Installing Beadboard Wallpaper

If you've been reading my blog since 2009, then you've no doubt seen my love for beadboard wallpaper and all that it adds to plain homes by injecting some architectural detail where there was none. I discovered Graham Brown beadboard wallpaper back in 2009 and have done many projects in my current and former homes with it. It really is a great cost-saving way to add some cool wall treatments without breaking the bank and without a lot of trouble to install.

I loved it so much, I started selling it in my online shop, so check it out if you're interested.

The post Installing Beadboard Wallpaper appeared first on Southern Hospitality.

Burrowing Crawfish Problems: Getting Rid of Crayfish In The Garden

By Bonnie L. Grant Crawfish are a seasonal problem in some regions. They tend to make burrows in lawns during the rainy season, which can be unsightly and can have the potential to damage mowing equipment. The crustaceans aren't dangerous and don't hurt any other part of the lawn but often their burrows are cause enough to want them gone. Getting rid of crawfish is not that easy and really should start with re-sculpting your yard. Try these tips for removing crayfish in the garden. Crayfish Mounds in Lawns Burrowing crayfish problems are primarily a nuisance and an eye sore. These crustaceans feed on detritus and whatever they can scavenge. They don't do any harm to landscape plants and their burrows don't permanently damage turfgrass roots. About the biggest complaint are crayfish mounds in the lawn. These don't get as numerous as say, mole hills, but they can be unsightly

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'epic tomatoes,' with craig lehoullier

BY TRAINING, Craig LeHoullier is a chemist, but these days his lab is a little different from what you might [read more…]

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Pine Tree Pruning: How And When To Prune Pine Trees

By Jackie Carroll We treasure pine trees because they remain green throughout the year, breaking the winter monotony. They seldom need pruning except to correct damage and control growth. Find out when and how to prune a pine tree in this article. When to Prune a Pine Tree Pines are among the easiest trees to maintain because they have a naturally neat shape that seldom needs correction. About the only time you'll find yourself pruning pine trees is to correct damage from severe weather or vandalism. There's also a pruning technique you might want to try if you'd like to encourage a compact growth habit. The best time for pruning pine trees is in spring, but you can prune to correct damage any time of year. Although it's best to take care of broken and mangled branches right away, you should avoid pruning in late summer or fall whenever possible.

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Pear Decline Phytoplasma: Treating Pear Decline Disease In The Garden

By Teo Spengler What is pear decline? As the name indicates, it is not a happy diagnosis. This disease causes susceptible pear tree species to decline in health and die. Since there is no effective pear decline treatment, your best bet is to purchase resistant plants in the first place. For information about symptoms of pear decline disease, read on. What is Pear Decline Disease? Pear decline is a serious, often lethal pear tree disease caused by a phytoplasma called Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri. It is a mycoplasma-like organism without rigid cell walls. A tree is infected with this pear decline phytoplasma by insects called pear psylla. The pear psylla itself gets infected with pear decline phytoplasma from eating the foliage of infected pear trees. Once infected, a psylla stays infected and can transmit the disease to other host trees. It is also possible for a pear tree to get pear

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Stock Your Bunker: Common Necessities You May Have Overlooked

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

What you do now before an emergency happens to stock your bunker or even your home could help you survive.

The post Stock Your Bunker: Common Necessities You May Have Overlooked appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

What Is Dischidia: Tips On Growing Dischidia Plants

By Bonnie L. Grant What is Dischidia? Dischidia are epiphytic rainforest plants native to Southeast Asia and can be hardy in United States Department of Agriculture zones 10 and 11, or grown as a houseplant anywhere. These plants are also called ant plants because of a unique symbiotic relationship with ants. Dischidia ant plants are a fascinating species with a host of interesting features. Read on to learn more. What is Dischidia? It isn't correct to call Dischidia a carnivorous plant, but in a sense they do attract ants and eat the dead ones – lending to its commonly referenced name of ant plant. Ants live inside the strange balloon-like organs produced by the plant. They bring in nutrients and fend off predatory insects. In return, the plant provides a secure home. This is a fun and unique plant to grow in your home (without the ants). Dischidia plant care

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Can Ligularia Be Divided – Learn How To Split Ligularia Plants

