UPDATE: lawn mower love

I am updating my original post from April 2012, because after 2 season of grass cutting, I still love this lawn mower! Though it is lightweight, think easy to maneuver, it still cuts all the grass evenly. Now, when I say "grass" I am really referring to a mixture of short green vegetation that grown in the space I call "yard". It is actually many varieties of grass and weeds and a bit of small hedge- resulting from an ill placed bird feeder. It will never be in a "turf-builder" commercial... unless it is the before shot.

The charge cord is really long, so the mower does not need to be near the power outlet, which are few and far between in a garage. I do not use the mulch bag and let everything compost, which is better for my area since the soil layer is thin. My yard, and most in my area, include natural rock outcroppings.

Let's talk performance, I use it on my back yard only and I have a pie-piece shaped yard that is nearly and acre, the bulk of the yard is the front. And, the back has garden areas, so not a giant space to cut, but oddly shaped and pieced out. Even with some back tracking, I can easily cut the yard on one change. I have even cut it once on a charge and half again a couple of weeks later on the same charge. If you are cutting thick or tall grass, it runs the battery down quicker. However, I found the solution after reading "the Grumpy Gardener" from Southern Living Magazine say on Facebook to cut your grass high to kill off weeds and encourage your grass without chemicals. I easily changed the wheel height, with one lever, and started cutting higher. Solved the problem of trying to cut the thick part of the yard, which was a foil for this mower... to be fair that part is a foil for every mower I have used. Still waiting on more grass and less weeds... But I trust you Steve (Grumpy Gardener), and I'll eventually get there.

So, two lawn season and still going strong. No gas, no lawn mower repair shop, no cord, no problems! No reason not to buy now and get an end of the season deal!

Post from April 2012:
I am in love... with my lawn mower! It's a new lawn season and I have a new mower. This year it is a cordless Black and Decker battery powered mower. It is so quiet, powerful, and can take on tall grass, um yeah, I put off cutting grass a while until I got the mower, and best of all no gas. It sounds like a big fan and I guess technically it is a big fan with very sharp blades.
Grass cutting always makes me think of summer at my grandmothers. She was a scheduled woman certain days were grocery days, then there was grass cutting days. The day before glass cutting days I was allowed to cut tracks into the grass with trimmers to play cars, runway, or whatever needs paths. Of course they were gone by the end of the next day. So, on grass cutting day, grandmother would put on capri length pants and her grasshopper shoes to head out to the lawn. To this day my sister and I refer to a certain length of pants-capris coming to mid-calf- as grass cutting length. Grass cutting length is not flattering, though functional, and the equivalent of shorts if you were born in the nineteen-teens!
Join me in the green revolution and try an electric lawn mower!

Outdoor art show season- top 5 things I learned!

It is the fall outdoor art show season again and I am prepping to see and to show. I spent last fall attending shows and learning. I feel like I learned many things last season to bring into this season. I thought I would share

My top 5 things I learned about selling your art at outdoor shows.

1. Make payments easy!

          Bring $100 in cash in small bills. Take credit cards via square or Paypal, I bring both devices for my phone in case one of the systems is down... and get the pen to use with your phone or ipad.

Paypal credit card reader fits in your phone/ipad and records payments in your paypal account.

2. Technology is important- bring a charger!

         Let's hope you have so many sales that you run down your battery on your phone. So, plan ahead and bring a charger.  Also, wear a watch to prevent your self from turning on your phone to check the time.


I would suggest a solar charger- instant gratification and no batteries to remember to charge.

3. Good tents make good set-up.

       Buy a good tent, make sure it is one you can put up easily. Buy it in white, most shows don't specify, but you are in trouble if you cheap out with a blue tent and you have to rent a white one for the show.


I use the Undercover 10'x10' Commercial Popup Canopy with Carry Bag and walls. The carry bag even has wheels!

4. Bring a buddy.

      At least for one day of the show. They can help you set up, break down, or at least give you a break to see the show. And though it is a great show that has great booth sitters, a booth sitter doesn't care as much for your success as a friend or family member.


Come see the Moss Rock Festival... I'll be there!

5. Roll like Santa- make a list and check it twice!

     You need a list with everything you need to bring, remember to do, and pack in the car. Start you list about a week before the event and put the list somewhere that it is easy to make notes on it. Otherwise you will forget your water, cash, to charge the phone/ipad, etc.

Hopefully your list will be shorter.

Bonus tip:

You can only sell as much as you bring to sell. If you only bring $1000 worth of merchandise, then you can't sell any more than $1000. Don't limit yourself. Bring more than you ever think you can sell, you might surprise you.

Today's Pickin's

 

Today I hit four, count them 4, estate sales in 2 hours. There was so many that I actually didn't have enough time to get to the 5th! I decided to simply put the addresses in groups by area and just plug them into the GPS. I learned a few lessons today.

