How to clean siding and learn to love your home

My home is my retreat, but at a certain point (maybe two weeks after buying the house and moving in), I felt overwhelmed with projects that needed finishing. In less than two years, I had started and stopped a number of  projects. BUYING the items needed to complete the project was easy, but USING the items was another issue. Unfortunately, the overwhelming fear of failure loomed large in my mind. Home ownership is no small deal and the amount of upkeep prior to buying was underestimated on my part.

That brings me to my siding. I don’t have much siding, but it had gotten gritty and dirty. Horribly dirty.

For some unknown reason, I had decided that cleaning the siding was beyond me, even though, it really wasn't. By just using Google, I found PLENTY of websites that explained the basic techniques of cleaning siding.

But...

Most of the web sites I found used a power washer to clean the siding. However some articles cautioned against using one if you didn’t really know how to use it. I decided that it was in my best interest not to use a power washer.

The other tool that I didn't use was a garden sprayer. It's use was suggested in order to soap the siding. I thought that it would be too slow and just one more item that I would have to lug out and clean afterward. I used the following tools:

• Bucket
• Soft bristle brush
• Brush extension pole
• Hot water
• Dish washing liquid
• Soft Towel
• Water hose with a multi-sprayer nozzle

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East and her siding is the sun.

What I did...

Working from the bottom up, I used the misting setting on the nozzle to wet the area I was going to clean. Then I used the soft bristle brush and hot soapy water to brush off the grit and grim. I only used enough force to get the dirt off. Next, I used the spray setting on the nozzle and sprayed downward (important!) to get the soap off. I used this method for all of the siding, except for the times I had to work around light fixtures or a crack. When I worked around those items, I used a towel to wash and wipe the soap off (Yes, I cleaned the rag with fresh water in between washing and wiping).

In an hour and a half (on a 90+ degree day) I had clean, if not pristine siding.

Next Up: Windows!

What does it mean to be green?

Making sense of green

I have been inundated with “green” product advertisements, “green” living articles and “green” blogs. Each ad, article and blog seems to point me in a different direction. At first I’m told to buy a green cleaner and then I’m told that I should make my own. Instead of turning down my thermostat (or up, as the case may be in the summer), I should by a programmable thermostat. All of this “green” advice has left me feeling a little blue.

Why? Too many articles are simply promotional copy to buy product; it doesn’t give me the background I need to make substantive changes. In other words, “green” can sometime just mean greenbacks. It’s a loaded vocabulary word that can mean recycling, carbon credits, veganism, stainless steel water bottles, water conservation and bamboo clothing.

In my bid to do better for myself and the environment, I made a conscious decision to limit the amount of cleansers I bought…a multi-purpose cleaner is a multi-purpose cleaner. In other words, my “green” efforts seem to center on conservation more than any other principal. Instead of buying plastic containers for food storage, I use sturdy ones from previous restaurant take-outs; old t-shirts become dust rags; electronic appliances are on surge protectors and are cut off when not used; canvas bags are used while shopping and containers that can be recycled are recycled.

As I find products that make my life easier, I will buy them. But, what trips me up is that usually it’s not buying something that helps; it’s deciding that when something breaks if it truly needs to be replaced. (Yes, I truly needed the chest of drawers.) I won’t buy another washer until this one breaks or is no longer efficient and then I may invest in a high efficiency washer. The same goes for the hot water heater. When that is no longer efficient and a new one is needed, I will probably get a tankless water heater.

I also use some alternatives to store bought animal and insect repellants. For the raccoons who visited my porch at night, I put out cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil. It seems to do the trick and they have not returned. For skunks, I play music, preferably rock or rap (something, even I don’t want to listen to at 2 a.m.) in order to make my yard less inviting.

I have found the following resources to be most helpful in sorting through the glut of “green”.

• http://www.thedailygreen.com/

The Daily Green is “the consumers guide to the green revolution”, a website with good concise information on environmental living. They seem to pull from other “green” websites so you don’t have to look far for information. Their standard sections are Home, News, Tips & Advice, Green Homes, New Green Cuisine, Living Green and Weird Weather Watch.

• http://www.ewg.org/

The Environmental Working Group is the standard bearer for ensure that the things we come into contact with daily (fresh fruits and vegetables, water, cosmetics, plastic containers, and other items ) are free from contaminants that can cause us harm. They are routinely mentioned in the media as a source of research on environmental health issues. You can sign up to get information emailed to you.

So, if green has you blue, take a deep breath before committing yourself to something new.

