Keeping ants out of the screen porch

For years, the screen porch was used as a catch all and greenhouse for plants. I am starting to design a morroccan style room for the porch area to make it an extension of a small kitchen. The first step is to make the room ant and insect proof so I caulked the open cracks along the floor and the walls connected to the metal frame for the screen room with silicone caulking. On the screen door, I placed a self stick draft guard to keep drafts and small insects out. Every two weeks, I spray ortho pest control spray to get rid of ants. The room is now insect proof because the screen was repaired too. Morroccan room is on going project and this is the first step before painting. This is an ongoing project that will will take many blog entries.

Donate and recycle to keep out of landfills

"One man's trash is another person's treasure", if you have items that are no longer being used consider donating to charity or recycling items. 

Here are some places that accept donations and recyclables; even swap or trade them. Electronics, cell phones and old PC computers should have personal information erased from hard drive before recycling them to companies that take these such as Dell, Apple, and some retailers like Staples, Best Buy, and Radio Shack. Some charities like Goodwill and Collective good take cellphones, pdas and mp3 players. Sports equipment donate to schools, youth programs, salvation army, and goodwill or trade it in for new year. Recycle cds, dvds, video games at Best Buy. Greendisc is a company that recycles cd cases. Swap music with a company named Swap Tree; these companies can be found online.

Donate old toys at nearby hospitals, daycare centers, and charity shops. There are companies that trade used childrens clothing such as Tots swap store, swap baby goods, and Hand me downs. Books can be donated at libraries, schools, or sold online on half.com, amazon and eBay.com.

Shop Local in Ocala save Jobs

This economy has created high unemployment rates around the US and hit Ocala just as hard, with an average unemployment rate of 10%. A year ago it was 12%, so it's improving but not at the rate that it should be. 

Ocala has many small town qualities but offers urban amenities with great shopping, good restaurants, nice hotels and family friendly park attractions.  Ocala is the seasonal home of Celebrity John Travolta.  This is a beautiful picturesque town with lots of land between homes, unless it's 55+ community.  There are many affordable HOA community developments in and around Ocala such as Oak Run, Pine Run and Top of the World.  Ocala is twenty minutes from the Villages; it's about 2 hours away from Orlando and about 90 minutes from Tampa. 

In my opinion, as a resident of Ocala, the city has so much to offer, but has not really promoted itself to other states in the US and outside the country.  I am not a business consultant, but as a resident living along the HWY 200 corridor. I have seen many businesses come and go within months of opening.  There are many vacant storefronts in the Steeplechase Plaza and in the Friendship Center store sites. These properties have been vacant over two years. 

In my opinion I think that the local residents should develop ideas and send them to their local city boards or the Chamber of Commerce.  I have a few ideas on how jobs could be created in this area by the hotels in the Ocala area creating and offering eco-tourism packages and historic district tours that include shopping, transportation from large area airports, and local attractions in Ocala area.   This could help local economy greatly by getting more tourists to visit Ocala and other Marion county towns. 

Small local businesses in Ocala should have a web presence online to generate sales outside of Ocala.  There are many hosting websites that offer free and inexpensive websites for small businesses such as www.webs.com, and www.ecrater.com.
Start a blog to write about your products and news about your local business on www.blogspot.com or www.wordpress.com .


Social media is a great way to get free promotional advertising by tweeting latest deals. 

Ocala has a large senior community and is a great market for businesses that offer services and products for seniors.    

Keep jobs in Ocala by shopping at your small local business.
Walmart offers many items at one store location.  Small local businesses offer more inventory of a specific item or may offer customer service features.

Small business owners that are located near Walmart will find it difficult to get customers when the product that they sell is priced much lower at the superstore.  Mom and pop shops have to offer low priced products along with excellent customer service to compete with Walmart. 

Niagara Falls Boat Ride Canada Trip

These are more photos taken during Canadian Niagara Falls trip I took with my sister.  



It was fun and if ever in the New york State area, should visit the falls.

Save energy in the summer

In the summer, its easy to save energy by air drying washed clothing, using the propane grill and turning off the water heater a few days during the months. The summer weather brings warmer water during this climate. Using this method, my water bill is reduced by 80.00 a month. It is important to clean the air conditioner inside coils once a year. Changing the air filters on the airconditioner once a month really does make a difference in that utility bill. Caulking all of the windows once a year with silicone caulking to seal any drafts and keep insects out .

 These tips actually work and it is noticeable on the very next utility bill, the first time I tried all of these methods at once, my electric bill went from 275.00 to 112.00. Now on average my bill is about 125.00 and the highest was 135.00 a few months ago. When I turn off the water heater for a few days during the month, it drops to 118.00 on average. Energy conservation helps the environment and your pocket book .

Catalog Flower Photos used on cardboard boxes

I made a collage from seed plant company catalogs sent to homes from companies that sell flowers and seeds such as Burpee. Instead of throwing them out, cut out flower photos the size of the surface area of box being covered. I took a shoe box and glued all sides of the box with photos. I used the shoe box cover to reinforce the bottom of the box to make it stronger. 

I have had this box for three years for storing craft items and photos. Instead, of purchasing expensive plastic or canvas stroage bin boxes, this could be done with different sizes of boxes and different coverings; such as wallpaper and giftpaper. Small USPS boxes are great ideas to create closet and craft storage.

Old San Juan folklore and photos

Mountainside of Arecibo PR

Side of road at El Yunque rain forest at Rio Grande, PR

Town square of San Juan Puerto Rico

Entrance of San Cristobal Fortress in San Juan PR

Old Church in town square

the side of el Morro in San Juan

aero view of el Morro in San Juan

The capitol in San Juan

Old San Juan folklore and photos

These are photos of a trip I took to San Juan a few years ago. I went with a neighbor to San Juan and El Morro fort. I was told this story about a legend about a giant rock formation that is across the bridge of the two brothers or "Puente de los dos Hermanos". This bridge connects old San Juan to Isla Verde Condado. The legend goes that during the 16th century there was a captain of a Spanish galleon who was returning home to San Juan, it was a stormy evening and the galleon struck a rock coming into the port of Puerto Rico. The captain's dog saw the galleon sinking from the coast and swam into the ocean looking for his owner, the captain. The captain of the galleon and his dog both drowned off the coast of Puerto Rico, the legend says that from the middle point of the bridge there is a rock formation shaped like a dog's profile across the bridge; at night along the bridge people can hear the sound of a dog howling looking for his owner.
Some of the photos were taken years ago, but I have some vintage postcards from Puerto Rico uploaded too.

 

My garden Part III Eggplants

From my garden Part III Eggplants

My vegetables are growing at slower pace and not as large as before so I may have to add more seeds to my tomato plants. Some of my plants have been getting insects since I stopped using the sprinkler system and started to hand water. I think I am going to go back to the sprinklers, it help keep pests out of the garden. Here are photos of vegetables from my garden; cucumbers, tomatoes, tomato plant, peppers and cilantro seeds.

Vintage Vavoom I love this book

Vintage Vavoom I love this book

 

I have had this book for about 4 years and I never get tired of going back to it for ideas on organization and home decoration with vintage salvaged upcycled items used in a creative method.

How to create displays with your collections and reuse vintage items for new purposes. At end of book, it has a list of resources, such as antiques and flea markets online. This book has tips on how to search flea markets and find those treasures.

This book has beautiful photography and its stunning how collections are placed in this book. This book was published in 2007.