Days After Termination: What Have I Learned?

It has only been a few days after my "Termination" letter was sent to my inbox to inform me that my beloved Babylune would no longer be mine. Yes, I know that as a blogger that writes for a network that is one of the pitfalls, but when you blog every day at a certain place you begin to love it. You nuture it, tweet it, facebook it and all that other stuff to encourage growth. I began writing

Fred Heim’s Half-Scale Models

In the most recent issue of Wood Magazine they featured Fred Heim.  Fred is a retired builder and has built several models.  I have to tell you these things are amazing and make me want to just hang up my hat and go home, but I’m not.  Make sure to check out the video of all of Fred’s models.

Have a Great Day!

Technorati Tags: half scale mode,Fred Heim,Woodworking

Milkweed for Monarchs

The Monarch Spring Migration Begins in March

The spring migration of the Monarch butterflies starts around the second week of March. The Monarchs will leave their winter habitat in Mexico and begin their journey to our gardens in search of nectar and host plants. The Monarchs will travel through several sections of the United States during the spring migration.

The Monarch overwintering habitats were hit hard by torrential rains, snow, hail and cold temperatures. The Monarch news at Monarch Watch is still filtering in about the impact of the weather on the population. A reduction in the survival rate is of great concern and we are in the best position to help the returning Monarchs successfully reproduce by growing milkweed in our gardens.

Milkweed is the only host plant for the Monarch Butterfly.

The female lays eggs on the milkweed leaves. Those eggs hatch into caterpillars that later become butterflies. Raise caterpillars in your garden by growing asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed), asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) or other varieties of milkweed.

In some zones, it may be as late as June before the milkweed has returned. It is a late plant to emerge after winter. For this reason, it may also be late spring or early summer before garden centers have milkweed available for sale. A few of the mail-order nurseries sell milkweed plants and seeds.

When shopping in spring, please buy a few milkweed plants (with leaves) and plant those for any early spring migrating Monarchs. Monarch activity also occurs during August through October for the fall migration.

Nectar plants feed the Monarch Butterflies and as a gardener, you probably already have a butterfly garden. There are so many nectar plants favored by butterflies—cosmos, marigold, verbena and zinnia are good annuals; asters, bee balm, coneflowers, susans and sedum are good perennials and wildflowers. A few butterfly bushes will keep all the butterflies happy, too.

What can gardeners do to help the Monarch Butterflies?

Grow milkweed.
Grow nectar plants.
Do not use insecticides or pesticides.

Please share the "Milkweed for Monarchs" message with other gardeners and bloggers!

Please link to this story to spread the word. Write your own story about Monarchs, or drop me a note to receive a copy of this story to republish.


Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are owned by those respective companies or persons.

Jelly Cupboard Build Days One and Two

I started the build on the Jelly cupboard last night.  Here is a picture of what I hope the end product resembles.

I am planning on painting it.  I am going to use milk paint we are going to use Sea Green.  Which isn’t so much green as it is a bluish, grey green.  My wife will be doing the punched tin.  If anyone has any experience in punching tin please let give me your tips and tricks.  She(we) have never done it before and I have a good idea how I am going to do it but I wouldn’t mind some expert advice.  Last evening I only had a short time in the shop but it was enough time to get both sides of the cupboard cut and glued up.  Here is my stack of wood that I will be using.   I used a biscuit jointer again to join the sides together.  I don’t really think they add much strength to the joint but it sure does make aligning the boards a whole heck of a lot easier. 

These are the slots that the biscuit saw creates.

 

 

 

 

These are the biscuits installed in the board you put a biscuit in one half of the joint and then place the other half on top and align the board you have a little play each way with the boards. 

This is the first side of the cupboard, rinse and repeat for the second.

Tonight I spent some time milling the rest of the lumber.  Here is the stack of milled parts labeled and ready to be assembled.

One thing that I am going to do with this piece is trying a Ship Lap joint on the back.  Tonight I ran some test pieces to see how the joint worked and looked.  This is what that joint looks like.

