ayse's Profile

Display Name: ayse
Personal URL: http://www.casadecrepit.com/
Member Since: 9/26/07

Latest Comments...

Tammy, don't worry. Most newbie beekeepers will kill off their hives or drive them into absconding in the first year, and replacement bees are $100 per package. That prices a lot of people out of continuing with the hobby.

When I moved my hives into my suburban neighborhood, I asked all the neighbors who could or would talk to me and made sure they were OK with the hives. No bee allergies here, thank goodness. I also keep them all well-supplied with honey and honey comb. Similar to how I give them eggs from my obnoxious loud chickens; sharing does help keep the peace.

On the other hand, a hive in my backyard doesn't actually make a beesting more likely for my neighbors. Most places have enough existing feral hives of honey bees to make life dangerous for you (I know of two that were near me for years). Bees tend to fly up and away from their own hive; I log pollinators on my trees and I haven't seen any increase in bees in my own yard since I put hives back there last year (I used to keep them out in an agricultural area). And swarming honeybees are not the same as swarming wasps. Unlike swarming wasps, which are attacking, a swarm of honeybees is looking for a new home and they are at their gentlest and most handle-able because they are not defending brood (google "bee beard" some time if you do not have an insect phobia).


Beginner Beekeeping: The Urban Beehive by Rowan Dunford
2/1/13 12:26 PM

The biggest mistake I've ever seen people make in getting into beekeeping is to buy non-standard equipment. You will need more stuff, want accessories like feeders or pollen traps or screened bottom boards, and it will be completely unavailable or only available at a great premium.

The ordinary beekeeping equipment is very standardized, you can run it as a top-bar or framed hive if that is what you want. It is relatively cheap and easy to build. If you want you can trade with other beekeepers. There are lots and lots and lots of accessories available. I just cannot see any reason to buy a silly system like this. It's definitely not going to somehow make beekeeping easier, since that is less about equipment and more about judgement.

Also, if what you want is pollinators, honeybees are actually very poor pollinators of North American plants (being an invasive species and all). The native pollinators are the ones we need to protect, and their main threat is loss of habitat due to construction and landscaping with non-native plants. While I love honeybees and keep them, I also provide habitat for native bees and plant native plants for them.


Beginner Beekeeping: The Urban Beehive by Rowan Dunford
1/31/13 6:37 PM

Maybe it's me projecting, but my assumption was that the reason most people are anxious about alış-verış (bargaining) is that it's hard to know where to start with a response to the price offered. I know what things cost in the US, but it'd be easy to insult a vendor with too low (or oddly, too high) a price in another country.

That said, in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, I usuallycome back with half the price offered. It's almost certainly too much for somebody local, but if it's a price I'm willing to pay, I don't sweat it. Nobody there is getting into the 1% by selling me a porcelain handpainted bowl for $100 more than they could otherwise get, and it's not going to bankrupt me, either. If half the price is way more than I would pay for the item, it's over for me, but then I have to fight my way out of the stall because they always really want to haggle.


That Time I Bought a Kilim in Istanbul's Grand Market
9/12/12 8:04 PM

$375 is a good price for a rug that size at the Grand Bazaar. It's probably Turkish, probably acid-dyed as opposed to natural dyes. That doesn't look like a kilim, though. I can't see the structure but that looks like a hali (knotted pile rug) from the design. At any rate, it's a very nice rug.

I'm not a fan of the bargaining, myself, but it's part of the process. The problem is that it's hard to go in and just browse to see what is there; the sellers don't want to let you leave and will practically tackle you to keep you in their store. I'm going to be buying a rug on my next trip to Turkey, and I'm already psyching myself up for it.


That Time I Bought a Kilim in Istanbul's Grand Market
9/11/12 1:16 PM

Lead poisoning (the primary risk from drinking from hoses) was not considered a huge hazard until recently. The risk you are under from it depends on what your overall exposure is, but considering how hard it can be to know what level of lead you are being exposed to, and some of the effects of lead poisoning, I would not want to risk it. Heavy metal poisoning is not a "pebble tripping hazard." It happens all the time to people who live perfectly ordinary lives and just happen to live in a place with super-high lead. Like older neighborhoods where people do a lot of gardening: lead from paint dust gets in the soil, people eat food grown in the soil. And the acceptable lead exposure is being adjusted downward all the time.

