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You are here: Home / Archives for Home & Living

Home & Living

There are many topics about which I write that aren't specific to one narrow area. Things like efforts I undertake during daily life, maintenance projects I engage in regularly, what I enjoy doing around the holidays, and so forth. For these types of things, I like to post to this home and living category. What the category name is in regards to is general actions and thoughts I have around the home and that surround my otherwise regular life. In the following pages and posts, you can expect to find stories about walks through my backyard, foods that I've enjoyed, small projects I've completed, as well as stories about some small wildlife in the area, among other things.

Tennis Balls In Dryer For Static Control

December 31, 2008

Tennis balls in dryer

Many of you may have noticed that it’s winter. Yes, the good ‘ol freezing cold air is back. If you aren’t enjoying the air, maybe you’ll get a kick out of clothes that almost electrify you. I’m talking about static, folks. Yes, static. I have these long Nike warm-up pants that I sometimes wear when […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Our Christmas Tree – 2008

December 11, 2008

Christmas tree 2008

I just got off the phone with Rob. When I told him that we were setting up our Christmas tree, he sounded so excited. For some reason or another, Rob is adamant that we enjoy the season. You should have heard him huffing and puffing the other night after I told him we weren’t going […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Picking Out Our Christmas Tree

December 11, 2008

Looking at the Christmas tree selection.

The time has come again. Time to get into the car and drive over to that place we saw on the side of the road that sells Christmas trees. Time to pick out and beauty and strap that beauty to the top of the car. I really wanted to go cut down our own Christmas […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Pottery Barn Aris Large Desk

November 7, 2008

Pottery Barn Aris Desk

The desk portion of my new office furniture arrived this afternoon. I have to tell you, I am loving Pottery Barn furniture. About a week and a half ago, I received the console table I ordered. I was very pleased with the quality. Today’s desk is going to make me go back for more. It’s […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

What A Nice Halloween

October 31, 2008

Halloween lights around front door

I was getting a little nervous. It had just gotten dark outside and no one even considered knocking on the door for candy. One little girl did walk down the road, but she walked right by. On the way back to the house this afternoon, I stopped by the local grocery store. I picked up […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Just Getting Some Stuff Done Around The House

October 25, 2008

Beer kit thermometer

After I came back from playing tennis this morning, I moseyed around just finishing up some stuff that needed to get done. First and foremost, I had to make a new batch of beer. I am almost out of my current beer (Irish Stout). It will be horrific if I run out. I ordered the […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Visiting The Transfer Station For The First Time

September 30, 2008

Transfer Station Cardboard Trailers

I have a bad memory when it comes to the days the garbage people pick up the recycling. I thought they were coming to get it this morning. In actuality, they are coming next Tuesday. Of course, this had to happen the one time I decided to put a whole heck of a lot of […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

We Got The BowFlex Ultimate 2 Home Gym

August 10, 2008

Bowflex Ultimate 2 home gym

When we first looked at this house when it was on the market, we noticed a home gym in the basement. I liked that idea. First, because both Laura and I work from home and second, because we need to exercise. The room that the gym was in downstairs is the perfect size for it. […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

The Basement the Way It Should Be

July 6, 2008

Remodeled Basement

I have been telling Laura that it just feels better to watch TV down in the basement. I explained that I always felt kind of guilty just sitting around upstairs in the living room. Having everything, “entertainment” downstairs feels much more “right.” I must say, it’s quite comfortable down there. I set up the dehumidifier […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Taking Down the Basketball Hoop

May 21, 2008

Taking Down a Basketball Hoop

Ok, before anyone freaks out and asks why the heck I am taking down a nice basketball hoop, let’s just talk about this. There are a few good reasons. The first is that I don’t see myself shooting hoops outside all too much. I don’t even own a basketball. That’s not to say I’m not […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

New Washer and Dryer

May 3, 2008

Front Loading Washer and Dryer

Yes, I know, this is probably one of my more boring posts. Actually, maybe not…I have a lot of boring posts. Well, we had our new washer and dryer delivered today. We left our old ones back in NY. We were going to bring them, but I thought it would be a good selling point […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Switching From Incandescent To CFL

April 30, 2008

CFL Light Bulb

I am always looking to be as energy efficient as possible. One of the ways I go about this is to always use CFLs (Compact fluorescent lamps) whenever possible. I have seen these types of bulbs bring down electric bills, first hand. When we moved in to this house, I knew I had my work […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

The House is On the Market

April 26, 2008

Well, we went back to our house in New York today to do a final cleaning and get some stuff we left behind in the kitchen. On moving day, I thought it was just a few things. Today, I realized it was a full car load. When I say car load, I mean, trying to […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

The Day After Moving Day

April 25, 2008

Black Cat Laying on Carpet

Do you want to know what really hurts? My legs, that’s what. I am not sure if I ever told you that I hate moving. Boy, if there’s anything that can suck the excitement out of the big day, it’s the actual work involved with it all. And we even had a moving company this […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

We Bought the House

April 21, 2008

Two-Bay Garage

Wow, what a long day. Driving over to the new house takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes. It seems longer than it is. Today was the big day…not only for us, but also for the sellers. It must feel great to sell a house. I mean, your mind is most likely on your new […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Eco Home Makeover by Sam’s Club

