Great Finds

I really like to go to garage sales, but I just haven’t had the time to go much the last few years. Just about all of my furniture and decorations are second hand.  I really have a hard time spending a lot of money on things that will get killed gently worn by  so many children. I like changing things out occasionally and I don’t mind doing so if I didn't spend a lot of money, and if I am able to find something to replace worn items or if I am just tired of it. 

My next door neighbor was having a garage sale last week so I was able to check out what she had. I found a couple of great finds for my den/library. I bought this lamp which is an antique for only $5.00, and these globes which I believe may also be an antique, all 3 for $8.00. (what a deal). I am not sure if this is where I will keep them, but this is where they are for now.

  

How does your garden grow?

Today is the first day we were able to get vegetables from our garden. Yay! Other than the snap peas, that the kids have been eating off the vine.

We planted several vegetables this year and have herbs, raspberries, apples, and peaches growing in our yard. It has been really hard keeping everything watered here the past few weeks.

Here are the first pickling cucumbers of the year. We planted several types of squash, including Spaghetti, Acorn, and Butternut.
  We also have some Zucchini.
  Broccoli
14 Tomato plants (Our son loves salsa and bruschetta bread)
Lettuce…
and even more lettuce.
  I am not sure what happened to this squash. These were planted at the same time as all the other ones. They just never took off. We mark our plants with paint sticks. This year my husband used a marker that was not waterproof, so we do not know what everything is. (lol) He says it is the Acorn Squash (I doubt it!)

Our mint plant really took off this year.
The kids love the Pumpkins around Halloween.
This is the first salad from our garden lettuce.
When we add carrots or radishes to our salad we shred them. Everyone seems to like them better that way.
We also have Raspberries that the kids eat right off the plant.  We have a Peach tree…
  …and a couple of apple trees.
There are several other herbs and vegetables that I did not take pictures of, some because I forgot about them, and some because they are not growing. (lol) We have our garden throughout our yard not just one spot. That is part of the reason it is harder for us to keep it all watered.

With all these fresh vegetables we have a lot of salads. Here is a recipe for my favorite salad dressing. Sometimes I will add additional seasonings, sour cream, and/or parmesan cheese to change it up. Also sometimes I will just change the type of vinegar to give it a different flavor, or just because of what I might have in the house.

Garlic Salad Dressing
2/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves crushed garlic

How does your garden grow?

If you have posted about it, leave the link and I will come visit.

Enjoy your garden this summer!

Parents of a Dozen

How to Prepare a Floor For Ceramic Tile

We will be posting on how to install ceramic tile, but before ceramic tile is installed, it is important to have the proper underlayment. You will need to have at least one and a quarter inch of subflooring to prevent cracking of tiles over time. This is including the subflooring that is usually 3/4 inch. This is always a step that takes time, no one ever sees it, and people don’t realize the extra time and expense that goes into a job. The baseboards and shoe-base also need to be removed before this step. Here is a bathroom that has the underlayment installed , which is actually a cement board.   Installing the cement board is like putting together a puzzle. The board has to be cut to fit the entire floor.
Here for this angle cut, we used a utility knife to score one side of the board and then the board is snapped in half.     


Here hubby is cutting a hole to go around the drain for the toilet. 
   It is also important to remember to cut the opening for the vents. We forgot once (lol), luckily we remembered before the tiles were set.   Here is our puzzle!
These are the type screws that are needed be used with cement board.
These are little on the hard side to screw in.

Then a cement mesh is used on the  seams.
The next step is to mix some thin-set or mortar……to be used over the mesh……and screws, to set them and to prevent any movement. Here are the boards ready for the tiles.
Make sure you follow along to see how to install the ceramic tile.

Do you need new tile somewhere?

Parents of a Dozen

Laundry Room Makeover

One of the things we enjoy doing in the homes we remodel is to make them more desirable. What woman wouldn't love to have all these cabinets in her laundry room? A nice large wash tub? Ceramic tile that could take the traffic from the garage?  This is the laundry room of one of the houses we remodeled and sold.