Tuesday

This, That, and The Other Thing...

Inevitably when I don't have a DIY project to post for a week, emails start to arrive asking if everything is ok.

I happen to think it's really sweet that my readers, who don't even know me, take time out of their day to drop a note to check in on me.

Just so you know, if I have died, I won't answer the emails.

And I'm fine, but thanks for asking.

I could write a rambling post about nothing, but I've chosen to discuss this that and the other thing.  But really it's a rambling post about nothing.

This time of year we are just so happy for no snow and sunshine, we spend a lot of time doing yard work and removing the snow scum from everything.  Project #2. 

Hostas Yard Border, Bliss-Ranch.com

Like raking back the leaves so the hostas can take over as a border in our back yard.


Stuff needs to be done, and while I certainly could write a post on how to mulch your landscape, if you really want to know how to do that, Google the question and someone who thinks they are an authority on it will have a photo gallery of the process for you.

Bags of Mulch

I will say this about re-mulching the mulched areas - Project #3 - for 20 years we have just ordered a truck load of mulch where they drop it in a pile and the boys have to wheelbarrow and shovel it around.

This year the home improvement store had mulch on sale for cheap so we just did it the bagged way, and ummmm...... what a time saver. 

Park the mulch bags right where they go, slice them open spread it around by shaking it out of the bags.

Would of been worth it all those years to spend more and not have to cart it around the yard.  It was like double the work buying it by the truck load, then to find out if we watched for a sale it was actually cheaper, well.....

We'll chalk that up to live and learn.

front walk way cement project

Then as if there weren't several other projects waiting to be finished, the front walk had a huge crack.  For the last 5 years.

And if you leave my husband alone on his own with out yard supervision, he will decide to stray off task and jack hammer the cracked walk, and start another project, Project #4. 

This of course morphs into the whole front walk getting a make over with new color, Project #5.

So if you stop at our house, don't use the front door. 

I'll love it when it's done, but my sons would like to shower in the bathroom - Project #1 - before the next century. 

reuse concrete as stepping stones, Bliss-Ranch.com

You can however walk over to the duck hut without stepping in mud.

The chunks of concrete are being re-purposed as stepping stones for Clementine, but they need to be dug into the ground so they are flush.  Project #6 

Duck

Look how happy Clementine is about this all. 

If it sounds like I'm complaining that stuff actually gets done, I'm not, it's just the difference between my husband and I in the way we operate to get those things done. 

I'm fortunate I have a husband who can do anything and I'm thankful, but I feel like he thrives a bit on the chaos of having 10 projects going at the same time, where if it was me, I'd do one, then move on to the next.  Possibly I'd have two projects going so if one was drying I could work on the second, but no more than that.

Which is what I did last week.

painting deck rail

I painted rail in the morning on a deck off our bedroom that was over due for a fresh coat of paint.  Then I went to the store and bought some stain at noon, and by 4:00 the floor boards and rail were all done and clean up complete. 

One project, done one at a time.

You've seen stuff get painted before, you didn't need a tutorial from me about how to stir paint and brush it on, so basically I continued on with my chores and didn't write about that boring stuff.

paint supplies

There is even a difference in how we would have painted the rail. 

He left me the rollers and I used a brush and styrofoam coffee cup.

paint can styrofoam cup

So anyway, that's why there is no furniture or interesting DIY posts.  I'm helping with what I can as we jump from project to project.

mulch tools

So thank you for checking in on me.  I'm getting some dirt under my fingernails, and deciding which flowers from the nursery I will kill this season.  And while the flowers don't stand a chance, I'm alive and well, just sort of a kangaroo jumping around.





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20 comments :

  1. I was actually in the car on my way to drive up to see if you were okay. i just turned around. thanks for saving me a trip. I am convinced that our husbands are wired alike. Tell clementine hello.

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  2. Well, Clementine appears totally happy with whatever...I'm like you, like to start and finish a project. We've had so much rain it's been hard to get anything done. I totally agree with the bagged mulch method. My occasional gardener says the volume per scoop is greater than the same proclaimed measurements of the bags, but I think he's just saying that for job security. I say cheaper by the bag, less labor = cheaper overall. I did it myself, quickly, and cheaply.

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  3. you always crack me up. if i have died, i won't answer the emails. BAHAHA.

