Lucas Blackwood » Home and Garden

Good party game

Lucas — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:52:26 +0000

The gift exchange game we played after the Christmas dinner was hilarious. Everyone was supposed to bring a wrapped gift to the party and we played a few games that had the gifts as prizes. Some of the gifts were actually decent gifts; one of my sisters got a T-shirt, another got a nice bracelet. My niece got a whoopie cushion, and I got a pair of little kid’s orange swimming goggles and a royal blue teddy bear adorned with a Santa hat. Cute, but not something that I can imagine myself using anytime soon! But everyone had fun, and that was the point!

Made in America

Lucas — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:57:36 +0000

I’m trying to buy Made in America products for Christmas presents this year. I am finding it to be a very difficult task. Many of the gifts that people want are electronic in nature, and most of those items are made overseas. When I Google “Made in USA” very few items actually show up that would be things that the people on my gift list would really like to have.

I’d like to shop local, but I don’t want to pick up every item on the shelf and turn it over to see where it was made. I figure that if I look online first for the product itself, then I can go to the local store to buy it. If you have any suggestions about where to find items that are Made in USA, please let me know, I’m interested!

Open house

Lucas — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:42:18 +0000

There is a fall open house today at one of the local greenhouses. I am going to check out the latest gadgets for next years crop. The employees there are always knowledgeable and friendly.

Maybe I will pick up some bulbs to plant as well. A few flowers to add color to my property is always a wise choice. I take pride in my property’s appearance and my family likes to see what I have done new every year.

Foliage

Lucas — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:55:57 +0000

The fall foliage has started. This time of year is by far my favorite. The weather is much cooler and more comfortable. The best part of this year is going to be the use of my new tractor to clean up the yard.

There is always a ton of work to do in the fall at my house. Cleaning up the garden, home repairs and lawn maintenance all has to be done. I am going to try to plan a fall trip with Janice as well to go check out the leaves. As much work as they are it is worth it because they are so beautiful.

Packed up early

Lucas — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:15:40 +0000

I was really worried about my friends and family with the hurricane Irene coming through. Almost all of my relatives live on the East Coast. I was really fortunate where I was the hurricane was very mild; it actually felt more like just a regular summer storm only without any lightning and thunder, So it was actually much milder than I was expecting! In fact I kind of felt silly about all of the desperate preparations I did the day before making sure all the lawn furniture was tucked inside and that there were no small pieces of anything lying around the yard.

I guess it’s just as well I had to pick up most of the stuff before too long with autumn coming up fast, since Labor Day weekend is really only a couple of days away now. I don’t think I’m gonna bother putting all the lawn furniture back out – I’ll just say that they are just the the packed up for the winter.

Stumps, free for the taking!

Lucas — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:10:14 +0000

Boy, do I have some work to do in my yard soon! When I bought my house I didn’t for some silly reason have the contractors pull out the stumps. These stumps are now an eye sore because they are growing saplings.

I am not sure how I am going to rectify this situation. I could pull the sumps out or I could just cut the saplings. How lazy do I feel like acting? I think I will call and get an estimate on pulling out the stumps. If I take these extra steps the nit will pay-off for me in the future.

No doubt this is going to be a costly investment. I know that these stumps are going to leave big holes in which I will have to pay for fill and then seed for grass. What a hassle! Oh well, I think I will suck it up and just start making a list of contractors to call for tomorrow. I can hear some wise words that were once told to me: “Do it right or don’t do it at all.”

Home repairs

Lucas — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 04:49:24 +0000

Before leaving town I must look into fixing a few things in my house. I think that it will mean more to me to have everything in order before I leave then witring until after I return. There are not that many things to repair. Everything, although time consuming will be worth it in the end to be able to arrive back home to find all my belongings neat and tidy; well that is if the people housitting make sure of this.

Leaving your house to a couple of people who you may know but not truely know their everyday living rituals is not easy. While away I will not worry about my house but I will be anxious to see what state my house is in upon return. Not everyone has the same cleanliness manners as I do. I have a very neat and somewhat anal retentive personality but I feel their is nothing wrong with these traits. Everyone is different but having the personality I have means the daily prevention of disorder and chaos.

Firing up the property

Lucas — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:42:43 +0000

This year I am in search of finding new ways to spruce up my property. There are many ways of doing so and the most recent piece of equipment I found was a portable outdoor firepit. It is decorative yet functional. And the absolute best part is the fuel is wood and I have plenty of that around my house.

Many of the stores are selling them this year and compared to last year they have come down in price. I shopped several of the flyer’s before deciding upon one that had a tri-colored slate base. There is some assembly required and since I have very little time I think I will recruit the high school kid next door to give me a hand. He loves to put things together and I feel comfortable that he won’t mess this up. Besides if he does he knows he won’t get paid!

Sharing the love seat

Lucas — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:01:29 +0000

Yesterday afternoon I received a surprising phone call. For months I had been spreading the word about getting rid of my love seat sofa. I had told friends, family and co-workers. Finally, one of my friends called me and said they have a home for the love seat.

My friend asked me if I was going to be home this weekend. I said well, I can be if the sofa is going to be put to good use. I was told it was going to a young couple who just moved into their new apartment and didn’t have too much to start out. I agreed that this sofa was going to be perfect for them! It is in pretty good shape considering it has been around three cats and three dogs. There is very little wear and tear on it. I will be sure to go home tonight and look it over again; perhaps spot clean it a bit. They can always place a cover over it. Out of this whole thing the greatest peace of mind I will have is knowing I am recycling for a good cause.

Tasty troubles

Lucas — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:51:06 +0000

My gas grill decided to be “under the weather” and in need to be repaired. This put a large kink in my grilling plans. This time of year the weather is gaining warmth and with each passing day I want my dinner to be off of the grill.

So, I had to come up with the next best thing and that was to purchase another grill. A family member of mine had heard of my dilemma and decided as an early birthday present to give me some cash toward my new grill. I went down to the hardware “toy” store and began my search for my replacement or spare grill.

As I waswalking down the aisle the charcoal grills caught my eye. Specifically, a nice new red one caught my attention. I looked over the others surrounding it but I kept coming back to the red one I first saw. It was the perfect size, not to mention great price!

I decided to take it and loaded it up in my truck after purchasing it. On the way home I swung by the local meat market and picked up a couple of juicy steaks. The grill once I got it home worked beautifully and made the steaks extra tasty.