Getting Stuff Done & It Feels Good!

Doesn’t it feel good to finally get “stuff” done that’s been needing to be done for ages? I know, the list is always endless, but at least I can finally check a few things off.

Yesterday, I left you with a painted screened door, but before it could be installed it needed to be re-screened.  It just barely fit into the back of my SUV, but thankfully it did and off we went to the screening shop.

Screened Door On the Way to be Screened_wm

 

A Nighttime Visitor

I was amazed at how many leaves came in through that one doorway while the door was away being screened. They were all over the porch, even up underneath the swing.

Leaves on the Porch_wm

 

While the screen door was missing from that end of the porch, I heard some strange noises down on the porch one evening. EEK! I had the table on the porch half-set for THIS fall table setting and I’m guessing Mr. Raccoon who visits my feeders at night must have come along and thought, “Hey,no door! Must check out shiny objects!”

Raccoon-from-Wikipedia

 

From the office it sounded like someone was picking up items on the table and sitting them back down. lol As I sat working in the office, I would have been slightly freaked out if I hadn’t remembered I have a visitor pretty much every night. I don’t think too many burglars are interested in mercury-glass pumpkins lit up by moonlight. 🙂

Fall Table Setting with Spode Woodland and Pumpkin Tureens_1

 

After about a week, the door was ready. Here it is all freshly screened, still with plastic wrap stuff across the top.

New Screened Door for the Porch

 

You may remember I was a little dismayed at having to remove the door to paint it and to have it re-screened since I had not long ago paid to have it professionally installed. But my little trick of leaving the hinges in place and just removing them from the door side worked really well.

Screened Door Removed for Paiinting_wm

 

Installation was a breeze. I just lined the little screw holes back up with the hinges and put the screws back in. Mr. Raccoon will not be able to play on the porch so easily now.

New Screened Door for the Porch

 

Another little job that got completed on the porch recently was the replacement of the speaker visible in this pic.

Exterior Grade Speakers for a Screened-in Porch

 

Actually, both speakers were replaced including the one over on this side.

Screened Porch with Sheer Curtains and White Wicker Furniture

 

This summer when I had the porch professionally pressure-washed, the speaker on the right side (above the door) leading out to the deck, was accidentally hit by the sprayer. At least I think that’s what I think happened since I found it dripping with water afterwards and it never worked again after that day. The speakers on the porch are outdoor speakers but I don’t think they are designed to withstand a direct blow from a pressure washer hose.

Screened Porch with Sheer Curtains and White Wicker Furniture

 

I sent the speaker away for repair but the company where I bought it told me it was still under warranty and they would replace it at not charge. They asked me to mail in the other speaker, too. It took a while, all the corresponding back and forth and the mailing of speakers, but eventually they sent me two brand new speakers…how nice was that!

Fortunately, when the porch was being built and I had it wired for music/speakers, the company who did the wiring left lots of extra wiring up in the ceiling. Now that I think about it, I think they did that because I asked them to.

I remember the day they were here doing the install, I told them I was concerned I’d later wish the speakers were in a different spot. I wasn’t sure if over the door was the best place. So, I asked them to leave the wiring long enough to allow for some shifting or moving if needed later. I never needed it since I liked the placement of the speakers just fine, but that extra wiring came in handy for installing the new speakers. I don’t think I could have held the speaker AND attached the wiring at the same time because they are pretty bulky and heavy. The wiring was plenty long enough to allow me to sit the speaker on the top of my step ladder while I worked on the wiring part.

Outdoor Speakers for the Porch_wm (2)

 

The wiring was a breeze. If you can tell black from red, you can install these speakers. I just matched the wire to the correct colors and the wiring was done. It may be this way for all speakers but having never installed any, I was thankful to find it so easy.

Installing Outdoor Speaker on a Screened Porch

 

I’m all over the place in this post. Remember my lovely begonias?

Dragon Wing Begonias 2

 

Well, we had some cold weather one night and now they look like this now. Womp, womp.

Begonias

 

I pulled them out but I’m way behind in getting my pansies in. The earlier you get them in (once the hot weather has passed) the more they can establish themselves and grow bigger before the really cold weather arrives.

Begonias 2

 

Here sit my pansies, asking politely when I’m going to get off my duff and put their feet in the ground. Hopefully I’ll get them in today. The wonderful thing about living in Georgia, and about pansies, is if you plant these babies in the fall, they will bloom and be gorgeous all fall, all winter and most of spring. In fact, I’ve had to pull out perfectly beautiful pansies in the spring to plant my summer annuals because they can look pretty awesome even into spring.

What pansies don’t especially like is heat. By late spring they are often getting long and leggy and not so attractive, but if you live in the south, pansies are a great investment for the winter landscape since they give almost three seasons of beautiful color. I’ve even seen them completely covered in snow and once the snow melted they were just fine underneath. Love that!

