Landscaping

After much complaining about our unruly landscaping we researched on thisoldhouse.com that the best time to trim Rhododendron bushes is in late March.  We were a little late, but at the first sign of a warm April weekend, Joe’s step dad, Mike (www.namexa.com) was kind enough to help us tame the massive plants that covered up much of our front porch.  Everyone cringed when we told them our plans to give these bushes a serious trim since apparently they are beautiful in bloom, but these Rhododendron were so high that they mustn’t have been trimmed in years.  They were really great at hiding our curtain-less front windows, but alot of moss accumulated on the porch and they really hid the tiny cape cod.  Joe was able to finally clear out what will hopefully be a nice little flowerbed.  According to the this old house article it may take 2-3 years for them to be full again, but I think we’re more than happy to make that sacrifice to open up the front yard a bit.

Future summer plans for the outside of the house include new stucco for the foundation, painting the cement porch, adding a fresh coat of white paint, and adding a little flair by painting the shutters red. If anyone knows a lumberjack in the area, we would love to cut down the two humungous pine trees that are very close to our house.  Don’t get me wrong, I love trees, but I’m a little scared that a stiff wind mind send these pine trees down into our bedroom.

As you can see from this side view the columns are definitely in need of some new paint. We have a can of white in the pantry for a really nice day when we are feeling super ambitious.  Once we actually paint the downstairs, working outside will be more justifiable.  Now it just feels like we’re playing hooky from wallpaper scraping and spackling.  Plus, it’s still cold! These solar powered landscaping lights were one of our first impulse buys at Lowe’s www.lowes.com, we always come home with a few of those.  I’m very excited to see some tulips and assorted plants that I have yet to decipher growing in this flower bed. This dirt is full of huge rocks, but it’s nice to see that life does exist!

Finding Motivation

As much as I’d like to think you can’t blame tools for lack of accomplishment, I find myself occasionally thinking “If I only had… I would do so much more…” I’m trying to force myself out of this mindset, but this post is about a small impulse buy that is responsible for the rebirth of my motivation for working on the inside of the house.

Allow me to introduce the Piranha Wallpaper Shaver:

After stopping by Lowe’s to pick up some other things (A hose reel and a some joint compound), I checked out the wallpaper section to see what they had in stock. Oddly enough, they have done away with DIF (the stuff I spoke about in an older post) which is a fairly widely recognized brand, and started carrying Piranha brand products. I noticed this Wallpaper Shaver and decided that — after a few months of doing things as cheaply and non-gadget-or-miracle-solution-reliant as possible (putty knives and vinegar water) — I would give it a shot. It was only $8, so why not. Let me tell you, this thing rules.

Using the putty knives was and uphill battle. We had to SOAK the walls with vinegar water and even then it would take the paper off, but leave a film of glue on the wall that took a substantial amount of sanding to remove. I’ve been going over the living room again (where the wallpaper is fully removed but the glue remains) and spraying it with more vinegar water and using this thing and, as the name would suggest, it shaves the glue right off. It’s basically an ice scraper with a razor blade attached. I liked it so much, I went back to Lowe’s and purchased a second one for Gretchen.

Suggestion: I would be very careful when using something like this on sheetrock walls. It has a tendency to dig into the wall if you’re not careful. With our plaster walls we have some surface to spare, but it might do some more damage to drywall. Just be careful.

Another thing I noticed is that this brand is essentially an exact copy of this other product:

Hyde 4″ Wallpaper Shaver (The Wall Wolf)

Which can be purchased here. The difference between the two is that although the Piranha brand shaver claims to have replaceable blades, the blades it recommends are not available anywhere. I’m not even sure if they’re being manufactured. But in my search I came across replacements for the above tool and purchased them, hoping that because they are made to fit something that looks exactly like the Piranha shaver, that they would fit the Piranha shaver itself. We’ll see when they’re delivered, but because I’m not sure about it, I’d recommend getting the Wall Wolf (or whatever) and some replacement blades for that (because you know they’ll fit).

At any rate, the moral of this post is that if you feel your motivation for something waning, try to find a new, more interesting way to do it. Or go look at some tools. Of course, if you didn’t have the motivation to do the work in the first place, a new tool isn’t going to magically make that happen. But if you’re bored or frustrated with something, it’s possible that there’s a better way to do it. I’m surprised at how much of a difference it’s made. After a few plumbing disasters, a minor surgery that had me unable to work on the house, and spring making us want to work out in the yard (a whole other project), buying an eight dollar tool has me back in the living room, working steadily (even on weeknights). We’ve set a deadline of next weekend (also coinciding with a visit from a friend) to have the downstairs primed and ready to paint. It’ll be no easy task, but it’s looking good right now.