Mushroom Compost

One of our projects to help reduce the amount of outside home maintenance was ripping out six under-performing knockout rose bushes and growing grass in their ten-foot-diameter mulched circle.  We always dread growing grass and keeping the birds from getting too large a share of the seed.  The solution was to throw down the seed and cover it with a thin layer of mushroom compost.  Never saw a bird poking around and with the help of plenty of timely rain, the grass took root better than ever before.  While the link below is from Lowes, we bought our bags at Home Depot, in case you go looking.

Big shout out to my brother-in-law Albert for this grass-growing tip!

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Just-Natural-0-75-cu-ft-Organic-Compost-Provides-Organic-Nutrients/3426612

Kobalt Rails

I did this years ago as part of a garage-cleaning project, installing a couple of Kobalt storage rails and different types of hooks to better utilize the upper portion of the concrete block walls.  They are firmly held in place by self-tapping Blue Concrete anchor screws installed by one of my favorite tools, a cordless impact wrench.  Besides the hose shown below, we hung our weed-wacker, shovels, ladders, rakes, hoe, electric trimmer, and snow shovels, making retrieving a tool easy and the garage at least appear organized.

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Slatwall-rail-storage-systems-Garage-organization-Storage-organization/292514718

Chicken Quesadillas - Panini Style

The non-stick plates in our waffle/panini maker made for a quick-and-easy cleanup, but alongside the usual ingredients of chicken, avocado, shredded cheese, jalapenos, sour cream, and salsa was char-grilled corn.  The husks were removed and the corn cooked on the gas grill for about sixteen minutes, turning every four, until they reached our desired level of color and cut off the cob.  In the background of the picture below is a glass of Cabernet, leftover from the night before.  Leftover wine is not a common occurrence in our house!

https://www.foxandbriar.com/charred-grilled-corn

Batmobile

A trip to Costco usually involves seeing something different, as their selections vary all the time, but seeing a Batmobile, Batcycle, and cutouts of Batman and Robin was definitely one of the most unique.  As a kid, Batman was a staple of my viewing schedule, as corny as it was.

Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed!  

Mother Nature

It's not often that I'm sitting in the backyard and see a sky so busy and beautiful as the one shown below.  Multiple layers of clouds, some lighter, some darker, all swirling around, and changing shapes every few seconds.  In retrospect, I should have taken a video so you could see this spectacular work of nature in action.

Bug Bite Thing

This is a nifty tool that pulls bug bite venum out from under your skin, providing immediate itch relief.  Pulling the plunger creates suction and feels like your skin is being pinched, but the brief discomfort is worth it.  Depending on the bite's location, you might need a good friend to help out ;-).

https://www.bugbitething.com

Ice Cream Cake

Dairy Queen offers custom ice cream cakes, including uploading a photo of your birthday girl to make a one-of-a-kind creation.  I'm not much of a flour cake type of guy but lay a slice of ice cream in front of me and I'll make it disappear in a flash. 

https://www.dqcakes.com/#/home

Great Stuff

The source of our recent mouse discovery was likely a gap in the basement wall around an outside spigot's water pipe.  The outside gap was small, but inside the hole was 2-3 inches in diameter.  We found a great solution by happenstance while strolling through Home Depot.  Great Stuff is an insulating foam sealant and we just sprayed it into the gap, resulting in the gray plug shown below.   

https://www.greatstuff.dupont.com

Best Buddies

These two just love to go at it, even though they are an order of magnitude different in size.  Emmet is a brown Shih Tzu puppy weighing in at about six pounds while Maggie, a Catahoula Leopard Hound, is closer to sixty pounds.  They will jump, dive, leap, roll and run full tilt in circles around our backyard until they are totally worn out.  The white Shih Tzu, Edie, briefly seen ignoring the game, is over ten years old and just not up for expending this type of energy.  

Irwin Quick Grip Clamp

Not saying we've had a lot of rain this month, but the raised herb garden's soil got so heavy it literally snapped a couple of screws holding the lowest board in half, leaving it hanging down a few inches and holding on for dear life.  It was not possible for me to lift the board back in place, so I needed some leverage.  Happens, last week I bought the clamp shown below for a basement staircase project, and instead of opting for a clamp just large enough for my immediate need, I decided to spend another $12 and buy an extra-long version, which turned out to be perfect.  I was able, with one hand on the pistol grip, to exert enough force to slowly pull the board back in place in order to shoot in some beefier screws.

https://www.irwin.com/tools/brands/quick-grip