Puttering, painting and potting shed. . . . . . .

I love my potting shed, known as Jasmin Cottage.

I spend a lot of time out there.

It just doesn't seem possible the shed was built 18 years ago.

I recall when, after the builder left, I whipped out paint and brushes

and got to work painting and decorating the outside in shades of garden

green with purple shutters, and later inside, down on my then younger knees

 stenciling a bordered floor mat with trailing blackberries!  

Those were the days I must say.

Anyway this is all about the metal door. For the past few months we've 

noticed the rust getting worse along the bottom. On checking new doors

which come at around $225 + $245 installation charge, this project would 

be rather expensive!  When chatting with my neighbor Bob who enjoys

home projects, he immediately offered to try repairing the door prior 

to spending that much money. If it didn't pan out we could go the 

expensive way later.

Sounded good to us.

Door was removed on Sunday morning and neighbor Bob worked with a

 rust-stopping product, then primed. . . . . . . . 

 . . . . . I then taped off the glass panes and got to work on a first coat of fresh paint.

Neighbor Bob went off to his soccer game for a few hours.

 When finished painting I heard thunder in the distance so got my Bob to help

 put the door in the shed and hung the tarpaulin, just in case it stormed.

Rain did fall, all of 50 drops, wouldn't you know!

At 6:00 pm all three of us were outside again installing a new sweep on the bottom

to cover the rust damage - quite a difficult maneuver as it was such a tight fit - then

 caulking and rehanging the door.

 Yesterday was a perfect morning to paint the second coat. I was out there 

early in sunshine and a very gentle breeze - whilst the chimney sweep was 

inside the cottage doing his dirty work.

I'm very pleased with the door and grateful to my neighbor for his help.

 Hope it holds up for at least a few years!

While working outside, some pruning and weeding required, this titmouse arrived

 and I caught it with a sunflower seed in its beak!

Pollen just about over, thankfully. 

Chimney swept. 

Potting shed secure.

Cord of wood delivered and stacked ready for next Winter.

Cypress wood chips on order - will be spread in back area 

when delivered in a couple of weeks.

 Now for some major spring cleaning, ugh!

BTW - has anyone tried the mosquito prevention spraying treatments now offered?

If so, did it seem to work?

We are considering trying this during the summer months this year so we 

can enjoy outdoor time - I'm so allergic to them and summertime

 is miserable for me here.

We see the signs going up on properties all around us where treatments

are being done, the humid south being such a breeding ground for what can

 be dangerous disease-carrying mosquitoes.

Happy garden/gardening days to you all.

Homes for Birds . . . . . . . .

It was one of those weekends when great weather enabled me to get

 outdoors and work on jobs awaiting around the exterior of the cottage. 

 This required assistance from our great next-door neighbor - another Bob. 

 Working with two 'Bobs' was a lot of fun, especially when it came

to heavy lifting, working with drills and other tools etc.

Removed the old birdhouse which although a bit messy, was donated to

 neighbor Bob who will fix it up and set on a new pole in his side garden

 between our houses and we can both enjoy it a bit longer.  Plus his cat,

 Ms. Nala, whom I take care of when he travels, may get to 

watch birds come and go from her perch in the window.

The removal of the roof (it was screwed on) prove interesting as it had not been

 opened in several years - one of those jobs requiring a ladder, a drill, so one

 seems to keep putting it off and it never gets done! 

"Honey, let's try to get the roof off the birdhouse and clean

 it out today".

"Not today there are bluebirds in it." or

"Not today, I just saw nuthatches taking in nesting materials.

"Oops, there are babies in there and we can't disturb them now." 

On removing the roof we were overwhelmed by the contents - 

several nests on top of each other constructed of assorted materials

 including, twigs (the bluebirds), soft woven grasses, pine straw, dried skeleton

 leaves, pieces of thread, even a length of plastic. . . . . . 

. . . . . . and in the roof a hornet's nest!

I think the underside of the roof mimics a sunflower - quite stunning.

Nature's art.

We then mounted the new birdhouse on a new post - former one was warped. . . . . . 

. . . . . . . a new six unit 'apartment building' which hopefully,

 next year, will bring new birds looking for a nesting site.

I'm working on another outdoor project, started yesterday and will complete

today - more on that later as I'm heading out to paint right now. . . . . . 

and the chimney sweep will be here this morning so Spring Cleaning

is in the near future.

Dreaming of a White Christmas. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . and holiday decorating. . . . .  

Now enjoying all that is part of preparing for

 Christmas. . . . . . . . at last.

The recent cacophony of saws, drills and hammers emanating from the back 
of the house, along with clouds of sanding dust coating everything, almost put
 me over the top!  
Now the workmen are gone and feel I have my life back.

Early mornings, waiting with bated breath - will he come today?

 Will he be late again and lose the best part of the day?
Will he have a helper. . . . . to actually help move things along, or will
 Bob have to run to Lowe's or Home Depot for supplies.

