The One Thing (I would have done differently)
Carrie B
8 years ago
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sahai6
8 years agoliz_h
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Really stupid things I have done to my garden
Comments (18)I was reading some of these stories to my hubby tonight and he reminded me of our neighbor Jen's story and I decided I needed to share it with the stupid garden tricks... Our neighbor across the street has been divorced for about three years or so..and let his lawn go to pot as a result..he is a really nice guy, but lost interest when his family moved out. About 6 months ago, he fell in love with a girl about ten years younger than him, she was just 19...and she moved in. He aplogized all over the place to everyone that would listen about his robbing the cradle and that she was so young, but begging everyone to give them a chance and accept it because he loved her. She is JUST 19 and niave....but quickly we learned to love her too..she is a big sweetheart, even if a bit naive sometimes. Late this spring, when my hubby and I pulled in the driveway she followed behind us on foot and asked what we thought of what she had done to the yard. She had pulled and piled his mountains of weeds. I am not kidding in the back yard, the weeds were taller than cars and unused lawn equipement had sat there for years and they had grown around them while he grieved his lost marriage. What was once a nice yard had become an eyesore. She had done a ton of work and we were amazed..she said her hands had blistered even with gloves because the weeds in the back were as thick as saplings. She then asked if we had any weed killer and a sprayer she could borrow. My husband impressed with her work so far said he sure did..it was even already mixed up and it was extra good stuff. He walked with her to our garage and got it for her, and I went in the house. In the meantime, my daughter called and we began idle chit chat, I heard my hubby come in and sit in front of the tube and never thought a thing of it. I talk on the phone and walk about the house and found myself near a window. I looked out, and there was that Jen out there spraying her yard away in the front. I never thought a thing about it, admiring her determination at such a young age with the lost yard. Then she happened to turn towards me and I gasped when I saw which sprayer she had. My husband had given her the roundup sprayer...assuming she was killing the big weeds around the fence and dead lawn equipment in the back that she had been complained about..but instead she was spraying her front yard randomly. I quick hung up the phone and hollared at him to go stop her. He felt terrible...she was mortified and felt young and stupid..she didn't know there was such a thing as roundup..she thought it would only kill weeds,not grass..so she was spraying every weed she saw in the front yard. My husband told her to water quickly and see what happened..he felt terrible that he had misunderstood what she wanted. He always uses granular on the lawn weeds, not liquid so he was not even thinking that way. About two weeks later, these HUGE brown smiley faces of grass began appearing in the lawn. We walked over to apolgize to them but they were laughing bout it. Being just 19 and silly..every weed she had seen, she said..GOTTCHA and after she spritzed it with "weed killer" she drew a smiley face around it... it wasn't bad enough she had sprayed weeds in the grass with roundup but she had drawn prety faces to announce she was in power now....there were dozens of dead grass smiley faces all over the front lawn for passerbys to see. My husband couldnt even look each time we left home. He felt partly responsible. I just chucked..what else can you do? :)...See MoreName One Thing You Have Never Done
Comments (75)Tigerlil, wildchild was saying that the question was "what have you never done that MOST PEOPLE HAVE done". (Sorry for speaking for you wildchild; please correct me if I'm wrong). I agree with her that that's been lost in a lot of these answers. But whatever - it's an interesting thread. For me, given birth is one that I've not done but most people (women, anyway) have done....See MoreGit R Done! Marble templated, base cabs in - pics!
