Home & Living Blog Posts

I’ve been doing a lot of stain and polyurethane work on wood lately. I think I may be getting the hang of it. I never used to stain anything and would only apply polyurethane as a protective coating, but now, I’m a staining madman and apply multiple coats of poly. I apply one thin coat […]

I think we finally got this gardening thing right. Last year, I planted way too much kale and chard and we couldn’t even come close to eating all of it. I had so much that I was giving it away. Basically, I had one raised bed (8’x4′) with only kale in it and another raised […]

For some strange reason, I’ve recently become infatuated with area carpets. I always had a fondness for them, but just a few weeks ago, things have gone to a new level. At the wee hours of the night, I find myself watching random “Turkish Carpet” sales videos on Youtube. You know the ones; tourists get […]

Boy, I’ll tell you it feels good to be back in a tree. I haven’t climbed this high in about twenty three years. That’s a long time in tree years. Today, it felt like the good ol’ days. I had no plans to do anything like this so early this spring. A few weeks back, […]

A few weeks ago, we had weather that made me think spring was going to come early this year. The warmer weather lasted about a week before it ended. It got very cold again and dumped another 16 inches of snow on us. During the warm week, however, many folks around here tapped their maple […]

Ah, another day, another snow storm. Actually, I think lower New England and New York are getting it worse than us. They’re supposed to get well over a foot while we in western Maine are stuck at around eight inches. No matter, we just accumulated about three inches yesterday and are supposed to see around […]

Wouldn’t you just know it. As I was writing yesterday’s post about fixing a leaky Symmons shower valve, the only part I still needed was sitting in our mailbox. I could have replaced everything at the same time. Oh well. I guess I have to stick to my plan for replacing some parts and then […]

What I’m about to share is for the greater good. I’ve done all the work and I’m willing to tell you all about it. If you have a shower valve that looks like the one below, and it leaks, you’re in good hands. I’m about to help your life immensely. Here’s the scenario – every […]

This one was a doozy. I was prepared for the impending snow, but I don’t think I was prepared enough. I just got back inside from hours worth of cleaning up. I’ll tell you, sometimes I wonder if anyone is watching me. I fight and make faces and wrestle equipment. It sure would be entertaining […]

Just a few moments ago, Laura informed me that our water was orange. Upon learning this, I said, “Oh crap. Not another issue.” It’s these little surprises that are my least favorite things. I enjoy predictability and steadiness. Not ups and downs and things I’m not ready for. Luckily, before she even finished her sentence, […]