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  4. re the bag versus shovelful and your ability to kill flowers...have seen people grow beautiful flowering plants by using a bag of potting soil. They just lay the bag in the bed where they want flowers and cut a big X on the top of the bag and plant their flowers or flowering plants right into the bag. They do it with vegetables like squash too. And, my husband is like yours. I call him the Handyman who is not ever handy.

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    1. Interesting idea. It's the ones I plant in pots that I kill though. And Brawn is the handiest man I know, I guess that's why he starts so many projects to get all that handiness outta his hands. You gotta get your email on your blog, or fix the no-reply blogger thing, I can never reply to your comments unless I do it this way, and I rarely do it this way!

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  5. We have been adding new mulch, too and your hubby and mine must be related. I wish mine would finish one thing and then start a new project. So many things are half done around here.

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  6. Your husband sounds like mine a little bit. Mine starts a project and then doesn't always complete it. He starts something else and just continues working on whatever he's in the mood to do at the time. Sometimes that results in things NEVER getting finished around here! Ugh! But, I'm like you and am also grateful to have someone that is willing to do it at all. Glad to know that you're keeping busy with things around the house. Sometimes, it's not very exciting but very necessary nonetheless.

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  7. Well, I knew you were ok- but I'm happy to hear that sweet Clementine is happy about all this yard business taking place. Do I need to call Brawn and tell him to get a move on? ;)

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  8. Firstly, Clementine is so cute I completely want to smother her with hugs and smooches and that's very weird because she's a duck. Secondly, I have project envy because I am of the fart-in-a-skillet cloth and have at least 9.3 projects going on at any given time. Some of that is due to the fact I need (ahem, someone's) help and he's not always available so I have to move on the the next thing. Like scrubbing the toilet with his toothbrush. Oh, and I've been doing lots of yard work as well and I brought a tick to work with me last week and had to have the secretary pluck it from my scalp. I love country living.

    -andi

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  9. You have a Clementine duck? I'm so jealous! How incredibly cute she is. My dad is the kind of person who has always had a hundred projects going at once. I love projects but something has to get finished so we can clean up a mess here and there. I'm always in awe of the things he has accomplished when we go to visit though and I'm sure it's that way at your house too.

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  10. We've been mulching too. We got the truck delivery. I thought of getting the bags, but loading them onto a cart at the store then into the car, then home, then stacked in the driveway from the car and then to the garden sounds like a lot of work too. Either way it's not too MULCH fun! :))

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  11. Unfortunately, we are both of the "let's have a hundred projects going!" ilk. I married him because I thought he'd keep me on the straight and narrow. Oh well; at least it's not snowing!!

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  12. I love getting stuff done outside -- good for the soul!
    xo heidi

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  13. Hmmm ... when I don't post for a week - or two - I get no emails. I guess my readers don't care. Or perhaps they're happy that I don't show up in their email inboxes! So happy you are alive and well and getting dirty fingernails! :)

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  14. You sound busy and enjoying spring! I tend to get small projects done quickly, but both my husband and I are a bit like your husband when it comes to the bigger ones...which is why it takes us 10 years to finish anything.

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  15. I hate it when maintenance gets in the way of a good new project! I've been blogging long enough now that some earlier projects need to be maintained. I do not like that! I understand Brawn on this one. I'll be thinking of your dirty fingernails when my own are crammed with dirt from my own gardening. The mulch we use isn't available in bulk. Thank God. Because you are right, it is easier by the bag. Three years ago we had 6 yards of compost dumped in the driveway, and half ended up in the street. We had to shovel, move and spread that in one day. I thought we were going to die.

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  16. I'm so tired of maintenance I want to complete projects I tell ya. Projects lol.

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  17. First, good to know about the bagged mulch. I've always done bagged mulch, but this year was considering whether I should buy a truck load to 'save money'. You've talked me right out of even spending another second thinking about it. Second, good gracious that Clementine is cute as can be. Who knew a duck could be such a charmer?

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  18. First, good to know about the bagged mulch. I've always done bagged mulch, but this year was considering whether I should buy a truck load to 'save money'. You've talked me right out of even spending another second thinking about it. Second, good gracious that Clementine is cute as can be. Who knew a duck could be such a charmer?

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  19. At least all of your projects seem to ping off each other. Mine have no relation with each other whatsoever, but, boy they still need to get done! Love the salvaged stepping stones idea for Clemantine!

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