Sometimes our business conversations lead us into things we are doing around the house and/or out in the garden / yard. This thread will serve as a spot to share these things and take a breather from the grind.
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Funny… I’m on my 6th - haha
spent all day power washing the stucco on my garage - prepping for paint on Sat.
Helps my sore joints
I’ll take some pain to save $2K…
BTW - Totally off topic but oh well
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Weather looks like a good day for it. I’m hoping to attack the hedge that went from nothing to WTF!! in the last few weeks. Gotta see if the long-Covid cooperates.
Ditto. Although even lower threshold (assuming that I know what I’m doing)
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My quotes of wisdom transcend topics…
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This is going to end up in the Junk Drawer where it belongs, but let me explain… Haha
My garage hasn’t been painted since the house was built (2006).
I grow morning glories and Moon flowers on trellises on the garage wall. We always miss out on the trellises at Lowes. This year, we got them in January! When they first got them in stock. Replacing those means this is the time since they are bolted to the wall…
I always start our seedlings inside under a grow light because something eats them if we do it outside.
Planted the 72 pods 4 days ago and they are already sprouting. Now in a mad rush to get this done and the weather has sucked. It was supposed to rain today but was beautiful. Step 1 done. It will be much quicker to do 2 coats of paint than it was to clean up / prep…
Wildly excited - haha
This is the back of the garage. Almost looks like I painted some of it. Nope - just clean… BTW - that shanty of a back yard in the background belongs to my neighbor 
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Wow. Didn’t know you could buy something that new around here. My house was 80 at that point, and I’d been in it for a couple of years already.
On the bright side, inspector looked at the garage and said something along the lines of “that will last forever; there’s not wood like that anymore”.
OTOH, having had a garden for years when younger, near a fence where a neighbor grew morning glories, can’t believe that you have to coddle them. Took us 20+ years to get rid of the dam things. (I’ll admit, pretty; but DAMN they spread)
As for me, hoping to get the basil in the pots soon. Already late, but between weather, huge backlog of inventory to process, and long-covid, hasn’t happened yet*"
(*gonna leave out “general laziness and procrastination”, since I have better sounding excuses)
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What a fun post!
Now that we can’t travel due to my husband’s condition I have developed a new love/hobby of houseplants. I’ve added quite a few (while also purging clutter) and they bring me such joy!
Also: Whomp - When we were stuck in Spain last summer one of our sprinkler solenoids failed so the system didn’t run. My beloved Japanese maple has died, along with two junipers. Since husband can’t landscape anymore I had someone out yesterday to see about ripping everything out and replacing with easy to care for/maintain shrubs.
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I used to love having house plants and then got away from having any for the past 9 years. I just got back into it, and have made it my mission to give the discount plants at Kroger and Lowe’s a new life. That way if I kill them i don’t fill too bad for spending a lot of money on them! So far, only 2 haven’t made it.
Is that a ponytail palm in the back? I just picked up a discount one in the background. Any tips on their care? Ithink I read they don’t like a lot of water.
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Yes, I have 2 ponytail palms - this one I’ve had for quite a few years, I just trimmed the ends recently.
So easy to care for, I love them. I only water when the soil is completely dry - it holds water in the trunk. I’ve ignored them for long long periods of time with no issues.
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Here’s a treat for all the garden lovers here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/t-magazine/best-gardens-england-japan-france.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Fk8.Mv5m.rnQTzOmB8v_8&smid=url-share
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I’m surprised Lowe’s discounted the one
I bought. It had a few brown leaves, but otherwise it’s in perfect shape.
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I bought a lemon pothos at Lowe’s on clearance last week (Costa farms) which is gorgeous. No clue why.
Speaking of which: I saw that Costa Farms sells their plants FBA on Amazon. How?? I mean, plants can’t sit in a warehouse and live? I was confused by that.
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Huh. Thats weird! Also, i thought states had restrictions on shipping plants.
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Lowes has a plants clearance section in the back of their garden center. Most plants are half price. Some are $1. Just need some TLC and they’re great. It’s early in the summer planting season they grow beautifully.
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I know! That’s where i get my discounted plants!
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Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd - DONE!
Replacing those trellises was the whole inspiration of this project + it’s been 19 years since this garage was painted…
My son helped me with this today. Came out Amazing. Used almost 5 gallons…
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Really nice! 
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Your painted garage wall looks great. My dad’s philosophy was always - Don’t wash it, paint it!
Marilyn
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I power washed it first. That took longer than painting it… haha
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I assumed that was vendor direct shipment, aka Amazon Drop Shipping from Costa Farms. If it’s sold by Amazon they can also restrict what states things are sold/shipped to
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