Reusing

Keep Oklahoma Beautiful

March 1st, 2010

We do that by finding uses for things that might otherwise end up in the landfill.

The Keep Oklahoma Beautiful people do it one better!

Their first in a series of FREE Regional Workshop Training sessions are designed for Oklahomans interested in expanding a community improvement organization, starting a new organization, or for exploring the idea of starting a group to beautify and enrich the quality of community life.

These workshops will give you ideas, tips, tools and inspiration to help you improve the aesthetic, sustainable and environmental quality of life in your community. You will also have an opportunity to become part of the growing network of Keep Oklahoma Beautiful affiliates across the state and meet others who have similar goals and experiences.

The Workshops start at 10:00am - include a free lunch - and should adjourn by 3:00pm

KOB staff will walk attendees through a live demonstration of the online resource, local organization members will explain the real-life benefits of using the Guide and there will be plenty of time for Q&A and networking.

SELECT A LOCATION
March 31 - ARDMORE - Ardmore Convention Center 

April 1 - BROKEN ARROW - Battle Creek Golf Club 

April 7 - PONCA CITY - Marland Mansion

 April 8 - ALVA - Northwestern OK University

 April 14 - WEATHERFORD - Southwestern OK University

 April 15 - LAWTON - Old Towne Hall 

April 22 - McALESTER - Holiday Inn Express 

April 23 - OKLA CITY - Francis Tuttle Technology Center

YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER TO ATTEND.
Click here

Tags: keep oklahoma beautiful
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As Long As I’m At It

March 1st, 2010

As long as I was at it, I told her to look for

old crocks (even busted)
milk cans
wooden boxes
metal boxes

….. and the like

Her look just became more and more dismayed.

Oooookaaaay is all she said.

I told her these things make great accessories or PLANTERS…..

Tags: old farm stuff
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Drawers into Bookcases?

March 1st, 2010

I’ve a friend cleaning out a family barn.

I got excited!

I told her to watch for a set of old wooden drawers for me.

She looked bewildered.

I want to mount a couple of deep old worn dresser drawers on the wall in my kitchen and house cookbooks on them!

I just need to find them…

She said she’d keep an eye out for me. I wonder if she’s serious or she thinks I’m insane…

Tags: reuse drawers
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Lookin’ to Buy? Local Dealer Sites Yuck.

March 1st, 2010

When you look for a used car locally the best you can do is to visit the big city car dealer’s websites and look thru their inventory.

I don’t like those sites. They are ALL the same!

Can’t find anything - they don’t take the customer into consideration and I doubt if everything on the lot is even there.

They could learn a thing or two about a used cars website by looking at the way they do it in Europe. You can find anything they have, from used volkswagen cars to a used bmw car even used ford cars overseas. N

Thats the way to do it - but - they didn’t ask me…

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Glass Tile Backsplash

February 23rd, 2010

Anyone who has been following me for any length of time knows that I had my kitchen cabinets refaced this past year.

What happens when you remodel one thing in a kitchen?

YES!

It makes you want to do more!

In my last house the tile behind the counter in the kitchen was picked by my then husband and his father. I ‘think’ they picked it based on price alone. WHY would they choose a kitchen tile for a lady? I lived with that tile for so long that when I got this place, I revolted and said NO to a tile backsplash.

Because of that I’ve lived with a plain old wall behind my stove, and the sink and.. … …

Lately I’ve been eyeing what different people have done in their kitchens and I’ve decided that on my ‘honey do ‘ list it’s time to add a backsplash to that L O N G list!

I’ve looked around and while there are plenty of choices I’ve found that I’m extremely impressed with the glass tile at Glass Tile Trend. And you know me, they even have a clearance section! GOT to look there.

Overall the prices are great. Vast selection that you can’t find at your local box store. They’ve fast service, and get this, FREE SHIPPING! for orders over $199)

I love free shipping! Especially for heavy items!

Now, if I can just make up my mind, which one to choose?

Wonder if the delivery guy will carry it into the house?

Tags: glass tile
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Grapes of Wrath Today

February 19th, 2010

What a different story would John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath be today?

Envision Oklahoma destroyed by drought and sandstorms, nothing but a virtual dust bowl, you load your last few prized possessions into the back of an old battered pickup truck and start journeying westward to California along famed Route 66. The long road is filled with other impoverished Oklahoma migrant families now also making their way westward to the promise of a new life.

People die along the way from hunger, family members become lost and separated but the road beckons on. Makeshift camps along the way are filled with the downtrodden, the hungry, the lonely, and the desperate.

Food is hard to come by. and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.

What a different story that could be today. Today you wouldn’t have to load up the wagon and head to Beverly, you can just look up Los Angeles Moving Companies place a call and those Movers Los Angeles will do the hard work for you. They load, they deliver, they unpack, you just arrive at your new destination, refreshed and ready to start your new life in the land of unlimited opportunity.

dusty-road

Visit: Moving Companies Los Angeles for more info!

