Up Top

We wanted to add a planter to the deck, and we knew there were a few loose boards, so step one was to repair that. Except when we really inspected the deck, it was clear that more boards really needed to come off...

...like ALL of them. sigh.

Our foolish little selves said, "well, it's still an afternoon's project. Use the power drill to unscrew the screws, pull off the boards, slap down the new ones and screw it in. What could be easier?" Heh, heh, heh.

Turns out whoever put the deck in didn't use the right kind of screws. They were so rusted the threads were gone so no amount of unscrewing was going to budge them.

Break out the crow bar, hammer, and Mateo muscle power. Poor guy had to pry and rip off each board through brute strength.

Uh, to say he wasn't happy would be an understatement.

It took him one afternoon and one morning to pry off all the boards.

It really did only take a few hours to put the new boards on.

For water runoff, you need space between the boards. Mateo just used large nails to maintain the spacing. Tapped them into the joists, screwed the new board in, pushed up against the nails, popped the nails out and repeated.

Sorry not the best pic, but can you see the nails between the boards?

We are going to stain and seal, but I read somewhere that pressure treated wood needs some time before you seal it. I really don't know for sure, but it is drier now which seems like a good thing. I think we will stain it at the end of the summer. 

How Does Your Garden Grow

"Coffee.  Garden.  Coffee.  Does a good morning need anything else?"  ~Betsy Cañas Garmon

 

That quote is so Mateo. People are always asking me about my garden. But it's not my garden. It's Mateo's. I do not have a green thumb.

 

Now, on the other hand, I am great in the kitchen so I love having all the produce that Matt manages to grow.

 

But because it is not my garden, I lose track of what all is growing. We have four raised beds. Three are side by side and are square and then there is one long rectangle in front. The paths between will be mulched soon. This was my main contribution. The aesthetics.

 

The tall trellises in the center are for beans, and Matt is happy that they have begun to climb. The low trellis on the right is for cucumbers. Apparently cucumbers grow better when they are trellised. Who knew? Not this gal.

 

Mateo refuses to worry about a wheelbarrow which I find strange. He just uses the boys red wagon when he needs something hauled!

Note the wagon over there on the left.

 

One of the best parts about the garden though is that Matt is teaching the boys, particularly our oldest, about gardening. Gabe is taking care of his own patch of strawberries too.

 

And more stuff is popping up each day. That is the exciting thing about a garden. Also, this year I convinced Matt to plant some pretty stuff too. Red poppies! Yay! I'm sure I'll have lots of pictures of those when they come in.  

Summer Lovin'

I love what a difference a can of paint can make! We had this wicker chair,

that was looking a bit worse for wear. It used to be an indoor chair, and I didn't need it anymore so it became an outdoor chair. First I cleaned it.

Then I picked a color that screamed summer:

Rustoleum Summer Squash

I sprayed and sprayed. Here's a tip I discovered with this chair. You know that recommended 8 inch distance and broad sweeping motion with spray paint? Yes, it's true and necessary with a flat surface (or it will drip and run), but with wicker I needed to get up close and personal. I think because it's an open weave. I just know a 3 inch distance and short strokes worked better and I had no problems with dripping.

The paint helped so much!

But then it took forever to find a cushion. Here's the old one:

It's okay, not terribly exciting though, and that is an indoor cushion. I'll never remember to bring it in all the time. I even looked into outdoor fabric, and our local store had nothing I liked and all the outdoor fabrics were $20 a yard. I don't think so.

I finally found this orange one at Target for $15, 

but woh-woh, it's a bit too small. Grr!

For now, I'm keeping the orange because I like the color and it's comfortable even if it doesn't fit perfectly.

So, the cushion isn't going so well, but the wicker looks so much better in the sunny yellow color! 

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A Turtle Could Run Faster...

It's been a trying time around here. Have you noticed the abundance of home diy posts? No? Me neither.

We are crawling along at a turtle's pace. Partly because we got to a point where so many things need Mateo's help or at least time sans children, and Mateo keeps going to work. The nerve! Bringing home the bacon and all. :) I jest! Of course we are grateful for his wonderful job, but it's been difficult to get things done.

I had planned to power through the stairs myself. But there was peel and stick tile on top of plywood on top of two layers of tile. Really? I can't pry the plywood off myself. Wimpy, I realize, but true.

Slow progress on the stairs.

We have made some progress on the side of the house though. Here's a during picture.

I forgot before. But it was just covered in dead needles and randomness. The tree was much in need of trimming.

So much better now.

We have a few ferns that are growing in now and we would like to just let the area fill in with ferns or other shade loving plants. We also still need to put the fence on that side of the garage. (Which will hide the neighbor's falling fence.)

Here's next to the house. See all those clouds? That's contributing to the slow going.

We started pulling out the grass and mulching. 

Still need to work on the back section, and fix up where some grass made it back through on the front section. We would like to add bushes and other plants along the side, so it won't just be mulch in the end. 

This post may be linked at the following parties (for their Blog Buttons see my Link Love page): (M) Mad Skills (T) Stories of A to Z, The Blackberry Vine, How To's Day (W) Whassup Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Beyond the Picket Fence (Th) Creative Juice, Somewhat Simple, Thrifty 101 (F) Fingerprints on the Fridge, Furniture Feature Friday (Sat) Tatertots and Jello (Sun) Creative Blog & Hop

Tuesday's Art Adventure: Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Are you able to get outdoors? We are finally having some beautiful weather, so I thought an outdoor project was in order.

Super simple. Make your own sidewalk chalk paint.

Sidewalk Chalk is fun, but there is just something awesome about painting on your driveway. :)

Supplies:

• old bits of sidewalk chalk (or any chalk)
• ziploc-type bags
• hammer or mallet
• bowls or storage containers
• water
• large paintbrush

We always wind up with bits of sidewalk chalk that are too stubby for anyone to want to use, but there is still enough left that I hate to throw them away. So gather those up and separate by color, one color in each bag. (It doesn't have to be perfect matches.)

Zip the top closed and mash it up as finely as you can with a hammer or mallet.

Pour the powdered chalk into your bowls or containers.

Add water, just a tablespoon or so at a time, stirring after each addition, until you reach the desired consistency.

Once you have mixed up all the colors you want, let your little one have some fun painting a masterpiece on your sidewalk or driveway.

It will wash away eventually like all other sidewalk chalk.

If you use a storage container, pop the lid on any leftovers. The next time you want to use it, just add a bit more water if it's dried out and paint again.

Option 2 ('cause I'm all about options!):

If you don't have any bit of sidewalk chalk to use, you can make some paint from scratch.

You need:

• cornstarch
• food coloring
• water
• bowls or storage containers

Put about 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a bowl or container, no real need to measure. 

Add water a couple tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition, until you reach desired consistency.

Add a few drops of food coloring and stir.

You can paint with this on the sidewalk and it will wash away just like sidewalk chalk. 

I will tell you that this works, especially if you don't have chalk to use up. But a word of caution: it is very hard to get the consistency right and to stay right. This is because cornstarch suspensions are non-Newtonian fluids. Sometimes the mix will seem really runny and then it sits for a minute and gets harder or almost rubbery. (Thank you Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman for teaching me and my kids these things.) So, if you go the cornstarch route, you may find yourself needing to correct the mixture more than once as you use it.

The other reason I like using option one better is that it's just fun to smash things. :)


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