Today houses are built with double glazed windows standard. However, if you live in an older home, especially one of historic significance, you may still have single pane windows. As today’s energy costs rise, refitting your house with more efficient windows may be on your list of to-dos.

You may be bemoaning the fact that you have beautiful old glass in you current windows, and the look of [...]]]>

You can add glazing to your historical home without ruining its curb appeal.

Today houses are built with double glazed windows standard. However, if you live in an older home, especially one of historic significance, you may still have single pane windows. As today’s energy costs rise, refitting your house with more efficient windows may be on your list of to-dos.

You may be bemoaning the fact that you have beautiful old glass in you current windows, and the look of metal or vinyl windows just doesn’t get you excited. If that’s the case you’ll be glad to know that double glazing can be added to most existing windows, this is done by inserting a second window inside or outside the existing window. Of course if you have beautiful old lead or art deco glass windows you’ll want to put the glazing on the inside, so the curb appeal isn’t altered.

Double glazing cost can be recouped in the saving you’ll make on your fuel bill, which is estimated to be around 20 percent. That means the windows will pay for themselves rather quickly. You’ll be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and still save money.

There are other hidden savings, too. Double glazing protects your furniture and curtains from UV light, making them last longer. The biggest savings is not necessarily monetary, but in the fact that your CO2 footprint is positively impacted by installing glazed windows. I saw one statistic that stated that if all the houses in the UK installed double glazed windows, they could save the equivalent of 740,000 households’ CO2 emissions. Now that’s ton of footprints! They also cut down on the amount of noise that infiltrates your house. If you live out in the country that may not be a concern, but city dwellers will like this perk.

So, out with the old and in with the new. You’ll save money, have a quieter home, and help green the planet all with one choice.

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Don't let termites or other wood eating pests destroy your "castle."

It pays to know what you’ve got on your hands and how to deal with it. In doing a little research I found that there are several types of carpenter ants, only one of [...]]]> As spring comes up on us our not so friendly visitors could make their presence known. March is typically the time of year here in the mid-Atlantic that you’ll see swarms of termites or carpenter ants.

Don't let termites or other wood eating pests destroy your "castle."

It pays to know what you’ve got on your hands and how to deal with it. In doing a little research I found that there are several types of carpenter ants, only one of which can actually do damage to your home. There are pictures online of the various pests that can do damage to your home, so taking a few minutes to find out what you’re actually seeing is worth the time. The article also stated that if you see swarms outside the house it is nothing to be alarmed about. However, if you see swarms in your home it may be time for a pest control service to take a look.

I also did some research to see what natural termite control was available and was surprised to find almost nothing on it. The little I did find needed to be used on the wood before it was used. I didn’t see anything that could help a homeowner who has an infestation in the finished part of their home.

Here’s a list  5 things you can do to help protect your home:

1. Repair plumbing leaks, including leaky faucets, air conditioning units and water pipes promptly.
2. Keep gutters clear and have them divert water away from your home’s foundation.
3. Do not store wood items in crawl space or directly next to your home.
4. Trim bushes and trees away from home’s foundation.
5. Repair or replace damaged siding and roof shingles to prevent leaks and easy termite entry.
6. Having your home inspected regularly is probably a good idea, also.

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One of the keys to my redecorating and remodeling is making it affordable. I recently walked into an interior design store and looked around a bit. Then a salesperson approached me. I told them that I was working on my bedroom and was stuck on what to do with the walls and could they help me with that. She said sure, that they did complete as well as partial designs. I then [...]]]>

Nomorerack doesn't need gimmicks for their great sales.

One of the keys to my redecorating and remodeling is making it affordable. I recently walked into an interior design store and looked around a bit. Then a salesperson approached me. I told them that I was working on my bedroom and was stuck on what to do with the walls and could they help me with that. She said sure, that they did complete as well as partial designs. I then asked her how much it would cost. I had to stop myself from letting my jaw drop when she told me it would be $150 an hour for the consultation!

Well, I’ll tell you, you can do a lot better than that. If you happen to be willing to look a little while you might be able to redo the whole room with deals like those you can get on nomorerack.com for no more than the consultation fee!

