How to projects for your life......

May 2008 Mexian Riviera

2008-05-20T13:02:00.001-07:00

First of all Happy Birthday to Casey! Yesterday was his birthday. He had to work but I made him one of his favorite meals and we had Carrot Cake for dessert.

Next news of our trip and update on our pond and waterfall project....

Our Mexian Rivera Trip onboard the Carnival Pride was awesome. For future reference May might be a little early in the season to go, as it was cool on the ship on the way down and back, but otherwise we had a wonderful time. Most relaxing vacation we have ever had. The carnival team is awesome and has lots of planned activities so that there is always something to do. I blew my diet and gain 2 pounds and I am having to work to get back where I started on that front. I couldn't pass up the great food though. We had all-u-can-eat lobster one night for dinner. Each dinner consisted of a 4 course meal and each one was really good. I even ate a steak one night and all of you that know me know that I am not much of a meat eater, especially beef, but my steak was really good. I guess my favorite though was the fresh fruit and desserts.

We also played bingo several times and Casey won!! We went to a taste testing of various alcoholic beverages and bought a couple of things to bring home. We also visited CaboWabo (picture above). This restaurant/shop is located where else but Cabo and is owned by Sammy Haggar. We had a good lunch there and bought Barb a bottle of Cabo Wabo Tequila for watching our cats while we were gone. Many thanks to Barb for taking great care of our home and cats. Barb says she isn't sharing her Tequila but I think Ty managed to get some!

The ATV excursion we took was the most fun! I got to drive my own ATV over sand dunes and across the beach. I had never done this before so it was a wonderful experience. Our horseback rise through the rain forest was quite fun but I have to wonder where the "rain forest" was. I saw creek beds and a lot of dusty land. Maybe it was the wrong season???

We met a couple from Vancouver onboard the ship. Ed and Sheryl taught us a card game called "Scum". We played scum with them and another couple and had a great time. The other couple were from Indiana. We plan to stay in touch. Everyone that we ran in to were quite nice.

Once we have returned home we buckled down and tried to finish our pond and waterfall. I've included some pictures of it too. I think it is really coming along. See the before and after pictures to see what you think.

Send us your comments.......

Here's some new pictures of our grandson's:

Here's one of Caleb at approx 3-4 months old.

He sure is a cutie! Heather and Chad keep the pictures coming.

And here's one of Weylin holding Liam. I think Liam is about 2 weeks old here. Weylin we need more pictures!!!

March Happenings

2008-04-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

Picture #1 Weylin and his girlfriend Sam

Picture #2 Weylin and Callie

Picture #3 Weylin leaving us again

Weylin came for a short visit. I teased him that he left us for six years (military posts) and I get one week. Sam wins out over Mom. Weylin is off to start his new life in Tennessee. He is excited and happy so what more can a Mom ask for. It was sure nice having him here though and we look forward to meeting Sam and hopefully soon.

On another note; have you ever tried to take a close face shot of 2 cats? I'm almost convinced it can't be done. Casey wanted to surprise me by getting a painting done of Cinnamon and Callie. Theora, his brothers wonderful and talented wife, is a painter among many other interesting things and she will lovingly paint our babies if we can get a picture for her to go by. Sounds easy right! Well let me tell you it is not easy. Casey bought me another new camera for Christmas. This one is suppose to have a fast shutter speed and I swear it did in the store, I just can't figure out the setting the sales girl had it on (I may have to go find her again to set it for me). Anyway, we have been snapping away to no avail. We even gave up and tried to take separate pictures of the cats since together hasn't worked out well. You would think these cats hate each other because they throw a fit if you put them together and then try to snap pictures. We invariably get Callie's tail and Cinnamon diving off the bench. Not a great face shot. None of the shots we have gotten do justice to have beautiful these two really are. I've had to let Theora know that we are still trying.

Below is a picture of Casey and his three brothers. In order:

Mike, Casey, Steve, & Jeff. They recently assembled back at home in Cheyenne Wyoming to celebrate the life of their 97 year old grandma who went to heaven in March.