This blog was originally published on 7/27/10. A photo was deleted; the photo above was added and taken by the author.

The Target Chest of Drawers

About three weeks ago (it could have been four, but I can’t find the receipt) I bought a chest of drawers from Target. Technically, it's called a "4 drawer chest" from their Room Essentials brand.

Yes, that meant that I would have to put it together. Yes, it meant that I would have to take everything out of the package myself and later dispose of/or recycle all of the packaging contents. Yes, it meant a lot of things; including having a place to put clothes that were currently stacked on shelves.

So, impulsively, I bought the chest. I should have known it was going to be trouble…it weighed 72 pounds and I had to have a Target team member put it in my tiny car. Once home, I unpacked it in the garage and carefully carried the pieces inside. I stacked them in my den, looked over the instructions and knew…knew that this was going to be problematic.

I let the pieces of the chest rest in the room for two weeks, while my mind wrestled with putting it together and when I couldn’t stand it any longer I got down to business. It took me a total of four days to physically put the chest together. Why did it take so long? Well, out of the hundred pieces (okay...approximately 35-not counting the hardware) of this project only four were labeled. Four! The others were supposed to be labeled; according to the 31 page booklet of instructions. And they were labeled. With totally different numbers from what was listed in the instruction booklet.

Maybe I should have taken it back to Target then, but all I could think about was lugging 72 pounds of particle board back to the garage, somehow packing it all in the same box and driving that back to Target.

And that is the reason I will never get furniture that I have to put together again. It’s a headache; a pain and a reason to go to garage sales or any place else first.

I was stuck…so for those two weeks I had to tell myself that I could in fact put this chest together. Oh, by the way, I checked the furniture website for the chest (they don’t want you to take it back to Target either) and the pieces were numbered the same as the instruction booklet. No Help.

Four Days and 35 Plus Pieces

The first day I concentrated on putting together the four drawers. That went well enough that I believed I could go on.

The second day I concentrated on the frame and then the temperature rose to over 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hot, even though I had the fan on. So, I stopped.

The third day the frame was stable and I corrected some mistakes…it was not clear where I was to attach the panel clips. Do not take the picture literally!! Oops. They need to go in the edge of the panel and drawer front and back.

The fourth day the drawers were inserted and the dresser was moved into place.

Done and done.

Finally a place to put my clothes.

On a scary note: The wall mount attachment strips are absolutely necessary! If I had kids or pets, I wouldn’t buy this thing at all. It is not very stable.

The Rhododendron in the Backyard

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Now, I just have to learn how to deadhead the plant.

Wasps!!! Part Three: Is this the end?

Recessed lights covered with painters tape

It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen a yellow jacket or paper wasp in my house. That doesn’t mean that every time I hear a certain kind of buzz or bump  I don’t cringe. I do. And then I sit (depending on the position I am when I hear the sound, I stand) perfectly still until I determine the location of the sound. For now, most of the buzzing has been outside.

I Taped and Still They Came

Nothing I did earlier stopped the invasion. Taping the recessed lighting did nothing. And, yes, I heard the skeptisim in the pest control guy's voice when I first told him that I believed that they were coming from the lights; he indulged me, and in the process, I was proven wrong. The first warm day, there was a yellow jacket in the house. So, I did another inspection of the outside and remembered an area I had seen paper wasps flying in and out of, but at the time I didn’t think it led to the interior of the house.

Now, I didn't care.

At all.

I sprayed.

Then, I began to look for other areas that could be exploited. Unfortunately, I found a lot places that could be potential openings and I sprayed them ALL. I guess a more permanent fix would be caulking (mortar fix) or tuck pointing, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

And then I took an extra step; the painter’s tape previously used on the recessed lights now tape parts of the windows. Yes, I went that far!! Another pest control guy thought that they may be coming into the house by squeezing through a closed window. I didn’t believe that at all! Now, I’ve suspended my disbelief and I sprayed the areas around the windows.

Later, after  taping the windows, I found a wasp trapped between the untaped storm window and screen of the storm door. The storm window was closed, so I left the wasp to die. It didn’t, at least not by my benign neglect. When I looked later in the day, the wasp was gone. This made the pest control guy's statement that they may be coming in through a closed window plausible.

If you have any ideas on wasp control and abatement, please let me know! It’s not for me; think of the wasps who need a better, healthier place to live.

How I live now...blue painters tape on windows

Do Squirrels Like Chicken?