March 31, 2008

For some reason, I am getting a magazine from Sam’s Club. Perhaps it is because we used to be members of the store. A few months ago, we stopped going because we just couldn’t take another bite of their food. Not that it was bad, but let’s just say there wasn’t too much variety. Back […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

We Signed the Real Estate Contract

March 17, 2008

Front of New House in Hebron, CT

Well, we visited the house again this afternoon with the realtor. We liked what we saw and headed back to the office to sign all the paperwork and give a deposit. Before we did, both Laura and I took lots of pictures and even a video of the road the house is on. Just a […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

House Offer Was Accepted

March 15, 2008

I thought I would give you a little update on the house. The homeowners accepted our offer. The real estate agent is drawing up the contract and we are going to visit it once more on Monday. We are going to walk up and down the road for a second once-over. I guess it would […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

The Real Estate Search Has Begun

March 15, 2008

It seems that many people aren’t writing in their blogs these days…with me being one of them. As I mentioned in my previous post, it’s just been all sorts of crazy ’round these parts. Honestly, the last thing I have been motivated to do is write. Well, I think my dry spell is over. One […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

We Got a New Mattress

January 18, 2008

After months of tossing and turning all night and waking up with horrible pain in our backs, we decided to break down and get a new mattress. The old mattress was a Simmons Beautyrest that was really nice. I got the whole set for a little over $400 about ten years ago. Well, since that […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

A Little Bit of Ice and Moving Some Furniture

December 10, 2007

Ice Coating Peach Tree Branch

We woke up this morning to a little bit of ice hugging the tree branches. Not too much in the way of bad roads, but a bunch of schools were closed, none the less. The cars were covered with a coating of ice that could’ve made this morning a real pain in the butt, but […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Another Lazy Saturday

September 15, 2007

Stone Path Leading to Front Door of House

What a weird feeling I had all day. The temperature feels like it’s around 60 degrees and it’s quite breezy. It feels like the seasons are changing. I am sure there will be some more annoyingly hot days, but I think it’s here. It’s nice, but it’s not. It’s nice because something new is around […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

How To Open Your Swimming Pool

June 4, 2007

If you were ever interested in how to open your swimming pool for the season, here is a great resource. If not, I have a funny story for you nonetheless. Last year, Laura’s parents purchased and had installed a beautiful in-ground swimming pool. Her mother wanted to have this for people to enjoy while at […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

How to Control Tent Caterpillars

May 31, 2007

We have a little problem. Last year, before we took down the big Red Oak in our front yard, I noticed that the leaves were looking a little thin. After a while, I found out the cause…Tent Caterpillars. Ok, the problem may have gone away that time because we had the tree removed due to […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Home Depot is on Suspension

May 30, 2007

I won’t boycott them, because I like them, but Home Depot is definately not on my good list anymore. Lowes is just blowing them out of the water. I thought that my trip to Home Depot the other night was tragic because of all the dying plants I saw, but this trip topped the cake. […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

New Amana Electric Clothes Dryer

May 30, 2007

Amana Clothes Dryer

As mentioned in my previous post, our dryer stopped working last night. Ok, here it is…when I pressed the start button, I only heard the motor struggling, with no turning of the drum. If I had the front door open and fooled the dryer to think it was closed by holding the switch, I could […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

LG 11,500 BTU Air Conditioner

May 28, 2007

LG Air Conditioner

So I broke down again. I couldn’t have my sweet honey baby sitting in our living room sweating from the summer (or late spring) heat. The curtains are working well, but we still needed something to take the edge off. I hopped in my car last night and headed for Lowes. Laura asked if I […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

How Does a Bug Zapper Work?

May 25, 2007

Bug Zapper

If you have ever asked yourself that question, just click this link to learn more about Bug Zappers. I purchased a new bug zapper from Wal-Mart last Spring. Just to let you know, these things aren’t that easy to find. For some reason, Home Depot and Lowes don’t sell them. Whatever. The reason that I […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

A New Chandelier in the Family

April 1, 2007

Chandelier

Do you know how hard it is to find a good looking Chandelier? I mean, there are tons of them out there, but they all look so…so…Lowes or Home Depot. Kind of like, everyone will know where you got it…ya know? We have been living here for almost 2 years and we have yet to […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Grease Marks On Clothes

October 13, 2006

Mark on Shirt From Washer of Dryer

Have you ever had a piece of clothing that went in your washing machine fairly clean and came out with a stain on it? Probably at one time or another. There are many things that can stain your clothing, besides you. Probably the most prevalent washing machine caused stain is rust. If you have a […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

How to Deal With a Bad Neighbor

September 29, 2006

If you are reading this, you are probably thinking, “Oh man, my thoughts exactly!” We have all had them and have heard plenty about them…bad neighbors. – Junk all over the place – Barking dogs – Screaming kids – Wal-Mart neighbors – Inappropriate holiday decorations – Parties all the time – Spousal fighting – Spying […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

Keeping the Boiler Running All Summer

September 18, 2006

When we first moved into our house, the boiler was turned off. We had no idea why. The home inspector told us that it was turned off during inspection, so therefore he could not comment on the operation of it. What a great inspector! I guess it was too far of a reach for him […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

The New House

September 2, 2006

On August 4, 2005, Laura and I purchased our first house in between New Paltz, Middletown and Newburgh, NY. If you are, or were aware of the market at the time we were looking, you would know that there were pretty slim pickins ’round these parts. Also, the prices were, shall we say, inflated. We […]

Filed Under: Home & Living

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