Our latest project has been to remove the three raised garden beds the past owners of our house installed.

Casey must have more symmetry so we have leveled this area and spread the dirt around the perimeter of the fence and in front of the arborvitaes to the right of this side yard. We began by mowing the grass really short and then removing the grass in the appropriate area. We then attached a solid board across the face of the lower area of the fence (so that soil wouldn't be against the fence slats) We stapled black plastic with staples to the board. The next step was to put landscape fabric down to prevent weeds/grass from coming through. Then we shoveled the soil from the previous beds onto the landscape fabric. The next step will be to add retainer bricks to hold the soil and then plant. Since we do things in stages (having to work around the rain in the pacific northwest) this is as far as we've gotten. Future plans for this area is to place our hot tub here inside of a gazebo. Again this will be done in stages with the first stage being to build the gazebo base. Stay tuned for more updates on this and our many other ongoing projects coming up in April ........

Pond & Waterfall

2008-03-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

Our newest project is constructing a small pond and waterfall outside our den window. The cats love to sit in this window and watch the birds and we also love the view outside this window too, so we decided to add to it.

So here's the plan:

Pond: The design of the pond and the filter system to use are the most critical parts. Digging the hole is the easy part, unless your ground is mostly rock like ours was. Our land is part of an old river bed or so we have been told. One rock we dug out is probably 400 lbs. Now that took some engineering for us to remove. The best type of pond for you depends on your interests, budget, available space, and needs. The more you know about what you want to accomplish with a pond the better you can decide the best design to build. We do not plan to add fish so our pond is predominantly 18-20 inches deep all around. As you can see in the layout photo we went with a free style natural shape. The plan is to have a natural water garden with a few waterplants, waterfall, and plantings and rocks outside the pond.

