perhaps.....the stepdad works at a place where they actually do the treating of the wood that is sold to home depot etc. I went to mal's house one day and saw these 4x6 posts of treated wood that were a couple of feet long each. Asked where she got them. thought they were leftovers from her porch roof project...but then told me that joey had snagged them from work. they were going to toss them. they are perfect for what i needed for deck posts. i'm hoping he can get some more. I only want the deck to be about a foot tall from patio, like one step up. The deck plan is only about a 12x12 area. i figured i could buy a few boards at a time and keep my eyeballs open for materials on craigslist. Right now I just can't think about spending any money on anything at the house right now. sucks, but i'll just have to wait. i think the pallet wood is too thin and not strong enough for a deck....maybe one day i'll make it happen. :)

bobbi if you're going to paint the concrete, wash it with a pressure washer first, If it's badly stained with oil or such, you might need to use a spot degreaser first.......I've found that Dawn dishwashing soap does wonders and won't harm the grass or plants...........once you get it cleaned, then you want an elastomeric type concrete paint, especially if it gets a lot of sun as concrete does expand and contract.....thus the cracks, which also could have been caused by an improper prepared base.......I would stay away from the mosaic idea......if you're getting cracks now, it would just be a matter of time before the mosaic cracks and started coming up. Then not only would you have cracks, you would have little craters............

Trasgorshek..... I'm going with the spirits (they don't like to be called ghost). My first wife and I had a spirit in our home in NC. I was sitting at my drafting table one night and thought I saw my wife walk into the kitchen. When I followed her in, she wasn't there when I got in there.......called out for her and she was in the bedroom and came down the hall. I asked her if she had been in the kitchen and she said no...... okay, I thought, I'm more tired than I though. A couple of nights latter we had just gotten into bed when we heard someone in the kitchen. Thinking my daughter had gotten up and gone in there to get a glass of water, I went to check...............every cabinet door was wide open and there were 2 plates set out on the kitchen table. My wife had gone to check on my daughter and came into the kitchen to tell me that she was sound asleep in her bed as was my son.......when she saw the cabinet doors, we just looked at each other. Several weeks later, we came home from church on Sunday morning to find the cabinet doors open again and this time everything in them had been set out on the kitchen table. It wasn't long after that we learned that our house had been built on the site of an old tobacco plantation manor house and the farmer had killed his wife one morning in the cookery thinking she was cheating on him. After a few more incidents where we found cabinet doors opened or some odd item placed on the table, we finally spoke to her presence and told her we knew that she had been wrongly accused and murdered by her drunken husband and blessed her. After that there was never another incident. That Spring an old climbing rose bush on the side of an old well house that was originally part of the plantation and on the neighbor's property bloomed...... the neighbor was all excited because it hadn't bloomed in over 20 some years...... which was just about the time that what was left of the old plantation manor house had been torn down. I think spirits turning on your TV is more fun than just leaving it on after some pay per view movie.............

oh STK...I love your spirit story! wonderful!!!!!

p.s. bob and R are probably done with the concrete already....they are like tazmanian devils when it comes to working on that house. ;)

Creeser, I may join you under your tent! I love that closet, too.

MP, there's no rest for the wicked.

STK, we pressure washed it yesterday and gave it overnight to dry. The air is really dry here so that wasn't a problem. The problem is rain is predicted for tonight and the next 2 days! We shall see..... I love your ghost story! But I don't want one, thanks anyway.

Ok! So today.....we painted the sideyard; last coat of paint on exterior trim; last of the fence which I thought was done yesterday; last wall painted in Rocky's room and half the floor washed and polished; replaced the 80's fluorescent kitchen light with a 2013 fluorescent kitchen light, whatever; replaced the first of two boob lights. And assorted other small things. I think we're just about halfway done! Woo Hoo!!!

Everyone have a good night if I don't talk to you again :))

MP, if the pallets are sprayed green or blue or clearly marked CHEP or DEPOSIT they are made of hardwood, so they'll be more than strong enough. They usually have a $50. deposit. If the pallets are a blond natural wood they are graded S.P.F. spruce/pine/fir any one of the three or a combination of all three species. These don't have a deposit and are considered garbage after they product they were loaded with, meets it's last destination. Unfortunately, I don't know what to believe, some say these will not be good for exterior use for the most part, unless you treat the heck out of them. Others say they are sprayed with fungicides and every other side you can imagine, so they'll be fine for outside. I don't like the ones with spiral nails, there a real B to take apart, the straight nails are much easier. Just remember heavy pallets are actually hardwood and the blond are soft woods and very light weight in comparison, neither is a grade #1. The S.P.F boards are probably 3/4" thick, you could use them but would need your stringers closer together, which means in the end you'd need more stringers.......but they might make a good base somehow.

