a wet weekend begins

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the salon. It's been raining 2 days straight right now. While cleaning the Salon, I discovered a puddle of water back near the hood dryers. We have a roof leak. Fortunately for us, it's a small leak, and in the same place that we seem to get every few years. I think it's next to the big roof-top heating and air unit. So I'll wait until Monday to call. I just put a big bucket under the area.
After work Saturday, we went out to Lowe's and picked up patio paint for the front patio, and paint swatches for house trim paint.

We have a brick house, but some of  the windows and some of the trim are wood. Fortunately, our eaves are vinyl. The trim around the garage doors and a few windows are starting to peel. I don't even remember when the last time we painted them. We like the cream color they are, and want to match that as close as possible. I also need to get a piece of trim board. While checking around the windows and doors, I discovered a small section of rotting wood at the bottom side of our entry door. I'll need to cut that out and repair and paint.
I also called the Clark County Assessors office out in Vegas. We are suppose to get a statement about our property taxes in May. The tax year starts July 1st. I need to make sure they know the house is still being used as a primary residence so we can get the 3% cap. I hadn't received it yet so called to find out they are 2-3 weeks behind due to puter upgrades that delayed them.
And here's a few pics I took Friday after I mowed......

The flower beds are really starting  to come alive. My gardens seem to peak between early June and early July.
Now time to go.

garden books and credit cards

Good morning.
It's been a busy week in the Salon.
I should get out early enough today to hopefully mow the yard before more rain moves in later this afternoon.
And as I said in an earlier post, I sorted through the bookcase and decided to get rid of all the plant books I've accumulated over the years that I don't see a need for when I move to Vegas.

If anyone is interested in them I would happily give them to you. I would just ask that you pay shipping if your not in the Lansing area. If interested, I can take more detailed pics of whatever book you might want and e-mail them to you for further examination.
Back to the Salon.
We've been looking into several companies that process credit cards. For us to accept credit cards from customers, we need a terminal and a company that processes them. They take a percentage of each transaction and deposit the rest in our bank account. I wish we didn't accept credit cards. We lose thousands of dollars each year in processing fees that could have been Salon profit for me.  :-)
But unfortunately, accepting cards is part of every business. And we get a lot!
But we're looking at other companies because by October 1st, we need to have newer equipment in place to accept the newer cards with security chips. Our current machine will be considered not 'secure' for transactions. This is all part of making businesses less able to be hacked like Target and Home Depot.
The newer machines run around $225. and every company has it's own set of 'processing fees'. So we want to be sure we try and get the best deal for us.  So we want to compare other companies to whom we have right now. If you want to read more about the new cards that everyone will eventually get, look here.
And now, time to get to work.
Have a good weekend!

more pics

Good morning.
Since I worked like a fiend on Saturday and Sunday, I took it easy on Monday and Tuesday.   :-)
We were fortunate the rain held off each day until late afternoon, so I did some weeding and a little yard maintenance. I also emptied a bookcase, and sorted out a mess of garden books to add to the yard sale. Cleaned out a hall closet and added a huge stack of board games. I'm almost ready for the sale. Hope to have it in a couple of weeks.
And here's some yard pics.....

Now it's back to work.

Big jobs done

 Good morning.  Happy Memorial Day.
Sunday was another busy day. I cleaned the Salon of course. We had scattered, very light rain so was still able to get the yard mowed. We also burned a big pile of branches. And while Craig tended the fire, I cut down more dead stuff. We seemed to have lost quite a few bushes and shrubs from the last 2years.
So with that, the major jobs of the spring are done.  :-)
The rest of the summer should just be weeding and maintaining.
And here's what's currently blooming.....

 Our big ole Snow Ball Bush

 Two early Tree Peonies.

And a deciduous Azalea.
Today, with rain likely, we'll take it easy and enjoy the day.

working my butt off.

Good morning.
Friday after work, I got home early enough to blow all of the debris off the driveway, and used crack-filler to seal the many cracks in the driveway.A lot of the cracks I filled last year looked pretty good still so I only needed 2 gallons this year.
With the forecast giving us just a couple of days of dry weather, yesterday I made the most of the first one.
Spent the first few hours sealing the driveway.....

 You can see all the little twirly maple thing's all over the driveway already.
Then, I spent a couple more, staining the deck....

 With those two major projects done, today I hope to mow the yard, and burn a massive pile of branches.
And that large green and white checkered thing between the chairs is a cover I made for our large off-set umbrella.  By keeping it covered when not in use, it looks as new as it did 10 years ago.  :-)
Now time to go.

any takers?

