Gardens Home & Garden

Yeah, I prefer houses with doors that are at the front and the back rather than on the sides.

I was watching one episode and the buyer mentioned to Phil that he didn't like that the front door was on the side of the house. Phil looked at him like he was crazy. But I get it. I don't want people wandering around my house looking for the front door. I want them right out front.

My house has the back door at the back. My living room is at the very front with the dining area next to it. The kitchen is behind the dining area and the laundry room is behind that. The back door is at the end of the laundry room. In reality, the kitchen and laundry rooms are just one big hallway to the back door. The laundry room is only 6*9 and the kitchen is a galley 9*9.

One of my biggest must haves was a front door that opened onto a covered porch. I had lived at a house with no covered porch and I hated standing in the rain trying to unlock the door. And that door took a beating from the rain.

My other must have was windows on all four sides of the house. My parents like ranch style homes and all the windows were on two sides only. It always felt dark. My house is pretty square and most rooms have windows on two walls. So much more light even in the north facing living room - it gets light from windows on the north and east walls plus from the westand north facing windows in the dining area.

I have my kitchen in the back and my living room on the front, 2 doors to the front and 2 doors to the back, albeit the one at the back is French doors in the kitchen and the back door in the other room, the ones at the front are the front door into the hallway and the other to the garage which I use to bring the dogs in and out, which saves the living room getting dirty when it’s been raining if we been outdoors. It was a three/ two and a box room so not actually three when I moved in, but had a two bedroom extension on top of the already built garage on it so it’s four bedroom now and the box room, that’s where the boiler got moved to, so I turned it into a walk in wardrobe as it’s no good for a bedroom anymore. At the time it was cheaper to extend than it was to move, so that’s what we did.

That sounds nice! Having four exits is nice.

We don't have box rooms here. I suppose that's because we have the built-in closets instead - they not only provide that storage space, but they take up little bits of space left over in the floorplan.

One thing I'd love to add to my house is a half or even 3-quarter bath accessible from the back yard. It would be fairly easy to add it on the other side of the exterior wall of my existing downstairs bathroom.

Thank you @Toedtoes

I would love a downstairs loo tbh, like when I lived at home we had a cloakroom downstairs and a bathroom upstairs, but the bathroom here is so small, I had the bath taken out and a full walk in shower put in as we all used that more than the bath. I would of also liked a sun room out on the back too with bifold doors, but I’ll just have to dream on them ones The houses they build nowadays are small with very little gardens to them, I would never have a new build, they are not brick built inside anymore like they used to be, it’s just wooden framed and plaster board now and really thin so you can hear everything from the next room. They look nice but only surface nice.

Just thought I would show you the full blooms now, I don’t want to bore you with all of them.
My hosta is in bloom and I’ve never had so many flowers on it ever!!

My hanging basket is nearly touching the floor



my hollyhock is in the first year flowering and is about 5ft tall, but when the flowers open I’ll post a new pic on when they bloom

These are the plugs that have flowered, I put those foxgloves at the back out the way of the dogs as they don’t go up on the raised bed.
Considering it’s been very dry weather I just can’t believe the garden has done so well. I’ve tried to be as bee and insect friendly as I can and there’s been so many big bumblebees and honey bees in the garden with butterflies and ladybirds too

Nice!!!

My sleep is all off again. I don't sleep well when the nights stay hot. So I haven't done much with my garden other than water. I keep telling myself I'll get out there tomorrow, but the next day I feel drained and just want to nap.

Thank you again @Toedtoes.
Yes I’ve been watering in the morning, but it’s cooled down today to what is has been, we’ve hardly had any rain here and I was expecting a good downpour but it seems to have missed us apart from a little tiny bit but no sooner had it rained it all dried up again.

I don't know what our weather is doing. We didn't break 90 today.

Meanwhile with all this talk of houses, my upstairs shower/tub is leaking. So, I have to decide if I should take the opportunity to replace the tub. It's only 12 inches deep and I've hated it forever for that - it's gotten so I never use the tub. So, the temptation is to pull it out, fix the leak, and install a deeper tub (15-17 inches deep). If I do that, I will go ahead and change out the vanity too. And the medicine cabinet/mirror. And that got me thinking that I should go ahead and switch out the downstairs shower/tub combo for a walk in shower...

