New York Renovator

Well, it’s FINALLY getting to be good weather, people! After a soggy, cloudy winter and a soggy, cloudy spring, summer is finally here. And… it’s been soggy and cloudy! :-p I have very high hopes for July and August. And I have promised that I will take the kids camping sometime in the fall (maybe even late fall). I like the cooler weather (but not soggy cool weather) and for me, camping in October or November is the best time. I would even be willing to do some winter camping sometime (there’s a group here in Upstate New York that goes winter camping in the Adirondacks, all winter long).

Of course, camping in the fall or winter calls for better gear and clothing than the usual cheapo-Chinese made Walmart brand plastic pup tent and flip-flops. Some of the highest-rated yet still affordable gear I’ve seen is the North Face line. They have some outstanding travel and camping supplies. North Face offers one of the best and most popular hydration packs in the market (North Face is known for its quality). These are perfect accessories for hiking the high hills of Central Europe, or the Alps, or the lofty Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York (something we are going to accomplish sometime soon!). They are so stylish that I am sure I could get the kids to carry mine so I wouldn’t have to.

North Face also has some very nice fleece jackets. I love fleece during the cold months– quilted coats and laminated fabric coats are too restrictive to me. Fleece is great, because it’s soft and very flexible, but also very warm. North Face has those, too, for travelers and campers of all ages. Check out the Webtogs website where North Face is sold– I’m sure you’ll find something that makes you go “wow!” North Face is known for it’s versatile, athletic, high quality products. And right now, Webtogs is offering free shipping across the EU. And this is on top of the excellent deals and sales already going on. Check it out!

With hat in hand, I offer my sincerest apologies to those of you who have asked for my Chili recipe and I have neglected to send it to you. I FINALLY posted the recipe on my cooking blog, Wow Chow Cooking. (My daughter made up that name for the cooking blog, isn’t it catchy?!). Sorry it took me sooo long, but I finally took a photo while making it this time, and finally remembered to do it! Enjoy!

(You may notice that the photo watermark has the wrong blog on it. :-p I wasn’t paying attention when I was cropping and editing the photo, as I was also helping one kid with phonics, another with bar graphs, another with Kepler’s laws of motion, and another with laundry at the same time! lol!!)

Also called the Red-Hot Poker Plant, the Torch Lily is a pretty nifty addition to my garden. They originate from South Africa and Madagascar. I bought some rhizome-type bulbs on a fluke several years ago, from a catalog store. These perennial plants are hardy to Zone 5 (I am in Zone 4). They are heat- and drought-tolerant (but need water during their growing time), and require full sun.

These had a rather shaky first year, but after that, they have been incredible, easy-care plants. My plants get a lot of abuse, too. My property is situated in a marshy area of the town (there’s a muddy, murky, burgeoning swamp in the neighbor’s back yard); my land rests at the bottom of a very steep hill, and rests in one of the lowest spots in the area. We get a lot of water. As a matter of fact, we are convinced that there is a powerful stream or creek that flows beneath the surface of our land. When digging post holes, we reach water at two feet. Plus, the topography of our land changes dramatically every year. There’s SOMETHING going on under our turf, that’s for sure.

Well, my Torch Lilies are planted in a small strip of soil between the house foundation and the driveway– an area of about 3 feet wide. The ice from the eaves crashes down in that section all winter long, and the plow mows the snowbanks right there, too. Plus, there’s the salt and dirt and movement that attacks any plant next to a driveway. The Torch Lilies continue to shine.

I do not fertilize them, I don’t deadhead them after blooming, I don’t do anything to them! The soil they call home is graveley and not very nutritious, either. But they bloom every year. I love these things!

The Torch Lily grows to about 3 or 4 feet high. They have lots of sword-shaped leaves. The shoots pop up sometime in early June, looking a little like light-green Grape Hyacinths (but much taller and larger). After about a week or two, they burst in color of yellows, oranges, and a dash of light red at the tops. My Torch Lilies always get comments from my visitors– these are quite showy and are rather rare for an Upstate New York cottage garden, I suppose.

Eventually I plan to move these to a larger, more showy part of my garden, but the Torch Lilies seem so happy here right now. I’ve read that they don’t like being disturbed (which is why they took a year or two to establish), so divide them sparingly.

My daughter put together a collection of clips where our kitty, Livvy, is talking to us. Actually, the video clips don’t do it justice. Maybe she gets camera shy, but Livvy clams up somewhat after we break out the camcorder! She can carry on some really neat conversations. One night we discussed the repercussions of the string theory and quantum mechanics on time travel and… well, I’m pulling your leg there. Ha ha.

So she meows. But she meows with STYLE, people.

It’s hard to believe that it is JUNE already, people! Father’s Day is just several days away. If you’ve been scrambling for ideas for gifts for the Dad of the family, maybe I can lend some assistance. —> Men love their power tools. Take your pick:

-OR- Read more…

HEE HEE! We saw this photo at Daisy the Curly Cat. Harley sure is burning the midnight oil! So are we, lately. :S

Ooooooooooo!!! If this isn’t adorable, I don’t know what is!! This kitty looks exactly like my beautiful Livvy when she was small (she has grown so much!). And Livvy would do dumb stuff like this, too, haha! This is just too cute, tooo cute!

So…. what have I been doing?

NOTHING! I’m a SLACKER!

Well, we did clean out the garage and the shed, making the traditional switch from winter stuff to spring stuff (exchanging places with the snowblower, shovels, and sleds to the lawn mower, rakes, and garden tools). Nothing exciting worth blogging about, though.

And that’s about it!

While cleaning out the garage, I peered inside several boxes of my electrical supplies. *sigh* Half the house is still unwired… and I can’t wire the house without gutting it. And gutting the house seems like Mission: Impossible. At least right now. Plus, I just don’t have the time to devote to anything like that right now. I wonder if this house will EVER get finished?! At least maybe get electricity? Or the holes in the walls patched up? :S

So I’m in the doldrums right now. But the home renovation season has just begun, so there’s always hope.

But that’s why I’ve had no scintillating posts about renovating anything! It’s awful to have a home remodeling blog and not be doing any remodeling.