Pansies for the Garden

 

Do you live where you can plant pansies for the winter? Have you already got your’s in?

Ever installed speakers up high and been thankful for extra wiring?

Got any nighttime visitors who like playing with shiny objects on your porch? 🙂

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Comments

  1. Susan,
    Whew!!!
    From screen door repainted and rescreened, to a racoon visit, to speaker installation
    and planting of pansies. . .you’ve been one busy blogger, dear friend!!!
    Strike while the iron’s hot, I say!!!
    For me, its a cold, wet, dreary day here onthe Prairie. . .
    so~o~o, I’m cleaning the oven!!! Hey! the house is toasty warm. . .for at least 3 hours!
    Fondly,
    Pat

  2. Barb Hudson (Yankoski) says

    We always do all the front porch “upkeep” just before winterizing it here on the west coast of Canada which consists of covering the outdoor furniture with a nice “stay dry” tarp. Four years ago we purchased storm doors with retractable screens from Home Depot and this year the screens split on both doors. Called HD and found out the doors came from Anderson Doors in Ohio!!! Ten minutes later, a call from Anderson Doors and they paid the shipping for “replacement screen kits” for both front and back doors. You have to love when a company puts that much customer service behind their products. I am bugging that cute guy I married to replace a 30 year old coach lamp over the front door but otherwise we are ship shape for winter. Racoons are the bane of our existence here too. And they are so snoopy and have been known to wander in if a door is slightly open so it didn’t surprise me that no door was a huge open invitation to visit. Good story too.

    • Wow, Anderson sounds like a great company! Glad you got those replace. Interesting they both split at the same time…must be from normal wear. Yup, if they just weren’t so dang cute, I could get really made at him! 🙂

  3. pam ~ crumpety cottage says

    Susan, there is something cute about the way you speak of your pesty and persistent visitor, Mr. Raccoon. Lol. Awww, he’s a fan of your decor, just like the rest of us. Now, if only the little fathead didn’t disrupt things and make such a racket. But then, he doesn’t realize. He probably thinks he’s helping to ‘decorate’ and that you love his company. 😀

    Thankfully, I haven’t had to deal with speaker wires, which is just as well because even though I have no trouble flying, I do have issues with going more than three steps up on a ladder. Don’t ask, because I have no idea why.

    Pansies! Gotta love them. Little bursts of color on a colorless day … they are so pretty. And yes, I am fortunate enough to live where pansies bloom in winter. That reminds me …. better get some – off to Lowe’s. Have a great day.

  4. I love planting pansies. But we don’t have them in our area yet. I keep looking for them, but in Central Florida the Depot type places don’t bring them for another couple of months 🙁 Booo, because our weather has been nice and cool, and perfect for planting.

  5. You GO GIRL!! franki

  6. Hi Susan,
    My screened porch is very much like yours. A few weeks ago, as I was sitting on my porch reading the newspaper I heard a noise and saw movement out of the corner of my right eye. I had no idea how something could get inside my porch area. I frantically started trying to find what it was and discovered it was a ground squirrel aka a chipmunk. I opened my screen door and proceeded to chaise this little stinker out through the open door. He went under and behind the wicker sofa, then behind the little storage cupboard etc, until I was finally able to get him out the door! I then started looking for how he got inside. I found that the screen on the bottom of the door was missing it’s spline (the rubber rope that keeps the screen in), so I quickly had my husband repair it. I was concerned that it may have chewed on some of my lamp cords, so we did a quick inspection to make sure they were all okay. I was glad it was a animal I was not afraid of!! 🙂 You might check your cords, if they are bitten into it can cause a fire.

    Blessings

  7. Gorgeous porch, gorgeous table!
    Blessings,
    Laura
    Harvest Lane Cottage

  8. I love the Mr. Raccoon likes your porch! I would have invited him to tea 🙂

  9. Love your porch. I’m sure in Georgia you get to use it a lot of the year. We do plant pansies here in the fall and they usually will last most of the winter. Have fun planting yours. xo Laura

  10. Hi Susan, you are so right, I feel wonderful when I get things on my list checked off and done…fortunately here in California, we just call the screen door man and they come out and replace them on the spot….fast, cheap and you get your choice of what kind of screening you would like….I am trying to get my Halloween stored…(bad thing about Ca. homes do not have much storage space, no large attics, no basements, no lots of extra rooms…One thing you may look into, we just got the Bose radio, wow wow is it incredible, mr. s. poo poo pooed it until he heard it then he had to have….Loved your post, nice to know others are trying to keep up too…still lovin your front yard without that darn tree, wow what a huge difference…take care girl and take time to have some wine and rest….Phyllis

  11. Barbara Ann says

    Wow, you’ve been working pretty hard. While we lived in Oklahoma, I planted Pansies every year. I love how they looked all winter and then into the spring. Now that we’ve moved up north, I only plant them IF I can find them at the Garden Center and I like the color. We used to get Sky Blue ones that I loved, but I can’t seem to find them anywhere around here.