For about a week it rained...every day. I watched the rain puddle on my driveway, walkways and lawn. I watched as the rain overtook my backyard, until it was under water. And then, not surprisingly, it stopped raining and the sun came out. And so did I. After a sunless week, I happily traipsed to the garbage can. When I opened the lid, my happiness crashed momentarily. A bag had been ripped open and lettuce and other scraps of garbage littered the inside of the can. I immediately blamed raccoons for the mess even though, they had never bothered my cans before.

And then I saw the chicken bone, broken in two and sitting on top of the adjacent recycling bin.

It didn’t seem that that was something a raccoon would do. It seemed like something a squirrel would do. Which led me to my next thought, “Do squirrels eat chicken? Do they like chicken?” I thought squirrels were, well, vegetarians. Then I looked at the backyard where they normally scavenged. It was still flooded from the rain. How could the squirrels look for their buried food? How could they find it underneath the water? Would they even try or would they simply look for food elsewhere? Like in my garbage can.

According to The All New Squirrel Place http://www.squirrels.org/facts.html squirrels rarely eat meat, but they will when faced with hunger. My backyard and any nut buried in its perimeter was under water for several days. In other words, there was no food for the squirrels unless they hit a garbage can.

I really don’t have a definitive answer on who or what left the chicken bone. There are no cameras watching the garbage and recycling bins. What I can say is there have been no more ripped garbage bags since the rain stopped and the backyard dried up.

And if you know that squirrels really do eat chicken, let me know.

Water and a Caulked Sink

One night last year, I realized that water was seeping into the lower cabinet from the sink above. I found this out by accident. I was washing dishes and needed to grab something from underneath the sink, when I grabbed it, it felt damp and I could see that the area around it was also wet.

Luckily, after pulling out everything from under the sink, I saw that the water was not coming from the pipe and seemed to be in only one spot. Then I looked at the rim of the sink and the counter top. There was no caulk! There was nothing to prevent water from seeping down into the cabinet when I sloshed it over the side in washing dishes. Then I procrastinated…instead of correcting the problem, I vowed to be much more careful when I washed dishes! That idea didn't make sense,but I followed through with it anyway.

And then the ants came, in a previous post, High Hopes, I told how I got rid of that problem. But water seepage can create a whole host of problems, including insects (ants and others), mold, and general deterioration. So, I took pictures of the sink with my trusty digital camera and headed to the big box home improvement store. There, I showed them my pictures and explained that the counter top was wood with some type of polyurethane coating. It was suggested that I use clear adhesive caulk.

It worked! The sink is now caulked, perhaps not beautifully nor expertly, but no water is seeping into the cabinet below.

Reconnaissance Stinks!

For four days I have been looking for wasp entry ways into my house, but it has been unseasonably cool and there have been minimal wasp activity outside. The recessed lights are still covered and even though I heard an intense buzzing sound one night; there was no bug body attached to the painters tape.

The pest control guy came out today but with no wasp activity, there was no way to spot their entry point. However, he did see the makings of a larger nest on the top story. Good eyes!

The weather is supposed to warm up this week, so reconnaissance will continue. The threat must be eliminated.

Search and Destroy

I have a problem with wasps in my house. This is my second spring in the house and this is the second spring that I have had problems. It started with just one wasp bumping around the kitchen on a warm day, deluding me into thinking that it came in the house when I opened a door. But every day there was at least one wasp in the house, until one day this spring there were four. That was enough. I killed them all, but not before noticing a wasp emerging from a recessed lighting fixture. It was enough to give me the willies. At that point, I knew I needed professional help.

This was an official search and destroy mission.

The intelligence gathering began as I spoke to the pest control expert. Did I see where they entered into the house? Do I hear buzzing in the walls? Because it wasn’t warm enough to check outside activity, it was decided that I cover the recessed lighting fixtures with painters tape. If the wasps entered from there, the tape will gather the evidence. In other words, I was looking for wasp remains on tape.

This is just day two of that experiment and there have been no wasps in the house. I am much calmer. But the hunt is on for the nest and it must be found. Boastful? No, I just can’t live with the alternative...cohabiting with wasps. This is just the beginning; reconnaissance on wasp habits will continue this week.

Ignorance is Bliss: The Red Shrub

In spite of me…

Ignorance is Bliss.

There is a shrub in my backyard and I have no idea what it is. It is in a raised bed with a coral bell, a plant that looks like a bouquet of oak or maple leaves. The unknown shrub is less than three feet high and has tiny waxy green leaves. On occasion, I have seen brightly colored flowers bloom from it. Two years ago, I cut back the shrub in the fall and the following year there were hardly any blooms, even though I noticed a lot of leaves and buds on the plant. This fall, I didn’t do anything; I even left fall leaves in the raised bed. Earlier this spring, I thoroughly cleaned out the bed, raking out old mulch, weeding and putting in extra dirt. The extra dirt was a tip from a random newspaper article that explained some plants may have to be put back into the dirt after winter because of ground shifts. You will sometimes see plants “pop” out of the ground after winter because of this. I then covered the bed with landscape fabric.

