Tag: House and Home

Garden

Selloum

pamibe

I wanted some of those giant Philodendrons, the ‘Selloum’ variety, but of course Home Depot had absolutely nada and Lowe’s only had one ‘Hope’ (which I bought but am not thrilled with). Didn’t want to hike 50 miles to Miami so instead purchased seeds on the internet. As one does.

Philodendron bipinnatifidum at Floridata.

And my 19 seedlings, which really tickle me. Almost time to plant in pots.

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There are way too many for my lot, which is why there will soon be little pots of babies at the curb. My crinum lilies went pretty fast so I’m sure these will as well.

Florida, The Weather

Après Irma

pamibe
alive
It’s alive!

Well, we survived. Again. But really, how many times can one tempt fate? I lost track of how many hurricanes I’ve been through.

I took before pictures, as one does… but no after. The pictures would come out looking like modern art that nobody understands because everything is swathed in green and brown roughage; the result of the almighty raking a giant comb over the land at great speed.

We were more ready for this storm than any other, which thankfully was not needed. Luckier than most, we were only without power for 24 hours and internet for a few days. I’d rather have power than internet, but it felt odd and I didn’t even turn my pc on til it came back up.

Kudos to the city of Margate and Broward county, both of which kept everyone updated via Twitter and Facebook.

Now… there are three other systems to keep a weather eye on… and have I mentioned that I WANT TO MOVE??

 

The Weather

Hurricane Prep/Disaster Kit

pamibe

This is my master list so I’m dropping it here.

GENERAL

  • Silicone caulking for bathtub drains to hold water. The caulk will not affect the taste of the water and cleans up easily. Just use a thick bead around the seams and it will pull away cleanly when dry.
  • Manual can and bottle openers.
  • Folding stove, oven mitts. Better to use a camp stove or grill; but don’t use them indoors. In a pinch, you can use ”canned heat” (Sterno, etc.) but it will only heat food; it won’t cook it.
  • A battery-operated radio and/or television.
  • Extra batteries.
  • A windup clock.
  • Battery-operated lanterns and enough flashlights for each member of the family, plus extra batteries and bulbs. Candles and kerosene lights can cause fires and severe burns. If you must use candles, never leave one burning unattended.
  • Duct tape.
  • Lightweight fire extinguishers.
  • Wrench to turn off household gas and water. Keep it near the shut-off valves.
  • Chain saw, gassed up, oiled and ready.
  • Generator.

Continue reading “Hurricane Prep/Disaster Kit” →

Family

New Windows!

pamibe

Three are broken and four sills have to be replaced, but we finally got the new windows in! Yes, I am happy.

Before, of course. Goodbye, nasty old rotted aluminum crap. Honestly, some of those thin little panes were just barely sitting in the frame, it was all so rotted.

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After!

winaftr2

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The broken part, which can be easily replaced. The inside pane is broken. The outside pane is pretty much unbreakable.

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Happy and tired. 🙂

Personal

Tree

pamibe

After 15 years of blogging, I’ve come to hate titles. All these years.. through so many iterations of this blog.. I think I’ve utilized every conceivable title twice over. So ‘tree’; we’ll keep it simple.

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Hate this year’s lights. I like soft, twinkly little fairy lights but these were at Home Depot for 5 bucks a box, so the man picked them up and voila! We’re blessed with these harsh, bright, non-twinkly bastards.

That’s okay. I’ve got an entire year to find the correct lights.

Well, that sounds bitchy. Which is not what I’m feeling at all.