Home and garden

Looking for some nice hanging baskets for your porch? How about some annuals like petunias and coleus for color spots in the garden? What about some geraniums or dracaenas for your pots?

Sometimes, an aesthetic shift will sneak up on you and you won’t realize how ubiquitous it has become. Like when you suddenly noticed that all the jeans were baggy again. Or you looked around and saw that almost no new cars have metallic paint.

Now that winter is out and spring is in, for many this is a time of transition. Convert those décor elements that are dark and heavy representing winter and transition to those that are light, rich and bright. Embrace the fresh colors and patterns of spring.

My guess is that most of the bricks you’ve seen in your lifetime have been very uniform in shape. Each brick is rectangular. This is by design in almost all cases. The length of a brick plus one mortar joint in the U.S. is supposed to equal 8 inches. The depth of a standard brick plus a mortar joint is intended to measure 4 inches. The height of three bricks plus three mortar joints equals 8 inches. This is why many common bricks are referred to as modular.

The leaves are raked, the early weeds have been pulled and the plant shopping lists are standing at the ready. It must be plant sale season.

Most people see Spokane’s West Plains as a wide-open plateau of flood blasted basalt and grasslands surrounding marshes and clusters of pines topped off with a lot of airplanes. The winds sweep across it, and the frosts come early. Among this rugged landscape, however, are people who have built close knit communities that look after each other and celebrate their friendships. And their art.

As the cost of dining out continues to rise, everyone from college students to empty-nesters is looking for ways to re-create the restaurant experience at home. And they’re doing it creatively, with a surge of interest in artisanal tabletop products found in thrift stores and high-end boutiques alike.

If you have a blank canvas, empty wall or bland space, consider adding an inviting and perhaps unexpected architectural detail: wood paneling. If you are looking to modernize or give a boost to a bland space, one of the best ways to do this is by adding elements of wood to create a design element.

My 52nd wedding anniversary is less than five months away. I was so lucky to find my beautiful and loving wife. In all those many years, I think we’ve had fewer than four serious arguments. I discovered years ago that it doesn’t pay to cross swords with a woman with Irish blood.

OK , folks, let’s get real. This is not the spring to burn weeds off with your handy -dandy weed burner.

Most of us have a piece of art or two that would look great in a frame but won’t fit in the standard sizes you’ll find at a craft store or interior design shop – or Target.

You may be dazzled by the outdoor kitchens you see on home improvement TV shows. Designers work hard each year to create trends of every type. You see it in clothing, paint colors, new cars and trucks, etc. This is done to pry dollars from your savings account. New products of every type fuel the economy.

Happy April everyone! It’s nice to have an early spring for a change. Unfortunately, spring will fade into summer and the unknown. Our winter has been dry and if the summer heat arrives early, we will have to start watering early.

Like many of their generation in the south, Tonya and Larry Smith, both 69, commissioned oil paintings depicting each of their six grandchildren, the girls wearing frilly dresses, the boys in slacks. But only one portrait currently hangs in their Valdosta, Georgia, home and its subject is naked.

You may be plagued with mold and mildew in your tub and shower area. It is a very common problem. The good news is that if you’re willing to spend just 30 extra seconds once you have rinsed off all the body wash and shampoo from your hair, I can just about guarantee you will never have mold and mildew again.

OK, folks, I think it’s safe to consider winter is over, such as it was. I have gardened here for nearly 50 years and have never been able to dig holes in January or February. It was strange to be out finishing a major path project in a sweatshirt. On to spring.

Gardeners around Spokane already feel the pangs of anticipation, and no doubt, green-thumb daydreams and garden plans are in the works, but if you’re still deciding on what to plant, the city of Spokane Water Department has a few recommendations.

Flex spaces, those multiuse areas that bend and grow to accommodate the disparate and changing needs of a household, took off during the pandemic. We had to get creative about how we used space when we were home 24/7, making room for work, school, hobbies, fitness and, well, everything else. But they’re still very much a part of how we live now.