Then I took a break. The weather turned colder and I started to over think my next step. I had originally intended to cover the fabric with mulch, but after buying the bag and reading the instructions, (which states not to put it within several inches of a wooden structure) I was at a lost. But, then I began to notice that both plants were thriving. The coral bell was getting larger and the shrub was blooming. Really blooming! It was covered in tiny red flowers. So, I stopped thinking about the implications of putting mulch so close to a structure and began shoveling it around the base of the plants. A week later, the unknown shrub is still blooming and the coral bell is also flourishing.

What can I say? Did that little bit of TLC in the early spring help? Did the covering of leaves protect the plant? Did it have to rest for a year and gather strength before this bloom fest? I don't know. But I am amazed at the outcome, whether it was with my help or not.

Project Planning: The Garden Wagon

There is always something that can be done in a house. Some project that needs to be started or completed. I have one and a half pages of projects planned. I can dig out plants, prepare interior walls for painting, clean siding, wash windows, etc. I have any number of projects that I can work on at any time and yet, sometimes I am completely stymied.

Usually, it isn’t a particularly difficult project, it’s just something that I haven’t done before and I have to figure out how to do it as I go along. Sometimes, as with all new things I feel incredibly stupid as I bumble around with new tools or attempt putting together something new. This week, I began assembling an “all terrain wagon” I bought several months ago to help me move things around as I garden. Never underestimate items that come pre-assembled!

I took everything out of the 3 foot box it came in and not one piece was pre-assembled! This was going to be a project done from the ground up. After I unpacked everything and read the instructions, I realized that I didn’t have all the tools required to put the wagon together, namely, a wrench, but that didn’t stop me. Once, the project fever hits, I just have to ride it.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t that difficult putting the wagon together. I will also say that I was pleased to see it roll around the garage seemingly stable. I then took it outside and rolled it on the lawn to see how it would handle and make sure that all of the wheels stayed on. The wheels stayed on and I can look at this as one project that can be crossed off the list.

Spring Cleaning and the Garage Door, Part II

Tonight I tried to close the overhead garage door. Unfortunately, the garage door would not close. Each time I pressed the opener; the door would slowly roll down, reach the half way point and then reverse itself. It did this several times. I had avoided the garage since Thursday, when I knew that something was wrong with the door. Avoidance is not courageous in the least. In fact, it is quite the punk out. Yes, it’s intimidating being a single woman.

Now, I was forced to work on the door in the cold and the dark. I realized that if the door was up and would not drop, I could always disengage it and let gravity do the work. So, I began looking at obvious problems. Was there a wheel off track? Is the electronic eye breaking? (I cleaned them off with my hand.) Is there too much grease on the track? (I rubbed down the tracks.) Each time I would do something, I would run back and press the opener to see if the problem was fixed and each time the door would come down half way, hesitate and reverse direction.

How many times did I push the button in hopes that the door would go down all the way? Too many! So, I backed my car out of the garage, thinking that if the door stuck or went off track, it would be better for that to happen with the car outside of the garage rather than inside. I then took my purse and things inside the house and ran back out as if I knew what I was going to do. So, I pressed the garage opener one last time and it finally went down all the way. But, it did not go down with out a fight. An inch from the floor, the door hesitated and I held my breath until it groaned to a close.

This is the problem with home ownership. Not everything can be fixed with a good scrubbing and duct tape. Sometimes, an expert has to be called in to diagnose and fix what I cannot. So, in the end, it wasn’t cleaning that the garage door needed, it was a new opener. Enough said.

Hole in the Wall

There are times when living in a home leads to frustration and anger. I thought of all of that this week when I noticed a hole in the mortar surrounding the bricks. It was about the size of a quarter and about a foot from the ground. I imagined a mouse finding its way into my house or many more crawling animals having yet another entry into the house. I knew that I had to do something right away. To be clear, I had noticed this hole last fall, but the person who was going to tuck point that area, never showed up to do the job. Now, it  is spring and the hole, in my estimation, is even larger.