By Darcy Larum, Landscape Designer Like me, you may find yourself constantly on the lookout for shade plants other than hostas and coral bells. If you are lucky enough to have discovered the large and beautiful specimen plant, ligularia, odds are you're hooked and want more. Growing three to six feet tall and three feet wide, the large purple tinged foliage topped with bright yellow flowers of ligularia have a dramatic effect in a part-shade or shade garden. One is simply not enough. If you've wondered can ligularia be divided, continue reading. Propagating Ligularia by Splitting Dividing perennials can rejuvenate them and stimulate new growth. Sometimes perennials will let you know when they need to be divided by not blooming well or when the center of the plant dies, leaving only a sort of donut shape of growth around the original plant crown. The plant overcrowds itself, and absorption of

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Trash Cans – Overlooked Survival Tool for Preppers?

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

You may already have a mental running list of items like duct tape, canned food, and cooking oil, but there is one item you may not have included among your prepper tools: the trash can.

The post Trash Cans – Overlooked Survival Tool for Preppers? appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Feature Friday: Edith and Evelyn Vintage

I began seeing this fairly new blogger around in the last year or so and finally checked out her blog and am getting to know her a little better. This pretty lady has had an online shop for a few years now, but really started blogging to share her 1970's house renovation and wow, is it a stunner. If you like French Country style, you will love Edith and Evelyn Vintage. Cindy is the blogger and she named the blog after her late mother and mother-in-law, Edith and Evelyn. I think you're going to enjoy this renovation story! I love to see a down trodden, good bones home come alive with new owners and Cindy and her hubby have definitely loved on this home, making it their own.

The post Feature Friday: Edith and Evelyn Vintage appeared first on Southern Hospitality.

Grid Down Intelligence Gathering: Prepper Force Multiplier

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

If we want security in an SHTF scenario, then we need to know more about the threats. What we need is real-time intelligence gathering.

The post Grid Down Intelligence Gathering: Prepper Force Multiplier appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Cyclamen Dormant Period – Is My Cyclamen Dormant Or Dead

By Jackie Carroll Cyclamen make lovely houseplants during their bloom season. Once the blossoms fade the plant enters a period of dormancy, and they can look as though they are dead. Let's find out about cyclamen dormancy care and what to expect when your plant begins to fade. Is My Cyclamen Dormant or Dead? During the cyclamen dormant period, the plant may seem to be dead. First, the blossoms shrivel and drop off, and then the leaves yellow and fall. This is a normal part of a cyclamen's life cycle, and you shouldn't be alarmed. There are two things you can check to make sure your plant is still alive. First, look at the calendar. When it's time for the plant to go dormant, nothing can stop the decline. If you still have doubts, you can push some of the soil aside and check the corm. It should be plump

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Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta

I don't always share a ton of new recipes on my blog, but sometimes I'll see something online that grabs my attention and this was one of them. It's a winner! I made it for Mark and we both loved it and ate like pigs that night. He said it was as good as any pasta dish he's had at a restaurant and I'd have to agree. And it's a one dish pasta dish that's easy too. Takes no time to put together!

I saw this on Facebook and it's from Buzzfeed. They grab you with those short videos that make you say, wow....I can do that, it looks easy and fast! This one really is easy and fast. Anything with shrimp and pasta, I love!

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Elm Phloem Necrosis – Methods Of Elm Yellows Treatment

By Teo Spengler Elm yellows is a disease that attacks and kills native elms. Elm yellows disease in plants results from Candidatus Phyloplaasma ulmi, a bacteria without walls that is called a phyoplasma. The disease is systemic and lethal. Read on for information about the symptoms of elm yellow disease and whether there is any effective elm yellows treatment. Elm Yellows Disease in Plants The hosts of elm yellows phytoplasma in the United States are limited to elm trees (Ulmus spp.) and the insects that transport the bacteria. White-banded elm leafhoppers transport the disease, but other insects that feed on the inner elm bark – called phloem – may also play a similar role. Native elms in this country have not developed a resistance to the elm yellows phytoplasma. It threatens elm species in the eastern half of the United States, often killing trees within two years after the initial

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Beating The Heat Old-School Southern Summer Style

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

There are a ton of ways we can help cool our bodies and little changes to activity and habits that can lower the heat in our homes, too, but for this article, I'm going to concentrate on the dwelling space itself.

