Flaunt Those Flowers!

I did manage to get a few projects done recently.

Finally the bike is planted with trailing Petunias

and placed in the front garden.

I have longed for this for so long.

We had about 2 weeks of strong gusty wind

(a few neighbors lost their fences!)

Silly me, thought the wind was done,

so I planted and placed the bike.

I even raked all the mess up...

why does everyone's trash get blown into my yard?!



The day after the wind was back, gustier than ever.

Good thing I took these photos when I did,

cuz everything was whipped silly

and does not look like this anymore.

Today is the first day I have been able to water in about 4 days.

Yes, the wind has stopped...for now,

so it's water everything quick in case it returns.

Hellebore is blooming

I guess the Mocking Birds have decided 

that I need another Fig Tree.

But why did they put it in the front garden?! 

Bergenia has finished blooming.

But look at all the Columbine sprouting up.

 Love plants that reseed and take care of themselves.

Looks like the birds have also planted a Grape in the Bergenias.

The only grape I have is Thompson Seedless, so Lord only knows where they picked this up from.

Here's a mature Columbine blooming

I have completely ignored the house and gardens for 2 1/2 yrs.

If you follow me, you know I am going through a divorce.

I didn't want to put anything into the home

should I not be able to keep it,

even though I have been told I will be.

Why should he reap the benefits?

BUT my mind set has changed over these past 2 1/2 yrs.

I'm going to believe my lawyer and the Judge and claim it.

I am so surprised how many plants have hung in there with me.

Very little water, no pruning, just plain ignoring.

Yes, I was detaching, something I've learned to do all too well

from all the transfers from station to station over the last 38 yrs.

 I just couldn't look them in the face wondering

 if I would be able to keep them.

Since 90% of my plants have come from my parents farm,

by way of propagation,

I believe they have been looking down

and giving them strength to grow so that when I did

come to my senses they would still be here to make me smile.

There's more but you'll have to wait for my next post,

this one has become long enough.



How to Fix a Cracked Tub Part 1

Don't act so surprised, you all new we were cracked! LOL

In the lovely new home we purchased in 1994,

within a year we, as well as our neighbors,

had long lists of issues with our new homes.

The builder didn't want to cooperate

and fix said issues, so we all got together to form a group.

As individuals the builder blew us off but as a pretty large

 and boisterous group we got them to listen.

And eventually fix most of our issues.

 

One of ours were our bathtubs.

Both of them had hairline cracks in the bottom. 

We had lived in many homes, apartments,

 and duplexes over the years and

had no experience with cracks in bathtubs. 

The closest we came to a leaky tub/pipe

 was in housing in Miami.

We knew and told maintenance that we thought

we had a leaky tub or a broken pipe in the

 upstairs bathroom wall that was shared
with the master bedroom.

Maintenance came out and looked

and agreed we had a small leak

but since we were to be transferring within the year

 they would wait until we moved to tear the wall down.  

We thought "hey, great! We don't have to deal with it!"

but at the same time wondered how much mushier

the wall could get before it failed.

We went on our way and transferred about 6 months later.

About a year later one of our neighbors was

transferred to the same station we were.

He had a great story to tell us.

Maintenance didn't close up our unit to fix the pipe

and promptly moved the next transfers in.

They came home one day to find their upstairs bathtub

and master bedroom in their downstairs living room.

Yep, it fell thru the floor!

They were very lucky they weren't home,

someone could have been killed.

But now we know...

a slow leak will take about 18 months before it

collapses a wall and a floor.

  

But I digress.

The builders sent a company out to fix our tubs.

They simply recoated them.

I thought that they should have found out why they had cracked,

but what did I know. They looked a lot better, cosmetically.

Not to long later the hall tub had small cracks in it again.

We were past our warranty and I had

other things going on in my life at the time

and a cracked tub was at the bottom of my list of priorities.

OK, fast forward to last month when T fell in the tub .

I think the jar not only hurt him but the tub too!

The cracks seemed larger....time to do some research.

Do I spring for a new unit ( it's an all in one) or get it fixed.

BUT first, why did it crack in the first place?

It didn't take me long to figure it out after searching the net.

The tub was not correctly installed and supported properly
. Uh duh, why didn't I figure that out on my own so much sooner!! When you step in certain spots in the tub
it's "soft", it "gives", while others are hard.

 The builder only had put a band aid on the problem and not properly "fixed" the issue.

Purchasing the correct products to fix it were more cost effective than hiring a professional or purchasing a new one.

First of all clean the cracked area thoroughly.
When finished wipe down with rubbing alcohol.

As you can see we had a lot of hairline cracks

 that ''spidered'' out in a lot of different directions.

Drill a hole at each end of each crack,
this will prevent the crack from cracking further.

We ended up with a lot of drill holes

due to all the different ways the cracks "spidered". 

When finished drilling,

vacuum the tub really well to remove all particles.

You will need Latex Sealant.

 Latex expands to 75% as soon as it is applied.

Do not use expanding urethane foam insulation

that you would use on/in your house.

Urethane foam gradually expands to 200%

and can cause warping or distortion. 

Latex only.

Clean up is a breeze with soap and water too.

Insert the tube into the nozzle and fill those holes.

The fumes are strong so make sure you have a mask on,

the bath fan on

 and any windows open.

It took us 2 cans to fill all of ours.

 Between bending over and holding the trigger

we all took turns.  

Only drawback I found was how slow the sealant comes out,

But that just may be me..I'm always in a hurry! 

It's so hard to take photos of white on white.

After we were done filling, I took a putty knife

to scoop up any "spilled" sealant

and spread it into the holes.

Waste not want not!

Now wait 24 hours for it to cure.

Stay tuned for the next post

 and see how we faired,

Phoebe's Back!!



Spring is here....

in some parts of the country and that means baby birds!!!   First egg laid on 4/3/2012 Second laid on 4/6/2012

A real "Birds eye view" from the kitchen window

 April 13, 2013

Nest Locations

4/6/13

Facebook Page

Enjoy!!