I took several pictures of the hole and went to Home Depot. I showed the Home Depot guy my pictures and asked if there was something that can be done short of tuckpointing. Amazingly enough, there  is something called Mortar Fix by Sikaflex. It cost less than $6 and you use it as you would caulk. Because I decided to give my ego a break and Home Depot guy offered, we went through step by step what I needed to do to complete the task. He showed me how to cut the tip off the Mortar Fix with the caulking gun and load the gun. He also said that I may have to cut the tip larger than what was possible with the caulking gun. After that help, I was good to go.

Let me be clear, this is not a blog about Home Depot, but I needed some serious help and their employee took the time and let me ask all the stupid questions I needed to ask. Plus, I had no intention of going back that day.

Back home, I cut the tip off with the caulking gun, but had to use a utility knife to get the tip the size I needed it to be. I loaded the gun and squeezed. Nothing happened. Then I read the directions. I failed to puncture the cannister at the base of the tip. Searching the garage, I found a skinny weapon to do the job and reloaded the mortar repair. This time I was in business. I went straight to the hole and filled it easily. I then noticed several more holes and began filling them also. All in all it was a successful and quick project. And I felt good about myself. Remember, I'm the person that took four days to change a recessed bulb. I wonder if there will ever be a time when I will feel less overwhelmed by the projects that come my way. But, I have learned that my best weapon is my camera. I have taken pictures of my next project and will be visiting a home improvement store soon to ask how I can complete it.

High Hopes!!!

In Kentucky, my grandparents had a crystal candy dish in their parlor filled with peppermints. I remember on one of my visits to Kentucky when, after eyeing the crystal candy dish, I asked if  I could have a piece of candy (pretty assured that the answer would be yes). But when I looked closely, I saw that ants had the same idea that I had. I passed on the candy and watched the ants in a single file climb into the dish for their dessert.  That was the only problem with ants I would ever see in my grandparent’s home.

Since I have moved into my own home, I have had continuing problems with ants. I don’t like using spray pesticides and because of that, I have used an assortment of ant baits. But the ants keep coming. I even paid for professional pest control for a full year. Unlike the other bugs, such as pill bugs or spiders that were kept at bay, the ants still seem to run the show. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is - spring, summer, winter, or fall - the ants still make their appearance in my kitchen or bathroom.

I’ll be honest with you; I’m at my wits end. No amount of cleaning or baiting has kept these insects away. I have set bait traps out only to see the ants go around them. I have tried “green” solutions and put baking soda on known ant trails (to keep ants away). It worked for about two days and then the ants came back. For another green solution, I put lemons slices around the sink to keep ants away. The ants just crawled either on or around them, but they kept coming. The only sure thing that makes the ants disappear is Mother Nature. If there is a heavy rainfall the ants suddenly disappear.

This year, I want to take back my kitchen. I don’t want to worry about walking into the kitchen on a sunny morning and finding hundreds of ants crawling over my cabinet (like last year). I realize that this is going to be more difficult than I first thought. I think that it will take a combination of sprays and baits on the inside and outside of the house. I bought Amdro as a barrier for the outside because I wanted to go with a pesticide designed to kill ants and not all bugs. I have a beautiful flower garden and I do not want to kill the bumble and honey bees who visit. (This is something that advertisements don’t tell you when they talk about killing ticks and fleas in your backyard. The same pesticide will kill beneficial insects.)

I went online and it seems that university extension sites and pest control sites all state the importance of knowing what kind of ant is invading your space. Unfortunately, when I was paying for pest control, no one mentioned the type of ant that was found in my house. But, I’m going out on a limb here and with out a microscope and a relative ignorance of insects, I think I have argentine ants. Quite frankly, I didn’t know there were so many kinds of ants and that they all act differently and have different foraging patterns. I’m going with the argentine ant because of their coloring and the foraging pattern seems to mesh with the ants in my home. 

Insects seem to have a way of getting what they need whether or not it is annoying to us. Ants eat what we eat or even what we throw away. I don't want to kill all ants (or even all bugs thought of as a nuisance), I just want my kitchen back.

Spring Cleaning and The Garage Door

Home improvement is a never ending cycle of cleaning, fixing, examining and wondering. I have come to believe that the most important facet in all of this is cleaning. Although, I have spoken about getting rid of spider sacks and webs and generally stepping up my cleaning game for the outside of the house, not enough can be said about the fact that cleaning improves everything. When I commuted Monday through Friday, cleaning of the exterior and interior of the house suffered. By Thursday, it looked as if a wind storm had swept throught the inside of the house as I busily made a list of things to do on the outside of the house for the weekend. Basically, finding time to keep things spic and span is difficult, if not impossible if you work a 9 to 5 job and have a significant commute. Now, since I am not commuting, I have had the opportunity to keep the home clean inside and tackle chores outside during the week. I am saying this for all the people who wonder why they can't get every chore that needs to get done during the week. Unless you have help; someone to clean the inside, trim the outside and make sure that everything that can go wrong in a home is immediately fixed, then cut yourself a break.

