text:
Skip to comments.Pistol that Bonnie Parker kept taped to inside of her THIGH set to fetch $200,000 at auction...
Posted on 07/14/2012 4:05:09 PM PDT by smokingfrog
She kept a Colt .38-caliber revolver close, while he preferred a .45-caliber pistol from the same maker.
But neither weapon was enough to save American outlaws and lovers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow during a 1934 ambush by law enforcement officers.
After the duo was dead, authorities recovered the revolver Bonnie had secured to an inner thigh with white medical tape.
They also seized the handgun Clyde had tucked into his waistband.
Nearly 80 years later, those guns and other items connected to the infamous gangsters will be going up for auction in New Hampshire on Sept. 30. An auction official estimated Thursday that each Bonnie and Clyde weapon could bring between $100,000 and $200,000.
'They were pretty famous in their moment and I think that's lasted through time,' said Bobby Livingston, vice president of RR Auction in Amherst, N.H.
Besides the guns, other items Livingston's company will auction include a gold pocket watch Clyde was wearing when he died, and a cosmetics case Bonnie was using to carry lipstick, Coty face powder and a powder puff. The brown leatherette box was inside the Ford automobile the gangsters were riding in when a posse of lawmen riddled it with bullets on a Louisiana road.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Great photos at the linked article.
FWIW men weren't winners either.
Would like to see a pic of the piece taped to the inside thigh of...ummm...some hottie from today.
Sadly I'm so old I am not aware of any of today's hotties.
Oh, I don't know.
I kinda like the wild Irish gals.
And she was!
Hum. I would say Bonnie was cute, which is probably why she got away with so much, my goodness though she was really skinny. Clyde looked like a dandy, however.
I don't know, Bonnie wasn't too bad. And she was a sport...
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I always wonder where the term "bushwacker" came from.
I would love to buy it but then I would be put in jail by the Peoples' Republic of New York because I don't have a pistol permit. Ain't America Free!
Who cares, they were two murderers.
The American fascination with unusual outlaws and rebels never ends. While the sensible hardworking Puritan side of our personality despises those who steal, there is something about people who completely defy authority and thumb their nose at their fate which has us hooked. Jesse James, Geronimo, Bonnie and Clyde all stone cold killers with extremely varied reasons for what they did, but they own a little tiny piece of our national soul.
Good grief. Can't you read - the weapon was secured to the INSIDE of her thigh. How is this picture relevant?
In one sense, the Declaration of Independence made us a nation of outlaws. The American character is one of fighting city hall and so, while we can appreciate law and order, there's a little rebellious streak in every true blooded American. Also, if you look at the outlaws you named, they were, for a time, successful at what they did; Americans like winners, especially when they give them the opportunity to root for the underdog.
Not a nation of outlaws, a nation that depended on people to practice self restrsint and volintarily obey the laws. When 98% of the country was Christian, and very devout compared to today's standarss, it worked better. As more and more folks ignored the law and their consciences,we've needed more and more laws and police and courts because if people won't control themselves, government has to. And the country becomes less free.
That's not open to debate or discussion. The signers of that document knew that in one sense they were outlaws, and would be hung for treason if caught. Similarly, any of the colonists who supported, endorsed or agreed with the sentiments of the Declaration would have been viewed by their fellow British subjects as "outlaws" as long as they remained British subjects.
I was listening to a Jean Shepherd broadcast on SW, and it must have been from 1967. Shep was ranting about the movie, either after seeing it, or being asked about it at a cocktail party.
He grew up in/near a town that was "visited" by one of the gangs. The old bank guard was killed unnecessarily, and then on the way out of town, they see a cop doing school crosswalk duty, they stop, call him over, and shoot him dead.
Shep wasn't big on glorifying murderers...
One account by a LEO on cornering them someplace and encountering Bonnie went something like "...and then this little redheaded thing came out, wielding a [cut-down] BAR. The rounds impacted the tree next to me, and the concussions sent me tumbling backwards. Probably saved my life..."
The 1911 is still my go-to weapon a hundred years later.
I think they were riddled-up with a barrage from several Thompson submachine guns at close range.
Nothing in that time period tops that.
I think they are fascinating, as well as the other gangsters of that era.
I saw or read, on of the reasons they (B&C) were so hard to catch was they filled the cars up with gas, did their thing and floored it out out where ever they were until they ran out, probably traveling 75-80 mph.
Since most people where not driving those speeds by the time road blocks were set up, they were gone.
I never realized from the pictures she was a redhead. Bonnie was tiny, I wonder how she had the strength to handle all that fire power.
