Good morning everyone! Why is it that a vacation weeks goes so quickly, but the work week seems to drag?
I went to Home Depot yesterday, and ordered new rugs for the three bedrooms and hallway! I returned all of the hardwood flooring. I picked out a very neutral beige for the rooms. I am going with the same beige in the three bedrooms, and a really nice berber for the hallway, because of the high traffic in that area.
Today, I am going to attempt to get the new pine doors installed in the rooms, and then dependent upon how that goes, I may put the new molding up around the door frames.
I trimmed all of the hedges on Tuesday, and they look wonderful. I still need to power wash the house. I think that will be on tomorrow's agenda.
I am wonderfully relaxed. I have poison ivy on my feet, which is driving me nuts! I could not figure out how I got it, but then I realized that I managed to get it when I was out weed wacking, by the fence, wearing my crocks. I had a big ah duh moment the other day, and will now be back to my old jeans and sneakers routine when doing that!
Sabrina is closing on her condo this afternoon. My baby will become a homeowner by the end of the day. I am so thrilled for her! I am over the shock of the closing costs being $2,200.00 higher than I expected. Ouch! New Hampshire does not have any state income taxes, or sales tax, but let me tell you, they charge some pretty steep taxes related to purchasing real estate. There is one last deduction from the bank of Mom, and this bank is closing it's doors! The things that we do to get our kids established in life! I keep on telling myself that it all came out to being cheaper than a years college tuition.....
Ugh, poison ivy is no fun, Tess. Sorry you're going through that. If you have some calendula cream, it should help with the itchiness and heal the rashes more quickly. (Calendula is marigold - nothing exotic.)
I've got a noon colour and cut appointment for my hair, then picking up 3 cedars and a large hosta from Marilyn's backyard that she didn't have time to plant, need TLC until she's back home late August. They might already be dead considering the heat we've had. Then I'll pop by my parents', home for a bit, then babysit until 6 while d-i-l gets some chores done.
The eavestrough men were here yesterday and fixed the water problem - YEAH!! Instead of a $6000 waterproofing job, the drip edge they installed was only $130, so that was a big relief. Since the waterproof guys can't come until September to dig, we have a few weeks to hope for a big rain, see if that drip edge did the trick. They seemed pretty confident it was the solution.
Other than that, nothing new or exciting around here. I'll be able to watch Y&R sometime this afternoon in between hopping here and there. It's HOT already.
Well today marks the 4th day I've gone without soda or energy drinks. Surprisingly not having a lot of withdrawal. Go me. Interview yesterday went all right, methinks there be other qualified people so we'll see how it goes.
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"If you were looking for something clever or witty or funny here, you've come to the wrong place."
Tess, I get poison ivy SO easily, and it's really annoying. If my dog walks through a random patch, I can get it from petting her, and my husband has learned that if he addresses any poison ivy issue in our yard, he needs to strip down in the laundry room, and put his clothes directly in the washing machine so that I don't have to touch them! I'm so sorry that you're itching today...
KaeEll, thank heaven you got that water issue solved. Is the "drip edge" something that goes on your gutter? I wish that our flooding issue could be solved that easily.
I'm beginning to think that we're living in ground zero of the plague! We've had that flooding, then early summer brought some teeeeennny little ants to the window over our kitchen sink. We've sprayed multiple times, inside and out, and they keep coming back. One of my dollmaker friends who lives in my same general area is having the same problem. Then, of course, we had that mini tornado pass through our backyard a few weeks ago which brought down a large white pine -- right across our patio, and with the tip just touching the rail of our deck!
NOW, it appears that we may have a major problem with our front trees, and if they need to come down, it's going to kill us! Jim and I recently noticed that there are some weird patterns on the bark of all of our front trees -- ash trees -- and it's been of some concern. I did an internet search to try to figure out what might be causing the problem, but nothing seemed to match with what we're seeing. Then yesterday, Jim heard that our area has had to quarantine a number of ash trees because of a pesky little critter called the Emerald Ash Borer! I looked that up online last night, and the pictures matched the patterns on our bark.
