Calling all gardeners! (And wanna be's with space issues)

I just ran across something that I think is really, REALLY ingenious! A real space saver for those who are space-challenged for gardening - maybe no yard space available or no sun in the area where they could garden in. Problem solved!!! Check out this space saving garden idea! I would think that besides on a house you could install them on the side/sides of a shed or garage or other out building... and I can see where this idea would also be usable on the outside edge of a deck... Sort of a border along the railing. Anywhere they could get the appropriate sun. The deck rail is where I am thinking about using it. (Ironically, in following the links on the site I found that using it on a deck rail was the original incarnation!)

Besides being used for small veggies I can also see it maybe being used for seedlings... something to start bigger plants in.

I wonder if the neighbors would think I was crazy???

Computer maintenance

Ok, this is something we all need to address at one point or another. If you're anything like me it gets put off, usually because it takes so lone and is so involved.

That problem has been solved! This is a simple (and very safe!!!) cleaner that only takes a minute and doesn't load any sort of spyware or other kind of program on your machine!

Click here: Online cleaner You will be glad you did. Leave me a message about what you think!

Keep clean!!! Oh... and I don't think this is a were-skunk.

Money saving tricks... and a new addition...

My wonderful hubby (whom I love very much!) send me a cool link... It's to an article on the This Old House web site called "50 Nifty Tricks for Big DIY Savings"

These days we all can use tips on saving money here and there. I wish I could take advantage of tip #3 in our master closet. It's almost the size of a small bedroom, about 8 feet wide by about 13 feet long! And the reason we can't take advantage of the tip? There is a heating and cooling vent in there!

But there are a few tips listed there that we have either already done or are in the process of doing. We have replaced "old style" light bulbs with more environmentally and energy friendly ones. We have added ceiling fans in rooms that didn't have them and have a couple more to install. We just bought a fast growing Empress Tree (ironically, it's one of the favorites on the nursery link in the article!) that will be planted in the back yard to shade both Gamer Boy's bedroom and the den. We had to have the heat pump worked on a few weeks ago and had a digital programmable (and lockable!) thermostat installed at the same time. Now we have it programed and the kids can't go and turn on the A/C when everyone else is freezing. Or roast the rest of us if they are chilly. Hey! Put on a sweater! :) And we have some light switches that will turn themselves off after a certain time frame. We just need to find an electrician to install them.

As for the new addition... Today we brought home a dog. I'm not entirely happy about it (she is a lovable enough dog but not a breed I really care for at all) but Dak grew up with one and this one was his mother's. We helped her get it about 1 1/2 or 2 years ago, thinking that a small dog would be good company for her. Boy were we wrong! As her dementia has worsened she has done nothing but complain about it. Cleaning up after her, having to walk her, having her underfoot... But then she talks about how much company she is. We have taken the dog home with us 2-3 other times but she always had a change of heart and wanted her back. Then she gave her to a total stranger but, again, changed her mind and asked for the dog back. Dak had talked to the woman that was taking the dog and warned her that it would probably happen. And it did. This time we have told his mother that if we took the dog it was permanent and that the poor thing doesn't need to be shuffled around like this and that the dog would NOT be coming back. She even signed a statement today to that effect. That is more for her to refer to when she changes her mind. Something that we can tell her to look at to jog her memory. So... here is our new addition.