Testing the soil!

We have been busy working on an expansion to our vegetable garden and are getting ready to plant some seeds. Before we did that, however, we thought we would test our soil to see how the new raised bed compares to the old raised beds. We used the Mosser Lee Soil Test Kit which is an easy-to-use home soil testing kit. The kit tests for soil acidity level and several different nutrients including phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium.

This photo shows the results for the soil in the old garden bed. We determined that the acidity was around a ph of 7.0, the nitrogen levels were low, the phosphorus levels were low, and the potassium levels were in the medium range.

Below is a picture of the test results for the new garden bed. In this case, we determined that the acidity was approximately a ph of 6.0, the nitrogen levels were a low minus, the phosphorus levels were a low plus, and again the potassium levels were in the medium range.

So overall, it seems like we might need to do some extra work on the soil in the vegetable garden, but hopefully things will still grow!

Vermont 2010

We recently enjoyed a ski and snowboarding trip to Vermont.

Here's the video (follow the link below for the large version):

Large version: Vermont 2010

(make sure you watch with the sound turned on)

More Storage

The master bathroom in our house has always had an empty, closet-sized space next to the shower and to the side of the toilet. We suspected that it was meant to be a closet, but that the closet was never completed when the house was sold. Without shelves and a door, it wasn't a very useful area, so Dan decided to finish the project and give us some much needed storage space.

This first photo shows you how the space looked prior to any work:


Here is the frame being installed with some shelves already in place:


All of the shelves in and the frame painted:


And finally, the finished project with a sliding door and a plant on top:


Overall, the project turned out great! The extra storage space has been really helpful to have and I think the bathroom looks more finished.

Pillows!

I was tired of the old covers on the throw pillows in the living room, so this weekend I decided to update them. It was also extremely cold outside, so this was a good, indoor project to work on. First task was selecting the new fabric - this involved an extended visit to JoAnn Fabrics, but I think it turned out well.

Once I had the fabric, it was simply a matter of cutting it up and turning it into pillow cases. Here are the final products....

Next weekend I am planning to get started on the pillows in the guest room....

Indoor Construction

We recently completed our first indoor construction project! Before we started this project, the downstairs was one large, open room. While it was nice, we thought the space would be more functional if we created two separate rooms. At the same time, we didn't want to lose the open feeling or the light , so we decided on a compromise - part wall, part french doors.

Unfortunately (as per usual), we forgot to take "before" photos before we got started so this is the best we have. In this photo, you can see the opening and the start of the frame.



In this photo (#2), you can see the new wall from the other side with the plasterboard installed.



At this point (photo #3), we had the plasterboard installed and were feeling like we were practically done (or at least I was feeling like we were practically done).



Of course, it took another couple of months to finish the painting, plastering, door hanging, trim fixing, and to give everything a good cleaning up! This is what it looks like now...

Now on to the next project!