Home & Living

I was looking up homesteading blogs a few days ago and came across one that I found very interesting. I can’t seem to find it again, which is a shame because it had some really great content. If I remember correctly, it had a set of rules to live by if you decide to live […]

I woke up this morning around 7:30, which really isn’t all that early. I usually get up at 10:30 though – because I fall asleep so late at night – or morning. Laura and I began cooking dinner past midnight because we ended up getting into a heated conversation about something. I’m not sure what […]

I’m starting up a few small projects down in the basement that I’ll write about tomorrow or the next day. They have to do with insulating downstairs and setting up the proper discharge tubing for the sump pumps. As things are right now, drafts down there are more common than not and getting water out […]

I really don’t want to beat a dead horse here or anything, but I do want to get this small project on record. In future years, it’ll be good for me to look back and review all the projects I’ve completed. Things like that give me a real sense of accomplishment. A few mornings ago, […]

This is part two of a two part post. If you haven’t already, please read part one. But before you do that, please read the post I wrote two days ago to become acquainted with my frame of mind. Now that the pellet stove was working, I began wondering why in the world the water […]

For a few years now, the plan has been to decorate our Christmas trees with strands of LED bulbs. Like most of the world, we’ve been using incandescent for just about ever. I knew the switch was coming. I just wasn’t sure about when. It was this year. We had no other lights. The switch […]

I’m finally coming to terms with the fact that I’ve got to start looking at the weather report. The temperature is supposed to drop to -7 degrees here tomorrow night. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that kind of cold. I remember one night in Vermont a few years ago when Laura and I hopped […]

Today was a good day for decorating Christmas trees. Perfect timing too. Not too early and not too late. I’d say December 10th is the day. We actually wanted to put this thing up earlier, but we, unfortunately, didn’t have any lights. If I remember back now, we threw them out somewhere in Connecticut for […]

Right after I fixed the washing machine water valve, I attempted to wash some clothes. After I loaded the machine and pulled the knob to start filling it with water, things got a bit strange. The water would go on and then off and then on again. I chalked it up to the machine doing […]

A day after we arrive here at the house, the seller came by for a visit. We had a nice long conversation about the area and the house. He informed us of the pros and the cons of both. Well, actually, the area really doesn’t have any cons, but the house does. One of the […]

It was very cold a few nights ago. They said the wind was supposed to be over 40 mph. I think it was, because as I was making my way across the backyard, I was forced to lean forward like they do in the movies or on TV. You know, when someone’s trying to battle […]

We heard a rumor that there was an old mill around these parts that’s been taken down a long time ago. The rumor teller told us that what’s left is a waterfall. Laura and I decided to venture down to the area yesterday afternoon to check things out. The waterfall didn’t disappoint, so we took […]

This is a three in one post about some random stuff that’s currently going on. It’s autumn now and things are starting to cool down a bit. While I still avoid the direct and very hot sunlight, the mornings are turning cooler and more breezy. This makes for more time outdoors. I’m not sure if […]

Remember that time I told you about getting stuck in the rain while trimming a shrub? Of course you do. It was right in my last post. Well, as it turns out, it stopped raining and the sun returned. I did as I usually do – run outside to see the aftermath. I like to […]

Let’s take this post up a notch and try to keep things playful today. Yesterday’s post took a long time to write and it was mentally draining. Today’s a new day and the sun is shining. All is good – for the time being. What’s nice about yesterday’s post though is that I received two […]

My friend, Craig, keeps emailing me, telling the temperatures and humidity levels up in New York. Apparently, they’re very high. Just yesterday, he informed me that the temps were in the mid-nineties and it was muggy outside. Today, it was one hundred and “pea soup.” He likes to call it that. Pea soup. It’s hot. […]

A little something about Florida that I think you should know – it’s sunny down here. Well, not right at this moment, as we’re in the middle of some rain storm, but in general, it’s sunny. It may not be the sun you’re thinking of though. The sun down here is more direct. Let’s just […]

I’ve probably already written a blog post by this name. How could I not have? Through the years, I’m pretty sure I’ve had lazy afternoons. I am so utterly exhausted. I think my Jiu-Jitsu has finally taken its toll on my body. Last night gave me the workout of a lifetime. I have a shoulder […]

If there’s one thing that freaks me out, it’s city water. I know what they say – “Our water meets all federal guidelines…” That’s what they say, but I’m still not sure I want to be drinking something that smells like chlorine. There have only been a few times in my life where I’ve had […]

Well that was fun. I heard a bit of thunder and said to Laura, “Oh man, I totally forgot to empty the trailer and move it out to the back. I need to get my car inside.” You see, I have a fear of hail raining down on my nice gray paint. She suggested that […]

I finally got my desk set up. I haven’t received my card table yet, but I figured enough is enough. My back can only take so much of me hunched over the laptop on the bedroom floor. I’ve been waking up feeling like I’m 150 years old. I’m using a table in the living room […]

