Gardens Home & Garden

Thank goodness the leak was an easy fix! 30 minute job.

So I had him look at the drain for the downstairs bathroom and the wobbly toilet. He's fixing those for me. That gets all the plumbing working.

I do have a soft spot in the upstairs bathroom floor and the linoleum is pulling up. So I'll have a contractor come and give me an estimate for the remodel. May do that now while I'm in the mood...

So this year I decided to grow peppers as I’d never grew them before, so with a pepper I had in the fridge, I took the seeds out of it and put some in a pot, and this is what’s turned out my tomatoes are a little hit and miss, some of them had blossom end rot so I had to pick them off and throw them away, I just upped the calcium and now they’re looking better. Just waiting to eat them now when they’ve turned.

You have done well. Are you going to try and ripen the peppers to red? I didn't grow any tomatoes this year, but I would be well pleased with those. I might try peppers next time, they are expensive and Tally loves them. Can you remember what time of year you planted them, and were the seeds from fully ripe peppers?

Thank you @CaroleC last year was a total disaster with tomatoes, I think I had all of 13 tomatoes with them, with the peppers, I used a red one out the fridge, I just cut it open and took the seeds out and put them in a plant pot I done a few and gave my grand daughter some too, but yeah I planted them about march april time just as the frosts were starting to end and covered them over until they were done.

Gorgeous peppers! The tomatoes look great too! Well done.

Thank you very much @Toedtoes

The heat has been in earnest this month. Haven't done much with the gardens. The rats ate most of my container plants in the front yard. My abutilons have recovered and my onyx & pearls agastache is OK. My container poker plants went brown and are just coming back.

The heat has killed my smaller container plants in the back. My rosemarys, pomegranates, mexican orange, butterfly bush and cane's hybrid are all doing well. One of my container humminbird sages is dead. The other is coming back. I think I'm going to move it into the ground.

The fall plant sales are coming in October. I'm getting work, but I expect at least some of that will end up going towards the bathrooms. Hopefully I'll make enough to get my easter egg emu bushes at least.

The catmint and hummingbird sage combo will look amazing when everything fills in.

Nearly all of my plants are having a second go at flowering. Although I kept watering daily, the heatwave was too much for most of them. Then came the heavy rains and they have started to bud again. Hope it doesn't get too cold and they keep it up into October!

One of the soaker hoses in my backyard stopped soaking. The water wasn't coming out at all. So the plants haven't been real happy. I got that replaced and things are starting to pick up again.

In the front yard, my catmints look sad but there are new green sprouts coming up.

Still waiting on the bathroom remodel. Trying to keep as much cash available for that so I haven't made any plans for new plants. I know I want to get the easter egg emu bushes but so far that's it.

I'm four windows into replacing the double glazing and the two larger front windows are on order.
As it seems to be taking four weeks for each order to arrive, the side windows and doors might have to wait. I don't fancy having those done in winter weather.

Yeah that could be brutal.

I've been looking at shower stools for the walk-in. I don't want a built in because I like the versatility of being able to move it in and out. I also don't want it to look "hospital".

I finally found one I really liked - almost a medieval look with the curved X look in a dark teak. But it apparently is no longer being made. And after finding that nothing else is as nice...

But I found this metal planter/stool:


It will work great with the rest of the room and if I ever find the one I love I can flip this over for storage somewhere else.

With the new vanity, I have storage room. Currently I have a bronze wire shower caddy hung on the wall to hold things but won't need it. So I need something on that wall instead. Been thinking and searching and nothing was speaking to me. I really wanted something a bit medieval but classy. Then I looked at my fireplace and I knew.

I bought this guy a few years back:


I also have with him:


So, I'm going to move the lion to the bathroom wall with this:


And then add a third "round" one plus this below to hold something:


I still have to pick the third round - ideally it would be one with his tail in his mouth but there aren't any more. And then I need a replacement to go where the lion is currently.

They are from oakappledesigns.com and are taken from actual carvings in cathedrals around England. They are perfect because of their coloring, they are 3D, they are medieval, and they have an air of sophistication even though they are humorous.

The third one is a Sea dog. At it's simplest a hardened sailor, but there is a complex mythology attached to the image. That is very appropriate.
Is the frog stabbing himself in the belly? I would like to know the mythology behind this one.

No ideas from contributors. Someone asked when the association between frogs and Frenchmen began. There would almost certainly be French masons working on Lincoln Cathedral.

That is my thought. I remember going to the Rennaissance Faire long long ago and during the jousting our "side" chanted "stick the froggy" so I have always figured the carving was a dig at Frenchmen.

Years ago, my mom found this very cute enamelled pin. At first glance it was of two fencers fighting. But if you looked closer, it was actually two frogs fencing. So, I think the whole Frenchman = frog may have multiple backstories.

I have this little guy too. I've decided to collect dying frogs - in 5 years these are the only two I've found.

Yeah, I like the seadog a lot. I like this bit of humor with these while still remaining classy.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Ludlow dolphin or the Carlisle griffin for the third in the bathroom. I like the forward look of the griffin but the dolphin fits the look more.

And the Lincoln bear to put on the fireplace with the frog.

I also have the obverse and reverse seals for King John and the obverse seal for Henry II.

It's happening!

I sign the contract tomorrow morning. Work is scheduled to start nexr Tuesday. Tomorrow or Thursday I go pick out my individual tiles and select my grout color (looking at cocoa or nutmeg - but need to see it against the tile in person).

I ordered my shower pan, door and vanity tonight.

I am so excited!!!!!!!!

Great. I hope you find what you are looking for, and that all goes well.

Remember the colour change hydrangeas?

I've really left it too late but this is how the colour changed.
This was the first photo - just a slight tint of pink.

Pretty!