I share drawers, plus online shopping for tools and appliances. And that there are other ways of doing a kitchen besides going to your nearest friendly big box and giving them your checkbook. DIY is also not scary, especially when you ask when you aren't sure of something. All it takes are a forum or people where no question is too basic.

Over here we're having buckets of fun. Local media is all about the early heat wave (temperatures just under 100 + our normal humidity levels). An electrician I know said that our bathroom plans don't place enough additional load on our panels to require any upgrades, and gave some pretty good advice on how to go about upgrading it when the time comes in a year or two. That means that all we really need to do at this point is choose materials, colors and where things will come from before that project can start.

So far as other projects go I raided a few cars at the boneyard similar to mine for wood console pieces. The purpose is to learn how to refinish the wood on those before moving on to the ones in our car. I may have some fun with that today after work on the nastiest looking one of the lot. The big challenge is removing the thick old finish without damaging the burled walnut veneer and this one is bad enough so that it's already pulling away on its own.

Shicksal, a pro refinisher friend just told me to try the stripper that they use to remove finish from boats. Marine stripper or something. He said it works better on catylist (?) varnish, and in about 30 minutes. Now, I remain Citristrip-loyal, but there's a tool for every job. Just make certain to wear your space suit, since it's The Most Evil of Flesh-Eating chemicals.

On topic:
Oh, yes. I talk kitchens, but in my life-space, it's mostly kids or people who "just" have "their man" do it for them.
I'm more inclined to end up in a garden conversation. For the last two weeks I've been having Come-dig-your-own visits from Freecycle people. I'm trying to dig out all the (deer resistant, BTW) spiderwort, Little Joe pye weed, ditch lilies, hellebore seedlings, blue asters and native white asters. I have so much to dig out I could invite the Chinese army and there'd still be stuff left over.

But... that said. I usually get new gardeners, so I end up explaining the difference between a shovel (with a pointy end for digging) and the [simpering voice] "cute" short-handled spade they've brought to dig things with roots more persistent than PVC pipe.

Then I have to tell them how to keep what they're digging alive in this heatwave -- already record breaking days above 90, 10 degrees above our average -- and in what type of soil and/or exposure. It's an hour's worth of talking for 20 minutes of digging.

Then I laugh maniacally as they happily drive away with their new, invasive, beautiful garden.
So yes. I do find myself wishing I could talk about kitchens more, but gardening is always there. :)

Because there are plastic things on the reverse side that look difficult to remove and melt when exposed to paint thinner I'm going from most gentle to least. I'll start with a heat gun at 200 degrees + plastic scraper and move on from there. People on Benzworld have had great luck with simple acetone but you run into the melting plastic thing... also I'm impatient.

What in the world are people thinking, transplanting stuff in a heat wave anyway? I should offer our old plants for free. Anyone want virginia creeper and nutsedge?

The [crap] stuff I have is tough to kill. I just finished digging 'Kwansa' day lilies -- with buds, pink (not blue) spiderwort, the blue and white asters, plumbago, lambs ear, double lilac bushes, variegated caria, and even more than I listed above.
This one was a very nice, experienced and fearless gardener. I think she'll be fine!

Insurance adjuster is coming this afternoon. Mitigation contractor was here this morning. Looks like there was a leak in the roof over that spot on the porch and it just gave way. Thank heavens when no one was out there. Now we wait and see what the insurance company has to say.

I prefer gardening, too. Kitchens are fun to help people with, especially their layout....but I love garden design. My gardens are kind of whimsical and fun, but not much variety. There are only so many plants that like zone 4 and play nicely with deer. Or is that the other way around :)

Roses are one of my favorites, but these are beautiful, big shrub roses with fragrance and color! I only plant the ones that are hard as nails (no babying on the farm) and they seem to enjoy their space. Then, it's all the perennials and herbs I can find to go in front of them, to keep the deer from even noticing.

Luckily, our deer are few and well-behaved, so the roses are doing very well. Yes, I should post pictures and I'll try to take some this weekend. Many of the beds are still full of weeds from last year....but the roses have never been prettier. The deer haven't seen a one....maybe there's something to leaving a few of these weeds over the winter.... LOL

How the heck do you grow Plumbago where you are? I'd come dig out some blue and white asters if I was closer - at least those are native.

