Thursday, October 6, 2016

If I Can't Grow It, Buy It

Last weekend was my weekend to relax, only it didn't happen, at least, not a lot.  On Friday, I took my mother a new flat screen TV to use as a monitor for her Chromebit computer.  The monitor that I had purchased was big but we had two issues, there is no audio jack in a Chromebit which meant I had to buy a Bluetooth speaker.  The sound quality was terrible and the charge cord broke.  I thought about buying a better Bluetooth speaker but then realized that I should have purchased a TV (build in speakers) in the first place.  Originally, I paid $100 for the HDMI monitor and $20 for the Bluetooth speaker.  The flat screen TV cost $125.  The sound is great!  No more fussing with charging or Bluetooth connectivity.  Secondly, the video buffering made watching any video impossible.  I don't know if the TV fixed this problem because it doesn't seem like it should make a difference, all I know is that the TV has no problem playing videos.  Problem solved.  I now have an extra HDMI monitor and I am hoping that my nephew can use it for the gaming computer he wants to buy.

On Saturday, I spent the morning killing weeds with a shovel.  I knew I was over-doing it but the weather was nice and I wanted them dead.  After that, I went out to fix a plumbing leak for the tenant at the mobile home.  I got it all fixed but in retrospect, I should have used a larger diameter pipe for the faucet section.  No leaks though.  


I arranged for the neighbor to bring over 300 more gallons of water.  The tenant should be able to contact the neighbor when he needs water now.  I think we have a reliable system in place.  The tenant had been cleaning and rearranging the back storage room.  While this is a good thing, I had to calm my inner-control freak since nothing was where I had put it.  All that organization from last year was gone.  I moved almost all of my stuff out to the barn-shed in a big un-organized pile and I will deal with it when I have some free time.  At least the barn-shed is vermin-free, so far. 

On Sunday, I was really sore from the weeding and moving boxes.  I had another $10 off $100 coupon and a $100 gift certificate to Home Depot.  My plan was to buy 22 bags of mulch to keep the weeds at bay.  First, I stopped at the carpet aisle to see if I could find an inexpensive piece to put in the dog area.  They love to roll around on carpet and it is easy to sweep off plus it blocks the weeds.  I found a small piece for $20 but then I saw it.  A 6' x 12' piece of premium fake grass.  I have been wanting some fake grass for a long time but the cost was too high.  This was on clearance for $104.  If it is durable, I can take it with me when I move.  I dragged it to the cash register because I didn't have a cart and happily paid for my new doggy grass carpet.  After putting it in the truck, I went back and got 4 bags of mulch for the other areas.  I think I need at least 6 more bags of mulch.  That will have to wait for another trip to Home Depot.

Back at home, I unrolled the grass and the dogs came over to investigate.  Much sniffing and rolling commenced. 


 I can actually sit down with them in the yard now.  Jimmy-dog even hobbled over and sat on me while I petted him.  They say that fake grass gets too hot to walk on in the summer.  We shall see.  We have many months to enjoy it before summer comes again.  


Plus, I could just roll it up and store it in the shed June through August.  Sometimes I buy things and they don't work out, but this time, I am very pleased with my purchase.  Time for some picnics with the dogs!

10 comments:

Lizzie@her MFW Homeworld said...

Aww, happy garden dogs :)

Dave said...

Looks like one of those artificial putting green mats. You taking up a new hobby when the dogs are laying on it?

Anonymous said...

Report back on that grass in a year or so. I am interested in buying some of that for one section of my front yard, for (1) weed control and 2) just to dress the place up a bit. I have a really large front yard.

And how exactly do you kill weeds with a shovel. I am picturing you pounding them down with the shovel, LOL. I hope you are digging them out.

Dave said...

Ack, I meant to write, "....when the dogs are NOT laying on it?"

Done By Forty said...

Good solutions with the TV monitor & the roll out grass. Pretty handy here in AZ where, let's face it, we shouldn't be growing that much grass.

I hear you on the control freak aspect of things. I can barely watch my wife cook without charging into the kitchen and taking over. It's an issue.

Daizy said...

Now they have a dog pool and a grassy spot to sun bathe. So spoiled.

Daizy said...

It would be even more interesting if the dogs were on it. Sort of like putt-putt golf with living hazards. I might not get my balls back though.

Daizy said...

Funny thing is, both my nephew and I have golf clubs. We certainly could form our own country club.

Daizy said...

Haha, yes, I dig and scrape them with the shovel. I am targeting the grass clumps mainly.

I will definitely report on how the grass holds up. I have so far been very happy with how flat it lies and how the dog hair doesn't stick.

Daizy said...

The Bermuda grass is relentless but only where I don't want it to grow. I haven't mowed a lawn since my college days. We had quite the yard growing up in SoCal. I never dreamed I would live anywhere with 'decorative rock' instead of grass. When I sat on my fake grass, my childhood memories of playing in the backyard came back to me. How strange. So far, the dogs respect the grass as a place where we sit and not where they pee.