Trivia: She was 4'10 or 11" and weighed roughly 90 lbs. She was largely crippled in a car crash two years before her death:
"What is certain is that Parker sustained serious third degree burns to her right leg. The burn was so severe, the muscles contracted and caused the leg to "draw up"; near the end of her life, Parker could hardly walk and would either hop on her good leg or be carried by Clyde." - Wiki
Very interesting.
They are even more fascinating than I thought.
In any case all their debts have now been paid, their train has left long ago to meet the judge.
"I saw or read, on of the reasons they (B&C) were so hard to catch was they filled the cars up with gas, did their thing and floored it out out where ever they were until they ran out, probably traveling 75-80 mph."
Also, no security cameras, no traffic cameras, no Internet, no cellphones, and no credit cards all worked in their favor;)
Actually, they were two bank examiners. Easy to assess who killed more people.
I've got a .44 spl just like that one!
To be honest that looks more like a 1917 .45 Auto rim S&W from the looks of the ejector rod. Got one of those converted to .45 Colt.
Thought they were shot up fairly well with 30-06 from Browning BARs as well. That would ruin your day.
I agree with you framing it that way.
Just checking to see if prisoner6 still has a pulse. :)
What sets it apart in America is that by the nature of our founding principles, we are supposed to be, and historically have been, far more suspicious of government than most other nations and societies. The presumption of innocence is one of our core tenets, and consequently, when we hear that "the law" is after somebody (even if there's really little doubt the person did what they're suspected of doing), there's an elemental question of just who the good guys and bad guys are. Moreover, the American concept of rugged individualism impels us to often root for the one man standing alone against the bigger machine, at times regardless of who is actually right or wrong. Sometimes the underdog struggle takes on a morality all its own.
Our fiction romanticizes the Dukes of Hazzard, and our history and its cinematic retelling tint the deeds of Billy the Kid, Butch and Sundance, etc. Despite the brutality of the Godfather films, people tend to find at least a modicum of sympathy and a twisted sense of honor in the fictional Corleone family. During OJ's famous low speed chase, there were legions of well-wishers along the roadside.
I'm not saying that we're a worse people because of this, not in the least (although I agree with you that personal morality and restraint have been surrendered in lieu of laws and regulations). I am saying that historically, back to our founding as a nation, the typical American has been far more suspicious of government and consequently, there is something of a knee jerk willingness in many of us to automatically root for the individual against the government, even when on a very conscious level, we know the individual has done wrong.
She was above average as a corpse.
Bonnie was 'cute' during her day.
Plus she played with guns.
Who doesn't like a woman that plays with guns?
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GRU, seven others look for provide energy to UF
Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 5:39 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 11:25 a.m.
If the University of Florida seeks a new campus energy provider, Gainesville Regional Utilities will have competition for the contract from outside the area.
UF's contract with Progress Energy, now owned by Duke Energy, expires in December 2014. In the meantime, UF has asked other companies to provide information on how they might provide energy to the university or expand its conservation efforts.
"We have a reasonably competitive rate with Progress but we think there are other efficiencies out there to help lower some of our costs," said Curtis Reynolds, UF's vice president for business affairs.
In addition to GRU, seven companies from Minnesota to Massachusetts have responded to UF. Several have previously worked with universities. Virginia-based Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of the utility that serves the Washington, D.C., area, has worked with Penn State and other universities on installing energy-saving technology.
"We like campus environments," said Patrick Sweeney, vice president of business development for the company. "Universities are great because they're trying to be more sustainable and they can look out in the long term."
Reynolds said UF will decide in the next year whether to extend its contract with Progress, but the university might also work with other companies even if it does.
"We want to reach out to other experts and say, 'What are some innovative ideas and technologies that are some possibilities in creating efficiencies or savings?'" Reynolds said.
Progress Energy operates a 50-megawatt power plant on campus that includes a turbine producing electricity and an attached generator producing steam for heating. UF can buy the plant or have it removed at the end of its contract with the utility.
The companies that provided information to UF include Boston-based energy consulting firm SourceOne, which has worked with schools including Boston and New York universities. SourceOne submitted information to UF along with its corporate owner, New York-based energy services company Veolia Energy.
The company tries to help people use less energy, said Rowan Sanders, a Veolia spokesman. An example is installing meters in rooms or floors of buildings rather than just one for the whole structure, he said, guiding conservation with more specific information.
GRU has an advantage over some companies in being able to provide both power generation and energy management services, said John Stanton, GRU's assistant general manager for energy supply.
"I think GRU is as well positioned as anybody to solve both ends of that equation," he said.