Constructing a Pond
1. What type of pond you want to build? You should consider what type of aquatic life you want in the pond. Is it going to be a home for goldfish or koi? Maybe a water garden?
2. Select the proper location. Most ponds will be enjoyed more if they are installed close to the home. Select an area where you can see the pond year round. Ponds are great attracters of wildlife including birds and butterflies. Position the pond where runoff from rain will not flow into the pond. Avoid placing a pond too close to trees. Falling leaves and other debris will need to be removed from the pond. You will want to place your pond where it will receive at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sun if you want to grow water lilies. Shade is fine for fish-only ponds. Water circulation is not essential but the use of a pump will allow you to keep more fish, it will keep your plants healthier. A pump is required to run a filter, fountain, or waterfall. The sound of running water adds greatly to the enjoyment of the pond. Most ponds will benefit from the use of a biological filter.
3. Determine the size of your pond or water garden. The best way to do this is to use a rope or water hose and lay out the shape on the ground. A pond for goldfish or water lilies need be only about 2 feet deep for zones 5 or greater. Ponds built in colder areas may need more depth to keep the pond from freezing solid. After you have laid out the shape, measure the maximum length and width. Add the depth twice to these measurements plus a foot or two for overlap and this will give you the pond liner size.
4. Dig the pond. For in-ground ponds, dig the excavation at least 18 inches deep with straight sides and a floor with a 2% slope. At the lower end of the 2% slope, dig out a hole 36" in diameter and sloping to 1 ft. This hole is to easily drain and clean the pond. Be sure the pond rim is absolutely level from side to side and end to end. If it is not level, the liner will show on the high side. Remove any sharp rocks. It is a good idea to line the excavation with damp newspapers, building felt or discarded carpet or padding for additional protection.
5. Line the pond with Pond Underlayment. This can be cut with scissors or a utility knife. You may want to tape any small pieces together to keep them from moving when the pond liner is placed. The introduction of flexible EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) sheeting has greatly improved pond-building techniques. This great strength pond liner provides an extremely durable construction material while its elasticity allows a stretch-ability. This stretch-ability allows the liner to stretch (rather than crack as cement ponds often do) with earth movements or ice pressure, these liners should not be confused with polyethylene as EPDM is a vastly superior synthetic rubber product. It is comparable in durability and length of life to concrete construction.
INSTALLATION - The liner will be more flexible if allowed to warm in the sun. Spread the liner tautly and evenly over the pond excavation or frame, being sure that it is centered with an equal amount of overlap on all sides. If needed, anchor the liner with small weights on the outer edges.Place garden hose in center and begin to run water onto it. The weight of the water will begin to pull the liner down, stretching and folding it to the contours of the pond. For sharp angles, you may need to make a smooth fold into the corners as the pond fills.
6. Position any external pond filters and/or pond skimmers and level these in their proper location. Pond skimmers should be buried to the proper level beside the pond. A ditch should be dug for the plumbing from the pond to the waterfall or external pond filter. If a pond skimmer is being used, dig a ditch to the external pond pump and from the pump to the external pond filter or waterfall. If you are using a submersible pump in the pond skimmer then the ditch will be from the skimmer to the external pond filter or waterfall.
7. Pond waterfalls can be excavated now. An external pond filter or waterfall tank can be positioned to create the first waterfall. This can be placed to spill directly into the pond, in which case, the pond liner is held against the pond filter until you are able to stack stone from the pond shelf up against the pond filter to create a waterfall.
8. Connect the pond liner to the filter, following the manufacturer’s directions.
9. Pipe for adding water.A one half to three quarter inch pipe from a water source emptying at the top of the waterfall, hidden from view, is an ideal convenient way to add water to your pond. Flow must be controlled by valves, ideally two of them: one at the beginning of the water source and the other at the waterfall end.
10. Place the stone or other coping around the edge of the pond or water garden. Arrange the copingstone around the edge of the pond and fold the pond liner up behind the stone to slightly above the water level.
11. Edging the pond or water garden. For most installations having a necklace of stone around the pond or water garden does not create a natural appearance. If your goal is to make your pond blend into the landscape in a natural setting then you will want to consider other methods of edging the pond. Besides the traditional method of edging with a thin stone on the edge overlapping the pond you can also use one or more layers of stone built up from the shelf. This provides a more natural appearance and will allow the water to fluctuate without seeing the liner. You can also create a cobblestone beach edging by placing a large stone at the inside of a large shallow shelf and filling the area with gravel and cobbles. You can naturalize this area by planting shallow water plants. This will create a more natural edge with plants partly in and partly out of the water.

Waterfall:
There are a number of ways to make waterfalls. Here are our suggestions.

Stage 1 - Placement of pump. Secure flexible tubing to the outlet of pump using a stainless steel hose clamp. Submerse at the furthest point from the waterfall. Route the tubing over side of pond (can be hidden under perimeter stones). Make sure the stone does not pinch the tubing, and avoid sharp bends in the tubing so it does not kink and reduce flow.

Stage 2 - Tubing. Route the tubing to the waterfall. Bury under soil.

Stage 3 - Building waterfall pond. Use displaced soil from pond to build an elevated area for waterfall. Consider making a small auxiliary pond in this mound. Position the spillway to flow into main pond. Build the small pond using the same techniques and liner as the main pond.Two layers of liner are recommended for this pond. The first one contains the water. The second liner channels the water towards the fall. Important! Be sure the liner drapes underneath the waterfall spillway stones - otherwise you will experience water loss when the waterfall is in operation. You may need to use liner seam tape in this stage.

Stage 4 - Building spillway. Once the spillway liner is in place - you will want to pump water up to the auxiliary pond and watch it flow down the liner spillway. (at this stage - your pond should be full of water).

Carefully select stones and position them - while the water is flowing over them. With the water flowing over the rock, you may replace, shift and add stones so you achieve the desired water spills. Place plant moss and small plants between the stones around the waterfall to achieve a natural look.