Note the picture on the left relates of #4!

 Here are my top ones-

1. Look at a map to generally know where you are going.
Had I know that I would be backtracking so far between #1 and #2, I would have put them in a different order. However, had #2 not been a bust, I might not have cared.

2. Use a GPS!
I was so easy to connect between the sales by plugging in the next location, like a real treasure hunt.

3, Always drive past the sale before parking.
I invariably choose a parking park that is WAY far way from the house when there is one quite close, that I would have found if I had only tired to get closer. Not that I am the person who is always on the look-out for a close parking space, but at estate sales, you might be buying big. It is easier to get it to the car when you are closer.

4. Take pictures.
Sometimes you see things that you do not want, but you want to remember. If for no other reason because it is so strange you want a record! I did not buy this cart above today- but I had to record it for posterity!

5. bring a bag, maybe some bubble wrap.
If you check the websites of the sales and you know that there is glass at the sale that you might want, then bring a bag and a smidgen of bubble wrap. A little bubble wrap will shield your new glass pieces from each other.

money saving tip of the week- dish soap

I like to buy concentrated dish washing soap to save on the packaging, but I don't like to wash "a load of dishes". I'm a one to two at a time kind of gal. So my tip, I like put a little of the concentrated detergent in a larger and more attractive contained with a pour spout and add water- heavily diluting it. I get the same level of detergent as I would if it was in a dish pan, but I don't have to have the pan of water. My detergent lasts a long time!

humidifer review

To follow up with my previous blog on indoor humidity, I would suggest the Frog humidifier by Crane. Not only does is put out a lot of humidity and holds water for all day or all night, the face on the front aides you in placing the tank on the correct way. No more spilling water trying to get everything together. Great item available at amazon.com or I saw it at my local Target today.

Happy humidifying!

winter colors

This morning I was watching my bird feeder and thinking about the colors of the little songbirds visiting me. The yard in winter is mostly taupe to ivory, with dried grasses and bare tree limbs. Winter yards are like the color palette of a common "model home" in a new subdivision... all neutrals and a "pop of color". In the model home the pop of color is the pillows, in the yards the pop of color is usually the berries on evergreen bushes. But if you are lucky, you will get the treat of the songbirds at the feeder.
Today's color palette at the feeder included a new bird, a fabulously ostentatious yellow bird. And like many of the birds who visit my feeder, when the sun hits his feathers they change color, sometimes brightening, sometimes a change in hue. This little bird went from yellow to chartreuse, not a color normally found in nature. But reflecting on the colors of these breakfasting birds, you can see how the color palette around you can change too with different lighting. You can look upon these birds for your next color inspiration, too. My favorite winter bird is taupe with a reddish head. When the sun strikes this bird, his head and back go from dull red to cerise. He glows.
So, how can we make our world glow again, change your lights. Next time you find a sale on CFL light bulbs, buy two packs. One pack should be a cool color temperature, about 5000K, sometimes referred to as "daylight". The other should be warm, around 2700K, sometimes referred to as "soft". Now, replace all the bulbs in a room with one color of bulbs and turn on all the lights. Look around sit down and spend a few minutes doing what you would normally do in the room. Then, replace all the bulbs with the other and do the same test. Which light temperature makes you room sing like a bird? Different rooms will benefit from different lighting at different times of the day. So you might want to try this experiment more than once. So environmentally friendly, you will not be replacing these bulbs anytime soon wih CFL's!
Enjoy your brighter new room.

stylish storage- external hard drive

I have been on the hunt for a hard drive... a stylish hard drive. I know the considerations should be size and price, but if I spending the money, I want something that looks good as well.

I narrowed it down to two brands, one speaks to my green side, the other on purely aesthetics and the parameters of around $100 and a terabyte of space. My green option was the [re]drive by Simpletech from Hitachi. the exterior is made from bamboo and recycled aluminum and it is energy star rated boasting a USB drive which is 25% faster than USB2.0.

Pretty snazzy!

LaCie was my other brand of choice, they have produced some of the coolest electronic gadgets with reasonable prices. I was first smitten with the LaCie Golden Disk designed by Ora-Ito. It looks like water reflecting a sunset or a morphed Chanel quilting bag. And, I what other beauties do they offer... Who knew the beauties I would behold! The Lacie Grand Disk with the subtle face reminding me of a Paloma Picasso design from Tiffany's, it's as if the hand drive could really have a brain.

Golden Disk on the left and the grand Disk on the right.

Then I found the one, the one that makes your heart sing, well is anything Phillippe Starck makes your hear sing... which it does mine! Below is the LaCie hard drive designer by Starck.

It contrasts the smooth front of the Grand Disk with the aluminum hard case of the [re]drive and adds a lighted orange Starck logo as the"on" indicator. And, features a touch sensitive front. I had to have it! All are available on Amazon.com.