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Sunday, September 27th, 2009
So there are these pretty little purple things blooming in the front garden -- I'm not sure what they are and am finding it difficult to get a good, in-focus photo of them -- but they are lovely! Especially nice against the red things which are blooming next to them, and of which I also do not know the name...
 (Ellen tells me, the red flowers are sedum.) Update: Ellen is convinced the purple flowers are a weed/wildflower, not anything she planted -- there are similar white flowers growing in parts of the yard where we haven't planted anything.
posted morning of September 27th, 2009: Respond
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Saturday, May 9th, 2009
I'm surprised by how quickly all of the vines in our garden are growing -- every day I go outside and I can see the growth since the previous morning. Must have something to do with all the rain we're getting. So: In front of the house are a climatus and a hyacinth, both planted just last year; on the side of the house are a 3-year-old grape vine, a climatus of about the same age, and a vine I don't know the name of. I'm hammering together a new piece of trellis for the side vines this morning. And when I finish that, maybe I'll work some more on a carving project I gave up on a few months ago! Pictures later...
posted morning of May 9th, 2009: Respond
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Sunday, March 22nd, 2009
Ellen decided a couple of weeks ago that we should repaint the main hallway of our house. We've been slowly getting going, doing some taping and picking colors and painting some sections of the big wall next to our staircase -- today suddenly it seems like we're really underway. I built a platform that will support a stepladder on the staircase, for taping the intersection of that large wall and the ceiling -- I did this taping and pretty much finished painting that wall. Next we have the first-floor hallway, the second-floor hallway, and then the molding... Hopefully we will be done with this by May and we'll post some pictures.
posted evening of March 22nd, 2009: Respond
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You know that little metal disc in the drain of the bathroom sink, that you lower by means of a lever next to the water faucet to block the drain? Until today I did not know how that disc worked. For the last couple of days the bathroom sink has not been draining properly -- I wanted to open up the drain so I could clear out whatever was blocking it, but that disc was in my way -- tried pushing and twisting at it, figuring there was some kind of threading or catch, to no avail. Well -- a good idea in this sort of situation is to look behind the visible assembly and see how the functionality is implemented. Turns out that lever by the water faucet is linked to the back of the drain pipe; if you unscrew the nut where it is attached, you can pull the lever out; then it is easy to remove the disc. This nut is much easier to deal with than most plumbing joints as it is not welded in place or anything. So, I got that out and pulled a gigantic mass of hair out of the drain pipe. (Hair that has been stuck in the drain of the bathroom sink turns out to be one of the most unappealing substances around.) And the sink is working again! Took some figuring out, but not at all difficult of a repair in the end.
posted morning of March 22nd, 2009: 2 responses
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
Ellen's article about our bathroom renovation(s) is out, in today's Star-Ledger. With nice pictures of the rooms, and a lovely picture of Ellen and Sylvia.
posted evening of September 10th, 2008: Respond
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Saturday, August second, 2008
Ellen and I are clearing out dead stuff and overly grown stuff from the fern and forsythia garden on the side of the house, about the state of which the bitchy neighbor has been complaining and which, if the truth be told, is getting a little long in the tooth. Me: Did you see that vine with the pretty blue flowers? I hadn't noticed that before. Ellen: No... Me: It was right over here -- (looks around) Huh, now I don't see it. (A little later, looking under a fern and seeing a bit of plant with a flower attached) See, like this! I could have sworn there were a lot of them over here! Ellen: Oh yeah, those are weeds. I usually pull them, they're pretty invasive.
 (And this afternoon, the neighbor thanked us and apologized for complaining about it. Nice! Back on good terms.)
posted morning of August second, 2008: Respond
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Monday, May 19th, 2008
Our irises are blossoming this year! Last year the plants grew but produced no flowers. The bulbsrhizomes are from The Presby Memorial Iris Gardens in Montclair, where you can get a mixed grab bag during bloom season for cheap.
posted morning of May 19th, 2008: Respond
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Thursday, May first, 2008
 Oh boy, another month! This one is going to be the month of my birthday and the month when our garden really starts looking garden-y. (April hasn't been too bad -- some nice flowers -- but in May you start getting the lush greenery, the azaleas and the mountain laurel are going to come out in force, I need to start mowing the lawn.)
posted morning of May first, 2008: Respond
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Sunday, April 20th, 2008
This morning I planted the beginnings of an herb garden -- specifically, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, two kinds of mint, parsley. I'm happy about that and am hoping they flourish this summer -- before I have only ever grown herbs in pots and they never seem to do very well. I think it's going to rain today (though the weather forecast does not agree with me).
I want to put the screen door up on our back door today (which means I have to go to the hardware store for some screen, to repair the lower panel of the door). And, there is furniture to set up on our side porch. Lots of stuff to keep me busy around the house today.
posted morning of April 20th, 2008: Respond
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Thursday, April third, 2008
 Per Mr. Fritz's request, a comparison of our bathroom floor plan before and after the remodeling project:
Only very roughly to scale. But the basic message communicated, that there is now a lot more open space in the bathroom through which to move, is an accurate one.
posted evening of April third, 2008: 4 responses
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