How to Start a Veggie Garden

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The growing season is just around the corner, and you’re probably already planning the start of your vegetable garden. You are not the only one. A lot of people have found the joy of gardening and the thrill of growing their own produce. Newbie gardeners might have a number of questions about the best way to get their gardens growing. This article was written for them.

Vegetable Bliss

In addition to the exquisite flavor of vine-ripened foods, there are several other benefits to starting a vegetable garden. You can harvest fresh fully ripened vegetables when you need them, and did I mention the flavor is phenomenal? You can save money at the grocery store growing your own food. And gardening is a fun way to get some exercise while you reconnect with nature.

Simple Pleasures

Prepare to plant your vegetable garden by first stopping. Take a few minutes to think about the vegetables you normally buy at the grocery store. For my family I get lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, snap peas, and peppers. Your list is your launch point. After you have your list figure out what your vegetables need for soil, water, sunlight and space. Your yard might not let you grow all of your favorites, but you’ll be able to grow at least a couple of them.

Here are a couple of tips: if there are others you know who has vegetable gardens, you may be able to help each other. You can grow some of their favorites and they can grow yours. If you make it a community project, everyone can benefit. You might even consider a container garden. Then you can decide where you want to put your crops and you can use high quality potting soil, the kind that keeps your garden thriving.

Get an Early Start

Before the growing season begins is the best time to start planning your garden. You will give yourself plenty of time to get the seeds, pick out the tools you need and plan your plot space. Give yourself a weekly task list so you can budget your time, then a couple of weeks before the last frost you can kick it into high gear. A great way to get a jump on the season is to start your seeds indoors. As soon as the soil outside has warmed you can transplant the healthy seedlings and harvest sooner.

Rough Drawings

Grab some graph paper and draw out the space you need for your garden. Give yourself some wiggle room to try out different vegetables in various spots. Take the time to plan out your garden and you will add eye appeal to your plot. A good general tip is to put the tall, vine-laden vegetables along a wall or fence, in the back of the garden. This gives them the support they need. Remember to consider the space each plant needs to grow, so they can give you the most yields. You might consider using herbs, like curly parsley, to add color and decoration as well as a tasty garnish for your dinner plate.

Getting Dirty

Now it’s time to put a little elbow grease into the mix, getting your seeds and seedlings into the ground. Keeping up with the weeding doesn’t have to be too laborious. You can minimize the work considerably by putting mulch or strips of fabric (held down with rocks) between the rows. Remember to water your garden regularly. And give it some fertilizer every couple of weeks. A 12-14-11 or 10-10-10 will do nicely.

Summary

That will get you started on your new journey. In addition to getting dirty, gardening offers a lot for your mind. Over time you will learn the fine points of each of your favorite vegetables. You’ll learn what it takes to make them grow and yield the maximum they can. And to top it off, you will be able to boast to your friends and family, as they gush over the flavor or your meals, “I grew that.”

Do You Have the Right Size of Dollhouse Furniture? Let’s Explore Your Options

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Is Inch Scale the right size for my dollhouse?

Manufacturers use scales to help you make sure you are buying the right sized items for your dollhouse. All furniture is built on a 1 inch scale unless you see ½ inch or ¼ inch in the title of the item.

Dollhouse scales show how many inches of correspond to a foot, or 12 inches, of real life. Every inch of dollhouse furniture is equivalent to twelve inches of real furniture. For example, a dollhouse tub 5 inches long is built to represent a 5 foot real tub. In other scales, such as half inch and quarter inch, less than an inch represents a foot of real furniture.

For example, a dollhouse dresser that is 4 inches tall represents a 4 foot tall real dresser. There are other scales, but they are less popular and common

Picking Dollhouse Metal

Quality furniture does not always have to be made out of wood; there are many great pieces that would not be available if not for some great metal craftsmen. Barbecues are an excellent demonstration of fun metalworking in this hobby; I mean what doll could resist getting the ol’ burgers on the grill. Outdoors is not the only place to find metal material for a dollhouse, you will also see it in the electrical work, and laundry room.

Victorian

Victorian is the classic choice for your dollhouse. This style characterizes the Victorian era which was known for beautiful curving patterns, and highly detailed craftsmanship especially found in the furniture legs. It is no wonder why Victorian dollhouse furniture is the best choice and top seller, it truly is just fun to design, play with, and coordinate Victorian miniatures.

Green

Green is not usually thought of as an option, but it has some great qualities for your dollhouse. Green dollhouse furniture is the colorful choice for many fun pieces of miniatures. There are more green furniture options than you might think and they come in a variety of sets, rooms, and designs.

Is Half Inch the right size?

Scales are a way for you to know that the furniture you are buying will fit your dollhouse. Unless the title of the furniture item tells you it is ½ inch or ¼ inch, the item is built on a 1 inch scale.

This item is built on a half inch, or 1:24 inch, scale. This means that half an inch of dollhouse furniture represents a foot of furniture. For example, a dollhouse dresser that is 2 inches tall represents a 4 foot tall real dresser. In other scales, such as 1 inch and quarter inch, different sizes would represent that same dresser.

To figure out which scale your dollhouse uses, figure out the height from floor to ceiling of one level of your miniatures. If your doll’s houses uses a 1 inch scale, the height should be between 8 and 12 inches. Heights between 4-6 inches indicate a half inch scale; heights between 2-3 inches indicate a quarter inch scale.

Unfinished Kits

If you want the same pleasures and choices from your furniture that you got by building your own dollhouse, you will want to consider unfinished furniture and miniatures. Unfinished furniture include pre-assembled items that you can decorate however you choose. Furniture kits are unassembled, but once you put them together they will appear as they do in the picture.

