Day Of The Triffids
We have an iris plant in the garden that just started blooming. So odd, because it is in the sunnier part of the front yard so it had light all season for the most part. And considering it is mid to late fall now, it was an unusual sight to see the other day. It seems like the weather is going to be mostly mild for the next week, so there's a chance the blooms may all last. I suppose we could cut the stalk and put it in a vase inside.
The weather maintaining has allowed us to continue to be lazy about bringing plants in. Yesterday I repotted my pygmy date palm that I think I got back in 2016. The thing is in about the biggest pot that is manageable, and had always seemed to be happy enough. Though this summer it looked sad and somewhat yellow and pale the whole time. I figured it was in desperate need of repotting and that should have been done months ago.
When I pulled it out of the pot yesterday it was about 80% roots and the rest a combo of soil and empty space, where it was clear an ant colony had likely made a home at one point. I took a spade to the thing and tried to chop off a good four or five inches of roots. Though it was difficult because the roots were wrapped around densely. I am usually pretty brutal with my plants, and if they die they die. I do like this one, but it is difficult to store over the winter when cats are a factor, because they love to eat the grass-like palm leaves. I will say though it has consistently grown over winter every year, sprouting new growth throughout.
I also brought inside my likely favorite plant, a dracaena marginata. I got this plant in 2012/2013 I think. It belonged to the couple on the third floor of my apartment in Boystown. After I moved out I had stayed in contact with them and sometimes watched their cats when they were out of town. Eventually they decided to move to Washington state and did not want to take all their house plants with me, so they gave me this dracaena and a couple others. I am blanking on which others, but I think one or more of them are still alive.
I would put the dracaena on my front porch of my last apartment in the summer and it really loved it and grew. I should note when it was given to me the plant was maybe 2 or 3 feet tall. From the apartment to the patio of my first house the thing grew a foot or more a year. Now there are a few branches at 6 and 7 feet tall, possibly closer to 8. As the years have gone by I have peeled off the old leaves to expose the twisted stalks/trunks of each branch.
Sadly some time in 2018 or maybe 2019, Apollo knocked the plant over in the house and broke one of the branches off. It regrew of course, I think to sprouts from the break. But, it had some real height then and that was good, as it kept the leaves away from the cats who cannot seem to help themselves from wanting to eat it.
I just love the architecture of the plant, which sounds pretentious but it is the only word to describe it. Anyone whose seen pictures of houses from the 60s or 70s or has ever worked in an office building or gone to a shopping mall in the 1980s has likely seen a plant like it.
It started to get to the point where the size of the pot is more of an issue than the height of the plant. Though I had had it in a quite large, heavy plastic pot for a few years. When we moved here I repotted it, chopping off a large amount of the roots in the process, and put it in one of these glazed green pots we'd gotten when we first moved here (I think). It was a slightly smaller pot, but of course heavier because it is terra cotta.
All of that to say I brought it into the house last night to see how the cats faired with it. Neelix has been the most curious, though who knows what happens at night when we aren't watching. It'd be worse putting it in the garage with the kittens I think. It really can only go into the sunroom but it's so crowded in there, there's really not a place for it either.
I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with the amount of plants we have. Perhaps if the back garage could be fully used, it wouldn't feel like an issue. But, having to bring some of them inside the house is making it a bit much. Do we really need 25 different kinds of aloe plants?
The sunroom, of course, is made for lots of plants. The problem is, it also serves as our family room currently. If it could just be wall-to-wall plants, there'd be no problem.
I do have some fun ideas if we were ever able to remodel the house that would alleviate the issue. I mean, the simple task of finishing the basement and turning it into a movie room would help. But, I think we should also consider moving the dining room into the current "library room". That room was originally the family room I think, before the sunroom addition was built in the 1990s. It is an odd shape to try picturing how a couch and TV would fit in it. But, I think if the house is remodeled it makes perfect sense as the dining room. Right now the bookshelves are at one end, the record cabinet at the other and there's a fireplace opposite the openings to the sunroom that doesn't work. It's basically a large, glorified hallway.
