Search Results for: blog house plant tips

Houseplants that Purify the Air

Right after we had our son eight years ago, my husband bought an air purifier from Sharper Image. He figured we had a new baby, four cats, and lived in a community where they were still building houses, so it might help. I don’t know that it really did help or not. I still suffered from allergies, but our son doesn’t really seem to have much trouble with it, so who knows. The good news is that there are plants you can have in your home that will purify the air naturally. One plant that will help clean your air … Continue reading →

Gardening Tips for a Cold Spring

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Oh, spring around here has been cold. Some of you who live in cooler climates than I do might laugh at the fact that we’ve hit winter clothing temperatures repeatedly into May, but I’m not. My garden isn’t laughing too hard either. What can you do to salvage a cold spring in your garden? Take your cues from the weather. If it’s really, really cold, you don’t need to plant, even if it is officially spring. It’s better to plant when the garden is ready instead of by the clock. Get a head start, but hedge your bets. I’ve learned … Continue reading →

Tips for Taking Outdoor Photos of Your Kids

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If you’re taking pictures of your kids outside, there are a few things you can do to really make your pictures pop. My first tip has to do with the placement of the sun. Now most people make the mistake of having people look into the sun. The problem with that is it makes people squint and often casts unflattering shadows on their face. Ideally, you should make sure the sun is behind your subject or off to the side. The sun will highlight their hair and you can use a fill flash to brighten up their face if it … Continue reading →

10 Tips When You’re Moving House

You know you’re moving, you’ve decided to put your house up for sale and followed some of the suggested guidelines on the previous blog, now what? Here are more guidelines to make it easier. 1. Decide whether you are going to use a real estate agent or try and sell privately. I admit we’ve only ever sold using an agent. Friends have sold privately and to me it sounded like a lot of hassle. I also see houses put up for sale privately that often then have to be out in an agent’s hands. 2. Make sure you factor all … Continue reading →

Home Blog Month in Review: October

As I sit here looking out my window at the backyard, the birds are hovering in the pine tree against a strong wind and steady rain. The temperature is chilly today, and the calendar reminds me that we have left October behind. October 1st Buy a Home for $1.75 It seems that the housing crisis has made some interesting news lately. Home Month in Review: September 2008 Has the weather turned cooler now that September has passed? Pretty soon, it will be time to get that heat turned back on! Meanwhile, check out all of the articles that were posted … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Month in Review: September 2008

Here are all of the Baby Blog articles that were posted last month. September 1st Baby Blog Month in Review: August 2008 Isn’t it crazy the way babies grow so quickly? It seems that you just get used to one stage and boom they are already into another. Tonight, were busy getting the household all set for my eldest child’s first day of second grade. My two younger ones are excited and want to start school, too. It will be a busy month. September 2nd Babies Are Built to Say “Mama” and “Dada” First! Do you remember your baby’s first … Continue reading →

Fall Planting “How To” on You Tube

If you are getting ready for your fall planting, you might want to check out You Tube. There are some great videos on there that can give you some how to help that is easy to see and understand. From choosing what to plant to how to prune and start your own plants, You Tube is a great resource. Here are some of my favorite fall planting “how to” videos. Horticultural Tip/Fall Planting If you need some tips about planting shrubs, this is a really useful video. It talks about everything from drainage to avoiding backfill soil on top of … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Week in Review: August 25th Through September 7th

Now that Fall is starting to show its colors, my kids are more exited than ever to be outside. They are busy exploring nature, examining seed pods, planting popcorn and watching migrating birds. This time of years is a wonderful time for babies to explore more of the world around them. Look for future articles about ways to do this. Meanwhile, check out what has been going on recently here in the Baby Blog. August 25th Baby Blog Week in Review: August 18th Through August 24th Somewhere near the end of summer my babies always seem to go through a … Continue reading →

How Clean Is Your House – Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie

Guess what I found at the library? Those ladies from the How Clean Is Your House TV show have a book! The How Clean Is Your House? book is subtitled “Hundreds of handy tips to make your home sparkle”. And the book is just that. It first introduces Aggie MacKenzie and Kim Woodburn and explains how they ended up cleaning Brittan’s filthiest homes. There’s a quick quiz to see if you are a filth offender. Then “the girls” explain what is in their own essential cleaning kits. And like in the show, they use environmentally and people friendly products like … Continue reading →

Gardening With Children – Plants of Their Own

Today I took the boys to a local greenhouse and nursery. I told them they each could pick out a plant to take care of this summer. They were actually excited about the chance to pick out a plant of their own. Around our neighborhood we are just seeing signs of spring. We have a few crab apple trees blooming, and the trees are leafing out. At the greenhouse though – wow – everything was green, and growing, and blooming, and a rainbow of beautiful colors. We browsed through ten different kinds of tomatoes, many herbs and vegetables, and all … Continue reading →