Whoa, if you get a degree in industrial arts you get to acquire carpentry textbooks along the way?!? Sweet! Kim, I've always enjoyed/appreciated your contributions; given the wisdom of trial and error that was behind them, I see why they stood out. My mom got us a couple of the Reader's Digest fixit books (have to run downstairs, one of them might be the very one you have); I like the way they are encyclopedic and detailed. I know Jane Powell but not the Small Houses books (do you mean The Not So Big stuff by Susanka, or the Small House anthologies from Fine Homebuilding?) Thanks for mentioning books; I think I might start a reference book thread for this forum. Hey Casey, THANKS for taking the bait. And you are NOT a bloody genius, you are an old house DEITY for crying out loud! Would you please start your own show on youtube? Or maybe just a house tour? Even Petch house has youtube videos. Or, do you already have a project blog and everyone knows about it but me? Actually for someone with a degree in historic preservation, I am impressed with how low-key your posts come across; they read more like an old friend who's "been there" and wants to pass along lessons learned along the way, it's really very nice and encouraging. But if you ever want to browbeat me feel free; I would take it as a compliment. To be honest if I post about something I'm thinking of doing to my house, and you don't opine, I figure one of two things is going on: 1) you're not on the forum; or 2) you're politely disapproving. Most of the time I assume it's 2 because you seem to be pretty consistent around here. But I just want to say, and I hope I speak for many, that I love love love your posts, especially when I'm searching on a problem I'm trying to solve and something from you pops up! (PS I finally got around to using that general finishes gel varnish you recommended and it was fantastic, thank you; I will post photos to the woodworking forum sometime before the next census.) Oh, and I love the way you "aged" the color tones in the new pine beadboard in your kitchen; reminds me of the pine in my grandmother's kitchen. When I was really little I used to look at the gleaming pores and think it was the closest wood could get to 24K gold.

I found this: Ms. Wingfield again said that "If it's over a bed or over a walkway, keep it high enough that you can walk underneath it." Seven feet of clearance from the bottom of the fixture to the floor is a good rule of thumb. Centered over a bed, you could probably get away with 6 feet from the bottom of the fixture to the floor.â I guess from there you eyeball it!

I applied compost about 3 weeks ago or so...Scattered shreaded leaves but not a lot... The leaves have broken down and are almost gone already here... As Zack and Diane mention yes leaves around roses in wet areas can cause problems... Our area is wet and I have been there done that...I should of mentioned that.. I do not winter protect roses here... And we have no voles here. A few moles but no voles. Cats usually get most of the moles. Haven't seen one in awhile. Ok best of luck with your rose beds! Just adapt whatever program works best for your area and you got it made! :-) Just took these pics right now of part of one bed...Beds will go into winter like this... Mostly just compost left and whatever leaves fall off roses later...The fallen rose leaves do not seem to cause problems here so I do not bother with those...

I've noticed that fall planted vegetables don't grow as fast as the same ones planted in the spring. How many days should I add to the "days to maturity" on the seed packets to estimate when my crops will be ready for picking?