Note: The discharge from the filters can be routed to the waterfall pond. Because the water flows by gravity out the bottom of most of the filters, it must be positioned higher than the waterfall. If this is difficult to achieve, consider a "Y" or "T" connector in your tubing or use a pump diverter, with some water being diverted to the filter and some to the waterfall. You may also want to use two separate pumps, one for the waterfall and one for the filter. Other filters such as pressurized filters can be placed anywhere and allow water to be pushed through them up to the falls.

We're about 1/2 through this project so stay tuned for more photos and our comments about the process......

Our grandson.... What a cutie!

2008-03-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome our grandson! Caleb was born in January of this year and I cannot think of a better start to 2008.

Valentine's day has come and gone. Today is already St. Patrick's Day and Easter is next Sunday. Already I feel this year is flying by.......

On Today's Menu
Chicken Enchiladas
Mexican Rice
Greens & Avocado Salad
Berry Cobbler

*****Chicken Enchiladas******
2-3 Chicken breasts chopped in small pieces
1/2 onion chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
10-12 corn or flour tortillas
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese mixture
1 can cream of chicken soup
Small can chopped green chilies
½ cup chicken broth
1 cup fat free sour cream

Cook chicken, chopped onion and garlic in about one tablespoon olive oil until chicken is done and veggies are tender. Mix soup, green chilies, broth, and sour cream in a medium bowl. Spray 9 x 13 pan with a spray like Pam olive oil. Roll a large spoonful of cooked chicken and grated cheese in tortilla. Roll all 10-12 tortillas making one layer in pan. Top with soup mixture and then sprinkle remaining one cup of cheese on top. Bake at 350 degree for about 30 minutes to heat through.

Mexican Rice
I used the Rice- Roni variety and followed the instructions.

Salad
Mix salad greens, chopped avocado, grated cheese, and bacon bits in abowl. Top with dressing of your choice.

Mimi’s Cobbler

1 stick of margarine or butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
¾ cup cold milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

2 cups fruit (berries, peaches, etc…)

*** Juice from fruit may be used as part or in place of the milk.

Melt 1 stick of margarine or butter in a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Mix sugar, flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add juice/milk. Mix well.

Melt butter in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Pour batter on top of butter. Place fruit of your choice on top of batter. Bake in 350 degree over for about 45 minutes.

Serve alone or warm with vanilla ice cream on top.

Enjoy our dinner. This cobbler sure was yummy. I made mine with a mixture of Boysen berries and Logan berries frozen last summer.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I am sure you've all gone out and purchased something for your special someone already. Right?
Well here's a couple of ideas if you haven't done that yet. I've also included a special cookie recipe. Happy Valentine's Day!

1. Bake cupcakes in Valentine's Day paper cups and decorate the top with heart candies. Make the cups look like a basket with a metallic handle fashioned from metallic twine.

2. Make a batch of heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

3. Bake a batch of heart shaped cookies and serve on a pretty plate decorated with a paper doily.

4. Plan a romantic dinner with the stage set by wine and candles.

5. Fill a basket with microwave popcorn and assorted candies and your Valentine's favorite DVDs.

Valentine’s Day Heart Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla; mix well. In a medium bowl stir together dry ingredients; blend into the wet mixture. Divide dough into three parts and roll each into a ball. Roll out one of the dough balls about ¼" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out an even number of three-inch hearts using cookie cutters. Using a
1 ½" heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out the centers of half of these hearts.

Place each piece separately on an ungreased cookie sheet, one to two inches apart. Bake for seven to eight minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

Continue process with the remaining balls of dough.Frost bottom cookie with Valentine Frosting (see below) and place an open centered cookie on top to form the sandwich.

You can also bake the 1 ½" cut outs for a cute addition to your sandwich cookies.

Valentine Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water
2 drops red food coloring

Directions:
Sift confectioners' sugar. Blend sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Add water and food coloring and mix well.

Fireplace Make-over

2008-02-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

We have updated the fireplace. We think it has finally losts it's
70's look!

