Bugs and Plants

As much as I might want it to be fall, it's still summer.  And summer still means bugs in my part of the world.  Specifically mosquitoes.  As a former camp counselor and slightly crazy lady, I refuse to use bug spray.  I mean, I haven't used it in years.  Bugs don't usually like me too much so for the most part, it works out okay.

I also use an all natural soap that helps with repelling bugs.  I tell everyone I know about it.  Dr. Bronner's  Hemp Peppermint soap.

It is seriously the best soap ever.  Especially for summer.  It's cool and tingly.  Sometimes a little too tingly....  Um, anyway.  It repels bugs.  It cures heat rash.  It's seriously amazing.  You should go buy some.  No, they're not paying me, I just love it that much.  And a bottle lasts forever.  You can buy it online, at Target, and at health food stores.

Okay, so the Dr. Bronner's and my natural non-bug bite self usually do pretty well.  But sometimes that's not enough.  So I've been considering lemongrass.  Like maybe some pots on our deck and around the basement patio.  It's super good looking.  And is supposed to repel mosquitoes naturally.  I'm thinking we might need to get some before my birthday party.

We usually have a couple citronella candles and some tiki torches but I haaate the way citronella smells, it makes me a little sneezy.  So I'm thinking lemongrass might be the perfect solution.

What do you guys think?  Do you have any lemongrass in your yard?  Where do you stand on bug spray?

Stained

So apparently summer has officially struck in Missouri.  It's supposed to be about 100 for the next week.  Meaning the weather has put a serious cramp in my outdoor projects.  Also meaning to get any work done outside, I have to get up super early so that I don't die from the heat and so that I still have shade.  So I was up at 6:30 to let the dog out and was working on the deck by 7.

So the inside of the top deck is done, the inside of the bottom deck is done, both sets of the stairs are done.  The outside though, the outside is not done.  Sigh.  There are more stupid little posts on our deck than I want to count.  If you stand at just the right place though, the deck looks done.

Eventually there will be before and after pictures once we get the house painted.  Just imagine a deck that has grayed because it's never been stained or had water protectant put on it.  Not the most attractive thing.  We went with Thompson's Waterseal in a semi-transparent California Redwood.  As a lucky accident, it perfectly matches our brick.  I can't wait to get the whole thing finished.  I'm thinking two more early mornings and I can hopefully get it done.

Today I am desperately hoping to get laundry put away and start cleaning out our office.  The office has been the room where we pile everything since we bought our house.  It's an absolute disaster.  There is so much stuff I just need to throw out, stuff that needs to be shredded, and things better organized.  It's just a hot mess.  If I weren't so embarrassed I would take a picture of it but it is truly that bad.  So after the laundry, I'm totally getting on it.  It's too hot to do anything else anyway.