Creeser, I love that pallet furniture, have any plans?..... hmm there's a sunglasses distributor a few business down from ours. They're always looking to get rid of there HUGE stack of pallets.....love this idea and need new hahahaha outdoor furniture, THANKS :)

Tras, I'm going with the ghosts, for sure!!!!! The next time it happens, ask them to shut the TV off and tell them, there only allowed to watch when your not home.....after all, who's paying the cable bill :)

MP, forgot to mention that, I found 25 sheets of glass to make my deck railing in what was called, at the time "The Bargain Finder Press". LOL the days before kijiji and craigslist. I paid 10 bucks a sheet for the 1/4" thick tempered glass. Each piece would have ran me $160.-$175. so the savings was HUGE :) Keep your eyes open, you never know what you might come across. Do you have an Architectural Clearing House........ Crazee...... so I know of someone who came home from work to find a local home improvement store had dropped off a deck package on there driveway.....3 calls to them to come pick it up and it was still sitting there....hahaha the neighbour had a real nice deck later that summer and the store never called back or came to pick it up.

It was miserable here today, but the girls went to the movies anyway and saw Silver Linings Playbook. Have you seen it? At first I thought this is absolutely the most depressing movie I have ever seen and then BAM! It became one of the most fabulous movies I have ever seen.

Then we went to this wonderful pub, in the basement of a MANSION former monastery for a drink and apps, which were more than a supper and delicious. I had the fish tacos,,,,a ten.

Looking at overstock.com today for rugs. They do have some fabulous buys.
http://www.oceanedge.com/dining/bayzos-pub.cfm

I'm positive now that it was the TV kicking in after the movie, even though it was hours later...?? But we (I say we, it was more like my son with me popping in and out) watched Guardians again today then left. When we came back from being out a few hours the TV was on again, I forgot to shut it off a second time. The screen goes black so in my negligence I'm assuming it's off. But, I can sure as heck tell you if it happens again tonight (after I'm 100% positive I turned it off) we are out the door.

STK, I loved your spirit story. My mom and dad have one as well, have for years. She loves to mess with them all the time. One time my dad had a snickers bar he was getting ready to eat, sat it down on the dinning room table while he went and got his book. Returned and it was gone. He searched all over for it but couldn't find it. Gave up, sat down on the couch and started reading. Then when he took a break from the book, the candy bar was sitting on the floor right in front of him. Another time she took one of his books and hid it under the trash bag in the can so when my dad took the bag out he finally found the book he had been looking for for two days. Mom believes it's our Aunt Lou that passed away years ago. I don't believe it is because I can't think of a reason my Aunt would still be around but I just agree with mom. You can feel it in their home, that's why I don't believe it is. But it keeps my mom from fear so I go along. There are a thousand more stories.

Mom and Dad still live in the same home I grew up in. I had to share a room with my two sisters for years. One time I woke up in the middle of the nigh, looked over to the closet door and there was a young woman standing there. She walked over to my oldest sister and looked over her like she was waiting for her to wake up. I assumed it was one of my sisters friends that had somehow come into our home. But then she walked back to the closet door and just stood there with her arms closed. I wanted to scream but I was scared to death after I realized she wasn't going anywhere. I kept nudging and pinching my middle sister (who I had to share a bed with) but all she did was moan and roll around. She wouldn't wake up. I did this for what seemed like hours till finally the girl was gone. I told my family the next day and they said I was imagining things. But now, when they bring it up, they completely believe me. Funny thing was my sister remembered something pinching her in her sleep, so they knew I had not dream it.

Judy, try www.rugstudio.com also, they have some pretty good deals from time to time. Plus, I think if you sign up for emails then you get 20% off...I think, it's been awhile, not 100% sure that's how it worked.

