Weekend Plans

Well, we had some serious rain & wind at the beach for the past couple of days, and alas, it looks as tho all our yard work was for naught...

...It doesn't look like Schnookums minds a few twigs, tho!

Anyway...with all the heavy winds, alot of my potted tropicals were blown over, and as you can see, we have small branches, twigs and bundles of tree moss littering the entire yard. I've uprighted all the plants, but its still a mess out there - well, at least now I have *some* plans for the weekend!!

Garden Flour (WFMW)

Like I said, this past weekend we trimmed all the oak trees on the property of their damaged and low hanging branches, and that gave us a huge pile of wood to dispose of.. what to do with allll that debris?!

Well, yesterday the mister brought home a little electric woodchipper that he has borrowed from a workmate, so that we might convert our big pile of branches and twigs into a more usable pile of wood mulch with which to create the two garden islands I envision in our backyard...

Now, *I* know where I want these islands, and *I* know what I want them to look like when they're finished...but how will *he* know where I want him to deposit the mulch he's created?? Well....I've decided to mark where I want the borders of the islands to be with a line of white flour that I can secure from the kitchen pantry. Non-toxic, environmentally friendly, the 'chalk-line' will be easily visible and easy to visually 'correct' the shape I want to achieve. Plus, its a thrifty fix, and readily available so I might actually get it done today!!

That Works For Me!!

Weekend Gardening

The weather we had here at the beach over the last weekend was beautiful; perfect for dinners on the patio and reading on the porch. Not so condusive to completing indoor projects, but the slight respite from the 90-degree temps. was perfect for completing some long put-off yard chores that were overdue for tackling!

Sunday afternoon (after watching my team lose their opening game at home) the mister and I spent trimming, sawing, cutting and removing much of the overgrowth that was threatening to engulf us if we didn't soon take action:

I trimmed up all the errant tendrils on our jasmine trellis, and the mister trimmed back all the dead and hanging branches from large oak trees....

we trimmed up the banana trees, and the hybiscus bushes;
I had to tie up my tall blue flowers (anybody know what they are?)









We transplanted some century plant runners to a better spot, moved several potted palms to better, sunnnier locations, and we even cleaned off the driveway!!



All in all, I'd say that was a pretty productive afternoon! If the weather continues to cooperate, the plan is to finish the front area this week including; sweeping the front porch, pressure-washing the patio, re-place all the potted plants & furniture to the patio, rake out the walking path along the side of the house that leads to the bench (must replace wood slats; two have rotted thru), transplant overgrown ginger (??) and ferns (where?!)...

And....I think that's probably a lofty enough goal for one week!

Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade. ~Rudyard Kipling

WFMW : Brand-Loyalty edition (and, my 1st)

Okay….so, have you checked out Rocks in My Dryer? Every week Shannon hosts the “Works for Me Wednesday” blog carnival, where bloggers post helpful household tips that they find useful. I’ve been clicking around over there for weeks now, and have found all SORTS of good stuff – I’m talkin’ everything from recipes to how to store your paint rollers; cleaning tips, cooking secrets, arts & craft projects….I’ve picked out lots of useful info, but I’ve never played along. Until today.

See, today is the Brand-Loyalty Edition of WFMW. Today, the object is to post about the brands that have our loyalty, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to jump right in! And, after much thought and consideration, I realize I’m just not a very “loyal consumer”; I’m a cheap thrifty shopper, and I find that with most things I’m happy with a generic/store brand, or even a home-spun solution. But, there are a few brand-name products that I am loyal to:

~Dawn dishwashing foam; We do have a dishwasher, but I think in the 10 years we’ve lived here, I may have used it a half-dozen times. With just me and the mister, I’ve always done the dishes by hand, and have used Dawn liquid for as long as I can remember. The new dishwashing foam, tho, is absolutely wonderful!! Just one pump onto a damp sponge and you can wash an entire sinkful of dishes, so the bottle lasts forever!! Luv it! Luv it!!

And, speaking of wonderful …I love Clorox Oxi-Magic multi-purpose spray. I have a ceramic tile & grout kitchen countertop, and this is the best product I’ve found to remove the stains, rings, and smears without leaving a residue behind. Plus, it smells good!

I absolutely have to have Cottonelle TP; I like that its unscented, that its not too thin or tissue-paper-like, and I especially like that it doesn’t leave lint on my bum! (I hate that!!)

That’s really all I can think of, in terms of non-edible brands – food, now, is a whole different matter, altogether!
We’re die-hard Coca-cola fans in this house, no other cola will do! Then, there’s JIF peanut butter, Heinz ketsup, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise.

Do *you* have brands to which you're loyal? Certain instances where only *that* brand will do? Why not post here and tell me about 'em...heck, why not create a little WFMW post of your own, and head on over to Rocks in my Dryer to play along?!