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Showing posts from June, 2022

DIY Project: Antique Sewing Machine Cabinet

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A few years ago, I found an antique sewing machine cabinet at an antique store in Payson, AZ. I had always wanted one to use as a desk, so I bought it. It sat in my art room at our last home, and became a plant stand at our current home. We bought land in the high desert of Arizona. The first thing we are having built is a bathroom with toilet, sink and shower. We felt that was important even if we had to camp on the land for a while, at least we had a nice bathroom which is currently being constructed. They will be putting a sink in, but I had a different idea. I have saved several pictures of sewing cabinets that were turned into bathroom sinks and loved the idea. I told my husband about it, and he liked that idea too. Next thing we know, the plant was taken off the cabinet and we brought it outside on our patio. We had to remove the sewing machine and other parts that we didn't need. I had all intention of sanding it and keeping its natural wood color. As I started sanding the t

The Greenhouse: Growing in Arizona Heat

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This will be the first summer having our greenhouse. We were concerned with it getting too hot inside and the plants all dying. We started misting inside the greenhouse at the beginning of spring when the weather was getting warmer. That was keeping the temperature down and the humidity up. The plants loved it. Our concern was, what about our summer heat? We didn't think misting once or even twice a day was going to cut it. We added a solar fan, but it was bringing in the heat. My husband suggested using our portable cooler, put it in front of the door, and see if that keeps the temps down. That worked well.  We now mist inside the greenhouse in the morning, 9am to 10am, and around 11am, we need to start the cooler. We usually keep it going all day until around 7pm, more or less. This is keeping the temperature around 75 to 80 degrees with the humidity around 62%. We need to fill the cooler with water every two hours, so it runs properly. Our plants in the greenhouse are flourishin