Home & Garden: East, West, Home's Best

Home is where the heart is


There are so many things that come to mind when I think of the word 'home'. First of all, it's that safe place... that sanctuary where you are at your comfiest. Yes, East, West, Home's Best.  But when it comes to maintaining your home, there are so many things to take care of, so many issues to resolve, so many damages that need repairing.  If you have a garden, your garden needs maintaining, or your lawn mowed and fence maintained.  Talk about the walls and you sigh, yes, the walls need painting too.  Taking care of your heart is hard work.  It isn't easy to run a home while ensuring that all your bases are covered.

The other day, when Oman was hit with the tornado, there was a heavy thunderstorm (November 02, 2011).  Water kept seeping in from under the window frames.  The bed rooms  where flooding with water  despite the windows being shut. I ran between rooms trying to mop up the water as fast as possible so that it wouldn't spread all over the place. It was quite a mess.  I love the rain... but this?  Nope.  The reason why the water kept seeping in was because the window ledges slant inwards and not outwards and the water was collecting at the base of the window and finally making its way in.  Now this is bad construction.  Oman is a desert country.  The buildings are not designed for the rain.  When we had the next tornado warning last week, I made sure I sealed the window bases so that water doesn't seep in.  Thankfully the rain did not hit our area, except for a bit of a drizzle.

There are quite a few writers that I admire for their Home & Garden opinions.  All of them are no strangers and are in fact very involved with what's happening around discussion boards and offering helpful advice related to Home and Garden.  Moreover, these writers are real good friends and very helpful, should you require helpful tips, suggestions and support with your work. 

MJ Logan

“I’ve had quite an interesting life and hopefully, the next thirty years will be as interesting as the first fifty.  As a boy, I wanted to be a farmer and I spent quite a bit of time on farms that belonged to friends, family and farmers who needed temporary help. I’ve milked a cow into a glass and drank it the way God made it. 

I’ve done a lot in my life; engineering, computer networking and coding software, real estate investment and I owned a remodeling company.  I have loved just everything I’ve done.  When I started writing back in the late eighties, I didn’t realize I’d found my passion and what a passion it is.  Today, I have over a thousand articles published on the internet under my pen name, and many more that were ghost written for other companies.  Other work has appeared in magazines and newspapers.  Of all the things I’ve written, I enjoy writing fiction the most, but so far my bread and butter comes mainly from Home & Garden articles on remodeling, design and building. 

One thing is certain, when your work is your passion, it is no longer work.”

MJ Logan is a writer with diversified writing calibre.  He manages a website under his pen name which is his main writing portfolio, linking much of his work that can be found on Helium, Demand Studio, and Bright Hub to name a few.  

Articles by MJ Logan that you may like:

Is it dangerous for a hot water heater pilot light to go out?

What is REO property Real Estate

Steps on installing kitchen cabinets

When is it safe to stain pressure-treated wood?

How electrical outlets work

  

MJ Logan's websites:

MJ Logan

21st Century Web

Latest eBook, short story published:  Snowed In

           

 

Mac Pike

Mac is an avid gardener and his writing portfolio on articles related to Home and Garden is impressive. I have had the pleasure of knowing Mac for quite awhile now, more especially after we joined forces to play Kingdoms of Camelot on Facebook as a team.  Chatting with him, I have come to understand his passion for gardening (especially growing vegetables), his knack for dealing with raccoon when they attack his corn, and his skill at being a handyman for practical home maintenance.   In Mac's own words, "Mac Pike lives in the northern, wooded section of New Jersey.  He hunts a little, fishes a bit and grows many vegetables.  He splits firewood and infinitives with equal enthusiasm, and is often on the throwing end of interminable games of fetch."  Mac is a good friend to me and I am proud to feature him today for his impressive contribution to the Home and Garden channel at Helium.   

Articles by Mac Pike that you may like:

Vegetable gardening: How to test soil pH

Basic tips for shoveling snow

What are corn earworms

How to grow rutabagas

A guide to growing award winning tomatoes

Is there a rat menace that you are having a difficulty dealing with?  Perhaps this article on How to get rid of rats will help you.  You will find helpful tips on rat traps, glue traps, and also  about the feeding habits of rats.  

It is probably time, or you might have already pulled out your sweater from storage.  If you are residing in places like Australia where it is summer now, this may also be applicable.  Either way, to use, or before storing, one thing is common - you might want to hand wash your sweater.  B. Leslie Baird gives a pretty neat description on How to hand wash a wool sweater. 

East, West; Home's definitely best.  Especially when it come to home grown  fruits and vegetables. Many gardeners choose the period of fall to plant their vegetables, so that they may harvest them during spring or summer.  In this article Fall vegetable planting guide, Susan Klatz Beal gives a handy list of spring or summer vegetables that can be planted in the fall.  Most definitely useful, as you will find not just vegetable names, but also tips on the type of planting method too.  

Setting up a home is fun as well as a pain.  When you think you know what colors you want to choose  or how you want your home interior decoration set up, out pops another suggestion from another source. Confusion and uncertainty are some of the terms that best describe what one goes through while setting up home.  However, this confusion can be minimized with tips from the article Choosing interior design color combinations by Alexandra Heep.  In this article, you will find that Alex stresses on important aspects such as themes, contrasts and lighting.  

Now this is something I do not hear often although this has pretty much been in use when I was a kid too.  This is how our fence used to be.  Of course, I never knew it by this term.  What am I talking about?  Read Organic fences as an option for your garden by Glory Lennon.  You'll have to agree it's a nice way for you to go green, and not have to invest in too much raw material.   How much more healthier and economical can it get than that? 

Home is definitely where your heart is. There might come a time when you decide to plant roots and build your home.  Consult Jim Bessey for advice. He will tell you all that you need to know about tips for building your own home.   There are important points that you should not overlook such as planning, blueprints, etc...  but he's got it all covered in this article so that you may be able to go ahead with your project with ease. 

With the cold weather set in and the water in the pipes freezing, that time of year comes around when you have to turn the hot water system on.  For some, heaters are already in place, while for others a fresh one might have to be bought.  Should you choose to buy a new water heater, you should know the different types of water heaters that are available.  Fortunately Evelyn Berger has taken care of this and gives a brief description about the types of water heaters for different settings. 

Many are already in their Thanksgiving mood, and before you say Jack, Christmas will be upon us.  With all the decorations, festivities, parties and visiting, casualties and damages can happen if one is not careful during this season.  Conny Manero gives a brief outline of suggested indicators that can prove disastrous, and also advises on how one may prevent hazards with Christmas trees and decorations. It is helpful to be aware of these hazards. 

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Here are some of my contributions to the Home and Garden channel at Helium

How to clean hair on the bathroom floor

How to create a romantic bedroom setting

Equipment needed to start a landscaping business

How to make money from your vegetable garden

Tips on identifying lawn diseases

How to install a curved shower rod

How to start a cleaning business

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Credit for images: Google images

Home

Rat

Sweater

Fall garden

Interior design colors

Organic fence

Build home

Water heater

Christmas tree

Make money from garden

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