beverlyawest's Profile

Suggestion re the white boards - I was having a similar problem with mine, and this helped immensely: WD-40 - yeah, seriously. Clean the board off the best you can, then spray it all over the board, and use some paper towels to make sure the whole board is coated, let it sit for a little while. Wipe off/polish with more paper towels. This will be much easier to do if you can remove the board from the wall and lay it flat on the ground.

The problem with the Cricut machines is that they are limited to designs/fonts/etc that are on Cricut cartridges. A much better option is the Silhouette - you can buy designs for about $1 each, and you can also cut any font you already have on your computer, as well as any shape - you can even print a picture on your printer and then the Silhouette will cut it out exactly. I've had mine for over a year and looooove it.

The reel mowers require a regular mowing schedule - if the grass gets too high, it just won't work.

That said, you live in LA, where keeping a lawn alive takes quite a bit of water. Maybe try a replacement like this:

http://www.territorialseed.com/product/676/116

No mowing required as it stays pretty short...

Tatyana: While I can understand your frustration with the difficult economy, lashing out at Grace isn't going to help anything. It seemed pretty clear from her post that they had just started thinking about this, so it isn't surprising that the floor plan is just a rough sketch.

Using a professional - whether you're designing a space (or even just decorating), or doing your taxes - is a good option. But it doesn't make it the only option, and constantly relying on professionals to do everything seems like a fast way to have mush for brains - trying DIY, even with no experience, can be a good thing. We all have to start somewhere, and this blog seems to embrace that.

Grace: As I think someone already mentinoed, the right hardware store will be invaluable. I've seen my local store - that I LOVE - scale their advice based on the level of expertise of their customer, all the way up to sophisticated contractors. Find a place like that, get to know them, and they will keep you out of hot water - and have great ideas.

For dividing the space - what about lightweight shoji-like screens? If rice paper seems to fragile, there are plastic sheets available that mimic the look. Depending on how flexible the space has to be, you could add hinges, wheels, etc....