H&G Randoms

[TBM]

We are having tree work done right now.... trees (two 50 or 60ft pine trees, and a couple of whatever kind of oak trees fall on houses in hurricanes) are being removed, and some others in the front yard are getting storm ready. One of the oaks has issues and was leaning toward the house, and the other one makes the driveway tight...tight enough that it has been hit by various workers vehicles in the last few years.

After the thunderstorm we had an hour or so ago, and the 5+ hours of firecrackers/fireworks last night, my normally scaredy dogs don't even care about the noise from the tree guys and their equipment. Good thing, because I am too tired to deal with scaredy dogs.


In other news, we have monarch butterflies! We have been feeding caterpillars and protecting them from predators (hard work in our yard), and have released a dozen or so in the last week. Today we have had thirteen butterflies emerge (so far), and will release them once they are all ready.

We have turned our plant window into an enclosure for them. I would post pics, but I am not sure how to on the app. It used to be easier.

[mrs.jacinthe]

There is still a large hole in the dining room ceiling. I need to follow up with the repair guy, but I know he's been busy and I would rather wait for him to have time to do it right than find someone else who I don't know or trust.

We're considering re-installing hot water heat into our house (we currently have forced air) because it's so freaking dry in the winter and I can't seem to apply enough lotion.

We got yet ANOTHER citation from the CalFIRE people regarding our trees and I am unhappy. I think they want us to cut them all down, but I'm not ok with that - our house is on a slope and it would destabilize the slope, as well as remove ALL shade. They also want us to branch our cedar up 6' from the bottom and I'm not ok with that either, because it's already getting lopped off at the top by the power company and would wind up looking like a damn puffball on a stick.

[Violet]

TBM , I'm kinda jealous you are getting rid of your pines. I have a huge pine I'd love to get rid of because of the mess it makes and that it shades our whole backyard (aka nothing grows or dries out) but realistically it's a healthy tree and our town would never allow it.

mrs.jacinthe , have you thought about adding a humidifier to your furnace? Our's was like $400 installed and helps so much with the dryness.


We are reglazing and painting two windows (one is 20 panes of glass) and I'm so over it. I think my hand is permanently cramped from holding a brush.

[TBM]

Jul 5, 2018 15:19:32 GMT -5 Violet said:

TBM , I'm kinda jealous you are getting rid of your pines. I have a huge pine I'd love to get rid of because of the mess it makes and that it shades our whole backyard (aka nothing grows or dries out) but realistically it's a healthy tree and our town would never allow it.

Every single contractor and neighbor told us that we should 'watch out for those pines' with the storms, when we moved in 5 yrs ago.

Our neighbors across the street like to watch when we have hurricanes, and they keep telling us how far those two lean toward the house during the storms. I'm sure that they will continue to mention them, but now it will be 'aren't you glad that you listened to us and took out those pine trees that could have crashed onto your house?'

We still have plenty of trees that can fall on our house, but we got rid of the worst one (one of the oaks presented a bigger danger) today. ;p

[definitelyO]

we just had our peach tree taken out - I loved that tree. but it was dying and I felt better about it after they cut it down and found that the inside 6" of the trunk was rotted.... we planted 2 new non-fruiting pear trees and I love how they look already. trees are such a pain though - and so expensive to buy and take down...

I HATE hanging pictures. we just painted the interior of the house and 1) I don't want to put holes in the walls, but 2) command strips don't stick to our walls/paint - I tried and the pictures fell a day later 3) but I love having pictures hanging...

[mrs.jacinthe]

Jul 5, 2018 15:19:32 GMT -5 Violet said:

mrs.jacinthe , have you thought about adding a humidifier to your furnace? Our's was like $400 installed and helps so much with the dryness.

We would, but our furnace is already 25 years old and limping along, highly inefficient, and takes up way too much space in our house.  I'm thinking since everything needs replaced anyhow, it would be better to go back to a more efficient model of house heating than forced air.  

[candreco]

I am shocked that our kitchen remodel really only took the three weeks the contractor said it would, plus a couple days for some extra electrical work uncovered during demo. They took the room down to the studs and subfloor, removed part of a wall, etc. in two days, and then three weeks later they had put it all back together.

I haven't had a chance to take decent pics of it, but I love it so, so much.