Good morning.
It's been a very busy week in the Salon, and I'm booked today, and working late.  :-(
But, I'm looking forward to 4 days off.  :-)
But, I'm also looking to get the driveway sealed and deck stained and a huge pile of brush burned.  :-/
If I can get all that done, I'll have just the flower bed maintenance to do the rest of the summer.
Oh, and repainting all the trim on the house. It really is never ending when you own a home.
Anyway, I'll leave you with a couple of pics.....

This chest is one of the items we won't be taking to Vegas. It's a very unique piece, and we've had it probably 30+ years. But most of our decor is modern/contemporary and this piece works, because it's at the end of a hall and physically separated from the other rooms. And it kind of goes well with the hand carved mask we got in Hawaii way back in '85'. Our house in Vegas has no such separate area to use this in. So if any of my Lansing area readers are interested, let me know.  :-)

Now I'm off to work.

a new patio

Good evening.
 Today's project was the back patio.
This morning, while Craig slept, I tore out the old decking covering the back patio.

They were 12x12 sections on a plastic base that snapped together.

Over the many years we've had them, they have gotten in very poor shape. So Craig decided they needed to be replaced. I took all of them up, and cleaned the old concrete patio.
Don't you like how the concrete has peeled  revealing the many different colors that we used over the years to paint the patio?

So with the patio cleaned and dried, we went to Menard's and bought 63 new rubber patio pieces.

Here they are all laid. Looks nice right? This weekend, we'll put trim around the edges to make it look more finished. Now I think I need to stain the rest of the deck a little darker.  :-)

They are made from recycled tires. Should last years!
And here is a creature I exposed from under the tiles.....

Craig says it's a Salamander. What ever. It looks all prehistoric to me.   :-)
In other news......
I received an e-mail from MGM Grand about our upcoming stay in Vegas.
They offered us an upgrade from a west wing room to a tower spa suite for $34.

As you can see, a huge difference! Now we really don't need a fancy room, but as you can see, the west wing room is really tiny. And since the room was free, we thought $34 was a steal! Even if it is for only one night.  :-)
Also, during our siblings back and forth e-mails, it appears to be that my brother Bruce is going to get Mom a new TV and a new TV stand. Her old entertainment center that I got for her many years ago won't accommodate the new wide screen TV's. You the man Bruce!
And it looks like a very busy week in the Salon. Of course, we're closed Saturday for the holiday weekend, so with one less day of work, busy, busy, busy.
Now, I'm tired and going to bed.

Yard work.

Good evening.
I didn't realize I hadn't posted since Saturday.
Guess I've been busy.   :-)
Sunday, I cleaned the Salon, and being such a nice day, after our walk, spent most of the afternoon working in the yard.  I'm thinking I need to take out more flower beds, but but probably won't any more this year.
Monday morning, I spent 2 hours in the garage, pricing yard sale stuff. I forgot how much I've put out there over the winter.
Got Craig up, fixed coffee, and took him to his Dr appointment. Time for his yearly physical.
His blood tests were just okay. Not as good as hoped, but good enough until next year.
We then went out for a light lunch a Reno's with outdoor seating to enjoy the beautiful weather. After lunch, we went to Horrocks and spent $75 on flowers and a bag of  Miracle Grow with water retaining crystals for our 4 pots. With that plant soil, I only have to water the pots once a week! Glad we don't have the dozen or so pots that we used to.   :-)
Got them planted,  cleaned the bird baths, and did a little weeding. Had pork cutlets on the grill with oven roasted veggies. Tasty!
Here's a few garden pics.....

Two of my Japanese Maples. Love the leaves!

The area where I took out part of a flower bed. Nearly all grassed in now.  :-)
Mom's TV went out yesterday, so been e-mailing siblings to see what we need to do. Looks like my brother Brian will try and get her one from Goodwill. A new wide screen TV won't fit in her entertainment center, so if he can get her one of the older styles, that will work for now. He says they get a lot of them and can pick one up pretty cheap.
Well,  I'm getting pretty tired, so time for bed.

pretty flower pics

Good morning.
It's been a steady week in the Salon, and another busy day ahead today.
The rain finally subsided, and after work, I was able to work in the yard for a couple of hours. I weeded, and trimmed back Roses and Hydrangeas. 
And here's a few pics from the yard.....

Sweet Woodruff blooming along a path in the shade area.

Mid-sized purple Iris blooming in front of orange Geum. And in between them, future blue Phlox and yellow Daylillies. 

A perennial bed filling in.