Just on today’s listing there was an electric fireplace insert that could be used in a den or living room; a 2-pack of wooden solar LED lights for your garden; as well as, a number of products for your kitchen and office, to replace or upgrade what you already have.

Seems nomorerack is able to offer substantial savings of up to 90% off, because of deals they make for overstock, cancelled orders, and closeouts. The only drawbacks are, you never know what they’re going to have on sale, and it’s on the site for just one day, until it sells out. So, you need to have all your measurements and desires listed out where you can quickly see if the product is going to fit the bill or it could be gone when you go back. As a matter-of-fact, while I was on the site one item sold out right before my eyes.

However, if you are willing to take a little time and bargain hunt you can do what we did. We remodeled the entire living area (living/dining/kitchen/family room), our two offices, and carpeted two more rooms, for less than the average kitchen remodel price! I might have even saved more if I’d known about nomorerack then.

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If [...]]]> Right now I’m in the middle of a dilemma. My work area in my in-home office is downright uncomfortable. I started to notice that my back and neck pain was worse when I had a long day at my computer. Of course some of that is caused by the lack of movement when you’re sitting still for long periods, but I learned a lot when I worked for a physical therapy office about how your equipment can cause problems.

If you're getting calluses on the heel of your hand a wrist rest can help.

I’ve checked to make sure I’ve got everything set up ergonomically correct, so now I have to look at the equipment itself. Lately I’ve been having pain on the heel of my hand and wrists where they rest on the table. In looking for a solution I ran across some sheepskin products that look like they might be helpful. I’ve tried the gel filled wrist rests and they are OK. After awhile, though, the fabric covers on them usually start to irritate my skin. The sheepskin rest looks like it wouldn’t have that problem.

The other thing is that my chair is uncomfortable. I even stole the office chair from my husband’s office trying to find something that was comfy. It’s better, but after sitting for extended periods I still have tired butt (TB) and my back is not comfortable from the improperly curved backrest. A sheepskin seat pad might be the answer for TB, but in all honesty I think I need an entirely different seating arrangement to take care of the uncomfortable backrest.

If your office is your car you might want to consider sheepskin seat covers to make all those hours behind the wheel more comfortable.

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This year I’m trying to be more organized about my planting. You see, there are certain vegetables that you don’t want to plant in the same place every year, because of soil born disease and pests. The most prominent of these are: tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers.

Last year I experienced early blight with my tomatoes. So, this year I want to be sure to plant them in a [...]]]>

This is what the garden area looked like before we started any work.

This year I’m trying to be more organized about my planting. You see, there are certain vegetables that you don’t want to plant in the same place every year, because of soil born disease and pests. The most prominent of these are: tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers.

Last year I experienced early blight with my tomatoes. So, this year I want to be sure to plant them in a different location, so that if any of the blight bacteria lived in the soil over the winter I won’t have to deal with it again this year.

So, when planning a garden you need to know what soil born pests and diseases are common in your area. Of course, as I’ve said many, many times, the best place to get this information is your local extension office.

Here's a shot of the aded garden area in the first year.

Plant rotation is important for other reasons. Certain plants will be heavy feeders on particular nutrients. If you plant them in the same place over and over, then you’ll deplete the soil in that area of that nutrient. Corn for instance is a very heavy feeders, so moving it from one location to another for several years will give you the opportunity to rebuild the fertility of the soil before you plant it there again.

I have one garden I’m going to try and get in before I do any spring planting outside. Last year all my garden space was taken up with spring crops when it was time to put out the summer crops. This year I’m going to start a new location for the spring crops. It’s on the more northerly facing portion of the house, so it will go into shade earlier in the day when the weather starts to warm up. That way I’ll have space for my summer crops, and I won’t have to tear out my spring crops before they are finished producing, like I had to last year. Also, I’m hoping to extend my spring season some by keeping them cooler as the weather warms up.

You need a three-year crop rotation chart, which is what I’m going to work on this year. Now that my garden space is stabilizing I’ll be better able to do that.  Each year I was adding a lot of new space so it was hard to make up any charts. I have three more gardens I want to put in the area where I plant vegetables. I don’t think I’ll get them in for this planting season, but I can show them in my chart and add them in for next year. Hopefully I’ll get them in this year, so that by fall or at least next spring I’ll be able to use them.