This is a quick "Hi .. bye!" I'm out all day Tuesday & Wednesday, at a "lifelong learning" event, at the local community college .. great for retirees. I've been trying to catch up on all my e-mail since I got home, then got a call that a cousin passed away .. so I got busy ordering flowers & passing the word. Nighty-night .. miss you guys!

I'm so sorry Astraea!!

Girls, and roosters, you have to come to Cape Cod, sometime. I will find you housing. Two can stay here with us, and 6 at my daughter's cottage. That's 8. And if feeny visits her in-laws which is only a hop and a skip away from me, there is 10. Keep it in mind.
roo, it will probably take you more than 24 hours to get here, but, so what?

Thanks Tras! We have a lot of longevity in the family, but people are rarely ready for the inevitable with family members.

Astraea, my condolences.

Oh, geez, don't say that Judy. I'll be knocking on your door in a second. I have always wanted to visit the north east. I've been south, midwest, west, southwest but not northeast and I truly feel it's where I'm supposed to be. Don't ask me why... because I have no clue. It has just always called to me. I would love to start with Portland, Maine and work my way down.

Sorry to hear that Astraea, my most sincere condolences to you and your family.

judyg, another road trip in my one seater? Just when my hiney started to recover!!! hahaha

thats the link for bayzos pub

tras, mp loves Maine, too. You can work your way all the way down the coast. Come in Sept/Oct. It is beautiful then and the summer crowds are gone. Going to the rug website now. Thanx.

can, your oneseater will make it. That's the pub where we had supper tonight. The entire complex is amazing. All ocean front.

One year I tried to get a time share slot in Portland during October just so I could come see the foliage. They were booked solid. This was years ago when it was just my daughter and I, she was around 7 at the time.

Judy, you are making me so envious!! :) I'm an ocean girl, without a doubt. The website takes me back to so many wonderful places my hubby has taken me in the past. But, these days, I can honestly say I'm lucky if I see the inside of an Outback or a Red Robbin. LOL

Nite, all, God Bless, Astraea.

Sorry to hear about your cousin Astraea. Goodness your days are full, you are starting to wear me out more than Bobbi.

Ez thank for the celiac tips, you certainly are a walking encyclopaedia. Meds don't surprise me at all but fortunately GS rarely takes anything, although he does have a powdered supplement each morning. I have copied and pasted your comment to a word doc so I can relay the info to dd. I wonder if she has thought about things like toothpaste, etc. I certainly wouldn't have. His villi were so damaged, they were pretty much non existent but will regrow fortunately.

He has stopped all dairy but not sure if he is substituting it with anything. He is also being very upfront with family and demanding his needs be acknowledged and catered to - not easy when dad and extended family are all Italian. He has been living mostly with his father and things are going downhill there so is now accepting things with dd and is spending a lot more time with her and her new partner and dd is really pandering to him, where with dad he is very much on his own.

I'm assuming they have a regular Chemist and ours are pretty good, if they know you have an issue like this they note their computer to warn them before they dispense any meds.

Bobbi - you have just confirmed you are totally CRAZY!!!!

Nancy warning https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-of-the-week-artful-and-ecofriendly-in-new-mexico-stsetivw-vs~3797165

roo - very apt reply

I thought the other one might have started something.

They are out in force today - anyone seen or heard of this ??

We all know that one of the biggest things that motivates people is money and that unfortunately all too often is costs more to go green. A great exception is the Hand Held Bidet Sprayer. It almost eliminates the need for toilet paper, offers vastly superior cleaning, convenience and in addition has many health benefits. Ideal for the smaller bathroom as it takes up no additional space and requires no additional plumbing or electrical. The Bidet Sprayer will pay for itself many times over in toilet paper savings which makes this a very smart and green thing to do. Available at www.bathroomsprayers.com .

Roo! I'm not crazy! But I'm approaching exhausted, that's for sure. We're about halfway done, way ahead of schedule so that's good. Has BH left for LA yet? Or was he going somewhere else first, I can't remember.

I'll open 3/20 if no one else already has.

Roo - I remember that kitchen/great room with the wooden ceiling grid design; I wish they'd date their articles .. either this discussion resurrected itself, or they published the article again. I agreed with onthefence .. my motto, "form follows function". I don't need anything to collect dust on the ceiling!

