tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80277937280886284362026-03-31T07:22:30.155-04:00Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.comBlogger598125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-19435785087970750392016-01-27T15:38:00.000-05:002016-01-27T15:38:01.354-05:00

By now the 'awesome' home automation hubs and devices under the Christmas tree have given way to frustration and perhaps even anger.  The DIY home automation hubs are advertised as easy to set up when in fact they aren't.  The devices simply need connect to the hub which should take seconds but in fact can easily eat through a whole day if not more.  That is the nature of the beast

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-90903519908396328222015-10-01T14:59:00.001-04:002015-11-03T12:06:27.085-05:00

Yesterday, I wrote about the brains of our home automation system, the SmartThings Hub 2.   I currently have 30 connected devices connected to the hub with more waiting to be connected.   I purposely left Nest thermostat and Sonos speakers independent of the hub although both can be used with SmartThings.  Nest requires a SmartApp but Sonos works directly through

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-76903203238213853372015-09-29T16:00:00.005-04:002015-09-29T16:00:49.951-04:00

Yesterday, I shared a few more thoughts on our smart home.  I honestly would have set up my X-10 components in this house.  Even though it is an old (1970's) technology it does still work although there can be problems with dirty signals.  We bought our Nest the first year here and it was love at first sight!  Unlike traditional programmable thermostats, the Nest can also be

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-21334437582570696892015-09-28T12:45:00.003-04:002015-09-28T12:45:58.275-04:00

Back in June, I wrote a few thoughts on a connected home aka smart home.   I have recently migrated our devices over to SmartThings Hub 2 from SmartThings Hub 1.  I'll post pictures of some of our devices with their pros and cons but in the meantime, I would like to extend my thoughts on a connected home. A smart home consists of the use of technology and certain devices to

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-43921684177915394562015-06-24T09:00:00.000-04:002015-06-24T09:00:02.802-04:00

As mentioned previously, I have been interested in home automation for as long as I can remember.  In many ways, homes have been automated for a few decades thanks to washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and timers.  Even small appliances quickly became automated simply by the addition of timers.  Aside of plug in timers and timer equipped small appliances, home automation was and

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-23774827229217094042015-06-23T15:30:00.002-04:002015-06-23T15:30:55.608-04:00

I have been a huge fan of home automation ever since seeing the Jetsons eons ago.  Over the years my home automation skills have grown with available technology.  By our third home, I was heavily into X10 so most of our lighting was automatically controlled by that, turning on and off depending on occupancy.  Over the winter, my project became move from X10 to the newest of the new

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-45558953007264020652015-05-04T12:52:00.003-04:002015-05-04T12:52:44.006-04:00

Over the next few posts I will be discussing my home automation project, making our home a smarter home.   Before I do that, I want to share a company to stay away from.  Given my very negative experience with Wink [wink.com] I cannot in good conscious recommend using any of their products especially the hub.  Avoid like the plague! After using Wemo for a week, I realized I really

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-79310576331618932042015-02-24T14:31:00.001-05:002015-02-24T14:31:24.129-05:00

Window treatment always presents a problem when you first move into a new home.  You either have no window treatment at all or what was left behind is not to your liking.  The former owners of our home left behind vertical blinds in the kitchen, office and games room.  There were mini blinds in the master bedroom and two lower level bedrooms, and sheers on the Great Room window.&

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-84338620373944986702015-02-05T09:00:00.000-05:002015-02-05T09:00:02.845-05:00

We have been talking of buying a snowblower ever since our third house that had a huge driveway.  Our fifth house was rural with a very, very long driveway so before our first winter hit there, we discussed it again.  However, one of our neighbours cleared all the driveways on our short street with his tractor so we never did buy one.  We've been in this house almost four years.&

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-83048174380771569942015-02-04T20:08:00.001-05:002015-02-04T20:08:58.758-05:00

We replaced the existing indoor clothesline with an easy DIY clothesline when we installed the dry bar cabinets.  Our solution was simply a removable, heavy wooden dowel spanning the distance between the closet and furnace room walls set into brackets.  The total cost for this quick project was under $10.  The true test to whether this solution would meet our needs came with

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-85556790573119615192015-01-27T09:30:00.000-05:002015-01-27T09:30:00.258-05:00

As much as I liked our new house when we bought it in 2011, the existing light fixtures were much to be desired.  Some were plain Jane basic fixtures and all were dated.  The only one I decided to keep for the time being was the kitchen ceiling fan.  The classic black ceiling hugging design looks good in the kitchen. The front entrance lighting was a large drop chandelier. 

