ITS A BOY!

SO far I'm still unable to type directly in the editor... its discouraging *sigh* seems every place I visit regularily online has suddenly changed to a point where I no long ENJOY it! My old photo spot, Flickr, is horrible after the upgrade, Facebook is very confusing, and now blogger is trying to lock me out too...BIG GROWL!!

BUT I have to blog about my melon....so here goes in html mode...
I KNOW Its a LOT of chatter and limelight for just an old melon...but ITS MY FIRST so I have to bragg and share. I picked it today, it weighed in at 5 lbs!!!





I hope its ripe, I didnt really know how to tell, but I was getting scared since its turned really hot, I dont want it to get over exposed! I have had pumpkins not make it through August due to the heat, they will literally cook, then rot n die...


I will save these seeds because they must be very hardy since they came up on their own from the compost pile and grew a melon to this size, there were 3 melons originally this one took off the other 2 shriveled up and died right away.

...and my tomatoes kinda went nutz they are outgrowing the pots...I get about one per day off them..one is a cherry the other is also a small pear shaped tomato..

Believe it or not last fall I collected some seed pods from the pitcher plants that grow in Goodale State Park, near me...and I put the seeds in some seed starter and made this little terrarium from an empty Fast Food container I got out of the trash! I cut a small slit in the top for ventilation and ITS been in there since last October, and the little pitchers are actually growing! IF these do actually get large enough to transplant that will be amazing...I never thought they would sprout, it did take about 16 weeks for them to sprout!!



IM still working on the DIY home project that helps me to stay in shape...Flossie stays in shape doing YOGA!



She calls this one Upward Facing Dog!!

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

Free and Not so Free.

Today the girls had to go meet the Care-A-Van, the mobile vet, for their shots, blood tests and heartworm pills.  I got a yrs supply cause its always a pain running around trying to get supplies..so they are set for a entire YEAR! AND we were first in line...I got there at 10 till 10 and no one was there yet.  I go to the IGA parking lot, they are there about every 3 weeks so its a great thing for the community..and dont you know that the DVM's are trying to stop the mobile vets from providing some services! I swear soon the under priviledged and ME are not going to be able to make it in this wealthy society where only the well to do will be able to afford anything!!! Can you tell Im a little fed up? As it is it cost me $212.00 for the 2 dogs, blood test, heartworm pills which I cant get without the bloodtest result of negative.  Then the yearly booster shots, and their vaccine tags.  IF I had to go do this at the VET's office I would have to pay an additional $40 for an office visit per dog! So I hope the DVM's are defeated with this latest attempt at making life harder for the majority of us!

I've never successfully grown a watermelon or cantaloupe in my garden, it generally gets too hot, BUT this yr...a volunteer came up in the compost pile...I dont know what it is yet what do you think? It could be a squash of some kind too....medontknow!

I may see some slight ridges and that may mean cantaloupe

Been getting a few of the small tomatoes for the window ledge along with a sunflower and a dahlia flower broken over by the hard rain so they had to come inside so I could continue to enjoy these Beautiful faces, OH the birds planted that Sunflower for me :o)

So I got a nice melon on the vine, and sunflowers all thanks to the efforts of mother nature..OH and in my compost pile are more avacado trees! ONE did live that I transplanted last yr.  I thought they all died but then I found it...Ill have to keep you posted on that one...and I will try transplanting the two new ones.

I love my rooster plates got these in the "dime store" for a buck a piece! They are just cheap plates but for everyday they make me smile!

and Im not working on the inside of the "windows" room.  The old sunroom.  Im putting up new paneling on the walls I had to remove and putting the trim around the windows on the inside..

Ive got the inside casing & ledges done and have the small one finished...just the finish paint needs to be put on. I primed the wood already...the paneling I like it the way it is, but I didnt tear down the dividing wall so I will paint that wall I'm gonna go BRIGHT more on that later.

Im going to put a shelf the length of the wall in that space....a great spot for starting seedlings....I created a LARGE ledge for the South Facing Lower Window I figure plants will want to sit there and enjoy that window! This end of the room will be the new potting and winter plant storage area..and who knows what else.

IM waiting for the finale of HGTV Design Star, comes on at 8 pm... this is the first time I've watched it...fun to see what ideas other have...some are outrageous--- others are pretty dang cool!!

