I thought the yellow bag turned out nicer, it was my second attempt. This one has the red bias tape around the edges and I thought the handles came out a little nicer. I think if I do another one, it will turn out even nicer. Nonetheless, I think they both turned out all right. I really like how you can put them in the washing machine to clean them, unlike most of the cheaper reusable bags you can buy.

Here are the pieces I had to work with. The top and middle sections broke. Also notice how weathered and worn it looks.

Some of these fractures were from the last time it broke and I didn’t fix it properly. This time, I used Liquid Nails to glue it back together. I also used a cement caulk to fill in the gaps and cracks.

I used a textured spray paint from ColorTex called Quarry. It’s meant for interior applications, so I sprayed it with some clear coat spray paint as well. Here how the pagoda looks finished.

I think it turned out pretty good and it only cost about $20 in materials.

First I wrapped the handles with some old telephone cord to give them more girth.

On the bottom handle, I used some smaller cord for finger grips. I also secured the cords with duct tape.

Finally, I dipped the handles in Plasti Dip to give them a nice rubbery grip. Notice how the bottom handle has a slight curve to it.

My grass shears still look old and worn, but they work solidly and the handles are very plush and comfortable. In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have wrapped the handles with duct tape as this made them somewhat lumpy after I plasti-dipped them. Also, I probably would have picked the red Plasti Dip, the black one is a bit dull to me.

Materials

Here’s the materials I used:

• Electrical Box – I got the deepest one I could find to optimize secret storage space. I also picked one up with fold-out ears; the ears swing out behind the drywall and keep the box in place.
• Coaxial Cover Plate – I used a coaxial cover plate, because you can use the coaxial knob as a little handle to grab onto to remove the plate. Also, be sure to get one that is large enough to fit over the electrical box, they make some that are smaller that won’t work as well. I made this mistake and I had to make an extra trip to the hardware store.
• Magnets – I found these at Michaels. I used these to hold the cover plate in place, that way I didn’t have to unscrew the screws every time I wanted to get into my secret storage.

Installation

First, I decided where I wanted it. (1) Then, I used a stud senor to make sure there was nothing behind the wall. (2) I traced around the outlet box and (3) used a drywall saw to cut the hole. (4) The outlet box fit nicely in the hole; so I tightened the screws with the fold-out ears; the ears grab the back of the drywall making a snug fit.

Cover Plate

After the electrical box is installed, you can put the cover plate on with the provided screws. This has it’s advantages because it’s a little more secure, but makes it more cumbersome to access, since you have to unscrew the screws every time you want to get into your secret storage. So, that’s why I decided to use magnets to hold the cover plate in place. To do this, I super glued the screws into the cover plate and used a dremel to cut off the excess screw. Then the magnets will stick to the end of the screw. I also used screws in the electrical box for the magnets to stick to. This works well because you can tighten or loosen the screws in the box to make the cover plate fit flush with the wall. Once you have the cover plate on, you’re done!

I finally got my vermicomposting worms today, after about an hour of tracking them down from the post office. I left the house to run an errand today and as I was leaving, I saw the mail truck about 10 houses away, so I thought, “Great! When I get home, my worms should be waiting for me.” But, apparently, they can’t leave “live animals” without someone being at the house.

So, when I returned home, there was a handwritten note from our mail lady, Patti, saying if I wanted my package I could try to track her down and she listed which streets she was going to be on. The package slip said I could pickup the package on Monday at the post office, but being that it was Saturday, I didn’t want the worms sitting there until Monday. So I desperately tried to find my worms, I cruised around the neighborhood but with no sign of her. I decided to drive to the post office to see if they had them; they didn’t, but I found out Patti was still on her route. And she was willing to meet me at the high school so I could pick up my package. I drove to the high school and Patti was waiting for me in the parking lot with my package. I raced home to unbox the worms.

I ordered my red worms from Moore Bait out of Eckley, Colorado. I was supposed to get them yesterday, but the temperature was too cold to ship them. Thankfully the owner, Larry, has the well-being of the worms in mind. I didn’t mind waiting another day to get them either. Email correspondence with Larry was great too, letting me know my package was delayed and when it was shipped.

The worms were well packaged, enough padding so the worms didn’t get damaged. The box had air holes in it for extra ventilation too. And when I opened the box, the worms were nicely wrapped in a little burlap sac.

I put the worms into my vermicomposter. I buried them with a weeks worth of food scraps. I hope they’re hungry!

Here’s a closeup of the red worms. I can’t wait to harvest some black gold!

This is my first vermicomposter. Here’s my how-to instructions on how I built my worm bin.

This is the first worm bin I’ve built, so it has been a learning experience for me. While doing research for my worm bin, I found many different shapes and sizes for bins; some are made from wood, some from plastic, some have multiple layers… there doesn’t seem to be a universal worm bin. I was kind of fond of the ones that use plastic storage containers; they are easily attainable and don’t cost too much either, so I decided to use one of those.

I noticed most people drill holes in the container for ventilation, but I decided to go with louvre vents. From what I’ve read, the vents provide more air flow than simply drilling holes. And it makes it look snazzier too. I used Mark’s Bently’s Mini Worm Composting Bin for inspiration

Some systems have holes drilled on the bottom and have a lid or something to catch the worm tea. Or bins are nested, one inside the other to catch the worm tea. I didn’t like the idea of this too much because I’ve read the worms can fall through the holes. So I decided to install a drainage spigot on my worm bin.

Here’s a list of materials and tools I used:

• Rubbermaid plastic storage bin
• 8 – 2″ louvre vents
• Spigot
• Pen/Marker
• Dremel

First, I decided where I wanted the vents; four on the lid. Then I traced around the vents with a marker and used the dremel to cut out the holes for the vents.

I did the exact same thing for the sides; two vents on each side and for the spigot.

Here are some tips I learned when building my worm bin:

• When cutting out the holes for the vents, cut slightly on the outside of the marker line. If you cut on the inside, the hole will be too small for the vent.
• Most of my vents fit perfectly snug, but two of them were loose and wouldn’t stay in. So I doubled-up a rubber band and used that on the inside of the vent to kept it in place.
• Be sure to peel off the price tag stickers on the vents before you install them for maximum ventilation.
• I found the louvre vents at my local hardware store; down the building materials isle, next to the parts for gutters.

Here’s my finished vermicomposter. Now I just need to get some worms!

I have the Panasonic BL-C131A webcam. I set it up on top of some games and books and pointed it at the TV. The webcam has a site you can access over the Internet. So, when I log into the webcam’s site, I can check out whatever is on the TV. I have to leave the TV on since I can’t turn it on and off remotely. The quality isn’t exactly HD and you can’t change the channels, hence the poor man’s version. But I already had the webcam, so now it can serve two purposes.

Click here to check out the webcam.

Login: colorado
Password: rockies

I’m going to take it down after the Rockies season is done.

If you guessed 70 gallons, then you would be correct! I filled up a trash can and a bunch of buckets. I could have collected more, but I ran out of containers!

After a week of watering, my grass is starting to grow! It’s satisfying to see some results, after spending so much money and time on the sprinkler system, manure, seed, etc. etc. In the backyard, it’s a battle between the grass and the bindweed and the bindweed has about 20% occupancy so far. Go grass go!!!

I’m watering four times a day, every six hours. I’m curious to see how much my water bill is going to go up. My last bill was $39.46 for two months. So much time and money, and for what? Grass! I think that’s crazy silly!