The process was fairly easy. I started by cleaning the brick with a product called Stain Bully. It worked well to get any soot and grime off. The next step was to seal the bricks. This was done with a product called Behr Concrete and Masonary Waterproofer. This product is milky in appearance and brushes on to dry clear. Reminds me of spreading a runny Elmer's Glue. These two steps are essential to end up with a nice looking finished product. The waterproofer needs to dry 24 hours and you should read the instructions to make sure you do everything correctly. I found these steps to be really easy.

The next steps are more of a personal choice. We had red fire brick and I wanted the brick to be in the beige tones but to still look like real brick and not painted brick. I chose 5 colors of paint. I used all Behr products since I have had the best luck with Behr in all my other painted projects. My color choices were: a dark brown, tee pee (dark beige), pecan sandie (lighter beige), a caramel color, and a cream color.

The first color I put on was the tee pee color. I then added caramel and then the dark brown. I probably let each color dry only about an hour between adding each layer. My technique is to dry brush the color on. I do not worry about covering all the bricks at once. I wanted the colors to be random yet thought out so that each brick had a unique color combination and the end product looks like a natural brick coloration.

The walls in this room are the pecan sandie color so, my finishing steps were to tone down the caramel and brown with the cream and then to dry brush random sweeps of the pecan sandie to blend the bricks to a color combination that coordinated with the room.

My final step will be to paint the inside brick and concrete black using a fireplace paint rated for heat in the fireplace. The long term goal is to add a gas fireplace to the existing fireplace so in the meantime I will add a candle arrangement and light the candles for effect. However, the fireplace is fully useable as a traditional fireplace with wood logs. Our preference is to have the gas fireplace since they are so much cleaner to use and much easier on my allergies.

Feel free to send comments about your impressions of our new fireplace. this project was really fun and had really changed the look of the room.

Fireplace Refinishing

2008-01-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

Well we've had a change of plan. We took a few hours and visited some local fireplace shops to see in person what our options were. We've researched online but sometimes seeingt he products available first hand really helps you determine what you want. We have decided that we really like the zero clearance fireplaces. Don't confuse these with a fireplace insert which we found out are different and surprising a little more expensive. The fireplace inserts are made to fit inside an existing fireplace. We could go this route with minimal hassle. However, we like the look of the zero clearance fireplace and with some modifications to our fireplace can increase the viewing size of the actual fire which is really important to us.

Casey will have to pipe a gas line to the fireplace and install the electrical outlet to prepare for this project. Since we want a larger viewing area we will have to open up the fireplace to accomodate the larger size of the unit. This will involve removing bricks from the exisiting fireplace. Also, since our fireplace is in the corner and the exisiting cedar plank area above the brick has a 130 degree angle, Casey will build this out to make placing the new stones easier. Yes, we have decided to just proceed to the main project of refacing the fireplace with rocks all the way up from floor to ceiling. We'll also be looking for a hunk of wood to use for the mantle. Something big and rustic that we can stain to match our other wood trim in the room.

We've been to the showroom to look at the rock we anticipate using too. So now we are at the stage where we'll have a representative of the fireplace store come out and look at the project first hand to confirm with Casey the next steps to take. Casey is a wonderful "do-it yourself" handyman and always researches the options and learns all he can about the project before moving forward. Once he is armed with all the new knowledge he gets going and his projects always turn out great. We are so excited to get this one going. I know the fireplace will be awesome! Stay tuned for updates and pictures as we proceed.

A Quick Change: How to Project

2008-01-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

Having only been in our house for six months we have been doing small projects to update the house. We have started another one (still having the stairs in process). We have a corner fireplace in the living room which goes from the floor up to the vaulted ceiling. The bottom part is red brick and the top is cedar planks. The look is very 70's. The long range goal is to refurbish the fireplace with river rock and possibly slate. For now though, I plan to faux finish the red brick in beige and brown tones and then stain the cedar planks with a deep mahogany stain. I think this will make it look good for now while I research the materials and processes for the finish I really want. I'll take pictures as I go and add those to the blog so you can see the process. I am taking my time with it so progress and updates on the fireplace will be slow. While the fireplace is in progress we'll keep you entertained with other projects.