Tags: grapes of wrath, oklahoma dust bowl
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Up

February 18th, 2010

We watched the movie UP recently. In one scene the elderly gentleman, Carl (played by Ed Asner) rode down the staircase on a stair lift. You hardly see stair lifts in homes anymore, and I don’t know why.

Anytime you have an elderly person living in a home with more than one storey you have more instances where they might trip, or fall down the stairs. Eee-gads. That would be awful!

It’s not just ‘down’ the stairs either. Lots of folks have ankle, knee or hip issues where climbing stairs is just downright painful. Many of those people have moved their bedroom into a downstairs room instead of having to deal with their stairs.

Anyone with additional levels in their home, and with mobility issues, or an elder in the house, should consider adding a home Stair Lift to their staircase.

In instances where the stairs have levels or hairpin turns, or heaven forbid, spirals, you could consider the addition of a home elevator instead.

Many times a home elevator can be added in just the space of a decent sized closet, or even take the place of a closet you already have. Stairways might use as much as a hundred square feet of floor space, where an elevator can fit into a space as small as 24 square feet.

Today’s home elevators have come a long way from what you probably are picturing in your mind. They are quieter, have very low maintenance and are becoming more and more as a requested addition to new home construction, especially among the rapidly aging baby boomers.

They’re customizable, and not as expensive as you might think, plus a home elevator can add up to 10% to the value of your home. Not a bad investment for a device that can come in so handy!

Tags: in home elevator, stair lift
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Sewing Table?

February 10th, 2010

You know, when I got new cabinet doors last year, I saved the old ones. Well, the ones that were solid wood anyhow. I don’t know why. It’s the frugal in me!

They’re stacked up in the garage.

I’ve a new project coming up, a sewing project, (A prom dress)(FROM SCRATCH - that project will probably become many posts - I’m making it from a drawing!) and I noticed that the table that my little machine sits on is warped.

I’ve been looking for a new one, or something that will work as a sewing table.

I bought that table, as a desk, probably in the late 80’s so it’s been around a while. The girls used it as a desk and then I ended up using it for a sewing table. I bought it at Venture. Do you remember Venture?

I even remember what I paid for it. $15. I’d say I’ve gotten my monies worth out of it.

Well last night I wondered if maybe, just maybe, I could remove the wood from that table and substitute one of those cabinet doors as the tabletop. I’m not sure if any of those doors are wide enough, or long enough, but I’m sure going to see if that might work.

It’s worth a shot. Haven’t lost anything. Won’t cost anything, just time…

Tags: sewing table
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Shipping Pallet

February 9th, 2010

I’ve a ‘coffee table’ outside by the firepit. It’s ever so handy for setting a drink on, or lunch, or a book or….

It’s previous life was in the garage, just outside the kitchen door. There it held the trash can up off the floor so that it was at a handy height. (and other pertinent stuff, fire extinguisher etc…)

Prior to that, it’s life began as a wooden shipping pallet. It was cut down and had legs added to it, out of the same wood.

That’s reusing.

1st as a shipping pallet

2nd to raise the trashcan off the floor

3rd as an outdoor coffee table

Folks make amazing things out of old shipping pallets. I’ve seen farm animal housing, walkways, even garden fencing.

pallet

How have YOU reused a wooden pallet?

Tags: coffee table, shipping pallet
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Let Us Join Hands

February 5th, 2010

Would you happen to be one of the numbers of couples getting hitched this spring or summer? Are you feeling maybe just a tiny bit overwhelmed?

Did you know that there is a place online where you can connect with other brides to be?

If so, you should check out weddingwire.com.

Within the extensive site you’ll find a forum. In the forum brides, grooms and other members of the wedding party get together with other brides (etc) to discuss their upcoming plans, as well as jitters, troubles, questions… Talking with other brides will help you in so many ways.

Recent popular discussions on the forum ranged from “What do you wear on a cruise? To “Maid of Honor” troubles!

Brides and mothers of the brides are discussing etiquette and asking how to address the wedding invitations. Brides are asking other brides “What looks better, this or THIS?”

They’re discussing catering in their city and whether they should rent the wedding china or not.

They’re forming friendships that will endure beyond planning their weddings. Imagine finding another couple with the exact same wedding date as yours!

People are finding inspiration in other engaged couple’s details. They’re sharing.

They’re sharing intimate thoughts and feelings with other like minded people. They’re sharing photos and ideas and vendors and asking and answering each others questions any time night or day.

They’re discussing song choices, and musical instrument choices. They’re talking about other weddings they’ve attended as well as dreaming and dreaming big!

Whether you’re planning a small event with just a few friends and family or a huge church wedding filled with tons of friends and family, or an ‘event’ wedding, or a destination wedding, you’ll find like minded brides (and grooms and mothers of the brides and bridesmaids…) all in one place.

Go. Share with other brides. You won’t feel so alone.

Tags: wedding planning
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