New York Renovator

I just love this garden. I’ve been slowly adding to it for the past few years.

It’s been a soggy spring and start to summer, so I’ve had to work on it between raindrops this year. It’s a perennial garden with many native shrubs. I always plant vegetation that is native to the area (because I just hate babying plants). I’ve got Mugo pine shrubs, a Dwarf Alberta Spruce, some lilacs, blue Rose of Sharon, Scotch Rose, Bridal Wreath Spirea, Potentilla, Arbor Vitea, Mock Rose, White Azalea, and purple Butterfly Bushes for shrubs. For plants, I have Echinacea (Purple Coneflower), Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan), Hostas, Day lilies, Gerbera Daisy, Stargazer Lilies, Tulips, Stella D’oro lilies, purple Bearded Iris, purple Salvia, Purple Chrysanthemums, Blue Anemone, Pink Turtleheads, Pink Monarda (Bee Balm), Daisies, and Astible. And then I have Periwinkle and English Ivy for ground cover. For filler, I add a few annuals like Impatiens and Petunias, but that’s all the annuals I do.

I have plans to eventually fill this entire side of the yard as a cottage garden, with native shrubs and perennials. It’s so easy care that it’s ridiculous. I send the kids out to weed it about 3-4 times a year– but once the ground cover really kicks in, we’ll weed less. The real benefit is not having to mow this section of the yard. And it looks lovely! Eventually, the lilacs and the Rose of Sharon will grow taller than the arbor, creating a green passageway down the side yard. Mmmmm.

I haven’t had a cat update in quite some time. My Tabby Point Siamese, Olivia (Livvy for short) will be one year old next month!! I cannot believe it, I just can’t believe it. Like all youngsters, Livvy is rip-roarin’ and ready to bound into adulthood; but like most parents, I am missing those adorable, cuddly, kitten days. It’s hard to believe that it was only a short time ago she went from this to this:

She’s a striking cat, resembling a snow leopard or a Siberian tiger. (Yeah, and sometimes she THINKS she’s a Big Bad Tiger, too!). She also *talks* to us with little kitty sounds (more like pulses, but sometimes they erupt into meows). She’s definitely more like one of the family than *just* a pet; Siamese are bred to be family members. She’s not terribly high strung like her fellow Siamese are, but she does get grouchy when we have visitors. I got her a padded kitty cube to hide in for those times.

She has 6 toes and a kinked tail, which makes her unique all the more. Read more…

Our growing season is so brief here in Upstate New York, we tend to get exuberant over seemingly small things. Such as, MY PEAS ARE NOW ONE INCH HIGH!!!!!!!! Look!

Aren’t they beautiful?! (Ignore the weed).

The grapes are also doing very well. I am really enjoying watching these things grow.

And our lettuce is doing well. I have to get in here and thin the rows, though. We eat a lot of lettuce and fresh spinach during the summer, so I have five rows of this stuff planted!

The only thing not doing well is the cantaloupe. It’s been a very chilly and cloudy spring, and looks like the summer is starting off that way, too. It is unusually cool. So I don’t think my melons are going to do so well. It’s a good thing I never got around to planting the watermelon; I would have wasted my seeds.

My apple trees have dozens of tiny little apples on them! This is the first year we’re going to have a real harvest. I just hope I can keep the flies and caterpillars at bay… I may spray my trees to keep the bugs away.

How is your garden growing?

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…

Now that good weather is finally here, I’m turning my plans once again to updating the electrical system in the home. It’s been a slow, long process, and I still only have half the house done! I have to keep up-to-date with the codes, as well, to make sure that all my work is done properly and legally. The biggest change I have seen is with new “arc-fault” circuit breaker. This was introduced in the National Electric Code in 2002, but we’re seeing it roll into the municipalities codes’ laws only recently. My town passed the regulation for these last year.

The arc-fault circuit breaker has a little pigtail wire that connects to the grounding bar in the circuit panel, and the white wire connects to a screw on the breaker. This new system detects “arcing,” or the electrical shorts that sometimes occur (and shorts occur in new AND old wiring) with overheating wires, poorly performing wires, or broken or loose wires.

Regular circuit breakers only protect the wire behind the walls (switches and outlets) when massive amounts of electricity surge through the line; they flip off,  preventing heat buildup (and thus, a fire). Arc-fault circuit breakers are a little more sensitive– these breakers have filters that detect impending arcs from things like loose wire/screw connections, nicked wires, brittle or cracked wiring, and etc. Because they are so sensitive, they sometimes go off intermittently and falsely (and the homeowner must trot down the basement to flick the breaker back on, or figure out why the breaker is switching off).

A few years ago, these arc-fault breakers were mandated for bedrooms and sleeping areas for new construction (most arc-related fires occur in bedrooms). I believe in New York State, this applies. Vermont, however, has recently required the use of these arc-fault breakers for ALL living rooms in residences. The caveat is that the arc-fault equipment is a lot more expensive than the traditional breaker equipment. I can find regular circuit breakers for $10 or so. The arc-fault breakers are commonly $45 to $50!! PER BREAKER! This radically increases the cost of electrical wiring.