So, as your little seedlings are starting to sprout (for early spring crops) you can be planning your gardens for the rest of the season. Take the time to do up a three year rotation to ensure you’ll have healthy, heavily producing plants for optimum harvest and the best tasting, most nutritious produce around.

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I was all set to finish getting the foundation for the greenhouse finished this weekend. Now they’re forecasting highs to be in the low 40s. That means that until around three in the afternoon it is probably going to be less than 40 degrees outside. I’m pretty hardy, but that sounds like not a lot of fun, so I’ve decided to move my gardening work inside this weekend.

This week I received [...]]]>

Soon I'll have my first little sprouts of 2012!

I was all set to finish getting the foundation for the greenhouse finished this weekend. Now they’re forecasting highs to be in the low 40s. That means that until around three in the afternoon it is probably going to be less than 40 degrees outside. I’m pretty hardy, but that sounds like not a lot of fun, so I’ve decided to move my gardening work inside this weekend.

This week I received my seeds for this season. I still have a pretty good stash from last year, so only needed to buy a few seeds. However, one of those was broccoli. I was sure it was going to get here too late to start. I was pleasantly surprised when both my seed orders arrived within a few days of each other, and only about a week since I sent them in online.

I’ve going to spend my gardening time this weekend planting the very early cole crop seeds inside. They won’t need sun until they sprout and that will take a week to 10 days. By then, hopefully we’ll have a couple more warm days and can get the foundation done and the rest of the wood painted.

I’ll be spending some time doing a video project this weekend. Hopefully on Sunday I’ll be able to finish taping the construction of my reading nook and can get that video up next week!

Always have alternate plans when considering outdoor work during unstable weather periods (is the weather ever stable!?).

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Thanks to Roman May

The beautiful spring weather was more than welcome after all the cold, dreary weather we have had this winter. And it couldn’t have been timed better for what we ended up doing this weekend. Cleaning out our house and helping our neighbors get moved into their house. While outside working in the garage, my husband saw the U-haul truck pull up [...]]]>

Spring cleaning and helping your neighbor can go a long way to making a great weekend.

Thanks to Roman May

The beautiful spring weather was more than welcome after all the cold, dreary weather we have had this winter. And it couldn’t have been timed better for what we ended up doing this weekend. Cleaning out our house and helping our neighbors get moved into their house. While outside working in the garage, my husband saw the U-haul truck pull up in the house next door. He saw several people buzzing around the house and went over to introduce himself. We saw that the house was under contract and hoped that we would have the opportunity to meet our new neighbors soon. Once he met them, he asked if they would like a hand and started hauling boxes into their house. I walked over after a little while and met the woman. She had some questions about the energy providers so I brought her over to our house and let her get on our computer. I told her she should look at Shopelectricityratestexas.com/ because that’s what we did. Once she got that figured out, we visited for a few minutes, then ordered pizza for everyone to take a much needed break.

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This is how it goes with people who work outdoors. When you make plans for something you need to allow for the fact that Mother Nature may not cooperate. Even during times of the year when you don’t [...]]]> Day before yesterday I finally made arrangements to get a load of clean fill dirt so that we can level the area for the greenhouse. He said if it didn’t rain he’d be able to deliver it on Friday. It rained buckets yesterday!

This is how it goes with people who work outdoors. When you make plans for something you need to allow for the fact that Mother Nature may not cooperate. Even during times of the year when you don’t usually have any problems, a freak storm could cause delays.

Whenever I do an outdoor project I try not to put a completion date on it. When I do, it seems that Mother Nature conspires to drive me crazy. We’ll have unusually cold or hot days, massive thunderstorms, winds that nearly blow you down. At least she’s never resorted to a tornado or flooding.

So, have alternative plans in place, just in case you can’t do the work you’ve planned. If it is too wet to work in the yard this weekend I’ll work on the video of completing my reading corner and window seat. If that doesn’t work, because right now I can’t find the zipper pulls I bought for the continuous zipper I’m putting in to get the cushion in and out, then I’ll find another project that is on my list to complete.

In this way you don’t have to see a whole weekend wasted because you can’t do what it is you were planning to do. There’s always something else in the hopper.