 Did I put water bottles to chill and remember to move our cars from
 driveway to street, yet again?

 Why did we agree to additional work which ended up as 3 weeks of 
upheaval instead of a simple 3 day project? 

 Was it worth all the mess?
Yes, yes, yes!!!! Deck and gazebo look almost new again.

Our home is looking spiffy now and I finished the outdoor
Christmas decor yesterday, including the Christmas tree in the
 gazebo. We may get light snow falling during the night or, more
 likely, just a cold rain. Wood is brought in and the hearth is ready.
The seasons are definitely changing.

Hurry Up Autumn!

House painting is underway. . . . . and yes, it will remain 

yellow with white trim and olive green shutters for those 

of you who asked.

We continue to be blessed with dry weather so it should be completed

 no later than Thursday morning. 

Still hot by noon but evenings and early morning are delightful,

 there is a definite freshness in the air.

October is such a lovely month and my favorite.

October arrives at the house . . . . . . . . .

The exterior of our cottage was 'disrobed' - a huge job removing old siding - and has
 now been clad in a cloak of new siding.  Wood trim repair took place where
 required, some small roof issues were also fixed. All has been gently renovated.
 Yesterday the cottage was cleansed and showered. which has already made

 a big difference. Tomorrow the painters will arrive and hopefully by Thursday, at the
 latest, the entire project will be completed. . . . . . . and we can breathe again!

At this point we are happy we have a small house and it is just 1-1/2 stories - the
 cost for this work on a much larger property with several floors, a huge complicated
 roof line etc. would be so much more expensive when TLC is required.

We have always repaired and repainted every seven years but with new

 HardiPlank lap siding and top of the line Sherwin-Williams Duration paint, we 

should be good for 15 years!

HOME refresh - Part I -

This house - which I usually call "the cottage" due to it's compact size and my

 struggles to enclose it within an English-style garden (difficult here in this much too

 hot climate), is showing it's age, just like its occupants! Now thirty years old, the

exterior is looking somewhat dismal despite painting and fixing every 7 years or so.

Always something requiring attention with a house.

Moving to one-level condos, townhouses, smaller garden/no garden, even

 apartment living with no upkeep by us required, bring heated discussions.

For now we are staying here!

After spending the past several weeks getting estimates for wood repairs and

 repainting, we were somewhat shocked at the bottom line from

 individuals/companies who expected us to fork out money way 

beyond our budget, especially those who wanted a big percentage up

 front, yet would not provide proof of good work, insurance etc. 

Then along came a contractor acquaintance, Mr. B., actually a long time

 friend of our daughter and her partner.

After meeting with him and knowing we would be well taken care of - we

 decided to completely re-side the cottage in Hardiplank thus getting rid of all

 damaged/aging siding, then follow with a lovely new paint job.

Our contractor had just completed similar work on this house above - lower two
 pix - we were able to go take a look. Just happens the owners sold another home
 to our daughter last year so we knew they would not steer us wrong regarding
 the work done by Mr. B.  

We love the Hardiplank siding they used, it has a light woodgrain rather 

than smooth, and no dirt catching bead along the bottom edge of the board. 
Another plus when using this now very popular brand of siding, is that there
are no visible nails/holes as the boards are installed from the bottom up and
 nailed under the overlap. 
I believe it has a 50 year warranty - repainting probably only every 15 years.

I think it will suit our style of house which is similar to the white house

 above with the same dentil molding and similar roof lines.

I hesitate in sharing these pix of the front beds - so sad looking!
The English garden, or whatever garden it was, has been cut down and dug out 
for the most part. Necessary to allow access to the house where wood repairs
are required, and of course making the painting much easier when the time comes.
I do think the hydrangeas will survive, and the climbing jasmines, but it will take a few
 years before they are lush and full again, and I will need to add some new shrubs later.

Well another week begins and I hear the workmen coming up the driveway.
More hammering, drilling and sawing ahead. Thankfully the weather is holding 
up but still very warm - so more chug-a-lugging bottled water by the guys -
my 'frig is well-stocked for the week ahead!
 We look forward to being back to normal by next week perhaps - and are
hoping Hurricane Maria stays away from here as she makes her way now
along North Carolina's coast and the Outer Banks.

Late Summer flowers, early Autumn days. . . . . . . .

No real signs of Autumn here in the southeast yet. . . . . still very hot and dry.

Autumn greetings to you my friends - my favorite season of the year, even though

 I'll be a year older in colorful October. . . . . . . and hopefully much wiser!

Things are crazy around the cottage as we finish up the first week of the 

the big exterior project.  Lovely to have a quieter day with no hammering, 

drilling, sawing. . . . . . and handsome, young, muscular men (sorry Bob!)

 playing country music and guzzling an unbelievable number of bottles of

 chilled water from my refrigerator.

 It has been 90F each day so can't say I blame them. 

It will all start all over again come Monday morning of course!