GRU unsuccessfully sought the contract for the campus power plant in the 1980s, but still has a relationship with the university. UF currently buys natural gas and potable water from GRU and electricity at locations off the main campus. GRU's South Energy Center provides electricity, chilled water and steam to UF-affiliated Shands Cancer Hospital.
Reynolds said GRU would get consideration if UF looks for another campus energy provider, but the university's main priority is getting the best deal.
"We're looking for the best and highest value to the university," he said.
Contact staff reporter Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit www.thecampussun.com for more stories on the University of Florida.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.

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|Release Date: 08/13/13
Secretary Jewell Underscores Importance of Landscape-Level Approach, Mitigation in Meeting President's Renewable Energy Goals on Public Lands
Announces Solar and Geothermal Projects that Advance President's Climate Action Plan During National Clean Energy Summit 6.0 Keynote
LAS VEGAS, NV – During a keynote address at the National Clean Energy Summit, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today underscored the Interior Department's commitment to meeting President Barack Obama's clean energy goals by employing a landscape-level approach that addresses mitigation and conservation objectives. As part of President Obama's Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, move our economy toward clean energy sources and begin to slow the effects of climate change, the Interior Department is working to approve 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy production on public lands by 2020.
"Our nation's public lands are vast and varied. We need to take a close look at these resources to determine where it makes sense to develop renewable energy and – just as importantly – where it does not," said Secretary Jewell. "As we double down on the unprecedented progress that the Obama Administration has made on advancing clean energy, the Interior Department has an opportunity not only to cut carbon pollution, but also to advance important conservation goals."
"Working with federal, state, local and tribal governments, as well as leaders from the industry and conservation communities, we can and should take actions to minimize the conflicts that solar, wind and geothermal projects might have with natural and cultural resources, require meaningful mitigation measures when conflict cannot be avoided, and leverage the momentum to enhance landscape-level conservation objectives," she added.
In her remarks, Jewell cited the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), as an example of landscape-level planning. This unprecedented state-federal collaborative effort, which covers over 20 million acres in California's Mojave and Colorado Deserts, will identify "development focus areas" for renewable energy while providing for the conservation and management of the unique and important plant and wildlife communities in this desert region. A draft of the DRECP is expected later this year.
As part of the landscape-level approach, Secretary Jewell also announced that the Interior Department has approved the establishment of the West Chocolate Mountains Renewable Energy Evaluation Area (REEA) on public lands in California's Imperial Valley. This REEA will prioritize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands for the exploration and development of solar and geothermal energy. The BLM estimates that the 64,058-acre area has the potential to develop over 3,330 megawatts of solar power and 150 megawatts of the geothermal power.
"Establishing the West Chocolate Mountains area represents the kind of landscape-level approach that the BLM is committed to," said BLM Principal Deputy Director Neil Kornze. "Using this approach to site renewable energy projects in the right places is an important part of helping us meet the President's clean energy goals."
The REEA creates a new Solar Energy Zone, which is part of the Obama Administration's efforts to facilitate solar energy development by identifying areas in six Western states with high solar potential, few resource conflicts and access to existing or planned transmission.
The Western Solar Plan, approved in October 2012, created 17 Solar Energy Zones with incentives for development within those zones and a process for considering additional zones. Interior approved an 18th Solar Energy Zone in January, with the Arizona Restoration Design Energy Project. The West Chocolate Mountains REEA is the third Solar Energy Zone in California and brings the national total to 19.
Secretary Jewell also announced that the BLM has approved a new 40 megawatt geothermal project in California. The Casa Diablo IV Geothermal Energy Project, located in Mono County, California, will construct up to 16 new production and injection wells, multiple pipelines and an electric transmission line. Ormat Nevada Inc. will develop the project on public and private land, and the project will generate more than 180 construction and permanent jobs. When completed, this project would produce enough energy to power 36,000 homes.
"These projects are significant steps forward in the President's all-of-the-above energy strategy and marks continued progress on his call for action on climate change," said Secretary Jewell. "Harnessing the vast renewable resources on the public lands will create jobs, increase our energy security and help reduce carbon pollution."
Including the Casa Diablo IV Geothermal Energy Project, Interior has now approved 47 solar, wind and geothermal utility-scale projects on public lands, since 2009, including associated transmission corridors and infrastructure to connect to established power grids. When built, these projects add up to more than 13,300 megawatts – enough energy to power 4.6 million homes and support more than 19,000 construction and operations jobs.