Quick changes can be fun and with a few thoughtful touches they can make the whole house feel more welcoming. I recently moved some furniture around and specifically worked on redefining the front entry.

This was accomplished by defining the area with a bench. Our bench has a tall back with hooks and under seat storage. Now guests can hang their coat and have a place to sit when they remove their shoes. I also added a nice painting above the bench to accent the area. The walls were already a warm shade of beige called snickerdoodle. The black wooden bench and painting of a sailboat framed in black, nicely pop against their warm background. The blue of the water in the painting brings in some fun color. All together the grouping is stylish, welcoming and as an added bonus provides storage.

The best part is that this quick fix did not cost any money. All of the items were things we already had. If your entry way is a clutter catcher or not exactly welcoming, an intervention might be needed. Feel free to try this idea for your own stylish, welcoming entryway.

What do you want?

2008-01-07T17:53:00.000-08:00

Let me see. What do I want for 2008? Should that be tangible? I guess what I want most of all is to be loved and for my family be healthy and happy. For my daughter, who is expecting, to deliver a healthy, wonderful baby to begin our New Year and for all of our friends to have a wonderful New Year too.

The New Year brings new beginnings, new experiences, and a multitude of new possibilities. I, like most of you, want to lose some weight and hope this year will be the one that I succeed. Imagine the money the retailers make this time of year as we all make resolutions to lose weight and run out to buy equipment that usually ends up in the garage in a month or two. However, each year we add losing weight to our New Year's resolution any way vowing this year will be the year we'll succeed. Well, I wish you all the best with that plan. Please keep rooting for me too, maybe I'll succeed at losing 15 pounds this time!

My other end of year routine was to clean house. The week after Christmas, up to New Year's Eve, I began my frantic journey of re-organizing my cabinets, cleaning out the closets, and in general getting my house and life in order. I can't begin the New Year a mess. Everything has to have a place and everything has to be in it's proper place to begin the New Year. All those that know me so well, know how determined I am about this and probably have a great laugh. My dear husband laughs too, but thinks it is great.

His wonderful Mom sent me the following as an email and it really hit home. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and maybe it will make you pause and evaluate some things in your life too...

A New Beginning...
Last Week I threw out Worrying,
it was getting old and in the way.It kept me from being me;
I couldn't do things God's way. I threw out a book on MY PAST
(Didn't have time to read it anyway). Replaced it with NEW GOALS,
started reading it today. I threw out hate and bad memories,
(Remember how I treasured them so)? Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,
threw out the one from long ago. Brought in some new books too,
called I CAN, I WILL, AND I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought.
WOW, you should've seen the dust.
I ran across an OLD FRIEND,
I hadn't talked to in a while.His name is GOD the Father,
and I really like His style.He helped me to do some cleaning
and added some things Himself.
Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE, Yes...
I placed them right on the shelf.
I picked up this special thing and placed it
at the front door.
I FOUND IT- its called PEACE.
Nothing gets me down anymore.Yes, I've got my house looking nice.
Looks good around the place. For things like Worry and Trouble
there just isn't any space.It's good to do a little house cleaning, Get rid of the things on the shelf. It sure makes things brighter;
maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.
BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!
May the Lord open the windows of heaven
and pour you out a blessing
that you will not have room enough to receive it all.
Malachi 3:10.

May the Lord bless you exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever hope for.
Philippians 4:19.

May 2008 be the best year of your life!!!

2008-01-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

We are particularly happy to welcome you on our site, at first because distance is not anymore a problem, but also because a new world of ideas, designs, recipes, and advice on family things is virtualy opened to your curiosity.

We have three aims: to share our passion for life, share our varied experiences of life, and finally to share some practical knowledge that may save you some time, money, or heartache.

We sincerely hope you enjoy reading our blog and come back to join us often.

Casey & Peggy