Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Its the middle of July. The heat index is over 100 degrees. I have cracks in my yard. My grass is dormant. My water bill is growing faster than my flowers. My air conditioned living room is looking pretty good. Stick a fork in me, Im done! Is anyone else feeling this way?

July is a tough time even for the most diligent gardener. If you werent an early riser before you may be now just to beat the heat. Then, I come along and encourage you to plant a new garden for fall. Yes, digging, planting, watering. Ugh! Has she lost her mind? No, and I have not had a heat stroke.

The end of July and the first part of August are great times to get a new crop started that will be harvested at, before, or just after frost. Some crops may even carry into winter up until Christmas. Believe it or not, a little frost can greatly enhance the flavor of many of your favorite vegetables. Vegetable quality for preserving can be better also.

Summer Crops Continue

With care, many of your current crops, like tomatoes, okra, peppers, New Zealand spinach, eggplant, and sweet potato will continue to produce into fall. Cucumbers, summer squash, and beans can be grown as fall crops. Peas dont adapt well to the cooler weather.

Fall Crops

Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are listed as fall crops. Broccoli and cauliflower may take a little more effort to nurture in the heat. Potato seed pieces from fresh potatoes will rot easily in warm soils. Use the older potatoes in your pantry that are beginning to sprout. Cut pieces 3-4 days before planting and allow them to heal over at room temperature. This will help prevent decay.

Adequate moisture is necessary for beets and carrots to develop properly. Cover them with light compost to help retain moisture and prevent crusty soil.

Various types of lettuce can handle a light frost. The outer leaves may burn slightly, but the center leaves may survive quite nicely. Bibb or head lettuce are two that seem to withstand that first light frost.

Spinach and kale have been reported to overwinter with a light mulch. This gives them a head start in your garden in spring!

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At Home Living: Jamie Hancock oultines steps to plant a fall garden

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Companies that manufacture or install artificial lawns are experiencing a boom in business, due to the drought-like conditions and watering restrictions in many North Texas cities.

But the synthetic lawns today arent the same plastic AstroTurf made popular in the 1970s. The products on the market now, are not just used for putting greens and football fields either.

Scott Armstrong, owner of the company Texas Turf Solutions, and gets calls every day from homeowners inquiring about artificial grass.

If you were to talk to the turf manufacturers, thats a big thing they notice. As soon as there are drought restrictions, watering restrictions, or an ordinance like the City of Dallas two-days a week restriction, it really just makes this industry explode, said Armstrong.

Todays synthetic lawns are made to stay cool underfoot, drain rain water, and last for 10-15 years. The products come in different shades of green, different textures, and mimic different varieties of natural grass.

Choosing artificial can be expensive upfront: prices range from $7.50 to $15 a square foot.

Homeowner Mike Corwin installed artificial grass in his front yard, and says the investment was worth it.

The initial cost is expensive, but its already paid for itself over the four years. Not having to re-sod it, not having to water. The yard guys[come less often]. So its more than paid for itself, said Corwin.

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Artificial Lawn Popularity Grows During Drought

The plan for a plot of land that borders one of the most concentrated retail sectors in the region has been years in the making.

The property along Ohio Drive in Frisco has long been zoned for commercial use. But the area just to the west along Preston Road already has millions of square feet of retail and restaurants. And the owners along Ohio say they have struggled to develop their land.

So talks turned to ways the area could transition from the Stonebriar Centre mall area to the nearby homes. City planners encouraged the various landowners to work together rather than develop the area piecemeal. Informal meetings began in 2012.

The result proposes a $400 million development with a mix of patio homes and urban-style apartments. The project will target professionals looking for luxury. Among the features are stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, Internet cafes and resort-style pools. The site also includes about 11 acres of park space. Sprinkled with gazebos, trees, shade structures, dog stations and trails, these outdoor areas will encourage people to leave their cars behind and walk.

Weve got roughly 105 acres put together with multiple owners, multiple developers and multiple architects, said attorney Tommy Mann, who presented the project Tuesday to the Frisco Planning and Zoning Commission. I can assure you from a private sector standpoint [that] is no small challenge to coordinate.

The plan calls for 175 patio homes located closest to the existing neighborhood. All will have front porches. As much as possible, they will embrace the plans open space, Mann said. Prices will range from $400,000 to $525,000.