At the same time, under the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above energy strategy, domestic oil and gas production has grown each year since President Obama has held office, with domestic oil production currently higher than any time in two decades; natural gas production at its highest level ever; and renewable electricity generation from wind, solar, and geothermal sources having doubled. Combined with recent declines in oil consumption, foreign oil imports now account for less than 40 percent of the oil consumed in America – the lowest level since 1988.
For more information on today's announcement, please click on the links below:
West Chocolate Mountains Renewable Energy Evaluation Area: Map, Fact Sheet
|Last updated: 08-14-2013
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Statement by Ambassador Karel J.G. van Oosterom on Sustainable Development
Statement by H.E. Karel J.G. van Oosterom
Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations
Sixty-eight session - Second Committee
Agenda item 19: Sustainable Development
New York, 5th November 2013
Mr. Chairman,
The Netherlands fully aligns itself with the statement of the European Union.
Mr. Chairman,
For the Netherlands, making a comprehensive and sustainable post-2015 development agenda with support of all member states is a high priority.
The recent Special Event on the Millennium Development Goals was an important step towards realising the MDGs and exploring the post-2015 development agenda. We support a coherent approach that integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development, with the eradication of poverty at its core, as expressed by Fiji on behalf of G77. A single universal framework would also include peace and security, gender equality, human rights, the rule of law and democratic governance.
Our mission statement is "Kingdom of the Netherlands, your partner for peace, justice and development". We want to be a partner in sharing expertise and experience in these areas with UN and other countries to accelerate action on sustainable development and contribute to the post 2015-agenda discussions.
We agree that the so called 'unfinished business' of the MDG agenda should be an integral part of the post-2015 development agenda. We should continue to focus on the disparities in achieving the MDG's we must make sure that no one is left behind.
Mr. Chairman,
We consider climate change as one of the major challenges for sustainable development and poverty eradication. We should aim for low-emission economies and climate resilient development.
We welcome the initiative of the UN Secretary-General to host a 'leaders' summit' in 2014 with all stakeholders to accelerate action towards a carbon-free economy.
Mr. Chairman,
In my country we have always been in a struggle against water. One third of my country is below sea-level. One of the greatest threats of climate change is sea level rise. The Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is also facing increased risks of climate change, like flooding and the severe impact and damage of hurricanes.
We attach high priority to adaptation to climate change, especially in the most vulnerable countries, like Least Developed Countries, CARICOM member countries and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). We support the statement of Papua New Guinea on behalf of SIDS on this issue. We contribute to initiatives that make those countries more resilient to the impact of climate change.
We also support regional cooperation frameworks in tackling climate change like the CARICOM framework to Climate Change and the recent adoption of the Majuro Declaration during the Pacific Island Forum. We support the statement of Maldives on this issue.
In preparation of the UN SIDS conference in September 2014, the Netherlands will organize a conference on these topics with the Small Island Development States in the spring of next year.
For centuries the Netherlands has developed technical experience and innovative solutions in water management to protect our sea and river shores against flooding. We are ready to share our expertise with countries and other partners as much as we can.
Thank you.


text:
Skip to comments.And You Thought the Housing Crisis Was Over! The Community Reinvestment Act is back
Posted on 07/27/2012 5:37:12 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Do you remember that thing about how the banks wouldn't lend to blacks and Hispanics because they were racists? And do you remember how they passed the Community Reinvestment Act so that banks were forced to reduce down payments practically to zero and lend to a lot of people they knew were bad credit risks? And do you remember how Wall Street bundled all these risky subprime mortgage and sold them to investors around the world so that when it became clear that those people weren't going to be able to pay their mortgages banks everywhere were left holding the bag and all five of the Wall Street investment houses either went under or had to be bailed out by the federal government?
And do you remember how, when it was all over, liberals said it was actually the banks' fault for "deceiving" all those people into thinking they could afford to buy homes and that the banks should be punished for it and some of those people be allowed to keep their homes anyway? And do you remember how all this cost the government close to a trillion dollars and put the whole economy in a hole that we really haven't begun to dig ourselves out of yet?
Well, get ready because the whole thing is about to happen again.
I think what we are witnessing is the looting of America on behalf of minorities in a way that better end soon or we are going to bring the whole system down upon our heads.
With the current administration in power, the perception is growing among minorities that everything in the economy is rigged against them but that President Obama and his administration are going to solve everything for them.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
That's because their default rates are higher, so there is less likelihood of getting the money back.