Also, this tip doesn't save you much water; using a hose requires that you fill the entire length of the hose with water. I use far less water by rinsing my vegetables in a bowl in the sink, and I can use that water in the garden just as easily.


An Easy Water-Saving Garden Tip Martha Stewart
7/9/12 1:41 PM

I have about 4000 books now. Mostly in IKEA Billy, like everybody else. Some in pine shelves from the unfinished furniture store, which are a lot stronger and hold up to moving better. If you go pressboard like Billy, get shelves as narrow as you can, because book weight is substantial (especially if you are heavy on 19th century novels as I am). Some people think books look messy, but they are just wrong. Non-readers will never understand it. I love the rhythm and texture of shelves of books. Also, get more bookshelves than you strictly need to house your collection, both to house future purchases and to leave some blank space for texture. You can use those blank spaces to put small decorative items, but keep it simple or it will look cluttered.

Sorting by colour is INSANE, or at least it's for people with only a small collection, like maybe 1000 books or less. When I passed that point I had to start categorizing things more carefully. I would never be able to find anything if I had to remember what colour the spine was. I grew up in libraries and I use a subject-based sorting system for my nonfiction (my own, because that works for me). My professional books have their own sorting system, and they are kept in separate shelves. Oversize books are kept separate from more standard-sized books, except in the few categories where the mix is more even between standard and oversize, and I just adjust the shelves to fit them together.

Fiction is sorted out by size (because mass market paperbacks can fit very efficiently in a shelf designed for them, but you might have to build that yourself if such a beast is not available locally) and then language, then alpha by author, then chronologically by original pub date. I don't bother to sort by genre; it's all fiction to me.

I periodically go through and take everything off the shelves, clean the books (they get pretty dusty and dirty), then re-sort them. That keeps things fresh. It also enables me to reallocate shelf space when a subject area grows a lot, or when I decide to get rid of some books I know I won't use any more.


Living with Lots and Lots (and Lots) of Books? Good Questions
5/8/12 12:47 PM

We gave up nothing. The key was to make a realistic list of things we absolutely needed to have, and then a second list of things we'd like to have that were not necessary. The first list was three things: a large yard, "good bones" for renovation, and two off-street parking spaces. Our real estate agent was invaluable in helping us define our list. She also was amazing at giving us houses to look at that met all our requirements. We looked for longer than we wanted but have been very happy ever since.


What 'Must-Haves' Did You Let Go Of When Buying Your First Home?
4/9/12 2:46 PM

I say do it; I've torn out some of my plaster walls and I'm slowly working up to tearing out the rest. My preference is to replace the plaster with drywall of similar thickness (my plaster is 3/4" thick, so 3/4" drywall works well; for 1" plaster use two sheets of 1/2" drywall) to give the same sound-dampening qualities. (Mass cuts noise transmission; you can also get drywall designed to cut down noise transmission even more than the regular stuff.) That will also help with fire protection between the units.

FYI, lead paint was almost never used on interior walls; it's mostly on trim and exteriors. But most paint stores sell little test kits.


Thoughts on Replacing Plaster Wall with Insulation and Drywall?
Good Questions

11/21/11 6:28 PM

I hardly ever take baths in my only bathroom, because to take a bath I have to scrub the tub out first (showering leaves scummy residue all over). That kind of ruins the relaxing aspects of a nice hot bath.

A shower, assuming you have a nice detachable shower head that you can bring down to floor level, works just as well for pretty much everything, including washing dogs and other oversized washing needs. It's even easier for some things because of the lack of high edge to haul wriggling dogs over. I'd exchange my tub/shower combo for a shower-only in a heartbeat.


Does Shower, No Tub, Hurt Resale Value?
Good Questions

9/12/11 2:44 PM

I've tried out this chair for some extended sitting (I'm 5'; there was no issue with the height of the chair for me). I found it not terribly comfortable for how I like to sit, in part because it didn't allow me to lean backwards (I didn't realize how often I lean back and look at the ceiling while thinking through things until I tried this chair), and in part because it didn't allow me to change position easily. And I halfway wanted stirrups because at desk height my legs didn't reach the floor.

On the other hand, I have a friend not much taller than me who swears by it. I think it depends a lot on your personal sitting style.


Apartment Therapy San Francisco | Good Questions: Humanscale Saddle Seat Reviews?
6/18/09 3:02 AM

Joan, you can put anything on your floor that you are willing to walk on.

