What is happening here is: We've finished one of the two trellises that we are putting up for the clematis. Still working on the other one. Getting better at routering and not breaking the bits LOL. Still taking out dead scapes. Amazing how many just aren't ready to come out easily. Found scapes on LESLIE RENEE and RASPBERRY BANANA CHEESECAKE. They are not giving up here. Bearded Iris are also blooming. Odd since they didn't bloom in the springtime. This pic was taken on October 11th and they are still blooming. Found about 10 stalks in the garden. Still having to mow the lawn when the weather cooperates. Vegetable garden still has to be cleaned up. Nearly 90% finished with two new planting areas. Still need to put mulch on top and just let them sit till next spring. Waiting for the cannas to die back so I can dig them out and store them for the winter. Weekend is suppose to be sunny, so I guess we will be back out working outside for the next couple of days till the rains come again. Julia

I have put down Milky Spore several times, the first time at our house in town. We had moles that were tearing up the yard. The Milky Spore did the job on the June beetle grubworms, which was what the moles were after. I noted, the following summer, and for a couple of years after, I and my neighbor to the right and to the left did not have mole damage in our yards while our neighbors across the road did. Nobody around here was having problems with Japanese beetles until just these last five years or so. It is rocky here so we don't usually have much trouble with moles, though I think someone relocated one and we were the lucky recipients because we had the first one we have had out here beginning last month. It has, however, appeared to have moved on now. I have applied Milky Spore twice in the last five years and I did not notice an appreciable difference in the population of beetles. The Japanese beetles tend to arrive in July and they buzz around and bang into things like kamikaze airplanes until the weather begins to cool in late August or early September. We are in a narrow band of zone 6A here and our first average frost is about October 15. Most of Oklahoma is zone 7. We also are in one of those areas that gets frosts when other areas nearby do not. We have intense heat in July and many times we also have drought. I hesitate to put anything soapy on my plants during this period of time because when the sun bears down it burns the plant. With triple-digit temperatures, combined with wind, most of my garden dies in August. It has been all I have been able to do to keep pepper plants alive until fall. We have not hit 100 yet this year though. I usually start new tomato plants in late July. This year I tried to keep bean plants alive with not very good results. But in years past when I've grown Lazy Housewife, I've already had my harvest by July and then the bean plants go ahead and die. So I have Kwintus (Early Riser) planted as a fall bean and they are doing ok so far. I wish I could find a bean I like that would bear quickly so I could get my harvest in before summer heats up.

Sophie, Are you saying tuckpointing a whole house for 30k, or just the areas I described? The areas touched included just the 5ft of wall above the garage doors, the top of the chimney and the 30sf of miscelaneous work, which was mostly filling open mortar joints that didn't need to be ground and all at ground level. Last year we had a 24' tall chimney exposed on 3.5 sides tuckpointed with lots of bad brick in the same city and bids ranged between 3000-7000 with the bids higher than 5000 being from contractors that recommended a more involved scope than we ended up going with. With this project we got one bid slightly lower, and although it looked like they did good work, they hadn't renewed their license in our city and were planning to do the job without a permit under the radar. There was one for $12,500 (company who ended up doing our chimney) then there was one from a large professional restoration firm that was up in the stratosphere. The company we went with had been a little higher but really wanted the job and came down to the 10400+1000 coordination base contract+permit We weren't expecting them to come out separately, Our thing is that they already have to come out to fix a few things including the open mortar joints that were missed in the exact same area that they would be working.

Once upon a time, a designer told me that a complete room would cost on average $15,000. I researched her portfolio when I returned home- just out of curiosity. Let's just say... I never called her. You don't need a designer to help you make your house. (Seething anger abounds by some of these folks reading this). -You need patience. -You need a plan to keep in mind while shopping. Observe and absorb professionally-staged model homes. Scrutinize the rooms., Refer to the pics when you are out shopping. You can recreate the looks you see. Lastly, add plants. Note the use as they add depth of color. https://tours.stevenjamescollins.com -The easiest way to make a home feel bigger is a continuous floor and continuous wall color in the public spaces AND a cohesive color scheme that flows from room to room. Select a color or two and use them and all of their shades. Buy large furniture pieces in neutrals and use your favorite color families as accents, which ensures you won't hate it in six months. - Be patient. Unless you really love Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware or Z Gallerie looks, you won't furnish the house in one shopping trip. -An old design rule: every room needs a bit of black (curtain rods, oil rubbed bronze light fixture, black table top picture frame on an end table.... Subtle touches) -Set the stage for your home's color "story" with wall art that acts like an appetizer. Hang it near the entry way, or foyer or front room. Perhaps you want a mirror and bench at the entry? If that's the case, consider a patterned rug. -Hang wall art at eye level - typically wall art should be centered at 57-60 inches from the floor) -If you want a neutral color scheme... Add interest by adding textures Textured pillows- sweater knit, crocheted, velvet, tassels, all over fringe, brocade, etc -Paint - If you have a wide and shallow room, then use paint to fool the eye and add visual depth. Use a darker paint color that is harmonious with the base color to add depth. Paint stores, like SherwIn Williams have coordinated color collections in books. Example- accessible beige bedroom with the wide shallow far wall in Fawn Brindle. You can review their paint color books and see what color schemes speak to you. Pick the most neutrals as your wall color and the other colors as your accents . If your taste straddles between decor styles......use color to unite your choices. When shopping, keep your colors in mind. If it's not your color pit it back. Also, You don't have to love each individual pillow, for example, as it is the overall look you are after- a collection. The different decor styles can be done in a variety of color palettes. Moroccan can be neutral or it can be rich in colors. If you want a relaxed coastal look, then know that coastal can be accomplished in a variety of ways and incorporate other styles - think of coastlines & vacation spots around the world. Beach doesn't have to be blue....(yellow, gray, peach-apricot, sea green)