I suspect it's affinity exploitation - wherein minority salespeople take advantage of the ignorance of the minority clients they serve. This kind of thing shouldn't be difficult to flag given the fact that everything is computerized these days. There'd be less of this type of discrepancy without affirmative action in hiring, since incomes would track ability, rather than today's reality, in which legally-mandated racial preferences promote favored minorities above their innate abilities at every level of employment. Nonetheless it should be possible to companies to filter for this kind of affinity exploitation. The downside is that protected minorities will also have higher default rates at every level of income, since the ability to handle money is correlated with innate intelligence, and most protected minorities make more money at a given level of IQ than their white or Asian counterparts, thanks to Federally-mandated racial preferences.
In Wells Fargo's case they just fired their whole independent channel and decided to keep everything in house where they could better monitor pricing.
Sorry to hear it——pass along all this info-—might be able to defeat the crook.
Solomon Ortiz in Congress since 1983 had a solid Mexican-centered district...and got defeated in 2010 by Repub conservative, Blake Farenthold.
"Solomon Ortiz in Congress since 1983 had a solid Mexican-centered district...and got defeated in 2010 by Repub conservative, Blake Farenthold."
WOW, I missed hearing about this 2010 victory. I'll go look up the details.
Thomas Sowell wrote an excellent book on the background of the housing crisis - The Housing Boom and Bust.
Interesting. I wonder if Cong. Baca is any relation to Sheriff Lee Baca of Los Angeles County?
"Obama is leaving this country with two alternatives - economic collapse or race war."
Alternatives? It looks to me as though he intends us to have both!
California has a "jungle primary" now...Democrats finished 1-2 in Baca's district. Baca may lose (he was #2), but it won't be to a Repub conservative.
Thanks for the realtime report.
God bless you guys! Keeping up on the latest important news I see.
[If I were two people, both of me would be tempted to spend all my time here. So ... I'm not really back yet. But bless you all!]
ROFL. Great pic and comment
Good to hear from you.
Ask around. CRA never left. Nor did the 'experts' who work it, both in and out of gov't. The laws never changed.
If it means anything my house sold this time last year. Sold for $170K in a really bad market, down maybe 20% from what we expected. The house was sold to a so-called "minority" and only with her signature (only one on loan) with no money down and she had a family income of roughly $45K per year.
I was a bit set-back as we had just experienced one of the largest bubbles ever in housing due to this issue, set back that we were only a year or so removed from the crash and for all practical purposes it was "business as usual".
Keep it real Art!
Thanks for the ping.
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text:
Learn how to clean your house using common kitchen goods. How to tell if foundation cracks are cosmetic or something to worry about. Get tips on selling your home when the real estate market is slow. Plus get answers to your home improvement questions such as, noisy water heater, refinishing a tub, installing a lightning rod, remove carpet, paint floor, dryer problems, installing a wood floor, stained tub tiles, caulking a tub, insulate staircase.
TOM: Coast to coast and floorboards to shingles, this is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Pick up the phone, give us a call right now. We are standing by, waiting for your home improvement question. We are here to help you out, here to help you get the job done. You don't know what you need? You don't know what to do first? Pick up the phone – that's what you do first – and call us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
Now, spring is just days away. And it's the time of year when it's time to throw those windows open and green things start to sort of poke out of the earth and you can feel a sense of starting fresh again. But if you want a clean, fresh smell in your home, we're going to have some tips this hour on how you can create your very own, homemade cleaning supplies to get things sparkling without that chemical smell.
LESLIE: And also ahead this hour, it's a buyer's market but things are beginning to look up for sellers, as well. If part of your spring plans include getting your home ready to list, we will help you put together a checklist of things that you should do before it hits the market.
TOM: And one place you're going to want to check is your foundation and that's critically important if you're going to put your house on the market. As a professional home inspector – a former professional home inspector – I can tell you that there's nothing like a foundation crack that sends those buyers running for the hills.
But the truth is that over time, cracks develop in most foundations good and bad. The question is: are they serious or not? We're going to invite our friend, Tom Silva, the general contractor from TV's This Old House, to stop by, in just a few minutes, with his tip on how to diagnose whether your house is cracking up or not.
LESLIE: And how would you like to see what's going on at your house when you're at work or when you're on vacation? We are giving away a wireless home system video from VueZone to one lucky caller. And you can actually check on the security of your home from your smartphone. It's worth 200 bucks.
TOM: And it's available if you pick up the phone and call us with your home improvement question. The number is 888-MONEY-PIT. We will toss all callers this hour in The Money Pit hard hat and one is going to win the VueZone Wireless Home-Video System. So let's get right to it. 888-MONEY-PIT is the telephone number.
Leslie, who's first?
LESLIE: Michael in North Carolina is on the line with a water heater that's making some curious sounds. Tell us what's going on.