Astraea it is the spider webs here that drive me nuts. I think sometimes people are just wandering through looking for things and find these idea books. You can tell how old they are by how old the comments are. I think I found one once and made a comment and then noticed the last one had been made 18 months earlier. I now check that out. I have also taken to unsubscribing from a lot after a reasonable period of time when things just start going round in circles or people will raise things that I can't help with - usually product information.

Astraea, I'm so sorry for your loss. I always think of my cousins as we were as kids and can never quite see them as adults.

olldcan, I do have plans for those pallets if I can get a promise from husband to make them for me before my daughter starts whining to him. She's threatening to tell him the grands want it. I told her they want it at GRANDMA'S house. Game on!

Weird story hinging on the ghost story and y'all tell me if you've ever seen anything like this. One summer weekend, we had just had a storm blow through. It had passed and it was starting to clear and we were all in the living room watching tv. Hubby and I were on the couch facing the hall. Suddenly, this "ball" came out of the hall wall that backed to the bathroom. It looked like one of those science project lightning balls. The kind you put your hands on and lightning is generated on the inside. It hovered where it came out for a couple of seconds then shot down the hallway to the office. I looked at my husband and asked him if he saw that. He said he sure did, what was it? We tiptoed to the hall and down to the office and nothing. I checked outlets and light fixtures for burn marks in case it was something like ball lightning... nothing. Any thoughts on what this might have been?

Roo - The only reason I was on that article, was that it was included in TODAY's "This Week on Houzz" e-mail! So if it was old, it just proves our feelings that they're recycling & getting repetitive.

Creeser - This was actually my Mom's first cousin, and she hadn't seen him since they were kids. But when we moved to NJ in '79, we started getting together with them regularly. And once my Mom died & then my aunt, I just became "part of their family", spending all the holidays with them. He had a good life; 4 children now adults with children of their own .. married 60+ years.

You lighting story reminds me of a story my family told; happened before I was born. When the family lived in Brooklyn, the house was "shotgun style, with a straight path from the front door thru foyers & hallways, and thru the kitchen to the back door. In the pre-air conditioning summers, they'd open both the front & back door, to get a nice breeze going thru. Apparently one summer there was an electrical storm, but without rain they didn't bother closing the doors. The only thing in the path was the door to the basement, which someone had accidentally left open. They were eating dinner in the kitchen, when a "hoop" of lightening came thru from the back of the house, heading towards the front! It "rolled" along, with everyone sitting transfixed at the table, brushing against the basement door as it went, then out the front door. I was told the door had been burned slightly, but was painted over by the time I lived there.

Astraea, it's nice you got to be part of the family and no matter how old they are, it still feels 'too soon'.

Re: hoop lightning. Despite the storm having passed, that's what we thought it might be. Some form of ball lightning, but there were no burn marks on the wall it came through or anywhere else like it made on your basement door. Lightning would have to leave a burn mark, right?

Gosh, I'd rather have everyone's ghosts than that. Scary!!!!!

Haven't seen this week's Houzz email, I am way behind, but I am finding a lot of things lately just don't interest me. Maybe because I already have so much of what I want out of here, I'm contented to stop looking. There was a great piece on storing kids' bath toys recently that I sent my dd. She was very impressed with that.

Creesr - I'm not sure. It's my guess that lighting may have a "field" of charged particles around it, that may keep it away from stationary objects .. unless they're in the direct path.

Astraea, right, but it came 'through' the bathroom wall initially. There's an outlet on the hall side of that wall (nothing on the bathroom side) below where the ball came out of the wall. No burn marks on that wall or the outlet and the outlet functions. Once it went down the hall, it would have to go out somewhere, wouldn't it? Love that you're an engineer and can go through that engineer thought process..*L*

Astraea my condolences. No matter the age of the person it can still be unexpected.

Some orbs are definitely energy, and energy is spirit. However, no one knows what this energy is, for sure. Plasma balls of light or ghost lights (orbs) have been proven to be electrically charged. Sometimes, orbs can appear in colors, such as blue, green, red, etc. Creesy, did it have any color? the ball or shall I say orb, is in your court!!

Lisa, that is very true. My Grandmother passed about 3 years ago at 99. She was in such good health, that we were actually shocked.

olldcan, the outer edge of the bubble part just looked shadowed, but the electrical current inside looked yellow/white like you see in most lightning photos. Lobbing that orb right back into your court! :) It was about the size of a frisbee or a little smaller. Definitely larger than a softball, though.

