Hello lehua, Silly me I assumed people would understand that I want to use this water for the garden plants. The roof is approximately 12 feet above ground. Underground cistern is out of question because there's concrete foundation around the house and the house is surrounded by concrete fence/wall which also has concrete foundation, which leaves little non foundation space between the house and the fence, and also there's 4 rainwater pipes so this would involve a lot of work and expenses. I am not doing this to save the money, we get 20,000 gallons of free water per month, so I wanted to do it for the sake of the environment, freshwater is scarce in UAE, and desalinization is an expensive way to get it. We do have a pump that pumps underground water, but that water is salty so we only use it to water native plants such as our date palm and the shade trees we have in the front of the front fence. I was wondering if there's some kind of non-electric device that would let the water flow into a container near every drain (like I said there's 4 of them). I am asking for simple device/way because my husband would not cooperate (he's already complaining that my gardening is expensive).

Over a number of years, while dealing with folks learning the rudiments of effective money management, I've suggested, with their permission, that they plan to have 3 to 6 mos. worth of income available quite readily, in case of an emergency need. For folks with variable or seasonal income, or worrying about the security of their employment, I would more likely recommend their having 9 mos. to a year's worth of money available in case of emergency, or as replacement for income if theirs were to stop, for whatever reason. Usually personal financial advisors suggest that one keep part of those assets in a savings account and quite likely some in a money market account, which pays a higher rate of interest than a savings account and is readily cashable in case of need. As clients became more aware of the complexities of managing their money, especially if they had learned the wisdom of not carrying balances of debt on their "credit" cards over the original billing period, thus incurring interest expense, I sometimes told them of some of my own approach to the emergency money issue. I don't like earning interest. Money in a savings account or money market fund (also in CDs and GICs, which, being for a specified term, aren't easily available in case of immediate need) carries the banks oft-repeated guarantee that the number of dollars, apart from the rent on the money, won't shrink. The inverse guarantee, never stated, is that, apart from the rent on the money, the number of dollars won't grow, either. The only return that those dollars of principal will ever produce relative to that period of time is produced right then. And, in Canada, that kind of income, interest (along with wage/salary, or resultant pension [apart from a certain deductible amount on the latter]) attracts income tax at the top rate. Those being the types of income earned by most citizens. As I'm older, with no kids to perhaps get sick and keep me home from work, or spouse, the same, and as my pension gets deposited monthly, I don't have to worry if my car needs repairs, including a part that must be sent from wherever, how I'll get to work for the next week ... or so. Or similar improbable problems. I have a credit card or two and in case of emergency, I can almost always pay for whatever emergency bills develop, as they arise using the credit card. As I had some certificates for mutual funds that I own (issued without fee) and stocks (issuance fee applies), I used them as collateral to obtain a fully-secured line of credit with a limit higher than several months' pay, which usually sits there unused (and the bank does not charge a fee for inactivity). Before the credit card bill is due, I arrange for a loan using my Line of Credit of the amount needed to pay the full amount owing on the credit card debt. I deposit the proceeds into my bank account, then transfer the amount due to the credit card issuer to my account with them (with no fee for the transfer, a I'm a senior). A while ago, the interest rate on the LOC was 6.25%, and back then I calculated that, if the loan were not for an emergency use, but for investment, I could pay the interest at almost nil net cost to me. Then the interest rate was lowered to 5.75%, and a month or so ago to 4.75%. But I keep the Line of Credit available for emergency use, and one to be used for investment, entirely separate, for the interest on the first is not deductible, but that on the second is deductible. My experience has been that I can usually produce enough savings to pay off that loan for emergency use using the Line of Credit over only a few months. It has been my experience that the need for such emergency loans is infrequent. In the meantime, I invested a larger amount into some equity-based mutual funds, or, preferably, into individual stocks that I bought directly, as then I don't pay a substantial annual fee to the manager of the mutual fund for his/her service. Some mutual funds develop dividend income and capital gain income annually that, though they reinvest, they declare a distribution annually to me, that is then taxable at the time, but at a lower rate than on interest income. However, there is usually a growth in value of the mutual fund ... but I don't become liable to pay tax on that, until I either sell the fund ... or die. So the tax on that growth was deferred. Then, howerver, I pay tax at only half of the regular rate. For Canadian stocks that I buy directly, some of them pay me a dividend annually, and that type of income used to be taxed at a rate much below the rate on interest, then last year a change in the rate of calculation meant that the tax rate on them was reduced even more. Some pay no dividend at all, so I am not liable to pay any tax at all relative to those stocks over the years that I own them. However, several of the stocks that I own have grown in value over the years ... and there have been some losers, as well. I am not required to answer to the income tax people for those gains during the years that I owned them. One that I owned for 41 years has doubled four times during that period (last year it was four and a half times, but they were involved in some of those stinky mortgages in the U.S. that have gone bad). When I sell those stocks, or die, I have to answer to the income tax people for the capital gains that have developed and they require that I pay them tax at regular rate on very second dollar of that growth - but I get one half of those growth dollars free of tax. Over the years, the growth produced by the stock holdings has been higher in most cases than the assets invested earning interest. Then, much of the ongoing dividend income was taxed at low rate as it was earned and paid ... and the tax on the capital gain was deferred till sale, then assessed at half regular rate. If there were losses on some stocks, those losses were deducted from capital gains on other stocks. I like that ball game a whole lot better. I'm willing to pay even non-deductible interest on an emergency fund that I borrow, for it's an infrequent situation, and is usually paid off over a term of a few months ... but the money that I'd invested as outlined above had produced a much better rate of return than had it sat earning interest in a money market or a savings account. As I said ... I don't like earning interest! Some ideas about money management that may be of interest. ole joyful P.S. Confession time ... a few months ago, I had most of a year's income readily available ... and most of it in a plain old savings account, not even in the money market fund that would have earned at a slightly higher rate! So much for the difference between theory and practice! Actually, I'd thought for some time that I'd soon be investing it ... but month by month was dragging my feet, for I didn't like the looks of the market. In addition ... the general concensus of advice is ... ... don't try to time the market!! Just invest, on a regular basis, when the money becomes available. Smart-asses (and preachers) aren't always doing what they say! Kids (when they get to be teens, especially) will tell you the same about their parents, right? o j

You have already received a lot of advice on sites to post pics to. My fav would be Shutterfly but that's just because I've used it a lot. When looking for pics online if I want to avoid 'kitschy' examples I just add the word 'modern' to the description. Have a look at "google images" for ideas. When I think about modern rustic such items as this "tree stump table" with modern legs comes to mind. There are lots of blogs and sites with rustic style and one can pick and choose ideas from them. "This is a blog I like that shows rustic projects that might inspire." In this techno age your sis can go shopping and send pics by phone to you for your opinion. There must be lots of architectural salvage, antique shops, and thrift stores in the area your sister lives that have lots of rustic decor. I know you both will have a lot of fun with this. You know we'd love to see pics if your sister doesn't mind, or even of rustic decorative items you and she find.

How difficult do you want it to be? I just returned a library book by Plaid and in it was a really cute dresser. They overlaid the entire piece with a one-piece stencil (so the result looked like a damask material over the entire piece)then stenciled a small repeat design laid out in a rectangle on the sides and on the top. This was a small petal border with a group of roses in a cluster at each corner. The one piece overall stencil was done in a muted cream so it sort of blended into the background. Hope you can get the mental picture. It was lovely and different.