Anyway, this information may come in handy the next time you need to gut a room to rewire it, or look at an estimate for new construction. I’m hoping that by the time I get to the bedrooms in my house, the arc-fault breakers will be more reliable– the last thing I want to do it pay 5x more for something that I have to monitor 5x more– and less expensive.

Photos from Handyman Wire and Inspect-A-Pedia NY.

I am an American. Worse, I am a Northeasterner American. Which means that I CANNOT COOK TASTY RICE. The rice I cook tastes DISGUSTING. I admit it! I have finally faced reality! That, or the family may finally mutiny unless I do. My rice was always too soft, mushy, and bland. I tried Basmati rice for a while, and that turned out nicer (i.e., it was edible), but it took a lot of time to wash, rinse, soak, cook, and wash all the dishes I used. Ugh.

People, I have seen the light.

GET A RICE COOKER.
Oh my word, why did I never get one of these before?!?!? Why have we suffered all these years?!?

I got a Black & Decker Rice Cooker and I urge you to do the same! Seriously, the thing is amazing. I’ve always been a real miser when it comes to buying small appliances. I never got a microwave unti lI was 35, never got an electric can opener until last year, never got a bread machine until a few years ago. Wow, what a difference in my life. Well worth the money. But the rice cooker, which I always thought was a silly fad, an expensive fob for “rich” women, is by FAR my favorite appliance. I use it several times a week, and it always makes the best rice. I am a rice cooker convert!

And they are not expensive, not at all! There’s a sweet Black & Decker rice cooker on sale right now at Buy.com for around $20. And the shipping is FREE! Get one for you, for your daughter, for your friends, for your sisters, for your mailman! The price is so low, and these things are totally cool! Rice is an inexpensive meal, so there are savings on that end, too. I love my rice cooker!! And best of all, ME, the Northeasterner– I can finally make edible, tasty rice!

By the way, while you’re at Buy.com, don’t forget to be a good Frugal Hack and check out their sale page. They have weekly sales and daily sales, stuff for very low prices. Buy.com has “everyday” stuff, too– household supplies, appliance parts, software, cooking tools, bedding, etc. It’s a phenomenal store and I love shopping there and grabbing deals. Check it out! You never know what great stuff you’ll find, and better yet, it’ll be stuff on SALE!

Here’s something terrific! Buy electrical supplies online! I would never buy electrical supplies from just anyone, though– who knows where it was manufactured, if it is codes-applicable, or if it was made in the U.S.? I only buy new stuff, and I only get it from reputable sellers. I saw some great deals (as usual) at Buy.com. Check out their sale page, distributed weekly. They have great sales all the time, on electronics, small appliances, and loads of stuff. But Buy.com also sells tons and tons of other products, including housewares, tools, home and garden supplies, and electrical equipment! There are some really good prices on circuit panel boxes, electrical testing tools, and these nice arc-fault circuit breakers (AFCI) that I have been looking into. These new circuit breakers are now required in all residential buildings in my township, in accordance to the National Electric Code. But the breakers are WILDLY expensive at my local retailer. Plus, paying sales tax on these babies can easily break my little piggy bank…

Well, at Buy.com, they are affordable, and I don’t have to pay sales tax! Very cool.

Buy.com also sells electrical tape, sockets, feed hubs, voltage testers, specialty pouches and belts, and various other supplies. Great deals! Some stuff comes with free shipping, too. And don’t limit Buy.com to just that– Buy.com has e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! Books, shoes, jewelry, home appliances big and small, parts for appliances, patio furniture, gadgets, home decor items, LOADS of stuff. Prices are great, and customer service is superb. Keep Buy.com in mind when you’re looking for stuff. And save yourself some gas and time– it’s easy to order all the stuff you need, right on the Net.

So we’re starting June with ANOTHER frost advisory tonight. :-p and double :-p. We’ve had frost advsiories this late before, but it is very rare. I had the boys cover the tomatoes, eggplant, and pepper plants with buckets. The rest of the plants will have to fend for themselves, as they are too small and too spread out for me to do much.

It’s been a soggy, cold spring. In a way, it’s been a lot like late winter. I think it was warmer in January than it has been now (we had a flukey warm spell in January). Weird!

Anyway, we’re still picking the sawfly larva and cleaning up the flower gardens. I was really hoping that the local bird population would pick up on the sawfly, finding them a tasty alternative to our New York bugs; but the birds avoid them like some avoid colon cleanser… no such luck. *sigh* So we go out almost every day, to pluck pluck pluck the little devils off our pines.

My lilac flowers have expired. I love lilac season, I wish it was longer! But it is good while it lasts. And even when they spill their spent blooms all over my garden paths like lavendar tears on stones.

Lilies are next. I love lilies, and have a vast assortment in my gardens: day lilies, Stella D’Oro, Asian, Stargazer Oriental, Tiger, and more.

I picked up a pot of wilting, blackened Calladiums at Lowe’s a week ago. They were on sale for a dollar because they had been left uncovered at the Garden Center during the last frost we suffered. I put them in the ground and they are doing marvelously. I hope they survive tonight.

And here’s another pretty sight: my Livvy. She can’t go outside, and watches our gardening activities from the window. And she watches most pitifully, too, with meows of protest over her unfair confinement.

So spring is almost over. Here’s hoping we have a warmer summer!