Ez, absolutely they will. And imagine the grease getting into that dropped ceiling lattice making the dust hang down like cobwebs. It would be a booger to clean.

As with most things paranormal, much of the info one may choose to incorporate into their own beliefs is their personal ideology. I don't think there's a way to prove with 100% certainty, what a spirit orb size and color truly mean. I do believe orbs are spheres of some type of energy.

Here's a list I pulled off the internet, the general consensus is referring to what the color means.
These include, but aren't limited to:

Black: Malevolent
Blue (dark): Shy spirit
Blue (light): Tranquil, peace
Blue (medium): Protection
Brown: Danger or earthbound
Gold: Angelic, unconditional love
Green: Healing orb or spirit
Lavender: Messenger from God
Orange: Protection, forgiveness
Peach: Spirit sent to comfort you
Pink: Accepting spirit
Purple: Orb of information
Red: Anger or passion
Silver: Messenger
Violet: Guide for spiritual matters
White: Protection of holy light and power
Yellow: Warning

Since the little 'lightning bolts' were in the white, yellow, gold hue, I will consider it something good just passing through, but warning us to stay out of it's way. I still don't think I would pass this info on when we finish updating and go to sell it. *L*

On occasion I would get off work really late. Sometimes midnight, 2am and even later or you might say earlier. Anyway, I'm driving down the highway, there's no traffic, nobody around but me. This pink, foggy like thing, catches my attention in the rearview mirror as it whisks by. What the heck did I just see in the rearview mirror? It's definitely not outside of my vehicle because the windows are tinted dark and there is no way the color can be that vivid though the tint. It's not inside my vehicle cause, now I can't see. Totally freaked me out, and to this day, when I drive on that highway through the ravine I get goosebumps.

Yup, I'd go with that too. I would not pass the info on either. I think it's (spirit/energy/whatever) is all around us everyday but ones ability to see, or not to see divides us into sceptics and believers. Now, I have experienced enough to make me realize, were not the only things traipsing around this earth BUT I'm not lighting candles, sitting in the dark talking to spirit through a Ouiji board either....just saying. AND I'll admit, I do enjoy watching Theresa on Long Island Medium.

Olldcan, neither am I. I think we don't see because we aren't supposed to see. There's a very good reason. And I'm good with that! *L*

Phew, I'm glad this day is over, you guys are getting way too deep for me.

Astraea I really must try to catch up on my Houzz updates. I am suddenly getting emails about posts that haven't seen the light of day for absolute months. Must be doing reruns. Maybe the ratings period is over - heehee.

Creeser/Can – I’m not sure my engineering background factors into a discussion about lightning or things that go thru walls! (LOL) You must have good genes in your family! I have another good lightning story for you. We had a fairly large backyard, for a city home in Brooklyn, and towards the back there was a dry well where water was supposed to drain away from the house. The area was also dug out, but got silted back in over time. One time in a storm with lightening & thunder, we started getting water backed up into the basement. Mom grabbed the pitchfork, to dig out the hole in the backyard .. a pitchfork my grandfather made .. the forked bottom screwed into a length of metal pipe .. all steel. Mom dug away at the hard earth for a while, in the pouring rain, until she developed a blister on her hand. She stuck the pitchfork into the ground, and stopped to look at her palm .. and that’s just when lightning struck the pitchfork! We looked at each other, and to us it was just a sign that you have to have faith, because you have no control over when something like that can happen to you!

Lisa – Thank you!

Roo - By the time I sat down at the computer at 9:30 this evening, I had 133 notifications from Houzz accumulated!!

Astraea - I'm stopping notifications on all these old ones, even any new ones that are just going way too long and achieving nothing. Just getting totally out of control otherwise.

Astraea, it's the engineering thought process. When my son was in college, he was struggling with one of his classes (he's a civil engineer). One of his aunts asked about it, and she told him she had struggled with certain ones as well (she's an electrical engineer), but just keep in mind that what they are teaching is the engineering thought process. How to work your way through a problem. Really made more sense to my son and helped him through the rest of his classes knowing what they were trying to get across.

Roo - Me too. Especially when you read a new post, and the person is asking the same question asked at least 2 or 3 times before in the beginning. Some people don't seem to read any of the old posts, before writing something themselves.