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Shopping for the gardens

  • Posted on April 26, 2013 at 9:47 am

Today, since the sun is shining and the weather is supposed to be warm this weekend, which I will believe when I feel it, I’ve decided to visit the local garden centers and see what goodies I can find, and also shop for the items on my list that I’ve been compiling all winter in preparation for my gardens.

I’d also like to get some lawn and porch furniture, the chairs and such I have now are worn and I want a fresh new look.

I know of a few stores that have some great sales so perhaps I can also save some money to sink into new garden tools and also some planters I’ve been wanting to buy. I’ve got to replace some of the old bricks in the courtyard and also get some more seeds and top soil. I have a feeling this is going to be an expensive shopping trip, but I’ve saved all winter for this and nothing is going to deter me!

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Seeds and more seeds

  • Posted on April 20, 2013 at 12:33 pm

Yesterday my mom and I went seed shopping and I have to admit she went over board on the zinnia seeds. I don’t have a clue where I’m going to plant all these seeds, but we did get some unique varieties of them.

Her garden plots are not very big and I tend them for her when I go there on the weekends, since she can’t do the bending and lifting like she used to. She always says to just “scatter, scatter the seeds”…no kind of planning to it. Me on the other hand like my flowers to grow according to height so the little short ones can be seen.

All in all I do believe she and I bought at least 40 packets of various flower seeds. Next week I’ll get my veggie seeds for my garden here at home. I’ll start some of them inside so they will be ready to plop in the ground after Mother’s Day. We got great deals on the seeds that we did buy so at least we saved some money for other garden pretties!!

 

 

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Saving with Energy Audit Services

  • Posted on April 1, 2013 at 7:44 pm

Never having heard of energy audit services, I thought I’d look into it after my daughter had told me she and her husband were going to save money on utility bills by using this type of service. Everyone could use some help to save money and with my home being old and rather drafty, our bills were very high this winter. If we run the AC, it’s going to be about the same. I don’t need those kind of bills.

I was also told about federal grants for home improvement. To me this would be something I’m definitely interested in. Any help for home improvement and weather proofing is more than welcome in this household.

With a home energy audit, we would be told how to cut down on our heating and cooling bills and I’m sure from what my daughter has said, that these are professionals who are helping to improve the home and also help us conserve as much energy as possible. They can give us information about how to go about getting the grants for home improvement also and that in the long run would really help.

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Roof repair

  • Posted on March 26, 2013 at 10:41 pm

It looks like we are going to have some repair work to do on the roof our our porch. The shingles have lifted up in places and even a few pieces have blown off. I wanted to wait until at least May to do this, but tomorrow I have a friend coming out to climb up there and see exactly what the repair is going to entail. Kind of a scary thought to me. Seems like it’s one financial shell out after another lately. It gets a bit discouraging.

I didn’t like the guys that put the original roof the house and knew that my husband had made the choice of roofers because of the fact that they were nephews of one of his friend, and they were cheap. Never go with cheap when it pertains to home improvement, because obviously judging from the roof now, it’s better to go with a more expensive experienced roofer or contractor of any kind, than having to keep on doing repair work on something that should have been done right in the first place.

The friend I have looking at the roof is a licensed contractor, but he owe me a big favor and we believe in the barter system also. I will at least know that the repair work on my roof will be done and also will be done right, without a major expense out of pocket.

 

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Personalized Doormats and More

  • Posted on March 24, 2013 at 4:04 pm

Now that spring is somewhat here (though with snow still on the ground, it seems like it’s not ever going to get warm) I have been thinking of ways to spruce up my front porch for the summer and I’m seriously considering a personalized doormat and some other nice little touches. I figure it as home improvement, so the cupboard tin money I save is sort of an investment.

A friend told me that if I ever wanted anything from mail boxes to sundials to look at Whitehall mailboxes and on the site I would find just about anything I’d like to dress up my yard and porch. The good part is, the items I want are in my budget and price range, so that helps a great deal and hey…I can buy more pretty things that I want!

I’d really like to have customized personal address plaques. My address is on the mail box post, but in my opinion, it’s hard to see in the dark. I could install the plaque right under the porch light that is above the door bell on the side of the front door. That way with the light on, the address would be visible from the road. I think that with the plaque being customized, it would add a certain charm and a bit of class to a porch. I’ve got a lot more ideas for the front gardens and the porch/deck so I’m looking forward to ordering and receiving the neat things that will make a person feel welcome!

 

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