Also, if the work is being done professionally, cut them some slack if the weather isn’t cooperating. They can’t help it and they know that working under certain conditions will render your project less functional, whether it be that it won’t last as long, look as good, or work as well.

If you have a deadline, such as a garden wedding, outdoor barbeque, 4^th or July celebration, etc., get the work completed way ahead of time, so that you aren’t serving those hotdogs while standing ankle deep in mud from all the construction mess.

I think one thing I will do, is start the seeds for my early spring crops, such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. They won’t need the green house for at least a week, maybe two until they’ve sprouted. Surely by then I’ll have the greenhouse up!

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Ack! I was outside yesterday and the first crocuses are already blooming! I’m so far behind. I still have bulbs sitting in the storage room waiting to be put in the ground!

Even the best-laid plans can go haywire when you have to work around weather, work, and other obligations.

It looks like I’m already into the spring madness. Seems every year I get myself into the same pickle. I [...]]]>

Not even February 1st and the crocuses are already starting to bloom!

Ack! I was outside yesterday and the first crocuses are already blooming! I’m so far behind. I still have bulbs sitting in the storage room waiting to be put in the ground!

Even the best-laid plans can go haywire when you have to work around weather, work, and other obligations.

It looks like I’m already into the spring madness. Seems every year I get myself into the same pickle. I don’t manage to get all the cleanup and planting done in the fall that I need to, so then in the spring I end up getting caught trying to do the rest of the fall stuff and also prepare for spring planting!

How do you deal with it when you get behind in your gardening? Do you have any ideas on how to quickly get such things as cutting back, removing dead annuals, mulching, fall planting, etc., done? This is one thing I’ve never really gotten a “working formula” for and would appreciate you sharing below any comments about your successes, or questions about your problems with keeping a good gardening schedule.

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Everyone knows about Pussy Willows [...]]]> Right now many of us gardeners are champing at the bit to get back out in the garden. If there is a warm moment, and the ground is clear of snow, we may find ourselves pacing back and forth in front of areas we know contain crocus, daffodil, and tulip bulbs, looking for signs of growth. There are other plants that bloom in very early spring, that you may want to consider including in your landscape.

Everyone knows about Pussy Willows (Salix discolor), the wonderful fuzzy harbingers of spring. Every time I seem them blooming I have to laugh, though. When I was in first grade one of my classmates wanted to impress a pretty little girl, so he took Pussy Willows and stuffed them up his nose (who knows what he was thinking, because I don’t know a single little girl that would be impressed by that). Well, the Pussy Willows swelled up in that moist environment and he couldn’t get them out. They actually had to call an ambulance and take him to the hospital to remove them. Now I know it wasn’t laughable to him or his parents, but all us little girls thought it was uproariously funny.

Silly stories aside, there is also Forsythia (Forsythia) with its lovely yellow flowers. This is a shrub that is best planted where it has room to grow, as it will spread and become quite large. It can be pruned, but I think it looks much more beautiful if its graceful arching branches are left natural.

One of my favorite borders is Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata) and Candytuft (Iberis) alternated. It was something that was planted everywhere in Knoxville, TN, and it made a glorious show when bordering the fronts of the houses or down their walkways. I decided then and there I would repeat this in my own home. As soon as we get the front porch on and know where the walk is going to go I’ll plant that amazing eye-catching border.

Of course in our area of the mid-Atlantic there are azaleas and rhododendrons galore.

Doogwood and redbud soften the look of this picturesque old barn.

Many of the spring bloomers are also shade lovers, so keep that in mind. Plants such as Monkshood (Acontium), Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), and Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) all bloom in the early spring, but need shade when the days get longer and hotter.

For shrubs you might want to consider Spirea, Daphne (Daphne odora), and Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosa).

Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Dogwood (Cornus florida), and Japanese Magnolia (Magnolia X soulangeana (M. denudata X M. lilliflora)) are all early spring blooming smaller trees. Both the Redbud and the Dogwood are considered understory trees, so they prefer to be planted where they’re not in full sun all day.

Now is the time to plan where you want some splashes of color during the spring. That way you can look for them at your local nursery early in the season and get them in this year.

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