    Your house is looking lovely, you’ll be all set for the holiday decorating that’s soon to arrive

    • I love the blue ones, too Barbara…they are so pretty. Home Depot had some light blue ones the day I was there. I used to always buy the ones that were called “Pastels.” They are my fave!

  12. Hi Susan,
    Just found your blog and I love it! Your porch is beautiful. Southern grace at its best. Georgia is home and I miss it greatly. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful ideas.
    Blessings,
    Kate

  13. Pansies are our winter flower. I think I will go pick up a flat. You inspire me.

  14. Peggy Thal says

    Wow !! You sure are the Energizer Bunny!! Great job. It does feel good getting things done. I haven’t done that lately and it is driving me nuts. I need to do a few things and than I feel happy. Everything looks so wonderful, Susan. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

  15. There’s no better satisfaction than getting nagging problems fixed yourself! Good for you, especially with the wiring, I just get a little nervous where there is electricity involved!!

    In the upper Midwest some of us plant pansies just for those short 6 weeks we have between late summer and frost, and sometimes in early spring. Most of the time it’s just not worth the work. I bought some pre~planted pansies pots a few weeks ago and I’m loving them but it could be over any day!! How lucky you are…3 seasons!! 🙂

    XO,
    Jane

  16. I can’t blame Mr. Raccoon, your fall table is just gorgeous!
    The silver of the mercury glass adds just the right touch.
    I love your beautiful outdoor space, you always doing amazing things!
    Hugs,
    Patti

  17. Sounds like we’re on the same track, Susan! I got my trees trimmed, sunroom glass roof re-caulked, brick surfaces pressured washed, some plumbing updates, and yes, my pansies are in – all since Labor Day! Pansies were planted two weeks ago, while it was warm, and they’re looking really great. Just a punch list for small brick repairs remains. I used most of my pumpkins for my daughter’s wedding on the 26th (I was the wedding planner, so I’m checking that off my list too!), and the squirrels are eating the Indian corn right off my porch, so I’m getting it cleaned up for holiday decorating, naturally. And yes, it does feel good! It feels great! Let’s take a day off – I’m ready!
    Best, Rita

  18. I got my living room painted, something shot cross my patio at night and I just happened to see it, although I’m still not sure what it was! We have outdoor speakers but they’re up so high I wouldn’t try to get to them. Next time bag your speakers with plastic since the guy with the power washer must have gotten careless! I plant pansies and violas in the spring- they get sad in the heat and then they get going again in the fall. They often come back in the spring but usually in a different spot. I worked outside yesterday emptying and putting away flower pots.

    • I will def bag them next time…for sure. Wonder what you had on your patio? As I was leaving my street last night, I saw a opossum run across the entrance to my subdivision. They don’t run very fast…kind of waddle.
      I love it when I have volunteers coming up in the spring. I usually get that with Impatiens.

  19. Susan,
    I am a little further north than you and have already planted my pansies, the pesky squirrels have already dug up nearly half of them just as they were beginning to grow. GGRRRRR! Good luck with yours.

  20. Boy, do I feel useless! When I read your title, I thought, “Yes, that’s me right now, too. I’m finally getting all the laundry done, and my office organized and done, and cleaning up the kitchen because it’s been a mess for so long because of my writing…done!” LOL I got exhausted just reading your post, Susan! You know I think you’re awesome, I hope!? Wish I had your energy…and Know-How! Hugs…

  21. Susan, I am constantly amazed (although I shouldn’t be), at your expertise with all things technical!! 🙂
    The screen door looks lovely, even the Raccoon thought so!! 🙂

    • Trust me. I’m not that technical. I love figuring stuff out, though. So satisfying when you finally get it to work. My latest challenge was when my wireless printer wouldn’t print. After spending half an hour trying to trouble shoot it, I rebooted the router and it was all fixed. Sometimes the easiest fixes are the best. 🙂

  22. Marni Nixon says

    I need to get my Pansies in too! I am amazed at your energy. It seems to have no end. I love the table scape also!

  23. Rattlebridge Farm says

    The door looks great. So glad it will keep Mr. Raccoon away. I planted tons of pansies and kale, but I couldn’t find any (locally) until October. The pansies have grown, but the kale is still itty. Your pansies look healthy, and they will flourish under your care. xx

  24. Katherines Corner says

    wow…………..so much happening at your house. Loved this post!!! hugs

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