With that as the dining room the front room could essentially serve as one long formal or informal living room. Perhaps with the record cabinet moved into there, with a few couches for listening to music and conversation. The Sparrow doesn't really love the idea currently, nor do I think he can really picture the whole concept. We've watched many a house tour on YouTube though where folks have these long living rooms or parlors, whatever one would want to call it. They have multiple seating areas and functions. I wouldn't even necessarily be opposed to having a TV in there somehow. Perhaps in some way it could be hidden or deemphasized.
I do admit though that I like watching TV in the sunroom and sort of being right in nature in there. So I can look out the windows, watch the birds, see the trees when I am laying on the couch. I would hate for that room to be less used. But, perhaps it too could have a small TV in it for occasional use. The idea was to get wicker/rattan furniture for in there. A couch, chairs, maybe a chaise. But also to have a wicker/rattan kitchen table. Nothing huge, maybe 4 seats and round. We could use it when we have folks over for a game night or just to eat a meal. If the TV was downstairs, I doubt we'd want to be having dinner in front of the TV down there.
I love this house, but there are major changes that could be made to make it all more functional. Will it be worth it financially to do so? I don't know. Our finances will make more sense once we get the house paid off. Hitting below 100K before the end of the year will do wonders for my motivation on that point.
Having the ceilings vaulted will also make a huge difference. My first house had vaulted ceilings on the main level and in the master bedroom and I loved it. My apartments in the city more often than not had high ceilings, so I was just used to that feeling. The ceilings in here are only 8' and it feels very claustrophobic to me. And the attic is entirely wasted space. There would be no reason *not* to vault the ceilings if structurally possible. And I am sure the insulation up there is all decayed and desperately needs to be replaced. I really should go up there and check it out, just to make sure there's no issues. I just haven't and dread the idea.
But vaulted ceilings would change the entire feel of this house. It'd also resolve some of the issues with airflow and how stuffy it gets at night with the heat from outside trapped in here. In this fantasy we would also be adding additional skylights to brighten the place too. We have a ton of big windows, but the issue is with the low ceilings it still can feel very dark at certain times of the day.
There's a high probability none of these changes will ever happen. It is fun to fantasize about it though. It'd probably make more sense to move than to sink so much money into this house. But, the potential is so in-your-face with this place. And maybe somehow my other fantasy of buying one or more of the properties around us would materialize. I would love that more than a remodel.
Speaking of, I do have a story about the crazy commie neighbor I need to tell before I forget, but it is time to make my breakfast smoothie.
The weather maintaining has allowed us to continue to be lazy about bringing plants in. Yesterday I repotted my pygmy date palm that I think I got back in 2016. The thing is in about the biggest pot that is manageable, and had always seemed to be happy enough. Though this summer it looked sad and somewhat yellow and pale the whole time. I figured it was in desperate need of repotting and that should have been done months ago.
When I pulled it out of the pot yesterday it was about 80% roots and the rest a combo of soil and empty space, where it was clear an ant colony had likely made a home at one point. I took a spade to the thing and tried to chop off a good four or five inches of roots. Though it was difficult because the roots were wrapped around densely. I am usually pretty brutal with my plants, and if they die they die. I do like this one, but it is difficult to store over the winter when cats are a factor, because they love to eat the grass-like palm leaves. I will say though it has consistently grown over winter every year, sprouting new growth throughout.
I also brought inside my likely favorite plant, a dracaena marginata. I got this plant in 2012/2013 I think. It belonged to the couple on the third floor of my apartment in Boystown. After I moved out I had stayed in contact with them and sometimes watched their cats when they were out of town. Eventually they decided to move to Washington state and did not want to take all their house plants with me, so they gave me this dracaena and a couple others. I am blanking on which others, but I think one or more of them are still alive.
I would put the dracaena on my front porch of my last apartment in the summer and it really loved it and grew. I should note when it was given to me the plant was maybe 2 or 3 feet tall. From the apartment to the patio of my first house the thing grew a foot or more a year. Now there are a few branches at 6 and 7 feet tall, possibly closer to 8. As the years have gone by I have peeled off the old leaves to expose the twisted stalks/trunks of each branch.
Sadly some time in 2018 or maybe 2019, Apollo knocked the plant over in the house and broke one of the branches off. It regrew of course, I think to sprouts from the break. But, it had some real height then and that was good, as it kept the leaves away from the cats who cannot seem to help themselves from wanting to eat it.