We've put in a phone call to Fairfax County Extension Services to come take a look. PLEASE hold out good thoughts that these trees can be saved! When these houses were built (we're the original owners), the builder planted one ash in front, and then Jim planted a little grove of them at the bottom of the "hill" in our front yard. He literally TALKED to those saplings to will them to maturity (wish you could have seen), and those trees turned into a gathering place for many neighborbood children, over the years! We're on a corner, so kids would ask our permission to set up lemonade stands under the ash trees during the summer. They were ALWAYS allowed! Our own kids did the same. One tree had a tacky tire swing dangling from it (and no grass underneath) for years, so we have many fond memories of this little grove of trees.
If they have to come down, my front yard is going to be completely treeless, and will look extremely strange! Of course, we can plant other trees, but they won't be mature for many years to come. No shade, no charm. I could cry, but will wait to see what the county has to say...
Brandon, we're pulling for you...!!!
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
I was going to relax but washed floors instead. The new puppy makes them very dirty. my husband did some work to the patio bricks, so there's been extra sand in the house
Lordy Tess, take it easy! and take pics! good luck on that poison Ivy, I get it easily too.
Kae, hope your flooding issues are solved
Bran, good luck!
Moore, hope they can kill those bugs before they kill your trees. I have a japanese beetle problem, had to spray my red bush, no big deal. But then the beetle got on my basil! so I had to find a non-toxic solution so we could still enjoy the fresh basil. Bought something called SEVIN
Hey Shelly did you ever turn that one patch of grass into a flower patch?
Moore, here are tree prayers coming for you. I understand your fondness for them as I have the same feelings for our maples here, and Bartlett's Tree Service gave us a sad diagnosis for them a few years back - that their roots were disturbed by the foundations of the houses built here back in the 50's and they only have another 10 years left in them. They're well over a hundred years old. I posted pics of them last week under the title "Where I live" if you want to take a peek.
The drip edge thingy is a 20 foot long aluminium strip, about 6" wide, that the guys nailed onto the edge of the shingles. I can't see it and I'm not tempted to climb up there and take a look, but it's supposed to let the rain water trickle into the gutters rather than gush, thereby overflowing. It's guaranteed for a year.
Brandon, I hope that whatever the outcome of that interview, it suits you well. Que sera, non?
KaeEll, I'm sad for your maples too! I just hate losing trees...
Jim and I are fairly certain that our ash trees are doomed. Jim finally connected with someone from the extension service this morning, and right now the county is simply mapping where the potential problems are. Then, they'll need to wait for the federal government to give them instructions about how to handle the infestation.
There's nothing that can be done if the trees have the borer; there's no effective spray, and the trees will die.
The man with the county said that even if our trees don't have this specific borer, it sounds as if it's some kind of borer, maybe local. It will probably be several months before anyone actually comes out to physically check them. If it's a borer, then they're doomed anyway, so I guess that it won't make much difference!
Apparently, the borer first showed up in Michigan a number of years ago where it was basically contained through quarantine, but made it to our area in 2003 when some IDIOT nursery owner violated federal law by shipping infested trees to a nearby county in Maryland! I can't tell you how much I'd like to track down this a**h***!!!
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"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Moore, I am so sorry to hear about your tree problems! I have three rhododendrons out in the front of my house, on the inside of my stone wall, in an area that has oak trees, and is all mulched. I purchased them nineteen years ago at Kmart for $4.99 each. My first attempt at planting anything. It was my first summer in the house. They are now the three most gorgeous huge beautiful plants. When I was outside trimming the shrubs around the house, I was looking at them and remembered myself at 25, and Sabrina at 5, planting them. I definitely had a silly smile on my face....
I am exhausted! My six-panel pine doors are now hanging in my hallway. They look great, and I am quite proud of myself. The molding is out in the car. Tomorrow I will be staining the doors and molding, and then installing the molding. I'll tell you just about anything is possible if you have the right tools. I ran out today and purchased a power planer, when my new door would not close and was a tad bit to big for the opening.
Tomorrow I will get to use my compound laser mitre saw, and my compressor and power finish nailer. Those nifty tools make what would be brutal to do by hand, a project that will take just a few short hours.
It's all coming together! Next week sitting at my desk, and getting paid to give people instructions will be VERY easy in comparison.
Have a good night!
Sophia
Oh, my little girl is now officially a home owner. I did give myself a pat on the back at 4:30 today, since I gave her the down payment and paid all of the closing costs. I really need to get back to work, so I can seriously start to put some money back into my savings account!