MICHAEL: Recently, the last four to six weeks, I've been noticing – it sounds like a bubbling and a popping noise inside of the water heater. I've read several things on the internet but I can't quite put my finger on it and I'm worried that either the vessel is getting ready to go or – I'm not sure, at this point.
TOM: How old is the water heater?
MICHAEL: It looks to be of considerable age. I'm guessing between six and eight years.
TOM: Well, I mean water heaters generally go about 10 to 12 years, so that's not – that's kind of middle-aged; it's not too terrible. By the way, if you look at the data plate on that water heater, usually there's a date stamp sort of buried into the serial number. Sometimes, it'll actually say what the date of the manufacture is or at the least, it's going to have a gas standard in terms of which code it was built to and it'll give you a year there. So you can get an actual sense of what the actual age of the water heater is.
The noise is usually caused by a sediment buildup on the bottom of the tank. So, if you drain the tank occasionally, that will usually stop that. Have you ever drained your tank?
MICHAEL: In the eight months I've been there, no. But I'd read something somewhere along the lines that you have to be very careful with – it's got a plastic drain valve on it. And when you have a water heater that's a little bit older, I guess they get – become brittle. And I'm worried about breaking that and making things much worse immediately.
TOM: Well, you could very carefully try to drain the water heater. You simply hook up a garden hose to that spout; it's designed to be drained. And let some of the water out of it and try to spill off some sediment with that. You get sediment on the bottom of the tank and that does tend to make it pretty noisy sometimes.
MICHAEL: OK. Is there any chance that I have the temperature turned up too high and it's causing – well, I guess not at 125 degrees. It wouldn't cause a boiling, would it?
TOM: No, it wouldn't. And 125 degrees, though, is pretty hot. You really want it to be more like 110.
TOM: Just for safety's sake, if nothing else.
LESLIE: Yeah, because you could easily get scalded.
MICHAEL: OK. Alright. I'll give that a shot.
TOM: Alright. Good luck with that project and thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Jo from Kentucky is on the line with some help with a bathroom cleaning project. What can we do for you?
JO: Yes. I have an old bathtub and where the water has leaked, I have some porcelain – I guess it's a porcelain tub. I have some orange spots in there and they look like they're going to eventually just give way on me. I want to know how I could patch that up.
LESLIE: Are they super-tiny or are they, you know, an inch or so?
JO: Yes. Oh, yes, they're very small.
TOM: There are touch-ups but you know what? They will show.
LESLIE: Yeah. I've used one. When we bought our house, there was a tiny – I mean super-tiny – little rust spot in our tub. And I used a product called Porc-a-Fix? And you can get it in pretty much in any home center. It comes in a variety of whites and off-whites, so you kind of have to guess which one is going to work close enough to your exact white or bisque or whatever you want to call it.
JO: Right.
LESLIE: And it almost looks like it's a nail-polish bottle, kind of.
LESLIE: And you apply it in gradual layers, letting it set up and then going back the next day and putting another one on, until you build it up. And it's done a fairly good job. We've been in the house eight years and it's still there, it's still covered up. But I know exactly where it is.
JO: OK. Well, I thank you very much.
TOM: You're very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Now that we are about to hit spring running, what do you have going on at your money pit? We'd love to give you a hand with all of your spring home improvements 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Well, we all enjoy a clean house but do you always need to use harsh chemicals to get there? The answer is no. We're going to have the recipes for some homemade cleaning concoctions that work just as well as their commercial counterparts, next.
[audio timestamp: 0:07:33
MIKE: Hey, this is Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs and I've just been told that Tom and Leslie might have a dirtier job than me? I find that hard to believe but then I heard they worked in a pit. It's a money pit but it's still filthy.
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Bostitch. Professional-quality hand tools. Pneumatic and cordless nailers and staplers.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete. Pick up the phone and give us a call, because we want to help you get all of your home improvement projects started, finished, ready to go. Whatever you need, we're here to lend you a hand every step of the way. Plus, we love to give away some prizes.
And if you pick up the phone and give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT, one caller this hour is going to get the hottest technology in home security: it's a wireless home-video system from VueZone. And it lets you see your home from your smartphone, wherever you are in this entire world. If there is motion in your house, it will even take a video and then e-mail you to be like, "Hey, something's going on at your house and you are not there." That's pretty awesome.
Pick up the phone and give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT for help with your project and your chance to win.
LESLIE: Bill in Texas is on the line and needs some help with a lightning rod. Tell us what's going on.
BILL: I would like to get your recommendation with regard to lightning protection. I would like for you to tell me what you recommend with regard to the best protection for lightning.
