I know what you all really want to hear about from me anyway: you want to hear about my home decor. Well, I finally found the cheap black plastic wastecan and black rug for the bathroom. On my second trip to SuperTarget I found the aisles where they have all the color-coordinated stuff. I could swear these aisles weren't there when I went to the store before; they must have been in some other dimension, or maybe I was. Anyway, I chose the cheaper make of rug, which turned out to be a different shade of black from the more expensive brand: the cheap rug was a kind of ashy black as opposed to blue-black. It worked out because I was trying to keep to the warm/neutral color spectrum for the bathroom. (Of course, I get home last night to find that my cat the slob had somehow thrown litter across the entire rug. But at least the apartment elves had finally fixed the door to the outside utility room, so know I can get my washer-dryer set out of storage and have it hooked up.)
I also found Australian Tree ferns on sale there, so I bought one. I've been wanting to own one for ages; I love ferns. Pictures are coming soon of all this domesticity as soon as I get around to taking some.
At the Target store they also had the neatest stuff: furniture that you can assemble without hammers or nails. It's a brand called Fasil, and the items are rather expensive, but I like the easy chair and the bookcase. I think Target is trying to get some of Ikea's customer's -- pretty easy considering the closest Ikea store to my area is the one in Virginia.
Posted by Andrea Harris at October 22, 2003 06:53 AMUmmm:
A) Those get huge (>10 feet), and
B) They require full shade.
So if you raise it indoors, I hope you have a high ceiling. If it's going outdoors, don't expose it to direct sunlight. A typical place for the ATF to grow is in the shade of a large oak tree or several.
Posted by: David Perron at October 22, 2003 at 09:49 AM"Doin' the Martha"
Yeah, I can see it. Especially if [insert joke about women's prison movie].
Posted by: Ken Summers at October 22, 2003 at 10:26 AMThanks, David. I have noticed that some of the leaves are looking a bit scorched. I may move it inside; there are a lot of those big oak trees with spanish moss all over them on the property, but unfortunately the back porch/patio thing my apartment has gets a good blast of sun in the afternoon. My other plants aren't really large enough to shade it, and one of the cheapo plant stands I bought just fell apart (rust under the paint -- yes, I am pissed).
Posted by: Andrea Harris at October 22, 2003 at 07:10 PMOr use shadecloth if your sunny area is such that this can be fixed. Ideally, draw it over the ferns on hot days. I believe it is hot wind they dislike more than sheer heat - I lost one in last year's Australian summer. They are magnificent plants - my green-thumbed neighbour has one that looks like it's on steroids. She shared her secret with me - place a ripe banana in the crown every few months to feed it!
Posted by: ilibcc at October 22, 2003 at 08:16 PMStop this illegal imperialist slave trade of Australian ferns!!!
Posted by: Gary at October 22, 2003 at 11:46 PMI love Target. My favorite Aunt taught me to pronounce it's name properly, though: "Tar-zhay."
The French way, of course. ;-)
Posted by: Meryl Yourish at October 23, 2003 at 10:30 AMStaghorn ferns like a good banana now and then, too. Maybe it's a fern thing.
Posted by: David Perron at October 23, 2003 at 11:01 AMThe chair looks cool but kind of uncomfortable. If you get it, let us know how it is.
Posted by: cardeblu at October 23, 2003 at 10:31 PM