Just a girl with a hammer
Blog URL:
http://justagirlwithahammer.com
My 1938 pre-war ranch was a foreclosure I bought in 2009. It had been vacant for four years and neglected for at least ten. There was half a garage door, a non-functional sink in the bathroom, a mildewing basement, the original furnace (which no longer functioned), a new roof but no gutters, and a cracked kitchen floor.
I'm fixing almost everything myself but my real passion is gardening.
Curtain prototype is done
- Details
- Published on Monday, 08 October 2012
Authors: Heather
Last year I found the perfect mid-century pinch-pleat draperies at JC Penney. Pam at Retro Renovation said her readers found them to be a good source. At Christmas my parents gave me a gift certificate to JC Penney for so I could buy some . . . and JCP immediately stopped producing the style/color/length I needed.Image from Retro...
Officially ready for rain, damn it.
- Details
- Published on Monday, 01 October 2012
Authors: Heather
Guys, I'm so sick of watering the garden. I'm sick of sunshine and warm weather and the hard rocky soil that prevents me from putting my new grasses in the ground.OH I KNOW. I know. I should shut up.
I just want three days of light but steady rain, enough to recharge the ground a bit. I'd also like to test out our new gutter...
I really am just defective . . . and I'm very happy about it.
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Authors: Heather
Happy dance! The appraisal for my mortgage refinance came back at $75K more than my purchase price. I want to think that it's because I put in a pretty garden and painted the rooms nice colors but I know it comes down to the improving economy and housing market.But seriously, whew.
We also got the official report back on the indoor...
Perhaps I am just defective
- Details
- Published on Monday, 17 September 2012
Authors: Heather
Would you like me to write you a check? How about you over there? Or do you prefer Visa?Someone told me, right after I bought my house, that your house and your car secretly conspire with each other to have problems at the same time. September has been EXPENSIVE. Between refinancing, freaking out about mold, and having the ducts...
Late Bloom Day September 2012
- Details
- Published on Monday, 17 September 2012
Authors: Heather
I was busy fighting the Quilters Mafia at Fabric Depot on Saturday, so I neglected to take any photos. This old woman totally tried to con her way in front of me in line and I was *this* close to hip checking her. The good news is that, after almost a year of trying to find living room curtains I like, I'm just going to make them...For f*ck's sake.
- Details
- Published on Friday, 14 September 2012
Authors: Heather
Me and this tree, we are in a fight.Cryptomeria japonica 'Not so elegant now, are we bucko?'
I removed the stake, since it's been in the ground almost a year now. We still have some lines up, which we need to loosen so it will learn to stand on his own. Unfortunately, one line snapped and now it's doing this. Will it ever learn to...
I just neti-potted my house's sinuses
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 13 September 2012
Authors: Heather
At the risk of making sure that no one comes to visit me ever, I'm going to tell you about my basement of horrors.Life has been a little hectic around here lately. I'm refinancing, which means getting an appraisal, which means trying to tidy up the house and fretting a lot. One source of stress was the basement, which has one...
And then we built a giant litter box
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 04 September 2012
Authors: Heather
I've been plotting what to do with the left side of the front yard, under the dogwood tree.And by "I've been plotting" I mean that I emailed Scott and asked him if he'd design a grass/meadowscape for me. And because he is awesome, he agreed. He drew up an incredible plan that incorporated drought tolerant grasses and wildflowers,...
That money isn't going to spend itself
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Authors: Heather
Several months after I moved into the house I moved a piece of plywood that was over our basement floor drain and noticed that when the washing machine emptied, it made this happen:I ran some hot water and vinegar down the drain and that helped a lot but it was still backing up onto the floor. It's never been high on my list of...
The boy is earning his keep
- Details
- Published on Monday, 27 August 2012
Authors: Heather
I took off on Sunday to see an HPSO open garden (that Loree covered here) and couldn't convince Greg to go with me, which is crazy because he really would've liked it. When I got back he said, "I made a change in the backyard." Those words always make me nervous.Before
After
After we put the bamboo in the stock tank it dramatically...