Outdoor

Your beautiful items will be even more fascinating when you put some furniture items around the outside areas. Items such as patio furniture and porch swings distinguish your dollhouse from typical ones, and show the pride in details you take. Plus, these items give you one more reason to admire the outside of your dollhouse as much as the inside

Benefits of Polished Garage Floors

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Ease of maintenance is the key reason many business owners and retail facilities are opting for polished garage floors. But, there are some more benefits to the polished garage concrete floor than just aesthetics and ease of maintenance. Not only are they easy to clean, they hold up well to heavy forklift and food traffic. When owners compare maintenance costs between concrete polishing and other alternatives they find that savings are enormous, easily replacing the cost of polished garaged floors installation, and turning in long term benefits. They also reduce the labor, time, and expense to apply them. The glossy and lightening surface resists the marks of forklift truck tires and staining from harsh chemicals.

Although keeping polished concrete shiny requires minimal effort and expense, certain substances may cause damage to your floor system if left to stand, so it is obligatory to clean up spills immediately. With basic cleaning, polished garage floors can be kept in luster for years. Fortunately, it is easy to restore the gleam with a touch-up. A soft broom or dust mop can do the work. If that doesn’t work, step up to water with a mild soap, then water with a stronger soap, then follow with a good rinsing.

Versatile to match with any style of Decor

Epoxy garage floor covering has the versatility to go with any style of decor. Looks can range from simple gray concrete with a sealer to a more complex colored base with multicolor flecks in it, offering a design similar to polished marble or granite. This system provides an excellent wear surface that can stand up under walking and driving on.

Enhance a plain Gray Concrete Garage Floor

This heavy-duty epoxy based systems not only beautify the look of the floor, they also hide minor imperfections and are resilient to stains. With many colors options to choose from, polished concrete floors give you an array of design options.

Option to choose various Designs

Polished Concrete floors offer many advantages. They are easy to maintain and most importantly, they can match any decor or style. Choosing the design for your garage floor covering can be as simple as matching the color of your house or as involved as hiding any imperfections or flaws in the existing floor.

High reflectivity of Polished Concrete

Compared to other alternatives, such as tile, carpet and hardwood flooring, a polished floor offers a different look and feel not yet observed in many residential and commercial facilities. The undeniable truth is that just about every garage could become something beautiful through the process of concrete polishing. It allows the client to choose the level of brightness, shine and reflection to accommodate their needs. The addition of coloring dyes and stain also offers the customer the possibility of making the floors more attractive along with the improvements in functionality.

The high reflectivity of polished concrete is an important benefit, especially for hotels and restaurants, malls, hospitals, office building, warehouses, car and motorcycle showrooms, retail outlets that want to project a bright, clean and professional image. This makes polished garage flooring a best choice for those who can’t afford marble or granite floors but want the same brilliant and mirror-like finish.

Teaching Your Children The Value Of Electrical Safety

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Technology has developed so very much in recent years with computers, cell phones in every purse and pocket and many types of electrical equipment in the home. With this many electrical devices, we often forget about the need for electrical safety, in our homes and especially the importance of training our kids how to use electrical products (such as video games) safely. Experts say that approximately 600 people are electrocuted every year because of accidents that happen in or near their homes. In addition, there are 1,100 deaths and approximately 16,300 people injured in more than 200,000 annual house fires that are due to various electrical causes.

Fires caused by electrical hazards such as faulty wiring among others are very serious causes of death and injury. There are many ways that we can learn how to protect ourselves and our children. There are many courses that are designed to provide electrical safety tips. In addition, there are also courses that are more in depth and provide training for those who may not be electricians, but work around electricity, maybe home remodeling or working with other electrical equipment in and around the home. Some of these courses are developed and sponsored by OSHA and teach the National Electrical Code provisions that one needs to know before installing or repairing electrical circuits. However, it is far better to be safe and pay a little bit more for an electrician, who knows the proper codes to do any rewiring that might be needed, rather than suffer the physical consequences of an electrical accident. The professional knows how to handle wiring or rewiring.

Our bodies carry a charge or a small current of energy, and when other sources of energy find our bodies to be an easier path to the ground it will pass through us, causing extreme damage and even death if the source is not removed quickly enough. This is why it is very important for us to handle sources of electricity with extreme care. So with this in mind the following tips are given:

Protecting Your Child:

1. Plug outlets that are not used very often with “Child Safety Plugs” that are available at most department stores.

2. Make sure that nothing is on the floor that a child might put into an outlet or other electrical appliance.

3. Keep all electrical devices away from places where children might be able to get to or pull at them.

In the tool shed:

1. Check that the proper tools are available for the job.

2. Make sure all circuits are grounded

3. Do not overload circuits by using too many cords in one outlet.

4. Keep all tools dry and as clean as possible. This provides proper protection from shock.

5. Maintain proper care of cords while in use (away from high temperatures, oil, gas, and other hazardous substances).

6. Follow all rules concerning handling and maintenance for all power tools and electrical equipment.

In case of Electrocution

1. Refrain from touching someone who has been shocked to check for signs of life.

2. Remove the source of power from the device if it is at all possible, if it isn’t try to get the
object away from the person using something made of wood or a piece of rope.

3. Call 911 at once.

Power outages in the home

1. Should there be a power outage in the home remain calm and check that a circuit breaker that may have been accidentally tripped or turned off.

2. Never place foreign objects in broken or worn out circuits.

3. Be sure to stand in a dry place when resetting fuses.

4. Should the power not turn on, contact an electrician as soon as possible.

Electrical safety should be foremost in our minds, when children are present, when we are, camping and especially when we are at home working with power tools or appliances of any kind. There are many things that we can do to prevent the thousands of deaths every year that occur because of either electrocution or fire due to poor wiring or other preventable situation