I saw a floor done in OSB (oriented strand board, looks like random fiber pattern, used for sheathing) with several layers of finish over it (OSB is very delicate) that was just stunning. Plywood (especially finish-grade plywood) could look very nice. And reclaimed timber is very trendy (and VERY VERY EXPENSIVE).

Tongue and groove is popular because it is designed to stay tight and flat to the floor even as the house and the floor move due to changes in temperature and humidity and so forth. It's not the law.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | How To: Install Hardwood Floors
2/6/09 1:40 AM

So, about those directions in the post. Asphalt felt? Under a floor? This is madness. I know people do it, but they do it when they're laying over concrete that is damp because it was not properly waterproofed. In that case I would get a waterproofing specialist in to seal the floor (there are some nice paint-on crystalline sealers) before proceeding, and I'd definitely put down sleepers before attaching the floor.

And yet those pictures show asphalt paper on a plywood subfloor. Unbelievable. Asphalt paper under a floor reeks. It should not be inside the envelope of your house. Ugh.

Also, regarding the parquet floor tiles: they still sell those; any flooring store will have them. They're usually engineered wood, and depending on the brand may or may not be refinishable by sanding and resealing. And don't condemn the floor as damp until you've checked it out.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | How To: Install Hardwood Floors
2/5/09 8:18 PM

We've got a fake tree. I'm allergic to most Christmas trees, so this season is all about antihistamines and going everywhere with an epi-pen.

I'm not too worried about the ecological impacts of my tree: they tend to last many decades with proper storage. So compare the embodied energy, water, and so forth in my one tree with forty farmed trees, and the plastic one comes out looking pretty good.


Apartment Therapy San Francisco | Reader Survey: Are You Buying a Real Christmas Tree?
12/12/08 8:21 PM

As for health issues, I can't imagine what they would be unless you are thinking of something that isn't actually linoleum (the green flooring material). Obviously you shouldn't eat it, but linoleum itself is pretty safe; it gets used in LEED-certified buildings all the time. Sometimes people call vinyl flooring linoleum, which can be misleading.

And Marmoleum (a brand name for one company's linoleum) comes in white and black tiles.


Apartment Therapy San Francisco | Good Questions: Replacement for BW Linoleum Tiles?
12/12/08 7:06 PM

The ones my hummingbirds go crazy for is Salvia clevelandii, which is also a native and does well here. When it's blooming, I have three hummingbirds on that bush from dawn to sunset. And it's right by my stairs, but they love it so much they will stay there when we come and go. I almost hate to prune it.

Even though everybody says hummingbirds are most attracted to red, I've found they will only go to my red salvias when the clevelandii is totally occupied with humminbirds or not in bloom (Salvia clevelandii has a purple flower).


Apartment Therapy San Francisco | Good Questions: Flowers to Attract Hummingbirds?
12/5/08 5:03 PM

I love sharing big meals with friends and family.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Thursday Giveaway: Angel Print Series by HerskLos Angeles
11/20/08 11:08 PM

My biggest timesaver is reminding myself not to try to make everything perfect. Good enough gets done faster.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Thursday Giveaway: "The Expert's Guide to Doing Things Faster"
11/3/08 6:17 PM

We have a Neuton and love it. Maybe it is a "yuppie" choice for mowing, but we have a fairly large garden, and the reel mower we own was requiring a lot more strength than we had after the other physical labour we do around the house. Also, we use the mower both to mow the lawn and to chop up garden waste for our compost piles, which a reel mower just cannot do properly.

We got a spare battery and edging kit; the battery is very useful and the edging kit is handy, although we don't really have the sort of yard that requires a lot of edging.

Had we not gotten this particular mower, our other option was a corded electric mower. Having used both, I'd say the cord-free is definitely worth it.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | The Neuton CE 5.2 Battery Powered Lawn Mower in the Test Lab
11/3/08 6:10 PM

That gummy light is pretty awesome.

My favourite colour is red.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Thursday Giveaway: Target Red Hot Shop Giveaway Package
10/9/08 2:15 PM

The very best dessert I've ever had was a plate of perfectly-chosen figs at Chez Panisse. Fresh ingredients in season really do make all the difference.


Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | Thursday Giveaway: A Platter of Figs by David Tanis
10/3/08 10:04 AM