I stick it in the ground, water it once and forget about it.

I am also a gardener but love this forum, so here I am. Between gardening & this forum I have no time for the actual gardening forums. I must have thousand of cleome & verbena bonariensis that reseeded in one of my beds. The roots are shallow but I will be painstakingly thinning/pulling them out tomorrow, hopefully. I'll try to save some for neighbors/friends. I have a 90 year old uncle that I just planted 20 pots & 7 smallish flower beds. He does all the watering & maintenance.

I love to talk about kitchens & my brother is beginning a kitchen reno. I must have sent him a couple of hundred posts & pics from GW. I think it was information overload for him. He is doing all drawers. I couldn't convince him to NOT do a 50/50 divided sink, although he is at least doing a low divide.

The pic is last summer's Cleome. Come on by if you want some.

Christina- I echo what everyone else has said, thank goodness no one was out there when it collapsed! I hope your insurance follows through quickly and you aren't dragged into a situation like schicksals been dealing with.

Romy- I didn't comment on your reveal thread but I just have to say wow!!! I kept scrolling back and forth between the before and after and it was so hard to believe it is actually the same space. Congrats!!

Any chance the roof would be covered under your insurance? If yes, you might want to have a roofing contractor look at it. We had hail damage throughout our neighborhood with many roofs replaced. We had to battle our insurance company for over 6 months to get coverage. The contractor was extremely helpful throughout the process. The whole experience opened my eyes regarding insurance claims.

Romy, I love cleome. Are you far? I can't remember. LOL! Just what I need. Another spreader.
I have 2 more people coming today to dig. I've realized most everything I'm giving away spreads by runner. Right up to the lilacs. Go figure.

Off this morning to pick up 2 potential CL pieces. Didn't sell anything this week, but I think I have to repost stuff.

Nice news alert: I came home from work and someone had mowed my lawn. That might not seem like a big deal, bu it's over an acre, it was knee high, and over 90 degrees. I have no idea who.

Pretty sure the insurance company is going to try and not pay for it. They'll probably pay for the ceiling damage and say the roof is normal wear and tear. My contractor will deal with them. Obviously it's not normal and, as my contractor pointed out, how were we to repair it when we had no indication of a problem until the ceiling fell down? The roof is only 11 years old and we had it put on ourselves, so clearly we have maintained our home. I don't know. I'm trying not to stress but it's hard!

They found a damp spot on my kitchen ceiling in a corner above a cabinet where water ran down a roof rafter and penetrated the house. It's small, thank God, but it broadens the scope of the damage.

You might be surprised. Progressive/Homesite repaired for my roof damage after hurricane force winds tore some off. I expected trouble, but no. I DID have a contractor fix it, but I think because I fixed it immediately (no negligence. Delay in repairs = negligence according to them.) and paid up front, they were better about just writing me a check.

Did someone mention plumbago? Mine are looking especially pretty this morning.

I'm hopeful Christine that the fact that we had a contractor here right away and that we've kept the house is good repair will help. If it had been a storm we'd be covered, and we did have a big storm this last week. Who knows, I hope we don't have a fight on our hands, I'm really not feeling up to a battle.

Christina, how pretty! Mine haven't bloomed yet this year, but I anticipate it soon. I love the fact that plumbago blooms well into the fall. With that blue and my magenta lespedezia (or however that is spelled) it offers color other than mums. Love mums, but a bit of brightness is lovely.

Be positive. Be nice. And be firm. What do we pay home owner's insurance for, anyway, right? I had to have a fire to actually know, but I've also had good experiences. Both Progressive/Homesite and before them, Erie have been great.

Had to google plumbago...would it grow in my climate? Probably this year no problem, but we have some very damp, gray years, so I don't know. It's an evergreen though yes?

Oh and Christine, I would like to plant a few Japanese Maples but none that get over 4 ft tall...point me in a "mini" direction please.

Got a color in mind? Got a leaf type in mind?
I am revamping this entire response, because one again I put you in Texas.

Teri, living in the Land of Japanese Maple production, you're very lucky to have an incredible selection, given your climate is PERfect.