Nice photos @Tone. I love these flowers which were popular when I was a kid, delphiniums, hollyhocks and larkspur too. Your foxglove is a nice variety. I bought a cultivar a couple of years ago. It must have vanished when I had the slate laid. I get the wild pink ones but not as showy as yours.
I've never seen a 12" tub @Toedtoes. I think it would have to go. I love a long hot bath - one of life's simple pleasures.
I have had another tooth out this week - a premolar, but I've had more pain with this one than the previous big molar. I hope I manage to sleep through tonight. I don't like taking many pain killers, they are not supposed to be good for your liver and kidneys.
My car has had its annual service and passed it's MoT test, (Ministry of Transport, - a government requirement), but I've been told that it is rusty underneath. It's only done 22450 miles but was registered on 01/01/2015. I'm trying to decide whether to change it. It runs well and I can't have that many years driving ahead as I'll be 83 in September. I'm going to have a look round and see if there is anything that would provide a better layout for Tally's trailing and shows.

12 inch depths have become commonplace here. There are some that are only 10 inches deep. It's a way for builders, etc, to save money but still claim it's a "full bath". Really useless.

Oh, I don't envy you on the car decision! With the choice between electric, hybrid, or ICE, what do you choose. If you stick with ICE, will fuel prices skyrocket in the next few years and make it too expensive to drive. If you go electric, will the costs to charge it be worthwhile, and will its range be enough for your needs. Hybrid is a good option but they are more expensive to buy.

Thank you @CaroleC
I do like the old cottage garden type flowers and they all seem to be making a come back nowadays.
@CaroleC i wouldn’t go with electric cars to be honest, yes they are cheaper to run road tax wise but, given on long runs they need charging up and even though they are putting more stations in, are they cheap to sit and wait for them to charge? Prices vary for charging. My niece has/ had one and just had an accident in hers, hardly any damage to it but they have written it off because it’s electric. So now she has to get another car. I love my old diesel car, couldn’t you ask for your car now to be under sealed to stop it getting any worse than what it already has? Might work out cheaper in the long run than changing it.
@Toedtoes if I was to have another bath fitted, I would consider having a freestanding bath, they are deeper than these flimsy plastic ones they install now and if you get any problems with the water leaks you can get to them so much easier. They have many selections with them now, modern to old antique ones.

Out here, California made a big push for electric vehicle infrastructure. Most of our state parks even have a charging station. The newer electrics are getting a longer charge - enough that you can drive several hours and then stop for a long bathroom break while it recharges. I know some people who tow a small caravan with an electric vehicle and have gone all over the country that way. So, they are getting better.

But there are still limitations. In hilly/mountainous terrain, their range is severely cut (by up to 3/4ths of their published range). The electric trucks are useless for hauling and towing like their ICE counterparts. Even with the push to build up the infrastructure, you do have to plan out your stops on long trips to make sure you can find a charging station - it's not like road assistance can bring you a gallon of electricity to get you to the nearest station.

My suv is a 2002. Last year the A/C went out. I had to decide if it was worth fixing it for $2,000 when the vehicle is only worth about $3,000. I looked at my buying options - because I have the caravan (needs a vehicle that can tow at least 5,000lbs), I use the vehicle to haul large items, go camping, plus take into the city (SF) and use as a daily driver, my choices for a new vehicle are limited. I'm looking at a small pickup or suv. Full electric is out do to towing. Don't want to spend $40k+ on an ICE just to have fuel cost $10/gallon. So, I'm looking at a plug in hybrid at this point - it can do all the above and I can use electric for my daily and city use and fuel for towing and hauling and camping. But that will cost me at minimum $50k. Add that with the dogs, I don't want cloth seats, I'm looking at over $60k.

I just don't want to spend that kind of money on a vehicle. So, I fixed the A/C. Maybe in another 10 years I won't need the towing/hauling/camping stuff and can get a coupe or similar for a lot less money.