Being at home, I have learned a few things and made a couple of observations. Everything benefits from some cleaning. Even if it breaks while you are cleaning it, it was probably going to break anyway and probably at an inopportune moment.

I have an electric garage door opener with a torsion spring. The motor is mounted on the wall instead of the ceiling. Like many electric openers, it also has safety sensors located inside the garage, a couple of inches from the ground on each side of the door. The sensors have a beam that will either stop or reverse the direction of the door if it is broken. Unfortunately, the door would not always open fully when the opener was pushed, or the door would open very, very slowly. Sometimes, the garage door would only open about six inches and I would wind up pressing the opener until the door was at its highest level. I tried to trouble shoot the problem on my own, had other people look at it and finally paid someone to fix the problem. He told me I needed a new door and a new opener. It was very frustrating, eventhough I thought I was doing all of the required maintenance for the door.

One day, as I did my quarterly lubricating of garage door parts, I noticed that one of the rollers had come off of the track. I called my neighbor for help and as I waited for him to come over, I noticed a lot of dirt and cobwebs on and around the safety sensors. So, I grabbed my broom and began cleaning around the sensors.  My neighbor spectacularly put the wheel on track and then we tried the door. It opened and closed with ease. Later, when I used the door, it again  opened and closed with ease. A week passed and still no problem with the door. The light bulb went on for me. It just needed a good cleaning. The way the wind comes in, the door becomes a natural barrier, but all of the dirt and leaves, become lodged on either side of the door (where the sensors are). About a month passed and the door began slowing again. Then one day it stopped going up about half way. Again, I pressed the garage door opener and it went up all the way. Then I took time to clean around the sensors. Dust, dirt, and webs around the beams, seems to impair the function of the door. The manufacturer also stated that sunlight can affect the safety sensors. But I have not found sunlight to be the cause of my door not functioning properly. It's just dirt.

Although this means that there is one more thing to put on the "clean once a month list", it is certainly better than buying a new door and opener.

The Sound of Grass Growing

This week marks the arrival of the vernal equinox; for some of us, that means spring. Although, we are expecting snow on the vernal equinox,  I have been on my hands and knees cleaning the leaves left over from autumn. I could see the beginning of  flowers that will not bloom fully until summer. All of the plants were growing and pushing themselves into position for the warmth to come. I was impressed. But, this was also a call to arms. I have plants that I did not divide nor dig up in the fall that are already pushing themselves up and out. I am always a little behind on that sort of thing. Unfortunately, these are the plants that have the ability to spread without too much help from me. I am talking about tall grasses, like maiden grass. No, not short lawn grasses, like Kentuck Blue Grass, but tall grasses that are slowly overtaking everything.

I am not sure if this particular grass is an ornamental maiden grass and part of an invasive species. Because, I am in Illinois, we also have tall grasses that are native to the area. Grasses are particularly difficult to dig up, they have rhizomes that sends shoots laterally (hence, the squeeze on my other plants) and strong roots that prevent them from just being pulled up. This makes them particulary suited to this area, as in late summer we can go for weeks without rain. The strong root system keeps these plants alive.  No flowers or shrubs can stand in its way as it marches across my lawn. 
Maiden grass is beautiful and hardy. It comes in a variety of types and colors. Because it is a grass it can get very tall (three feet, at least); it seems to stretch several inches after each rain fall. At the end of last summer the grass was easily taller than the porch bannister and if I knew how to use a scythe it would have been easier to cut for the winter. It does very well in full sun, but does not seem to thrive as readily in the shadier parts of the lawn. It does not get bothered when it is very hot and we are in drought. It simply waits. Once the rain drenches it, the plant will grow exponentially. The other risk with this grass is that it will get very dry in between rain cycles and that can be a fire risk. Therefore, I am making the decision to dig up the grass that is directly in front of my wooden porch. I have another raised bed that has a grass plant in it that I will keep - for now.