TOM: Well, installing a lightning-rod system makes a lot of sense. And the key, though, is the installation has to be done correctly. Because if it's not, it could actually sometimes cause more damage than it can prevent.
One of the common mistakes is that when the lightning rods are installed – and typically, in the average roof, it's going to have three of them – that the cable that connects them to the ground source, you have to make sure that they run that cable across the roof and then down the side of your house nowhere near any other copper wiring or copper plumbing. So you would want to keep it – for example, if you had plumbing running through the same wall, you want to keep it away from that.
And the reason you're doing that is because if you get a lightning strike, it can run down the ground wire on its way to safety where it dissipates into the soil. But it will transfer or jump across to the plumbing system in the house and electrify that.
So, that's just one part of the system; you also have to take a look at your electrical panel and make that sure that that's surge-protected. But a combination of those systems makes a lot of sense, Bill, if you're in an area that's really prone to lightning.
Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: Well, if you're getting ready for some good old spring cleaning but maybe you don't want to spend a fortune on cleaning products, you may be actually able to use what's in our cupboards right now.
For example, did you know that you can use banana peels to, get this, shine your shoes? And salt can eat through mildew and vinegar does practically everything from making your windows shine to softening old paint.
TOM: Now, here's one of my favorites: it's a copper polish. If you want to do this, all you have to do is cut a lemon in half, sprinkle salt on it and rub it into the tarnish. It will absolutely vanish. And you can use the other half of the lemon to polish your furniture if you add a cup of vegetable or olive oil. Now, you can also clean your oven with baking soda and water.
If you want more tips just like that, head on over to MoneyPit.com and search "natural cleaning products." We've got tips on cleaning up just about anything that stains your house. And it'll help you save money, to boot. 888-666-3974. Let's get back to those phones.
Leslie, who's next?
LESLIE: Debbie in Texas is on the line and is dealing with a basement project. Tell us what you're working on.
DEBBIE: Well, I have a cement floor that right now I have indoor/outdoor carpet that's glued down. And I'd like to peel the carpet up and then paint the floor. So my question is: what type of prep – once I get the carpet up, what type of prep do I need to do and then what type of paint should I use?
LESLIE: Now, have you started to try and remove this outdoor carpeting?
DEBBIE: Yes, we have and it is glued and so there's a glue, I guess, base that's on the floor. So we'd need to somehow scrape that off?
LESLIE: Yes. And that – and did you say this was a screened-in porch or a covered porch?
DEBBIE: No, it's an indoor – it's indoors.
LESLIE: Oh, it's completely indoors. OK. That's going to make it a bit of a chore. The reason I was a little excited that you had a lot of fresh air while you were working is because you're going to need to use an adhesive remover if your plan is to paint this floor. Because you're going to end up with so much residue from that glue, that's going to be all over, and there's a good chance that it's going to be uneven and raised and spotty in some areas. You're going to have pieces of carpeting on it and it's going to be a mess.
So you're going to have to find exactly what type of adhesive that is and what is the best remover for it. Because depending on what the base is of that adhesive will depend on what type of adhesive remover you use. So it's really going to be an experimentation to sort of see what works well.
And then once you find what really is working well at loosening up that adhesive, I mean you're really just going to have to use a heavy-duty scraper and work on that glue residue until that's up. And then even then, your painted surface is going to look really not that great, after all of that work.
DEBBIE: So, I guess your recommendation would be go back with indoor/outdoor carpet.
LESLIE: Well, in a lower-level space, carpeting really isn't the best idea – whether there's padding or not, whether it's glued or not – only because you're dealing with a dust trap that's sitting right on top of a concrete slab that tends to get moist. All of that moisture gets up into that carpeting, whether or not it's indoor/outdoor.
Now, that moisture sort of sits with that dust and creates all sorts of allergens and mold and it's really not the best idea. Tile would work fantastically. And if you got that floor fairly even-ish, even with the adhesive, you could go ahead and do something with that with tile.
You know, it depends on what you want the space to look like. If you're OK with seeing an uneven surface and you want to paint over that, then an epoxy coating is perfect for a floor in that situation. But it depends. I spend a lot of time in my basement, so I wouldn't want to see such an uneven floor surface, whether it was painted my favorite color or not.
DEBBIE: And what harm would come if I just peeled the carpet and scraped the glue, scraped it smooth and then painted? Would the paint not stick if there was still all the glue there?