Oh, and then there's the brand issue. My grandfather and great uncle had a Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth dealership. So, my family has ALWAYS been a Dodge family. The few times any of us have bought a non-Dodge vehicle, I has been junk. Datsun, Saturn, Mercedes, etc. All caused nothing but trouble. My first car was a Datsun - had issue after issue after issue. When it finally had an issue too big to deal with I started looking to buy something else. My dad ended up getting me a car through a dealer auction. It was a Chrysler LeBaron. I got in the car to drive it around the block. When I went back in the house, my Mom asked me "well?". I replied "yeah I heard him." "What did he say?" "He said, 'I told you to buy a Dodge!'" "That's what he said when I drove the LeBaron."

That was the voice of my grandfather who had died about five years before. I have only bought Dodge since and have never been sorry. Unfortunately, Dodge no longer makes a small pickup - just those massive Trump Trucks. So another reason not to buy for the foreseeable future.

@CaroleC I agree that if you are happy with your car otherwise, see about undersealing to stop more damage if possible. It will depend on how much rusting has already happened, but could give you several more years. We dealt with that at work - ranger and maintenance vehicles having to drive in the surf result in MAJOR rust issues in a very short time.

@Tone I thought about a freestanding, but my bathroom isn't really big enough, it has to be a tub/shower combo, and I'll spend more time on my hands and knees trying to clean out under and behind the tub. The bathrooms are also where I put rescue kittens because there is nowhere to hide* - a freestanding tub will give kittens a great hiding place that will be h3ll to reach them.

*This last group did manage to find two hiding spots. The first, which was cute more than anything, was Hobbes sleeping on top of the toilet paper rolls in the toilet paper caddy. The second, which scared me at first, was the opening in the back of the pedestal sink base - just big enough for a 4-10 week old kitten to crawl into and take a nap without me seeing even the tip of a tail or ear.

I think I've got the tub and vanity that I want. My preferred tub is 17 inches deep. I do have a few others selected depending on weight limits. My shallowest choice is 14.5 inches. I replaced my faucet/showerhead several years back and still love it so that will stay the same.

I have four vanities picked out. Two in the 42 inch length and two in the 36 inch length. Final decision will be based on how much it would cost to move the pipes over those few inches. I also have a faucet picked out if I go with the larger vanity.

I also picked out a new tub surround.

Then I picked out choices for a walk-in shower downstairs.

I won't do anything for a few months. I need to deal with Looney2's echocardiogram first and that is in August. But I like to take my time picking things out.

Meanwhile I have some window privacy film coming to cover the lower half of the downstairs bathroom window so I don't flash the folks in the 2nd floor apartment behind my house.

I thought I'd found the perfect car, an ultra low mileage Suzuki Ignis. Metallic gold. Top of the range, hybrid (only for a boost), reversing camera and Apple/android maps compatibility. a nice mini SUV, but there is a drop into the rear well, and the rear seats don't go flat so a substantial step- up between the levels.
The rear of my i10 is similar, and was one of the things I forgot to check when I bought the car. Chas had only died two weeks before, and I was quite disabled at the time - My only thought was that I needed a small automatic! This meant that Tally's crate has had to be anchored in a horizontal position against the front seats, and she has to jump in via the side door. That's a standing jump of 30" into a 12" wide doorway, OK while she's fit, but she could well need assistance at sometime in the future. The lower level of the well is taken up by training gear and waterproofs, with just enough room for shopping - or my collapsible show trolley.

Car designers don't really think about things like that.

After I got my Durango, my dad decided he really liked it so he measured the back to make sure his akita sized crate would fit and bought one. Except he didn't pay attention to the lip at the door. The crate couldn't be slid in and out. He had to take it apart and put it together inside the vehicle.

This all does remind me of the Top Gear /Grant Tour episode where the boys decide to see how many dogs they can fit in a compact suv. Richard shows up with a truckload of Newfies. And when they finally get a couple of dogs in the back of one of the vehicles, the do won't close because the dogs keep blocking the sensor.