First of all, I just want to say how grateful I am to this site for providing a free blogging section. Considering that I've gotten all kinds of benefit and joy out of it, and for the low, low price of free, I really can't complain at all. Though if I am allowed to a bit, the blog section does freeze at times, sometimes for up to a week, where we can not read any individual entries. Not sure what's going on, but for now, the blogs appear to be back. Yay!
Net worth is down this month, but not a whole lot I can do about the stock market. What matters most to me is that my spending this month is waaay under-budget. Yay!
I can feel the summer heat finally easing up a bit, going from peaking at 100F (37.8C) to about 90F (32C). Still too hot for me though. I've been staying mostly indoors, but also yay.
If anybody knows me long enough, sooner rather than later, they may notice that I am hypervigilant. My mind is constantly at odds with itself between the desire to feel safe and the desire to stay frugal. Usually, the frugal side prevails, but once in a while, my hypervigilant side makes a strong enough case that I will actually side with it.
Basically, my house has been burglarized before. I have also blogged earlier about another potential attempt. My neighborhood isn't unsafe or anything. Quite the opposite, but that doesn't mean crime does not happen here. In fact, I think many people understimate just how easily their house can be broken into, but that's just me.
With the successful break-in, the burglar just popped open one of my back windows off the latch. Whoever it was, it was brilliant actually. It was clean and professional, haha. Anyway, my desire to fortify my back porch area is long overdue. And while I'm at it, why not also try to beautify it into a nice outdoor living space? Here's a quick picture of the back porch area:
The previous owner decided to screen in the back porch, and I think it's quite lovely, especially to keep most of the insects away. The space itself isn't very big, at about 11.75' x 6.2' (or about 3.6m x 1.9m). Still, I think it's screaming cozy porch appeal potential, right?
And this is where I am kind of stuck on I guess, and am open to suggestions. I do think I want potted plants, stringed fairy lights, and I probably want some kind of wooden (lattice?) walling for security, and for the plants to climb on. I also want to build it such a way that it fortifies the area against future burglary attempts. That and some privacy from the neighbors.
Finally, this isn't a priority project or anything, and it's still too hot out, so I intend to take my time working on this slowly. I also don't want to spend too much money on it. For now, it's mostly just brainstorming.
August 7th, 2026 at 12:17 pm 1786105051
While I'm at it ... We just got our porch redone (thanks to rotting wood) we got the "fake wood" and now I'm down to just 2 chairs and a "yard art" cow.... LOL that's all ...
my porch railing does have a couple of potted fake flowers though they were given to me so I made the best of it and hey I don't have to water them :-)
August 8th, 2026 at 04:16 am 1786162594
August 8th, 2026 at 05:05 pm 1786208743
August 8th, 2026 at 08:06 pm 1786219581
Plants are always a nice addition and something comfortable for you to sit in. If you wanted privacy, you could always get some sheers that would sort of block stuff from the neighbors.
August 8th, 2026 at 10:45 pm 1786229156
I used to live in my sunroom each summer but rarely go in there now because the summers are just too dang hot and my sunroom faces south and west. I've been spending more time sitting at a small table with an umbrella for shade on the back patio.
August 9th, 2026 at 06:23 am 1786256608
ceejay: Agreed!
Robert: Interesting AI bot scrambled comment there. Normally, I delete those, but it is so amusing this time, I'll just leave it up.
DK: Yeah, I actually want lots of plants here. I'm not sure exactly how much is "lots" in this case, but luckily, the internet has no shortage of cozy outdoor pics to find for inspiration. Outdoor fabric of some kind like sheers are a TERRIFIC idea. I'll keep that in mind thanks.
Patient: Oooh yeah a comfy outdoor lounge chair would be amazing, though, hmm in my case, I may have to buy brand new for one? I'll have to look into it further, but if possible, I really just want to take a bunch of existing furniture that is collecting dust at my mom's place, and try to put together some kind of "shabby chic" styling perhaps? Again, the decor hasn't been finalized yet, but it's fun though, to imagine how things can go. I have to get the security aspect squared away first....
August 9th, 2026 at 12:52 pm 1786279953
and I was wondering about the "Robert" comment .... LOL it was amusing ...
August 9th, 2026 at 07:19 pm 1786303171
August 10th, 2026 at 06:27 am 1786343249
Dido: OMG YES I had thought the same! Like imagine having high shelving so future cat(s) could lounge there. That or at least potted plants as well. However, maybe not both? I hear cats love to shred plants, and if so, I can’t have both there. However, the cat possibility is still theoretical at this point. I just haven’t made any commitments… catmitments haha… at this point.
August 12th, 2026 at 07:13 pm 1786562015