This project has been on my list for awhile but for some reason I’ve just not got to it. This afternoon, I decided to get to work and git ‘er done. Bob and I cleaned out the sod and long grass, fixed up the water source (which I’d already plumbed in under the grass a few years ago), added some terra-blocs and planted it with lingonberries and blueberries. It was a simple and clean way to tidy up this area of the backyard. Enjoy your day!
Author Archives: BHD
Round and round the…silver birch
Categories: projects
Tags: backyard project, berries, Bob, concrete bricks, planter, plants, tree
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Shaker style…
I found a nice plan for a Shaker-style step the other day and as I had a few hours to kill tonight due to the raining (no cutting the lawn!), I decided to build it. The step only has five pieces so is nice and simple to assemble. I made it out of a piece of knotty pine and was going to stain it but didn’t as I figured it kind of looks clean and nice in an Ikea kind of way. Next up – a breadbox for Josée or may that patio storage box.
Free money for a great cause!
Many of you know I’m a big fan of Kiva. We’ve been using the site for a couple years now and have nearly 125 loans funded, all around the world. Click here to see more about our loan portfolio (gender/geographical breakdown, economic sector and so on). You can meet a few of my borrowers below! If you like the idea, consider setting up your own ‘min-bank’ where you get to choose to whom you lend, where and how much. Right now, Kiva is offering a free $25 starter loan to new users; no cost, no obligation, no hidden agenda – just enjoy helping people start and manage small businesses which in turn help support their families. To learn more just click here. Cheers and enjoy!
Madlena from Georgia
Flordeliza from Philippines
Juan from Honduras
Yulbasar from Tajikistan
Categories: Family & Friends, General interest
Tags: banking, economy, help, Kiva, loan, micro-finance
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Old becomes new – well, sort of…
Finished
Starting off
The side building at our house is like a rabbit warren, full of little rooms. We have a pottery studio and a pet house in there along with some storage and my workshop. The outside of the structure, however, is a dog’s breakfast of rotting tongue and groove, dripping fascia and decrepit water pipes. While I wanted to clean it up a bit, I didn’t want to rebuild it or spend a lot of money so I just cut the bottoms off the rotting boards, added some cedar cladding from Dove Creek Timber, dropped a window in from my brother’s dump pile, trimmed everything and painted the fascia. I added a box to cover in the tap manifold and built a few window boxes out of scrap for flower and herbs. It’s a cheap fix and at least cleans things up for the time being.
Waste not, want not…
I was sitting out in the workshop the other night and a stray piece of 2×6 caught my eye. It really should have been tossed in the burn pile but that would have been a waste so I thought about what I could make out of it. Here’s what I came up with – an iPad stand! It actually works with my iPhone as well. Simple and effective – here are the pics!
Six Days, Seven Nights…
It’s been three weeks since our return from the Garden Isle – Kauai! We were there longer than the title of this post but like the movie of the same name, got to see as much of the island as Harrison Ford and Anne Heche. What a great trip! Normally, Josée and I like to get off the beaten path a bit but we found a great deal on VRBO for a small condo in the village of Kapa’a on the East Coast of Kauai. Hawaii wasn’t our first choice but Kauai ended up being a great place for a relaxing holiday. It is sparsely populated and the locals are very authentic; I’ve never seen so many ‘shakas’ in action!
Wonderful weather, tremendous hikes, decent snorkelling and nice people all combined for a trip which was both relaxing and exciting. I won’t bore you with all the details; just suffice it to say that Mark’s Place, Anahola Beach and Kipu Ranch, among many other places, restaurants, hikes and beaches are burned into our memories! If you’re planning a trip to Kauai, I highly recommend it – if you need information, just let me know!
Categories: Trips & Events
Tags: canyon, Hanalei, Hawaii, hiking, holiday, Kauai, Poipu, snorkelling, travel, Waimea
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Space Oddity…from space
The most famous astronaut since the days of Aldrin and Armstrong, Canadian Chris Hadfield, is heading home! Before he left the ISS, he did a version of David Bowie’s classic, Space Oddity. If being a spaceman wasn’t cool enough, now he’s a rock star as well! Enjoy
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