 

With this joint I will only attach the top and bottoms of the boards to the back of the cupboard and this will allow the wood to expand and contract through the seasonal changes and moisture changes, plus it just looks really cool.  Anyway that’s all for now.  I will update you as I go along.  If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me an email.

Have a Great Day!

Technorati Tags: furniture,jelly cupboard,country,woodworking,Ship Lap Joint,Biscuit jointer

MAKEOVER WINNER AND A BLOGGER PLEA

We offered a giveaway..........a makeover of a home's exterior. I had hoped for many entries and with the help of my blogger friends; Deborah of Boxwood Terrace, Lauren of Pure Style Home and Michelle of My Notting Hill, 90+ entries came my way.

My request was for a photo and a paragraph on why help was needed. My criteria was a home in need of both a "Curb Appeal" makeover and landscaping.

I narrowed it down to ten. Those ten were forwarded to the ladies above, photo only. Some of the stories were heartbreaking but that was kept to myself wanting them to focus on the house only. Together it was narrowed to one.

                                                                        The Winner!!! 
                                                                     Gay of Michigan

And it is perfect! Great bones with amazing potential, I cannot wait to get started. Here is part of her story.............

"We purchased this house in September 2009 after we found out my husband has leukemia. With the chemo we needed to simplify our lives. This 100+ year old Plain Jane does nothing for us on the outside. I would love to see a porch, plantings for birds, and an interesting landscape in winter..... Color? I am open. Personally I am drawn to an urban country style, more hip and updated." 

 

As in this design for my shop we have much work to do and I have a million questions. Once we hone in on all of her desires and her want list, the process will begin. All in all will take about 3-4 weeks, so stay tuned! 

  

  

 My joy in this process was to share a passion and bring happiness to someone's most valuable treasure; their home. And, if being totally honest........really honest.......to additionally help promote this service we provide.

But something else has developed that I did not expect, something profound that could be life changing. Gay shared with me more of her story. And it is a story of potential grief but of a great love.

 

Her darling husband needs a bone marrow transplant and there are no matches in the data base, not even his children.

 

 

 Gay's emotion at winning a fresh look for their home was so joyous and beyond grateful. But there lingered another wish she NEEDED to come true. 

A curse I possess..........well, maybe a curse.......is that I am a "fixer". Always wanting to jump in and help, to fix, to make-better. And you know what? Maybe I can and maybe YOU can too.

This fantastic community we belong to........blogging, contains so much; inspiration, design, fashion, travel, recipes and a huge sense of community and budding friendships. A true sense of belonging.

As individuals we can do our part

As the blogging community we can spread the word and REALLY help.

Imagine if we all reached out and spread the word, the power we hold.

The difference and the power I am referring to?
Joining the National Bone Marrow Registry. Go here to look up and to sign up. I did and it took 10 minutes of my time. You can offer to donate or for free they will send you a test kit containing a swab to rub inside your cheek of which you return. 

Can you imagine the power of us as a group? Bloggers and their readers?

As a reader you could consider joining the register.

As a blogger, would you consider posting about this?

 

Together, we can be someone's hope

 And...........imagine the magic if we found a match......the best "giveaway" ever.   Are you in?
Blessings,
Debra

A Lofty Idea

This is the the loft area in our house.  Right now it is just a catch all.  Everything we didn't know what to do with ended up here.

Another shot from the far end of the loft area....It is narrow and long.

Wouldn't it be cool if I could create a library up here? Like this one below? 

Of course on a much smaller scale :-).

Welcome Home,

Penny

Make Lavender Liquid Hand Soap

This season I'd like to add occasional tips about using herbs to make common household chores and activities more pleasant, eco-friendly or inexpensive. Over the years, I've tried lots of ways to incorporate herbs into my daily life. Some have worked and some . . . well, not so much. One thing I have learned is that herbs can make me feel that I lead a more graceful existence, whether I'm