PEACE

6th time around...the sun

Hope everyone had good 4th of July, my dogs Annie and Flossie had a birthday they are now 6 yrs old! I cant believe that...seems like only yesterday they were a pack of lost and unwanted 7 puppies... I found homes for all of them! We kept these two girls...almost kept 3 but at the last minute my X found a good home for Daisy Mae she was the runt of this litter.  The pups were starving and sick when we found them..

Daisy, Flossie and Annie all had Parvo a horrid intestinal disease, but I nursed them back to health they each got 30cc's of Ringers IV drip twice a day!!

We did it right on the kitchen counter I hung the IV bag on the cabinet knob and gave each a nice subcutaneaous dose of IV Fluids and IV antibiotics.. I kept them  cozy on warm heating pads, and eventually they all came around...I was prepared to keep all the sisters together but a great home on a farm opened up when a family's old dog was put to sleep due to his age and bad health so they needed a good dog to run on the farm, Daisy was the girl for the job..since she got well first! I WOULD love to see her again!! She had the shorter hair like Annie, Flossie was the only long haired one in the pack.

Spooning 

Shoes as a pillow?

 

Daisy Mae

 I hope she is happy and healthy like her sisters! 

Back to present day... 

Last weekend I finished up that East Wall on the project house..and did the demo on the South Wall..

! It was a LOT of work!!

                                                                before       

                                                                   after

Here is the Demo part....

                         And then i reframed and sheathed for the new windows...the openings are under the black felt paper, but I didnt cut it cause I had to wait till July 4th on a day off to install the windows!!

                                                                         

                                                 Before          

                                                 after

So on the 4th I installed the new windows and today I put up the siding

...although all those big windows were cool and gave lots of light all were rotten and I couldnt afford to replace each with a new window, so SOME are better than NONE.. I like the windows that slide side to side so thats what these are. The new siding matches perfectly!! YOU cant tell where the old is ---Check it out the color is perfect I had to order it so I went to  my Local Builders Supply and they hooked me up. I think I can afford a couple of small shutters...BUT what color???? And I have to cut a Gable Vent in the peak...that thing cost $40! I have 3 things sold on ebay to pay for it soon as they pay Ill go get the vent!

NOT all work today tho...

I had fun playing with this guy that lives in the BIG Hosta! One of the flowers opened up today so I wanted to photograph it, and THEN I saw something move--- a flirty flash of orange..

WHAT the........?

                                                               OH>>>>>hello!

                   

He has the perfect spot to hold up during all the rain we've had.. a total of 10.8 inches  in June and July has been WETTER so far!

 Makes me feel really bad for the ones out West who need some rain...wish I could send some your way...till next time...

PEACE



The East and South Side!

My blog is written around my Life and to me Life is art so..here's more of my Life my Art...

Well I havent been doing anything exciting ..I did go to the Piggly Wiggly and bought a couple weeks worth of groceries! Since my vacation week Ive had my nose to the grind... literally.

AND I continue to REDO this old house..now working on the East side ....this room that is off the screen porch was meant to be a sunny room for plants especially in the winter I LOVE lots of potted plants but they cant all stay outdoors.  It had windows all over the place all different sizes, types, and styles.

the light is good but each window was a spot for water damage to start and to get worse and worse...and now all are  in a bad state ---rotten and leaking! The wood sheathing under the vinyl siding had areas of water damage in that corner below that Roof Valley I spoke of in my last post...,so it had to come off...

I did it as I do everything ---one step at a time....

SO off it came..the 2 top windows with panes were wood and in very bad shape and water was getting in around those, the 2 plate glass in the center were framed with wood and it was also leaking around these...the botton left and right are metal and the windows are still okay and I decided to reuse these but do a better job of flashing them so no water can't get inside..NO MATTER how hard it blows or how hard it rains!!!

Im a big believer in reusing, and saving MONEY... I got this idea,,,,mmmm....I had attached a lean-to onto the tool shed many yrs back and called it the greenhouse, it was basically a potting shed and a place to store potting soil, pots gardening tools etc...with many years of neglect it also was ready to come down...some of the sheathing was in good enough shape to be reused so I decided to tear it down and salvage some sheathing and 2 x 4's to frame up the now empty window holes...NOW you see it...

NOW YOU DONT...

I salvaged enough shealthing to fix up the spots where the windows were removed and moved..

This is the job my sis helped me with, we put the sheathing up and then some 30lb felt paper..which is what was originally used on this house under the siding...now a days they use house wrap, its nothing more than plastic...I think the felt paper is a better choice for me..it keeps wind and rain out and it was pretty easy to put up! I used this new peel and stick membrane around the windows to keep water OUT!