I just love the architecture of the plant, which sounds pretentious but it is the only word to describe it. Anyone whose seen pictures of houses from the 60s or 70s or has ever worked in an office building or gone to a shopping mall in the 1980s has likely seen a plant like it.
It started to get to the point where the size of the pot is more of an issue than the height of the plant. Though I had had it in a quite large, heavy plastic pot for a few years. When we moved here I repotted it, chopping off a large amount of the roots in the process, and put it in one of these glazed green pots we'd gotten when we first moved here (I think). It was a slightly smaller pot, but of course heavier because it is terra cotta.
All of that to say I brought it into the house last night to see how the cats faired with it. Neelix has been the most curious, though who knows what happens at night when we aren't watching. It'd be worse putting it in the garage with the kittens I think. It really can only go into the sunroom but it's so crowded in there, there's really not a place for it either.
I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with the amount of plants we have. Perhaps if the back garage could be fully used, it wouldn't feel like an issue. But, having to bring some of them inside the house is making it a bit much. Do we really need 25 different kinds of aloe plants?
The sunroom, of course, is made for lots of plants. The problem is, it also serves as our family room currently. If it could just be wall-to-wall plants, there'd be no problem.
I do have some fun ideas if we were ever able to remodel the house that would alleviate the issue. I mean, the simple task of finishing the basement and turning it into a movie room would help. But, I think we should also consider moving the dining room into the current "library room". That room was originally the family room I think, before the sunroom addition was built in the 1990s. It is an odd shape to try picturing how a couch and TV would fit in it. But, I think if the house is remodeled it makes perfect sense as the dining room. Right now the bookshelves are at one end, the record cabinet at the other and there's a fireplace opposite the openings to the sunroom that doesn't work. It's basically a large, glorified hallway.
With that as the dining room the front room could essentially serve as one long formal or informal living room. Perhaps with the record cabinet moved into there, with a few couches for listening to music and conversation. The Sparrow doesn't really love the idea currently, nor do I think he can really picture the whole concept. We've watched many a house tour on YouTube though where folks have these long living rooms or parlors, whatever one would want to call it. They have multiple seating areas and functions. I wouldn't even necessarily be opposed to having a TV in there somehow. Perhaps in some way it could be hidden or deemphasized.
I do admit though that I like watching TV in the sunroom and sort of being right in nature in there. So I can look out the windows, watch the birds, see the trees when I am laying on the couch. I would hate for that room to be less used. But, perhaps it too could have a small TV in it for occasional use. The idea was to get wicker/rattan furniture for in there. A couch, chairs, maybe a chaise. But also to have a wicker/rattan kitchen table. Nothing huge, maybe 4 seats and round. We could use it when we have folks over for a game night or just to eat a meal. If the TV was downstairs, I doubt we'd want to be having dinner in front of the TV down there.
I love this house, but there are major changes that could be made to make it all more functional. Will it be worth it financially to do so? I don't know. Our finances will make more sense once we get the house paid off. Hitting below 100K before the end of the year will do wonders for my motivation on that point.
Having the ceilings vaulted will also make a huge difference. My first house had vaulted ceilings on the main level and in the master bedroom and I loved it. My apartments in the city more often than not had high ceilings, so I was just used to that feeling. The ceilings in here are only 8' and it feels very claustrophobic to me. And the attic is entirely wasted space. There would be no reason *not* to vault the ceilings if structurally possible. And I am sure the insulation up there is all decayed and desperately needs to be replaced. I really should go up there and check it out, just to make sure there's no issues. I just haven't and dread the idea.
But vaulted ceilings would change the entire feel of this house. It'd also resolve some of the issues with airflow and how stuffy it gets at night with the heat from outside trapped in here. In this fantasy we would also be adding additional skylights to brighten the place too. We have a ton of big windows, but the issue is with the low ceilings it still can feel very dark at certain times of the day.
There's a high probability none of these changes will ever happen. It is fun to fantasize about it though. It'd probably make more sense to move than to sink so much money into this house. But, the potential is so in-your-face with this place. And maybe somehow my other fantasy of buying one or more of the properties around us would materialize. I would love that more than a remodel.
Speaking of, I do have a story about the crazy commie neighbor I need to tell before I forget, but it is time to make my breakfast smoothie.