It’s pouring rain outside right now. It started a few ours ago and hasn’t let up yet. I’ve heard this about Florida and I guess the stories are true. A few nights ago, I was driving towards the beach and a thunderstorm kicked into high gear. It was neat because as I was watching it […]

I finally ordered a table and chair today. I had my heart set on getting something from a garage sale or from Craigslist or something like that, but I simply can’t wait anymore. I stopped by Goodwill this morning to find a big smelly room full of stuff that should have been tossed a long […]

I apologize for the lull in writing. We made it to Palm Coast on Sunday, as planned, but I still have yet to find a table to put my computer on. I have so much to say and two posts to put my thoughts in, but I can’t see myself doing this as I lay […]

If I do dare say, I believe yesterday may have been the first day of Spring. While our calendars tell us Spring begins on the 21st day of March, you know as well as I do, the end of March is still Winter. Spring, in my book, begins when I see the first buds. For […]

Things were quiet for a bit too long. I had been sitting at my computer for about an hour and I knew she was in the living room playing with the cat. I’ve been working on a project all weekend that I feel will take me the rest of my life to complete. And there’s […]

When was a kid, I remember watching my brother build things. During his younger years, he would build model cars to x-wing fighters. He’d build chairs, basketball hoops, pogo sticks and bicycles. As he got older, I watched him build real cars to engines to machines. There’s something he’d build though, that would transcend all […]

We have this really cool treehouse down in the woods. It was here when we moved in. I wasn’t planning on doing anything with it, but the more we walk around down there and see this thing, the more we are reminded that time hasn’t changed us all that much. We simply look older. A […]

A rather large tree limb broke a while ago and I’ve really been meaning to flush-cut the jagged stump it left behind. Purely aesthetic of course. It’s taken a while and by looking at the photos below, I think you’ll see why. The tree is huge and getting up there to make a cut would […]

Here’s what I woke up to a few mornings ago: BANG – WHOOOOSSHHHHHH – BOOOOOMMM!!!!! It was about 7am and I was laying there dreaming about unicorns walking to candy mountain. Of course I can’t remember all too well, but what it sounded like was huge shelves of paint cans…thousands of them…falling over in the […]

It’s not so much that we are showing off how we still have our Christmas tree up, it’s that we are showing off our holiday spirit. If you are reading this and have already removed your Christmas tree from your crib (house), you really need to ask yourself why you did that. You need to […]

I swear it was like someone installed a revolving door at the hardware store yesterday. If I had known that roof rakes would be the hottest item of the year, I would have bought a thousand of them over the Summer and set up shop on the side of the road during the Winter. These […]

Today is January 21. I am guessing that most of the world has already taken down their Christmas trees. This year, we are running a little late in the Christmas tree removal department. We did remove all the ornaments though. Well, I didn’t. It was done one day behind my back. All that’s left are […]

I know I complain a lot about Winter. It’s in my nature. I always feel so stupid when I do because it’s not like I am the only one on the planet who has to deal with the cold. No one else seems to complain either. It’s a lonely job complaining about Winter. This Winter […]

Well, I did it. I sprung for the MoistAir 14 Gallon Humidifier. It works pretty nicely. A few weeks ago, there was a snap in the air. I thought, “Oh no. Here we go again.” I had to light up the pellet stove and with that comes dry air. I woke up a few mornings […]

This is a sweet, sweet present I have been looking forward to for many years. About a month ago, there was a day that offered perfect weather. I would say it was about 55 degrees and sunny. Coming off a cold winter, this was just what we were looking for. I was outside just walking […]

This is so cool. I bought my first LED house light this afternoon. I had a small Home Depot list going on, so I thought I would do a little shopping today. This morning, I told Laura that I was going to head up the Glastonbury to get some stuff and she informed me that […]

We went to Costco this afternoon. It wasn’t something we wanted to do, it was something we were forced to do. We were totally out of food. I really hate it when that happens. We get so hungry that we eventually turn on each other. We start giving each other strange looks and odd things […]

This was something I was totally unaware of, so I am guessing many of you are unaware of it too. After the tennis clinic this morning, I stopped by Whole Foods to grab some sushi. I also got some ice cream and whipped cream. I have been jonesing for a warm brownie sunday. I mean, […]

Okay, so listen to this. I received my Home Depot gift cards yesterday. I got a pretty decent amount’s worth. So basically, they have been burning a hole in my pocket ever since. So what did I do about it? Well, I ran over to Home Depot and picked up that RIGID 4 gallon wet/dry […]

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to purchase a humidifier? Well, it’s not hard to purchase one, the difficulty lies in going over all the different selections online. Oh, and the reviews…THE REVIEWS. If there were no online reviews, things would be a heck of a lot easier. Trying to decifer between […]