Recessed Lighting Is Not My Friend

Things are just never as easy as they seem. I have recessed lighting throughout my home. It's been great in closets (no spare bulb hanging by itself with just a string or metal pull to keep it company)and in the kitchen. And for the first time since I moved in - a bulb blew. I thought that it would be a quick and easy fix. Climb onto the counter and change the bulb. NO. The bulb was so tight in the housing that I couldn't get my fingers around it. Then I thought that perhaps there was a hinge and I could pull it down. I saw the dust coming from the trim, and nothing, nothing bulged. And when it did, it seemed as if the housing was actually going to break. I stopped pulling. I hate to break things...anything. Okay. I climbed onto the counter top and tugged at the trim again and...nothing. Just more dust to clean up and a defeated ego.
I was just disgusted. To make myself feel better, I went to my local home improvement store and bought somethings to make life easier this spring. For some reason, I did not bring up the subject of changing a bulb in a recessed housing to any of the helpful home improvement store people. Stupid. But, I bought a wagon (for the garden)and felt pads for the bottom of my kitchen chairs. I thought for sure the felt pads would be my win. I was protecting my wood floors. I was improving my home!
I decided to do that little project correctly. I was not just going to slap the felt on the feet of the chairs...I was going to clean the feet of all debris. I got a bucket, warm soapy water and plopped each rubber foot into the bucket. Then I noticed the big black stain on the carpet. Oil from one of the chairs. Did my not facing the recessed lighting debacle lead me to wanting a win so badly, that I stained my beige carpeting with oil? I finished putting the felt on the chairs. Then I bought out another cleaner to work on the carpet. Defeated again. And still, my light bulb was not changed.
That night I hit the internet for hints. I learned how to install recessed lighting and the importance of not tugging at the housing - oops. So, I cleaned off the counter and climbed on top. Using a technique I can only describe as, pushing in and turning counter clockwise with only my finger tips, the bulb began to turn and eventually dropped into my hand. Success! With the bulb in hand, I went back to the home improvement store I visited earlier in the week and bought a replacement bulb. Happily, I now have a full lighting in the kitchen and a healthy respect for recessed lighting.

Mushy Ground

I am starting to see more of the lawn as the snow slowly recedes; I am excited. We are far from a final frost, but this is just a beginning step as spring slowly creeps in. I really just can't wait. Today, even as the sky remained overcast, the temperature broke 32 degrees fahrenheit and I found myself in the garage...cleaning and preparing.

Eventhough, I did a fall cleanup there was plenty to do, and of course less spiders to worry about. I also thought that it was a great time to clean off any old webs and spider sacks before the weather warmed up and I had scene from a bad horror film. Yes, bugs are a recurring theme with me and I want to tackle them without always using a pesticide. For spiders, it's important to keep areas clean and wipe away spider sacks.

I still don't know what to do about the ants that are a real nuisance in the spring, summer and fall. Unfortunately, I have raised planting beds up against the house; that is a point of entry for some insects and it also creates a good habitat for many to live in. Again, because I want to use as few pesticides as possible, it's important to consider the changes I need to make in order to have a less hospitable habitat for them. From roly-polies (pill bugs), yellow jackets, ants and centipedes...all of these animals play an important role in the environment, but they can also make us miserable at the same time.

It also means that I have to step up and make sure that I am keeping the garage and outside of the house clean; seal cracks and other holes that bugs may set up house in; educate myself on the insects in my area and what attracts them. For instance, a while back, my father had a leaking pipe, the following year there was an exponential increase in household centipedes. Yuck! They are not insects, but relatives of shrimp! They needed the water to survive and thrive. Leaking pipe = more centipedes. The leak was fixed and the centipede number dwindled. So,that is my pre-spring cleaning plan. Find the "leaking pipes" that make my home or surroundings so hospitable to insects and fix them. In that way, I will use less pesticides and potentially harmful chemicals while enjoying my time outside in the yard or inside my home.

In Praise of Power Tools: Heart Attack Snow

This week, we along with the rest of the country, had another round of snow. It was predicted that our area would get three inches of snow. We got six. Surprise. What wasn't a surprise was the type of snow; heavy, water laden snow, commonly referred to as "Heart Attack Snow". This snow is hard to push and difficult to pick up. Unfortunately, each year, a number of people die after shoveling it.
I didn't want to be part of that statistic and instead of a snow shovel (I have three and they all serve a particular function), I used an electric snow thrower. Last year, I realized that a snow shovel was not always the best implement for clearing snow off of a driveway. If the snow is to deep or heavy I couldn't move it on my own. This year I invested in the snow thrower to give me help when needed.
To tell you the truth, I had been holding out using it because I wasn't very comfortable using power tools. When I was growing up, I, because of my gender, wasn't allowed to use any power tools; excluding the vacuum cleaner. Power tools were the purview of men.
But this week, it was time to face that nagging insecurity. So I plugged it up, pushed the start button, pulled the bail and away I went. I was in awe! Snow flew from my driveway and into the yard. I learned to put the cord on my left (and not on my right, as I would do with a vacuum). No wonder men love power tools.
Soon, I had enough room for the car. I felt fabulous! Not just because my driveway was cleared of snow, but because that nagging insecurity about power tools, became less influential. For me, owning a house is just like everything else; sometimes the worst part is not when I do something and it doesn't work, it's when I don't try at all. For now, power tools are great, I just have to remember to unplug them, don't stick important body parts in them, wipe them off after use and always give myself time enough to use it properly. In as much as I am impressed with the precision of tools that are not "juiced", there is a time and place for those tools that allow us to be a little more powerful.