The post Beating The Heat Old-School Southern Summer Style appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

What Is A Root Zone: Information On The Root Zone Of Plants

By Darcy Larum, Landscape Designer Gardeners and landscapers often refer to the root zone of plants. When purchasing plants, you've probably been told to water the root zone well. Many systemic disease and insect control products also suggest applying the product to the plant's root zone. So what is a root zone, exactly? Read more to learn what the root zone of plants is, and the importance of watering the root zone. What is a Root Zone? Simply put, the root zone of plants is the area of soil and oxygen surrounding the roots of a plant. Roots are the starting point of a plants vascular system. Water and nutrients are pulled up from the oxygenated soil around the roots, called the root zone, and pumped in to all the aerial parts of the plant. A proper and healthy plant root zone is spread out past the drip line of

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Homeschooling Resources For Teaching Technology

If you've paid any sort of attention to the landscape of education in the last five years, you know that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) subjects are very “in” right now. There's been a huge push to teach children how to code, Lego Robotics teams are all the rage in schools and at home, and then there's the perennial frenzy over whether American kids' math test scores are high enough. Many traditional schools are making a real effort to get kids into the 21st century by issuing laptops, iPads, and other devices.

Obviously the easiest way to teach your 2nd grader electrical engineering, short of enrolling him at MIT at the tender age of six, is to make sure one of his parents is also an electrical engineer. If, for some reason, you have failed to provide your child an engineer parent, do not despair! Whether you're a homeschooling parent or just want to keep your kids from forgetting everything over the summer, tons of easily accessible STEM resources are available.

Coding

Computer programming is everywhere in our lives, even if we don't often recognize it for what it is. Most animated movies these days are someone's calculations just as much as they are art. Think of the scores of apps on your smartphone, or even the technology that allows you to read this article right now. Most people who are adults today never heard much about coding until high school or college, but there are lots of opportunities for children to learn how to code when they are young.

• From MIT, we have Scratch, a free online coding instruction program. By dragging and dropping commands, you can create your own animations, stories, and games. Scratch is set up like an open source community that allows users to share their projects and the source code behind them.


• Code.org  has a game based on the Disney movie Frozen that teaches coding via a series of puzzles to make snowflake designs. Also uses a drag-and-drop interface. Code.org also has a coding game that has an Angry Birds theme.


• Khan Academy's coding instruction program is less like a game and more like actual instruction. Like Scratch, Khan Academy is also set up like a community. This one would be more effective for older students (as in, not 8-year-olds).

Math

A solid foundation in mathematics is essential for someone wanting to enter the technology field. Lawmakers are forever lamenting America's low math scores. Electrical engineering requires a solid basis in multivariable calculus and differential equations. This is a problem in a society where math is automatically labeled “hard,” whether it is or not, and kids who like math are sometimes teased. Kids need to be comfortable with math when they're young if they are to get into it when they're older, and something as basic as a math puzzle book can help. Here are some ways to make math fun (or, at the very least, slightly more interesting):

• Math Facts Games. The curator of the Easy Peasy All-in-one online curriculum has assembled a list of free online math games for practicing basic math facts


• Number Munchers. Kids of my generation probably remember playing endless rounds of Number Munchers during computer class in elementary school. Happily, Number Munchers is now classified as abandonware, which makes it freely available to the public at no cost. You can play it in your internet browser at archive.org, or if you are more technologically inclined, you can download it and play it via a DOS emulator.


• Calculus by and for Young People. Don Cohen was a mathematician who ran a math clinic for children, wherein he introduced topics such as infinite series, fractals, and the Fibbonacci sequence. Materials related to this clinic were made free and open to the internet upon his death in 2015. Calculus by and for Young People includes a series of videos (via YouTube), a workbook, and a textbook, both pdfs. If you prefer the actual workbook, it can be purchased here for a little over $10.


• Vi Hart. You may have already run into those “doodling in math class” videos. Those are the work of Vi Hart, who is an expert in explaining interesting calculus concepts with colored sharpies and a spiral notebook. After watching a couple of her videos, you, too, will want nothing more than to go out and count the spirals on pinecones.


• Math Blaster. Another math drill game. It requires registration, but is free. Also available as a mobile app.