[Violet]

candreco, woah, that's quick! Any chance the company is in Chicagoland? Our neighbors are doing a kitchen remodel and I swear it's been a 4 month long process. I'm dreading doing ours after seeing how long theirs is taking.

[candreco]

Jul 6, 2018 8:50:58 GMT -5 Violet said:

candreco , woah, that's quick! Any chance the company is in Chicagoland? Our neighbors are doing a kitchen remodel and I swear it's been a 4 month long process. I'm dreading doing ours after seeing how long theirs is taking.

Sorry, Northern Virginia.  But if anyone happens to be looking for a remodeler in the NoVa area, let me know!  

[munkii]

I'm throwing a surprise birthday party for H tomorrow. To make it H+G related, my house is a disaster, and I really don't want to do anything. I'm crampy and am having allergy issues (my nose won't stop running!). I'll get it together shortly...

[mrsukyankee]

The guy who came to do gardening in our back yard did half the job. And then didn't finish. And almost 3 weeks later, it's still not done. He's old, has an old wife and I think some health issues. I wish I hadn't paid as much to him initially cause I'm not sure he has incentive. I might have to get someone else in. Sigh.

[momin2013]

We just had a new sycamore tree planted yesterday - it's a pretty good-sized one, and I'm hoping it'll give us some much needed privacy in one side of our yard.

Also, we have 6 apples on our apple tree - so excited!!!

[TBM]

All of that tree work yesterday really brightened up the front of the house. I only opened one of the blinds in the living room today and it is lighter than it usually is when I open two or three of the blinds. It looks so much more open....now when I look out the one front window that I usually have the blind up, I can see across the street without anything blocking the view. Their front yard is not my aste, but it is nicely landscaped and is well manicured and pleasant to look at. Ours is.....not. I really need to get a pro to help with that.

We still need to have the stumps ground, so it actually makes it more difficult at the moment to drive out of the driveway. You can't see where the stumps are and could really cuse some tire damage if you ht the stumps. DH didn't schedule the grinding with the tree trimming, so now we have to wait for the guy to fit us into his schedule.


Yesterday we released thirteen butterflies, but one didn't make it. Today we have already released three (well, four, but one may not make it), and we have four more inside not quite yet ready to fly. Qlso, qw have afternoon storms coming so I don't want to put anyone out there that isn't dry enough to fly well and is able to find shelter.

In the wild, the rate for monorch that make it is something like 2%. I ws shocked to find that out, but after 'raising' them, it maes sense. There are a lot of predators that go for the caterpillars and the chrysalises. The caterpillars are jerks sometimes and knock down a chrysalis. More than once we have seen caterpillars attack one that is J hanging or is actually in the process of transforming to a chrysalis. Last week we saw one bite the bottom of the just formed (and still wiggling) chrysalis which then started leaking green goop, so it died.

Some of the butterlies are kind of stupid. lol Instead of just hanging on to the empty chrysalis (big, easy to hold onto) for awhile to dry out, like a normal butterfly, some of them move to the screen above or a leaf or something else that is really hard to hold onto especially when your wings and body are dripping wet. They fall like a lead ballon, and rumple their wings. They cant get up, because they are too heavy, so you try to get them hanging on to something so that their wings can flatten out and dry correctly. Some of them get the idea, but others keep trying to walk around, loose their footing and fall again and again. Definitely not in the 2%. ;p

[simpsongal]

Jul 6, 2018 8:55:26 GMT -5 candreco said:

Jul 6, 2018 8:50:58 GMT -5 Violet said:

candreco , woah, that's quick! Any chance the company is in Chicagoland? Our neighbors are doing a kitchen remodel and I swear it's been a 4 month long process. I'm dreading doing ours after seeing how long theirs is taking.

Sorry, Northern Virginia.  But if anyone happens to be looking for a remodeler in the NoVa area, let me know!  

can you pm me the name and pretty please the cost? I think we’ll do renovations in a few years. Thanks!

[redheadk]

We need to get our trees trimmed again. All of the rain from the hurricane apparently caused all of the oak trees and crepe myrtles to grow like crazy. It looks like 5 years of growth in 1 year. This is the fullest I've ever seen any of our trees and we just had them trimmed last year.

