix this again and I just clean don't think I could duplicate it... Know what I mean? hee hee

You are awesome, girl, and we luuuuuv you, too! You've rocked this place since you started posting, Granny. That is hilarious about the dogs eating from the compost and being too finicky about what ya cook 'em... those spoiled puppies...

Now, as for you being too old for growing asparagus, girl!!! Don't make me shut you up..... You're gonna be kicking long enough to make them there asparagus jealous (or jell-ous, however it's spelled - hee hee). You best get some plants in the ground, girl, before I kick your hiny!

~Angela

Well, Angela....if I plant the asparagus, I won't have to worry about what to put in that new bed that just got raked into a pile but will soon become a box, will I? I'll be right back to plan #1!

In the meantime, my lovely crookneck squash plant has powdery mildew. It must be the cooler weather, but it sure did come on fast. Part of me wants to rip them out of the ground, but there is a ton of new pretty growth around the edges, and a bunch of baby squash. I think I'll just try to wade in there and whack off the bad leaves.

My homemade seed tape experiment is a bust. The Elmer's glue tape was the best, three of the six seeds germinated. Only two of six germinated with the cornstarch mixture. I guess it would be OK if I put a seed every inch, rather than every 3", but I might just as well go back to the old "pinch and drop" method.... I HATE thinning! It's too early to tell, but it looks like the squeeze bottle filled with cornstarch/water and seeds will work! I think I see some little green carrot tops poking through. They look to be more closely spaced than I'd like, but a smaller holed squeeze bottle should remedy that problem.

It's been unseasonably cool here at night for the past couple of weeks. Our normal low for this time of year is in the mid 50s, and Sunday night it was only 40F. We've set a couple of records for August low temps, but the forcast says we'll be back to normal later this week, with highs in the mid-eighties and lows in the mid-fifties.

Everyone...have a wonderful day!

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

hey laura, ok, now on the trumpet vine, the seeds come in these pods that look like long skinney banana's. LOL where the flowers used to be. LOL
i do have some stuff, LOL i do have other things, but i can't guarantee them, they are from trades. if your intrested, just email me!!! :') ~Medo