Planning Your Garden: The Bad Boyfriend Pond

This week I've come across several newspaper articles that reads something like "Now is the time to plan your garden". Really? I thought I was supposed to be planning my garden in the fall as I cut back plants, put up patio furniture, unhooked the hose, and generally prepared for winter.

I have garden plans and I dream of heirloom tomatoes, pesticide free zucchini, yellow squash and other goodies. But, the looming obstacle is a man made pond that is in need of repair. Like a bad boyfriend, I have given it more attention than it deserves. This past summer the pump. Not good. And if one thing needs fixing, other things need to be fixed also. And they did. The man made pond - that I did not make - became my failure, of sorts. As everything from supports not supporting, electrical outlets not having electricity and pond water leaking from an unseen hole (or holes) it was apparent that an overhaul was needed. Like all bad boyfriends, the pond became an object of hope.

Well, I hope that works. I hope the water comes out. I hope I can find the hole(s). I hope...

This spring, the pond can no longer be the sole object of affection in the yard. There are plants, compost piles and mulch screaming for attention and they, yes, they have been with me through thick and thin. My garden is planned for the most part and I, like others cannot wait to get out and separate plants and dig into a ground that winter has finally relaxed its grip on. The pond in the back will get its due. A new pump and a reconfiguration that will use less water and be easier to keep up. It will not be the bad boyfriend any more and I will no longer run home hoping that it will change.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

By now most of the country has had snow hit the ground, trees, or roof tops. It doesn't seem as if anyone has been spared (except Hawaii). I am happy that in the southern suburbs of Chicago, the snow came in under 12 inches.


It took me three outings and most of the day to clear the driveway. Truthfully, a three foot swath was not (and will not) be shoveled. I was lucky, a neighbor with a snow plow cleared several inches away, so I did not have to shovel the entire nine plus inches of fresh powder. But, what I had was enough.


For those of you who don't know, I am new to home ownership, however, I'm not new to snow. I grew up in Chicago and went through the big snow of 1979. I shoveled the side walk with abandon and with the promise of hot chocolate and a couple of extra dollars when I finished, I was happy. Now, I live in the suburbs of Chicago. The driveway often seems too long when it has to be shoveled or plowed when the snow falls.

This was a struggle last year. I am a single woman, surrounded by families. I have learned several things in this year of home ownership. First, it is the men who do the majority of yard work. Secondly, I learned that I was itimidated. I fantasized about having a man I could turn to and say, "Honey, why don't you ask John what fertilizers he uses on his lawn." But, that was not going to happen. During, the year I would break out in a sweat, if I had to do anything outside. Cut down plants, rake the yard, dig mushrooms/toadstools out of the yard, pick up the daily paper. Why? I would be the single woman who just couldn't hack it. I feared being the neighbor who's lawn, house, or activities, just didn't live up to the rest of the neighborhood. I saw the men with their very manly machines, seemingly in control of everything that they did.


A year can make a difference and being adopted by the 80 year-old widower next door can help a lot. He's the one who told me that the house will shift twice a year; he mulched my leaves when I was at work and he told me the best way to clean leaves out of the gutters (get on top of the roof ). This winter, I was less intimidated and kept my driveway almost as clean as the guys (with help from the neighbor with the plow). I would get out out and shovel and not worry about what anyone thought of me. How did that happen...I don't know. Perhaps, I was much more comfortable in my own skin and therefore I was more comfortable letting others see it also. Or, perhaps, I was comforted by the many stories involving men falling off their roofs or getting fingers caught in snowblowers or lawmowers. Or, perhaps, I was no longer the new kid on the block. Now, as I work out outside, I am more confident. The guys on the block are a treasure trove of information. And each time I beat the guys and am working in the yard before them, I feel even better.