I moved the right side window to the left, cause I need that wall space INSIDE the room to relocate the laundry area into this end of this space...the electric water heater is already there so the w/d should fit right beside...

Anyways that is the plan.  Unfortunately I think Im going to be 3 pcs short of enough of the siding to finish the wall,,,,,I have enough to ALMOST finish it...I will need to order as good a match as possible...trying to tie it together maybe a Bump in Road....as long as the color is a good match I think it will work...

then it started RAINING so I'll get back to it when I can...I have yet another wall of windows to remake...on the front side..the south side..these also leak, the double panes on the bottom have fogged over, its a mess...

That's all coming out....  2 were removed by my X a few yrs back he didnt match the color so you see how it stands out  so I hope I can get a better match ...Ive ordered a new large window to go in the center its 36 x 48 and 2 smaller ones will go above. The smaller ones 24 x 24 have arrived the center one wont arrive until July 1st....... I HOPE its gonna look uniform...wont know until its IN.  Im thinking these windows will  provide good light to overwinter plants...

These are the small ones...LOOKS easy to install...

famous last words?

PEACE

That Old House Update!

before

I took down the old 1950's awnings and created some of my own design! I had some redwood Ive been hanging onto for years, SO Now I finally used it... to frame up the new awning. The new ones let in more light and do the job of keeping the rain out.  I still have to add the last 2 ft over the door, but cant put that up just yet.  I plan to remove those windows on that wall (to the right), they are leaking and when i do I wont be putting it back in the same configuration and so that piece of Vinyl siding the awning will attach over will be removed so...anyways its one of those chicken or egg things..The porch has been repainted, and rescreened and a new door is up I used a storm door it wont rot, and I already had it so FREE is good.

aft

It took me forever and the last thing to do is paint the floor but that will come later too...The room (with windows) will need a floor paint too so at the same time Ill do that.  RIGHT now Im removing the siding that is INSIDE that room, Im hoping to create a utility closet on one wall in that room...and then I can move the laundry out there...This room used to be a sunroom, but I find it was never used as one..it was used more for storage SO why fight it create a storage/utility, sort of room. there is more water damage to repair in this room...it will be interesting to see what I can about it!

More fix ups....water damage..

 

         

Also doing more painting...and UP on the roof again fixing yet another leak that showed up in the valley of this addition, during the 2 days of HEAVY rain we had...NO photos of that..omg it was horrible, I had tar all over me..

...and I had to spend 2 days in the dentist office! One of my molars broke in half....so a crown, -----$975.00!!*&^%/!! Holy Broken Bank Acct---!

SO now you understand why Im painting the old door hardware instead of replacing it...New Door hardware $20 can of spray paint $4.00

A simple fix 

                                  

I HOPE I will soon be working INSIDE the house I wanted to get all the outside stuff done before the tempts go up into the high 90's and beyond...and SO much rain, delayed things a bit but I have kept very busy cleaning out the old shed, now I can get my tools in there and going thru the Ebay stuff yet again, I tossed  some out, it was not selling...and now im gonna be listing all my son's old toys from the 1980's!

I need every penny I can get to buy building supplies!

so the rest of my vacation was spent working on projects...I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation...I guess Ill get a day off on July 4th!

I dug one wicker chair out...wonder if I'll ever get to sit in it?

Maybe I'll sit down and have lunch in this chair, can you tell my food faces are impromptu?
(electric cord upper left..haha)

I call this Tea Time!

PEACE

Yellow Branch Falls

Got to take a hike this weekend! Yep another waterfall and a great day to be out in the woods enjoying the trees, flowers and, other things!

uh... this snake is pushing his head into a crack in this log...I guess there's something in there he wants to eat!

The girlz had a big day...and that old gal with her hat on backwards had a great time!!

They look 3-D in this shot dont you think?

Mother natures infinity pool edge...

I think this is a milkweed...its sure was a pleasant surprise in the woods.

My friend has a good eye she spotted a couple of salamanders in the waters edge! I'll have to research to find the name of this one.  He is hiding under a hickory nut shell..

Yellow Branch Falls hike was about 3 mi. round trip.  Some ups and downs along a narrow ridge trail through a very heavy oak,hickory forest later we arrived at the falls.  Water levels were low but the flow was still very nice. This waterfall is about 60 ft tall and its a fan class falls with plenty of rock table layers to creat lots of splashing!!

A really good trip!!! Fun was had by all!!

PEACE