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-17033027598247421142015-01-26T09:30:00.000-05:002015-01-26T09:30:00.975-05:00

Quite often one project leads to another.  So it was in the utility room.  The previous owners of our house installed a cord indoor clothesline that spanned the distance between the far wall of the utility room to the wall where we recently installed the dry bar cabinets.  This gave us about 30 feet of drying space.  The line did not detract so was visible when not in use

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-14732641052257790612015-01-25T20:46:00.002-05:002015-01-25T20:46:34.764-05:00

While I have plans of painting a couple of rooms, we are working on several smaller, weekend projects over the next few weeks.  The utility room is L-shaped with the refrigerator and dry bar spanning the wall adjacent to the entrance.  The back, long arm of the L has a large double door closet, the washer and dryer.  Across from the washer and dryer is the very small furnace room

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-67315240069388132362015-01-13T23:03:00.002-05:002015-01-13T23:03:42.443-05:00

Ontarians currently pay the highest hydro rates in Canada despite the fact that we produce natural sourced, inexpensive electricity.  Apparently our government deems it prudent to send our cheap hydro to the US then turn around and charge us premium prices, but that is a whole other story.  At any rate, our hydro rates are high.  We have always been fairly energy conscious because

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-90314390954251377402015-01-08T21:44:00.000-05:002015-01-08T21:44:08.736-05:00

Paint Chips We are home now and the holidays are over so it is time to turn our attention to getting a bit of decorating done.  We had deep crown moulding installed in the entrance, greatroom and hallway back in November before we returned to our vacation home. The crown moulding still needs painting.  I'm rather partial to a pale grey for the walls with white trim.  I'm

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-67145338112678428662015-01-07T16:17:00.003-05:002015-01-07T16:17:53.858-05:00

Our municipality just announced that effective January 19, the bag limit for curbside collection will be reduced from four to three.  Our waste collection here is testy at best.  There is a 40 lb limit per bag and if there are more bags put out than there should be, they simply don't pick up any.  Seriously, if the limit is four and you put out five, they take none!  This is

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-16871358212417803372015-01-05T21:40:00.000-05:002015-01-05T21:40:14.305-05:00

Back when I was knee high to a grasshopper, there were a few town folk who were regular garbage pickers.  Like clockwork, they would come to rummage through your trash before the garbage collectors picked it up.  It was small town Canada, a gentler time and my Mom knew them so never minded.  Over the years the garbage pickers persist but quite often especially in larger areas they

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-50407215774738507842015-01-04T21:19:00.001-05:002015-01-04T21:19:33.177-05:00

We live in the age of digital technology so while many are concerned with securing their computers and mobile devices, they overlook all the bits and pieces of paper with their personal information that has the potential to be misused.  These include financial statements, personal documents, expired credit or identification cards, and any correspondence that could be misused.  The main

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-23853146126871296422015-01-03T22:44:00.001-05:002015-01-03T22:44:41.082-05:00

I use my iPhone for a multitude of tasks in addition to communication.  It is my key tool for health and fitness as well as entertainment!  I want to add finer detail to our home so am constantly looking for different ideas.  It was only a matter of time before I discover home design apps on the App Store (Apple).  I installed Houzz Interior Design Ideas from the App Store

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-71760425401513155182015-01-02T23:27:00.002-05:002015-01-02T23:27:53.096-05:00

It's a brand new year!  It promises to be an exciting year as I have a lot of household projects planned.  I also have a few projects from last year to share as well.  We have been in our home now for almost four years and despite all of the work we have done there is a lot more that we want to do to make this house our home.  We started our large two level deck last year so

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-17504621365540478922015-01-01T10:36:00.003-05:002015-01-01T10:36:22.395-05:00

Wishing each and everyone of you a very Happy New Year!  Welcome 2015...

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-31326401164403459622014-12-27T13:42:00.000-05:002014-12-27T13:42:53.269-05:00

I love giving homemade gifts at Christmas because they really are a gift from the heart.  While we were at our vacation home this fall, I searched for a pattern for our grandkids that would reinforce our desire to have them visit us in Florida, spending at least a day at Disney World.  I found just what I was looking for on Ravelry! I downloaded the Mr & Mrs Mouse Hat patterns

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-60898119092410386722014-11-03T20:36:00.000-05:002014-11-03T20:36:00.283-05:00

Newer homes often have boxy rooms devoid of interesting details as seen in older homes.   These types of details include wainscotting, deep baseboards and trim.  They are easy, relatively low cost upgrades that can be selling features later.  Ever since moving into our home in 2011, we have been customizing to give the house more character.  As a result we have done a

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-40658739720268648892014-02-08T22:42:00.004-05:002014-02-08T22:42:41.832-05:00

The new year is viewed as a new start to improve your life in some fashion.  This is the time of year that folks go on weight loss plans, join gyms or fitness classes, vow to improve their diets, become better people and take control of their finances.  Quite often, the new year's resolutions are long forgotten by the end of January.  The reason being, the changes are either too

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027793728088628436.post-17408913863724266432014-01-06T17:55:00.001-05:002014-01-06T17:55:59.281-05:00

The selling feature for this house when we bought it in 2010 aside of location was the complete absence of carpeting.  We had looked at several houses but this was the only one with no carpeting, something we have been wanting for a very long time!  We were rather pleased with the colours too.  What the house was really lacking was a bit of character.  All of the rooms were

Garden Gnomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07560748179792613782noreply@blogger.com0