Comments (9)Hi All! Thanks for the great comments! Brooke - LOL! - Don't you just love it when they get that first burst of defiance? I think that makes you a SWMBO (She who must be obeyed)! Your boys are adorable! My son won't pose for anything lately without making a face -must be an 8 year old (I'm almost 9, Mom!)thing! Or, it's the fact that he is sick of remodeling :-)! And your puppy! One of my best friends named her son Genki - japanese for samurai warrior? I did order samples of a couple pulls, but not sure how they'll look. DH doesn't like cup pulls and not sure about cupboard latches either. Here's the link to the simple pulls I ordered - 2 diff. sizes in old silver finish: http://www.knobs4less.com/Liberty-Kitchen-Cabinet-Hardware/libp10210osc.html Truthfully, I'm not in love with them, but they don't have the drawbacks and foo-fooey details most others do. I also really like the imperfect quality of the finish, look aged. However, I think I'd like to have solid brass with some sort of nickel/silver finish - and, for the price, I'm thinking these are not brass. I did like the look of the marine ice box latch on the other thread.... hmmmm..... I think our problem is we think we can find something different if we keep looking. Truthfully, I found some very expensive ones I really liked, but we need so many, I can't justify the cost to myself. Same problem with lighting! I can't seem to find pendants I like! DH wants something simple. But I sure love your Dining chandelier! I think we just need to get out there and look more, there are certainly options. Problem is, we could go so many different directions. Oh, you will love this! My friend who is the fabricator, sent me an e-mail last week after the slabs arrived at their shop: "I'm going to steal your slabs from the shop and run away....... x K" - she loves the Calacatta too! cpang74 & rhome410 - Thanks - don't hold your breath on Monday, it might take me a few days to get the pics up! pbrisjar - Thanks to you too, I've often read your postings and followed your progress as well! Cute puppies there, for sure! Only 4 more days..... Thanks again all, you have been great support during this fun project!...See MoreWhat do you wish you would have done differently?
Comments (25)Sigh. So many things. 1. Perform a warrant check on all contractors. That would have saved me a lot of money and heartache and frustration. 2. Be home AT ALL TIMES while work is being performed. I can't count the number of things that aren't quite right, but I have had to let them slide because they can't be undone by the time I get home. For example, I have had to give up on the idea of a trash pullout I planned under the sink, because (even though I told him repeatedly) he did not position the waste outlet correctly, and most of the sink cabinet it taken up with jerry-rigged plumbing. 3. Use specialist tradesmen. Jailbird Contractor was a very good framer. He was an OK finish carpenter. He built fabulous fences and his roofing (I think) is good. He had excellent electricians and drywallers. But he and his "plumber" left a lot to be desired, and despite telling me what a good tiler he was, his handiwork makes me sad nearly every day. Plus, while refinishing my original 100-year old softwood floors, he may have ruined them, and may have made it worse by trying to "fix" his mistake. I am having a specialist evaluation done this week. 4. Move out. 5. Make contractors fix things RIGHT AWAY. Apparently Jailbird Contractor would work on one project until he ran into difficulties, then would abandon that project and move onto another, saying that he would "come back at the end and fix it then". Uh-huh. That worked real well. This meant that the new contractor had to come in, figure out what was wrong, un-do a good chunk of each project, then finish it. This would not have happened if I had cowgirled-up and been a hardas* in the first place, making him finish each project. 6. All materials that I have paid for should have been ON MY SITE as soon as they were paid for. I lost all my expensive trim for the whole house (plus other materials), because Jailbird Contractor was storing it in his rented space (I don't know where that was). He maintains that it was taken when his storage unit was cleared out (presumably because he disappeared and hasn't paid storage fees for some time, since he is in jail). Either that, or he never bought it/sold it. 7. Job cards and inspection records STAY WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER or ON SITE AT ALL TIMES. My paperwork is in Jailbird Contractor's truck. Lord knows where that truck is. 8. Your contractor is not your friend. Jailbird Contractor liked to pull the paternal approach on me, and I will admit to playing along with it, just to humour him and shut him up. Never again. This is a professional relationship, even though you are in my house and my intimate spaces every day. I will be much quicker to call contractors on their cr*p in future. In fact, I plan on having one such conversation with the current contractor this afternoon ... the painting crew came through last week, and I was horrified to discover that they helped themselves to sodas, beer and icecream out of my kitchen. That is NOT......See Moresherri1058
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