Those homes will transition to three sections of urban-style apartments. Those farthest to the west will back up to the shopping center at Preston Road and Gaylord Parkway. The estimated 2,348 units throughout the project will wrap around parking garages and include enhanced streetscapes and a host of private amenities. Rents will range from $1,200 to $2,200 per month.

The idea, according to the prospective developers, is to create a unique sense of place.

But some neighbors to the north have balked at such a high-density development. They dont want four-story apartment buildings so close to their homes.

It looks like a great plan, but as Ive talked to the homeowners, they are scared of multifamily, said Dennis Johnson, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of the Prestmont homeowners association. They dont like it.

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Luxury living planned for Frisco land, but not all approve

LAPLACE New play sets, benches, fitness stations and even a spray park are set to become permanent fixtures in the parks located throughout St. John the Baptist Parish.

At Tuesday nights meeting, the St. John Parish Finance Committee approved a $229,118 agreement between parish administration and Meyer Engineers Ltd. for the design, construction, administration and inspection services for over $2.5 million in improvements to parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities recommended in the 2013 Parks Master Plan.

The Parks Master Plan was completed by Meyer Engineers and includes upgrades, repairs and improvements to each park and the proposed costs for each project. Over 40 projects, all funded through the 2014 bond issue, are included in the plan.

Councilman for District IV Marvin Perrilloux said the list of improvements was compiled with residents input in mind, and the money is being spent to make the parish parks nicer places for families to spend time.

Its all about the children, Perrilloux said about the improvements.

A new spray park, as well as two new play sets, are included in the additions for Regala Park.

Fitness stations are slated for Highway 51 Park, as well as a dog park and $14,000 earmarked to refurbish the restrooms at the facility. The park is set to receive other improvements as well.

Ezekial Jackson Park is set to receive a new play set, as well as over $200,000 dedicated to an airnasium, lights and electrical services at the site and other upgrades.

As well as other additions, two gazebos are included in plans for Belle Pointe Park. One gazebo, as well as other additions, was included in the plans for the Reserve Boat Launch and Stephanie Wilking Park.

A new play set, softile surfaces for existing play equipment and other plans are in the works for Greenwood Park, while Cambridge Park is set to receive several additions, including a gazebo and a bathroom building.

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St. John approves host of parks upgrades

Feng Shui Your Day Positive Affirmations for Balance Harmony :: BAILEY #39;s Flower Garden
Audio/Visual affirmations are built upon Feng Shui map principles in order to find balance throughout each day. No one area of life takes precedence. Health ...

By: MyDreamsMatter

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Feng Shui Your Day Positive Affirmations for Balance & Harmony :: BAILEY's Flower Garden - Video

Feng Shui Consultant Orange County
Visit our site http://www.fengshuiwithirene.com/consultant-orange-county/ for more information on Feng Shui Consultant Orange County.Feng Shui is the Mandari...

By: Feng Shui Consultant Los Angeles

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Feng Shui Consultant Orange County - Video

One lastlunchat Tin Hauin honor of Mandarin Oriental Manila and its tables laden with memories.

Over a multi-course lunch at Tin Hau on the eve of its closure, I was served all the memories that made me realize that Mandarin Oriental Manila had been such a landmark in my personal and professional life.

Peking duck with Chinese pancake and traditional condiments (1st way), followed bydouble-boiled sea cucumberwith nourishing herb soup

Ive indeed had many personal milestones at Tin Hau, the gourmet Chinese restaurant of the38-year-oldMandarin Oriental Manila,that I have come to think of it as convivial rather than elegant, warm and welcoming rather than refined. There is something very special about the white bone china and the other old-world charms, but I no longer notice that, nor do I notice the lightpouringthrough the windows and merging with the rich, velvety shadowstotake me back to theimaginedhalls of imperialChina, where Tin Hau, replete with its parquet floors,its antique brickwork,its colored linens, and the lanterns dangling from its ceiling, would have been no more than a lavish parlor in theForbidden Palace.