If you were looking for red, oh, my. Laceleafs: Red Dragon, Garnet, Crimson Queen, Brocade (I like this a lot and it's smaller), Tamyukama, Dissectum Nigrum,

The Palmatums: Skeeter's Broom, Crimson Carole, Red Crusader, Fireglow, Johin,

The Strap leafs: Red Pygmy is beautiful and small.

Then oh, the yellows and greens! Fjellheim, Kamgata, Kashima, Ruyzu,
I guess you better tell me more about "mini" and where you're going to plant it? Some even take full sun these days.

Christina - CEF's (Christine's) advice is right: be positive, nice, firm. I'll add be persistent. Our next door neighbor gave up - we persisted & we have the same insurance company. Hopefully, it won't even be an issue & they'll just do the right thing. Thank goodness you found out you have a leak before your beautiful kitchen was damaged.

The plumago is beautiful. I was hoping I could plant it, but Zone 5 (Chicago area) is iffy & I don't think I have room. From what I read, it gets pretty big.

Do the flowers smell good?

Plumbago is a ground cover. It spreads by runner, but isn't aggressive. The tallest mine gets is 6-10", moreso 6" in this heat. I have never gotten down to smell the flowers. They're small, like bright blue sparks in the leaves. I love it because the leaves turn RED in the fall.

Here in FL they get much bigger, they're definitely on the order of a large shrub rather than a ground cover. Please ignore my weedy lawn!

WOW!
I wish mine would grow like this. Interesting, though. My little microcosm is supposed to be very much like areas in FL. Given it's June and we're in our 6th day of over 90F weather, I believe them. Always have! :)
Hmmm. Like that.
(Christina, don't fall prey to Scott's marketing. Lawns were never, ever totally grass until they started whipping them into chemically driven shape. Green is green! )

Last year my Mom sold her house, and I moved a dozen or so hostas from her yard to mine. I eagerly awaited their appearance this spring, and was disappointed when my two favorites didn't come up. I bought 3 new ones to replace them, planted them, watered them - and a couple of weeks later, some of the transplants came up. One just appeared last week! Oh well, it's hard to have too many hostas.

Over the weekend we cut down a dead spruce tree (a sad day), and lopped a dwarf Korean lilac down to just about nothing. I haven't trimmed it for far too long, hence the drastic measures. Of course I waited until it was done blooming.

I remember you moving those babies. And you are so right about having too many hosta. Like potato chips, never too many!

Hosta are notoriously reticent to stick their little heads up. Just when you give up, walk away. Pretend you don't care. Don't look. Just sigh loudly. When they think you're not paying attention, and it's too late in the spring, they'll pop out.

Same as crape myrtles here. I've learned that just when I'm ready to hack one down, it'll put out leaves. Then, the ones I did hack down stick something up out of the ground. (Usually a crape myrtle middle finger.) Luckily, CMs bloom on new wood, whereas lilacs on old wood. That's something I had to learn about blooming trees and shrubs!

So apparently they're ok with heat if they grow in Florida. Do they like light/shade/...?

It's nasty hot today - heat index is 110 at the moment. A bad time to do much anything outdoors or in the attic.

Also, our new HVAC system is short cycling. The other one is picking up the slack but yeah, time for a service call. At 5 months of age hopefully this one won't cost anything!

Mine are out there getting basted with full sun and no supplemental watering. Sometimes it pours rain on them every day, other times they go without water for a week or more. They get cut back hard about twice a year and then left alone. They bloom on new growth so you don't want to cut them too often. Mine bloom pretty much year round but go in cycles of light bloom and heavy bloom.

I never water mine, either. My plumbago isn't a shrub, so I admit to a little confusion. Mine grows by runner, little tiny runners -- and probably seed.

Good luck with your AC. I live in fear that the strange noises I hear when it kicks off and on are just temperment.

Christine, thanks for the names..I'll google...I saw the cutest little fella the other day in some ones yard..maybe 2 ft tall, burgundy red and lacey.

The A/C problem was free. The new system was put in back around February on a really cold day. They charged it according to pressure. Anybody with thermodynamics experience knows where this is going...

Now that it's warm the pressure is higher, to the point where it was tripping the high pressure cutoff switch.

Plumbago auriculata is the shrub.The groundcover plumbago that CEFreeman has is actually Ceratostigma plumbaginoides.

Am I the only one that thinks 'plumbago' sounds like an ailment their grandparents had?