Another little bed starting to burst into bloom.
And that's just a sample of all the flowers I still have in the yard.
Now off to work.

weekend in review

Good morning.
As I said in my Monday post, Sunday was spent with Mom, Monday, I went to the Retinal Doctor at Lansing Ophthalmology for my check-up. Nothings changed so I go back in a year.
I managed to get some weeding done before the rain moved in that afternoon. So I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the last bedroom. Took down all the pictures, patched holes, removed outlet covers, and painted the 3 windows and got a coat of paint on the walls. Tuesday morning, I started working on the yard sale stuff. Once Craig got up we went out and picked up driveway sealer, another can of paint, and a new mouse. No, not a pet mouse. My puter mouse was acting up. It would take sometimes 2 or 3 clicks to get it to work. I unplugged it hoping to 'reset' it, but no good. So I got a new one. Tuesday afternoon, I put the second coat of paint on the bedroom walls. While that was drying, we booked  a room at the MGM Grand for our July trip to Vegas. Thanks to the Facebook game MyVegas Slots, we got the free room, and also each of us got $10 in free slot play and also free drinks at Centrifuge bar.  I'm hoping to get a food voucher too, but right now they are all sold out. They 'restock' the rewards regularly, so I'll periodically check back.
We finished putting the bedroom back together, and with the rain finally over, I went out and did a quick mowing.
Craig took this pick from the bedroom window.....

Ferns coming up in the corner of the house between the bedroom and living room. Yes, that green plastic dome is a drain. We put that in many years ago because that shady area under the Crabapple tree stayed very wet.
Now time to get ready for a busy week in the Salon.

Mother's Day

Good morning.
Yesterday, of course, was Mother's Day, and of course, as a good son, I went to see mine.
When we arrived, Mom wanted me to check the smoke detectors. One was making an intermittent beep. I took both of them down and removed the batteries. Figured both should be changed. She didn't have any batteries so I said we'll pick them up on the way back from the club.
Cut her hair, and took her to Red Lobster for lunch. We arrived at 11:15 and it was already very busy.  Mom had Tilapia, I had Salmon and Craig had a cheeseburger. (he doesn't like fish, but said the burger was very good)
When we left about 12:15, the waiting room was full and they were standing out the door.
Got to the VFW and had a couple of drinks and pull-tabs. As usual when I go up, no luck. My brother Brian and wife Ruth joined us for a bit.
 On the way back to her apart., stopped and got batteries and a couple of multi plug outlets.
She has 2 chargers. One for her phone, and one for her help center necklace. They won't both fit in the wall outlet by her table because of their odd shapes. So I picked up 2 three outlet plugs. She doesn't need 6 outlets, but it gives her more room to plug in both at the same time. Got her home, put the smoke detectors back up and we headed back to Lansing. Lot's of traffic and intermittent rain, but Craig got us home safe.
This morning, I have an eye appointment. It's the 6 week check-up from the eye issue I had here. And that's at 7:45 so I better get going.

got to mow..... :-)

Good afternoon.
Amazingly, I got out of work early enough to run home and get the yard mowed before it starts raining.. As I write this, Thunderstorms are heading towards us....

Here's a few pics of the yard.......

Our newest Crab apple blooming in the back corner.

All the grass to the left of the stone path used to be flower bed. But, as you can see, I still have a lot of flowers.

The Salon has been very busy this week. Maybe due to Mother's Day.
But time to eat. Craig is calling...    :-)

no Sun Gods smiling on me

Good morning.
Just a quick post before I dash off to work.
The sun gods didn't smile on me yesterday. It rained a-l-l day.
So, I was originally planning on painting or working on yard sale stuff, But I ended up doing a massive cleaning of the bathroom. Now anyone who knows me knows I hate cleaning bathrooms. And I tend to let it go much longer than I should. It always looks sooo nice when it's done, you'd think I would want to keep it that way, but no, I wait and wait to do it until it's getting pretty disgusting. But when I do clean it, I go all out. And this time, I even went through the medicine cabinet and linen closet. I threw out so much stuff! Eye drops from 7 years ago when I had Lasik. Pills from when Craig broke his ribs. Assorted creams and ointments we haven't used in years. It was very cleansing.
That took the better part of the afternoon.
I've also been checking MyVegas slots on Facebook trying to book our room for July, but they haven't updated their calendar yet. It only goes through June. Last year they redid it in early May, so I keep looking.
And my Grape Hyacinths are in full bloom....

And our Crab Apple is just about there.....

We did finally pick up some extra dishes for our set of Corelle we took to Vegas.

We wanted to make sure we could still get the pattern before they stopped making it. And the outlet store in Vegas had closed in March, So I had to get them here. I'll have to store them in a box somewhere until we move there.  This next Corelle dish is from the set we had in the Mo-Ho...

We originally wanted to take this set to Vegas, but it was 9 years old and already discontinued.  :-(
Sooo, we're using this set here.
I know it would just be easier if we used basic white plates, but I don't like plain white plates. I want my plates to have a little interest.
Anyway, now it's time for what is looking to be a very busy week in the Salon.