• Khan Academy again. While Khan Academy also offers lectures, etc, on a variety of other topics, most of the site is devoted to mathematics. The early math and basic arithmetic section are enjoyable enough that my four-year-old likes to dabble in it from time to time. There is plenty for older students, as well, with courses in algebra, geometry, and calculus. Khan Academy differs from the others because it offers full courses – if you can pass every question and meet the challenges, you can feel confident that you've actually mastered the subject. It uses a self-directed learning approach that lets you choose which topics you'd like to cover, so you can save harder questions for later or skip easier ones.

Engineering

• Hacker YouTube Channels. There are many of these. You'll know them when you see them. There are about a million and one online tutorials about how use a lemon to light things on fire or a vaccuum cleaner out of a plastic bottle. Most of these projects only require basic items usually found around the house, in addition to wires and nine volt batteries.


• TeachEngineering.org. This is a teacher's dream. Oodles of free lesson plans for all grades in a variety of subjects related to science.

Non-Internet Resources

Old Textbooks

Yes, old college textbooks. I use them for my elementary school-age kids. If you know where to look, these are easily sourced for cheap, and have lots of pictures. I live in a college town, so our local thrift store is full of textbooks that the university bookstore wouldn't buy back. Last year I found a 1000+ page biology book with the glossy pages and fancy illustrations and it only set me back $4. If it's good enough for Biology 101, it's good enough for me. In my experience, it's a lot easier as a teacher to dumb down a text than it is to try and give more detail when it's not printed in the book, so it's easy to work a level you and your child are comfortable with. For my first grader, looking at the pictures and reading the captions is more than satisfactory at this point.

Check Your Local University

The university in my town has a lot of programs open to the public that are specifically to encourage children's interest in STEM fields. Our local university had an engineering expo for middle and high school students this last spring. Many local schools brought their students on field trips, but as it was open to the public I went along with my elementary-aged kids and we had a fabulous time. The physics department also hosts a big astronomy day for the community every May, with activities for all ages. The scope of university-sponsored family activities varies considerably from one establishment to another, so you'll just have to ask around or check out the university's website.

Visit Your Local Library

Libraries aren't just for checking out books, any more! Some libraries have summer or after school programs for Lego Robotics or computer programming. The children's nonfiction section is full of possibilities in itself.

This is not anywhere close to an exhaustive list. If you've found something that you find useful for teaching STEM subjects, let us know in the comments!

Care Of Button Mushrooms: Learn About Growing White Button Mushrooms

By Liz Baessler Growing mushrooms is a little talked about side of gardening. While it may not be as conventional as tomatoes or squash, mushroom growing is surprisingly easy, versatile, and very useful. Growing white button mushrooms is a good place to start, since they're both tasty and easy to maintain. Keep reading to learn more about how to grow white button mushrooms and some white button mushroom information. Growing White Button Mushrooms Growing white button mushrooms doesn't require sunlight, which is especially nice for the indoor gardener whose windows are full up with plants. They can also be grown at any time of year, with winter actually preferable, making for a great gardening opportunity when everything outside is cold and bleak. Growing white button mushrooms takes spores, tiny microscopic things that will grow into mushrooms. You can buy mushroom growing kits made up of organic material inoculated with these

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Fashion over 50: Linen, Lace, and Bling!

It's a Holiday week and things are moving little slow around here. Plus, it's hot, hot, hot in Atlanta right now. We are needing some rain and the heat is making it very miserable outside, so I'm trying to stay cool and comfy in my clothing choices too.

Today, I've got an outfit I wore to church last weekend. It's all black, which I like, and it's a mix of linen and lace.

The post Fashion over 50: Linen, Lace, and Bling! appeared first on Southern Hospitality.

What Is Willow Scab Disease – Learn How To Treat Willow Scab Disease

By Teo Spengler Willow scab disease attacks different types of willow species in Europe and the United States. It can attack weeping willows but is not one of the more common weeping willow diseases. Willow scab is caused by the fungus Venturia salciperda. Scab on willow trees usually doesn't cause serious harm unless the black canker fungus (Glomerella miyabeanais) is also present. Read on to learn about how to recognize and how to treat willow scab. Scab on Willow Trees Willow scab is a fungal disease that causes leaf symptoms, followed by brown spore masses at the base of leaves. The symptoms of scab on willow start with dark spots on the leaves. These can be brown or black, and cause the leaves to wilt, shrivel up and die. In time, as the willow scab disease progresses, the fungus spreads to the stem tissue at the bases of leave petioles.

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