New York Renovator

I have a narrow plot of land on one side of the house– it’s only about 20 feet wide, and it is the only thing between the house and the parking lot next door. So I’ve been developing this area for the past few years. I call it my Secret Garden because I have planted tall flowering shrubs that will eventually grow up and over the arbor I set there, making a hallway from the front yard to the back yard; it will look like a tunnel of flowering foliage. Right now, everything is still rather low, but it’s made great progress.

Because it is a narrow area, and because the children love to run around the house and chase each other in circles, I’ve been building a concrete walkway through this little garden. Last year I blogged about how the children gave me a Quikrete concrete form and some bags of concrete for my birthday. My husband and I installed about 5′ of the walkway. The children and I finished the walkway course up to the arbor. (We intend to extend the garden, and the walkway, beyond the arbor, in the future). It was the first time that the kids got to work with concrete, and they did a terrific job! I’m also very impressed with the ease and durability of the Quikrete walkway form. Although the walkway has shifted a little from last winter’s frost heave, the walkway remains in place and is still in perfect condition. I think we will continue using the Quikrete form method elsewhere in the yard. I love it!

We bought the regular concrete mix, but I added a third of a bag of mortar mix to the concrete mix, to make the mix more sticky.

The most laborious part of the entire project is making sure your concrete is thoroughly mixed well– no dry spots. We made sure the concrete has the consistency of mud pies. When you chop the wet mix with your hoe, it should leave “hills” that do not blop from too much moisture, or look too crusty and dry.

You set the walkway form on the ground and fill it up. It is best to chop the concrete into the sides and edges of each unit, to make sure there are no gaps or air bubbles.

We smooth it out with a trowel.

And carefully lift up the form.

Here we are, making progress. we used 5 bags of 80 pound concrete mix, with one full bag of mortar mix between them. This got us about 12 feet of walkway.

The crowning moment is signing your handiwork. And we pressed a few flowers into the concrete, too.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will lay some large field stones from the property along the pathway, to give the walkway added stability. Then I will sprinkle sand mix between the walkway cracks and wet the mix. This will fill the areas between the “stones” and stabilize them. This part of the yard will be completely done! Woooo!

I feel that companies who utilise the talents of celebrities they feel to be known to a minority only is quite cutting edge, they are daring to be different and it works for them. They feel they are using subtle marketing but as a general rule that may not be the case. Take for example Ray Mears and Bear Grylls, I went in to work today and asked my colleagues if they had ever heard of them, not one person in the whole room said yes. Then again, neither had I until recently, I was introduced to these delectable characters by a partner who is obsessed with the outdoors and outdoor survival tactics.

Nightly viewings on Sky have made them both a household name in this dwelling, and if we miss them the dear man records them for later viewing! I could now trap a squirrel with a piece of cotton, and cook a hock of deer in an underground barbecue made of stone and mud thanks to these guys, whose names certainly do not roll off the tongue of the majority!

Ray Mears endorses a Viggy Vig Vig tent, do I own one? No, but it would certainly be one I would consider for our next purchase, only because he clearly knows what outdoor life is all about and has an authentic and “knowing” presence in an advert.

Advertisers globally are taking on emerging celebrities as they are offering a fresh take on things, a sort of novelty so to speak, who are benefiting both the company and the artist themselves. Take Pepsi for example, for the last few years it has employed a changing cast of obscure comedians, not world renowned celebrities such as Michael Jackson or Britney Spears for their commercials as they did previously.

For some companies, household names are not the priority when casting, today’s audiences are highly influential, taking cues from exciting new discoveries, rather than “old hats”. Audience chemistry now plays a big factor, do I want Peter Andre to tell me how good a tent is, he may have a six pack and a lovely tanned, toned body, but is he a really sincere about the product he is advertising, and is best person for the job when showing me mountain equipment? Bear Grylls on the other hand would make be believe the tent he was using was the best invention since sliced bread!

I think obscure and little known celebrities really do benefit a company, as they are casting people for individual talents, rather than international recognition. Consumers today are fully aware that top celebrities are not necessarily using the products they promote, and that it is just a facade (personally I can’t see Lenny Henry washing his crockery with Fairy!). I think being innovative with their choice of celebrities works in their favour and makes the product more believable.

The water problems are better here, but I’m seriously thinking of installing a French drain around the perimeter of the house. I have a strapping young son who loves to dig, lol.

By the way, a French drain is not named for the European French– it’s named after the guy who invented the idea. My house does not have gutters, nor can it have them, due to the structure of the eaves. So I think a French drain to divert all the rainwater from the roof is a great idea. I’ll have more on it soon. I also hope to have a few videos up about it, too, so we can all learn from the experience! LOL!

More on the way…

Upstate New York is rural. A lot of people, for some odd reason that I can’t understand, seem to think that “New York” equals “New York City.” Ah, the two are extremely different, and here in Upstate, we are rural. Much of New York is dairy farmland, but we also have wheat, corn, barley fields, vineyards, and apple orchards. The pickup truck and the tractor are very common sights up here, even in town.

Lots of farmers are always looking for good deals on quality products, like Agri-Cover equipment for pickups and agricultural machines. Agri-Cover offers exceptional quality and durability for their products, like tonneau covers for trucks, snow plows, ag tarps, other truck bed covers, and more. Best thing is, Agri-Cover products are built and tested in the USA! Check them out! And if you see a farmer today, give a hello– the farmer deserves our support!

I saw this and had to post it. Made me crack up! This is soooo true, lol. I am looking forward to when the elections are finally OVER. What a charade it’s been this year. :-p

HAHA! I found these online: Republican playing cards. LOL! They are playing cards, and have John McCain on them. They are cards that support McCain, so you probably wouldn’t buy them for Obama supporters, unless you like gag gifts (like me, LOL).The cards have McCain pundits (like Rush LImbaugh) on the other side, as wild animals. They are REAL playing cards that you really can play with, if you can stomach the faces of the candidates and their pundits. :-p

The site has a bunch of other cards, including ones for Obama. I thought it would be cool to mention the cards here, since I’ve been posting so often on politics and corrupt government lately. Heh heh.