Yet, I’ve read that spices should not be kept near a source of heat, so that tells me that they should be stored away from the range. I like the idea of the racks that fold up under the cabinets, but they don’t seem to hold very much.Organizing a kitchen would be so much easier if all spice cans and bottles were the exact same size and shape; it is difficult to properly store so many different odd mix and match containers!

Right before Christmas my mother decided that she wanted me to accompany her to a fantastic display up at the Shenandoah Caverns. The display was of historical parade floats, and antique
Christmas window displays from storefronts.

Having always been fascinated by things like that, I readily agreed, although I would have preferred doing it after Christmas. Nonetheless, we went up there and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the window displays. One of the things that I really appreciated was the fact that the main room of the window displays was decorated with artificial flowering wisteria hanging from garden arbors.

The effect of the flowers climbing the arbors was very effective, and it made the entire room feel charming and romantic and old fashioned. The display has inspired me to put an arbor on my “wish list” for the landscaping plans for the side yard of the house.

But recently when I was sitting in my doctor’s office waiting to be called in to the inner sanctum, I was reading through a waiting room magazine and saw an article about gardening and landscaping, and the professional designer being featured used a big artificial rock to disguise a well. I think that if we incorporate that with a small fish pond, and put down some pavers and furnish the area with outdoor bamboo furniture we could have ourselves a pretty little oasis in the back yard!

The only time I had my own experience with a trellis it was when my hubby gave one to me. It was an archway and he and put it up over the end of the sidewalk that leads to the house. Since there were no flowers of any kind there I felt it was a little bit out of place. He told me that he was going to plant some vines on it, but that never happened. Since it was made out of wood and he never painted it or did anything with it, it rotted in short order. I ended up having it taken down and hauled away after my hubby moved away. I’d like to try my hand again at it, but with a vinyl trellis that won’t rot, and I’d like to put it at the entrance to one of my gardens.

I have to agree that the vessel sinks look really stylish. My biggest concern about them, however, is I don’ see any overflow safety feature. I don’t know about you, but there have been a few times in my life where someone in the house turned on a faucet and left the room, leaving the faucet turned on. Good intentions were that the person was only going to be gone a moment but something happened (like the phone ringing or some visitor knocking on the door) and before you knew it, the faucet was forgotten and the floor flooded. I’d like all of my sinks and tubs to have safety overflows on them, wouldn’t you?

I have mixed feelings when it comes to a decision like whether or not to put in a swimming pool. I like the idea that if we had a pool in our yard that we could just go jump in and have a swim any time we would like to take a dip. But the expense of taking care of a swimming pool comes to mind that makes me think long and hard about it. Expenses such as the chemicals that you need to use to prepare the pool for closing it during the winter, and then the shock chemicals for opening it up again in the summer. And what about buying new pool liners if yours gets ripped by a tree or animal falling into it?

If we just go a couple of miles down the road we can take advantage of the public swimming at the lake. That’s free, and we don’t have to worry about any of the expense of maintenance, or the physical work of the upkeep. But then again sometimes it gets crowded there and the other people can be quite rude at times. And of course you always have the worry about someone stealing your keys or wallet if you leave anything valuable unattended.

Of course if we had enough money, we could just put in our own swimming pool and hire a pool boy to take care of it; that’s always a nice thought! My very favorite fantasy about a swimming pool is having an indoor pool. I can remember meeting a friend of my mother many years ago that did have a beautiful atrium in the center of her house, and a swimming pool in the middle of the atrium. Now THAT is something I would really love to have!

The problem is, as I see it, having to get an electrician over here to wire up the lights. Getting any kind of worker to come out to the house is difficult; you would not think that the economy is bad or that the service people are scrounging for work. Most of the time when I make an appointment to have some kind of work done the service man ends up calling me and rescheduling at least once.

One of the best features about this is that I don’t have to stand there and push a vacuum back and forth, it does all of the work for me.  The best place I found to get the best price was online of course.  I find all sorts of bargains on great items there.  I would love to meet the man or company that invented the robotic vacuum.  I would give them a big hug and a kiss for it.

One things my grandmother told me when I bought my home was to make sure I insure my mortgage so that should I have children, they will not have to leave the only home they have ever known and lose not just a parent, but their home as well.  We are only promised the here and now and just like this woman’s husband, you can be here one minute and gone the next.  The best you can hope for in a situation like that is that you have enough coverage to protect your family home.