[dottyblue]

I’m taking a break right now from digging up an overgrown rhododendron to transplant. Shrubs that are supposed to grow 8-12’ in height do NOT belong in front of windows stupid prior homeowners!!!! Let alone cut into cubes like your stupid landscapers did. 🤦🏽‍♀️

My back hurts. I have cut down and dig out roots or transplanted no fewer than 8 horrifically overgrown shrubs in the last two summers. Two rhododendrons and four forsythia to go. 😞. My gardens had better be freaking amazing when I’m done.

[AmyRI]

I have been MIA forever... but are selling our current home and buying a new one. So I anticipate lots of photos and questions when we move in, as this is a big departure for us... we are going from a colonial/farmhouse with Victorian details built in 1880, to a log home built in 1980. A more rural setting, on a nice quiet pond with great fishing. That much wood, and tongue and groove in general, is not my style. We're going to try to find ways to tone it down from how the current owners have it decorated, without just painting it all white.

I'm wracking my brain and failing at searching for the poster that had a log home a while back. Bunch maybe? I can't remember and am not hitting the key words in a google search to get there. But if anyone else has luck digging up the posts I'd love to see the pictures again. We are going to try to make it less rustic looking without going so far as to make it look out of place.

[simpsongal]

I've been working sporadically on my DD's next room. I'm SO EXCITED for how it's coming together. I finished all the trim work and now I'm moving on to some other projects. And it sounds sad/lame, but I can't wait to post the pics on the boards for you all to see!

I also got my new couch from Macy's and chairs from Pottery Barn for my family room. It's all EXTREMELY BEIGE. I need a new rug, pillows and maybe window treatments to counter all the beige (the walls are also beige). But I love the new furniture, much better than the old. We also got a new right-sized kitchen table.

I'm still dreaming of a major design build. I need to see how much money we can save once we're not paying for 2 in daycare (which is over a year away....so here's to dreaming). Our neighbor's updated but slightly smaller house just sold for a lot, so I think that's got DH thinking a reno is not such a bad idea.

[simpsongal]

Ugh, I feel you dottyblue . I cringe at so much bad landscaping in our area. So many builders put it into look pretty and it's completely inappropriate for the space.

I've been doing a lot of landscaping this year too. Beds are really starting to come together, which makes me want to do more but it's too hot so I'm pushing pause. I finally planted a hydrangea standard (limelight) and I'm so excited to see it grow/blossom in future years.

ETA: I'm also convincing DH it may be time to reduce the size of our garden.  We were over ambitious when we created it (and childless) and I'd like to put in a shed, shrink the beds, and add a grass "break" to keep the ivy and honeysuckle vines from invading the garden.  Money and time please!

[dottyblue]

Jul 11, 2018 11:23:46 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

Ugh, I feel you dottyblue . I cringe at so much bad landscaping in our area. So many builders put it into look pretty and it's completely inappropriate for the space.

I've been doing a lot of landscaping this year too. Beds are really starting to come together, which makes me want to do more but it's too hot so I'm pushing pause. I finally planted a hydrangea standard (limelight) and I'm so excited to see it grow/blossom in future years.

ETA: I'm also convincing DH it may be time to reduce the size of our garden.  We were over ambitious when we created it (and childless) and I'd like to put in a shed, shrink the beds, and add a grass "break" to keep the ivy and honeysuckle vines from invading the garden.  Money and time please!

I shudder at my “landscaping”. I suspect the prior owners couldn’t keep up (they were older) and finally hired a lawn service to maintain their gardens. most lawn services have zero clue what they are doing in garden spaces.

I have two Hinoki False Cypress shrubs that they cut into CUBES. These shrubs are supposed to have interesting structure and protrusions!!! One is at least 30 years old and would cost hundreds of dollars to replace at a comparable size. 🤦🏽‍♀️ I’m trying to save it.

[auroraloo]

We cleaned out our garage this weekend. Our swingset had been living in it since we moved in since we had to wait for sod. Finally got that out, and cleaned it right up. Now both our cars fit, and the kids can actually access their bikes. Win. Mom and I are starting our paver patio this weekend. We've done several of these and I'm excited to have a place to put chairs in the backyard. And I finished the built-ins in my office space.

Those are my randoms.