Steamed live lobster with garden mushrooms,Old Beijing Nobleman style, followed bysteamedlive green garoupawith superior soy sauce

I first met the late Hong Kong geomancerPaul Lauthere.At the doorstep of my career in magazine writing, I would meet him once every month for his feng shui advice column, which, in a nutshell, nowthat Imno longer afraid to put words in his mouth, I would sum up this way: Life isa luxuryyou cannot have forever, sotreasure itwhile you can.Singlehandedly, butnot withoutthe guidance offeng shui postergirlJullie Yap Dazaand the Mandarin Oriental Manila, particularly its then GMHelmutGaisbergerand its director of communication, then and now,Charisse Chuidian, Lau would spawn an entire industry and a new tradition out of the principles of feng shui, the 5,000-year-old Chinese art and science of going with the natural flow of the universe.

I would say that my education in the pursuit of the good life began over taro puffs and steamed barbecued buns at Tin Hau,wherePaul once told me, upon learning of my wanderlust, toput a horse figurinein the northeast corner of my bedroom.Blindly, I followed his adviceand so Itraveled extensively and, as a result,became a feng shui disciple as well as a fan and followerofPaul.

Pan seared beef with black pepper honey sauce, followed bybraisedabalone with bailing mushroomsin oyster sauce

Paul died in his room at the Mandarin inearly2000. He died in his sleep themorning after hosting abanquetfor his staff to celebrate his good fortune. Only two weeks before he passed away did I get to tell him about the miracle of the horse, again at Tin Hau, over mid-afternoon tea and a bowl of nuts. To my surprise, he told me,Not the horse, really. It was your dream. The horse only helped you keepyour dreamin mind.This last quote was the point of the article,The Gospel, According to Paul,that I wrote unwittingly asatribute to him in another paper only days before Charisse would find him dead in his sleep in hisMandarin suite.

Wok-fried minced duck meat servedwith Chinese bun Wo wo tou ( 2nd way ), followed bywok-fried fragrant rice with salmon and X.O. sauce

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Farewell, My Mandarin

The Rundown Live #298 Open Lines (Brooklyn Bridge Flag,Jumping Fences,Weed Package)
The Rundown Live #298 Open Lines (Brooklyn Bridge Flag,Jumping Fences,Weed Package) (7/22/14) On this Wednesday edition of The Rundown Live, Kristan and I go...

By: bigpzone

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The Rundown Live #298 Open Lines (Brooklyn Bridge Flag,Jumping Fences,Weed Package) - Video

Saturday, July 26, 2014 | 5:47 p.m. CDT

COLUMBIA Although she is just 17, Corey Kilgallon isn't afraid to go up against the big guys.

Kilgallon, who is from Millstadt, Illinois, fenced in the Sabre Division at the Show-Me State Games on Saturday. As a rising high school senior, she was one of the youngest competitors in the division and was also the only female to compete.

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Kilgallon said it was fun to fence and win against older people, especially those of the opposite gender.

"I think it's really funny because when I was a freshman I competed in this tournament with all these college guys," Kilgallon said. "I was only three weeks in to fencing, and I was beating these college guys, and they were cussing and stuff because a little Girl Scout beat them."

Kilgallon won third place in the overall competition Saturday and first place in the women's division.

She said that most smaller tournaments that she fences in have a mix of ages and genders. It's the bigger, national tournaments such as the Junior Olympics, which Kilgallon fenced in that sort competitors by their age and gender.

"I'm actually used to it because I'm rarely with people of my own age. It's usually older people," Kilgallon said.

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Corey Kilgallon fences against older competition at Show-Me State Games

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) July 25, 2014

Contractors looking for an edge over their competition can now take advantage of a new design available for plywood and oriented strand board (OSB) sheets. An inventor from Show Low, Ariz., is offering a new concept in construction materials.

He developed The Wave Joint to afford a more secure attachment of plywood, OSB sheets and drywall during construction.

As such, it provides a wider surface to anchor a plywood sheet to a rafter or stud and allows use of the full width of the rafter or stud for mounting. By doing so it improves the structural integrity of construction projects.

Furthermore, with a better option for placing nails and screws, it provides a safer connection. Because of its ease of installation, it also saves time and effort on the job. In addition, it is suitable for use with standard fasteners.

The inventor determined there was a need for a stronger attachment when joining plywood, OSB panels, and drywall to studs and rafters. "I feel this new style of panel will be beneficial to anyone in the construction industry." he said.

The original design was submitted to the Phoenix office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 12-PHO-1945, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com - http://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp. # # #

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Modification to Plywood Sheets Invented for Greater Stability - Designed by InventHelp Client (PHO-1945)