LESLIE: I don't think so. The systems, like the epoxy coating systems, are usually sold in kits. There's several steps. The first one is an etching or a cleaning step. Then there's your top coat that you mix in with, I guess, all of the different process that sort of cures it and solidifies it. And some of them have that little decorative speckle and that gets sort of sprinkled in there at the end. And you want to work yourself out of a corner so you don't get trapped down there. But it should stick fairly well.
It just – is this a utility space that you're strictly storing things in? Is this your family hangout? You have to think about what that space is and how you want it to look.
DEBBIE: OK. Well, that gives me some ideas. I guess I first need to get the carpet up and see what it looks like underneath and go from there. Alright. Well, thank you so much.
LESLIE: Robert in North Carolina is on the line and is dealing with a dryer that – guess what? – just is not drying. That's the worst. Tell us what's going on.
ROBERT: Well, I've got a dryer; it's about five or six years old. And here for about the past six or eight months, it's taken sometimes three cycles to dry a medium-to-large size load of clothes.
TOM: Oh, that makes no sense.
ROBERT: Yeah. And the heating element was replaced maybe a year-and-a-half, two years ago. We just don't know what's going on with it.
TOM: Do you get good airflow when the dryer runs, where it's pushing warm air out the exhaust duct?
ROBERT: Yeah. I went up to the roof one time when it was running and it was coming out of there fairly decent and the air was warm.
TOM: You just may have uncovered one problem. When you take a dryer vent and you push it up against gravity – and so it's driving all the way up to the roof from, I presume, the second floor – a dryer is not really designed to do that. And I know that a lot of times, folks install them that way but trying to force that hot air to go up all of that distance to the roof can sometimes be problematic.
Look, if your dryer's not heating properly, there's only a few things that could be causing that. One is the heating element. So let's presume that this is working correctly, although it certainly seems – sounds like it's not. There could be multiple heating elements and one could be burned out. This is a reason you feel some warm air.
The next thing is the ductwork and you want to make sure that that's clean: not only the external ductwork but even internally. Sometimes, if you get something stuck in the internal ductwork in the dryer, that can block some of the airflow itself.
TOM: And the other thing that can happen is sometimes it can overheat and then cycle. So, if it's overheating, what'll happen is it'll get really hot and then it'll overheat and the heating element will go off. And then it'll cool down and then it'll come on again, it'll get really hot and then it'll go off. And that kind of cycling of a thermostat can be a problem, as well.
I mean at this point, it sounds to me like you've done almost everything that you can do on your own. You might want to either replace it or get it serviced.
How old is the dryer?
ROBERT: Probably no more than six years.
TOM: Yeah, well, six to eight years is not a terribly short period of time for a dryer. So, you might want to think about replacing it or getting a pro to fix it. Because I think it's probably one of those three things that's causing the issue.
ROBERT: Yeah. And another thing, it's got about between 20, 25 feet of – it has the corrugated duct. And we were thinking about changing that to the smooth, stovepipe kind of duct. Would that help, also?
TOM: Where is this 20, 25 feet? You mean from the discharge port all the way up to the attic where it discharges?
ROBERT: Yes.
TOM: That's a long way and certainly a solid metal duct is going to be better. Can you go up into the attic and then go sort of across the attic floor and down towards the soffit and install a vent right there?
ROBERT: It's possible. It's just a single-story house, so I'm sure I could do that. But the laundry room is in the middle of the house.
TOM: I've got to tell you, even if you had that venting perfectly, three – running this thing for three loads to dry one load of clothes sounds like it's something else and not necessarily totally venting.
ROBERT: OK. Yeah, we were thinking about – just don't think it's worth it to call somebody out there to fix it. We've got – we've found a fairly decent dryer. We know somebody that runs a childcare center and uses the one we're thinking about getting. And they run it five, six times a day and they've had theirs for three years.
TOM: I think that makes sense. Unfortunately, these products today are almost disposable because the cost of repair is so high. I will give you one other suggestion. There's a website called RepairClinic.com that's pretty good at helping you identify problems with appliances and then selling you the parts you need to fix it.
So, you may want to take a look at that. They have a little tool there where you can put in your model number and it'll walk you through the scenarios. And who knows? It might be a common problem with that particular model.
Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Still ahead, are you noticing cracks in your foundation? Well, they might indicate a major problem or they could be nothing more than cosmetic.
TOM: But how can you tell the difference? We're going to find out, with expert advice from This Old House general contractor, Tom Silva. He'll join us with tips on how to identify and fix those nasty foundation cracks, next.
[audio timestamp: 0:19:39]
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ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Icynene. If you're building, remodeling or reinsulating, demand Icynene Spray-Foam Insulation. Icynene fills the spaces other insulations miss, for up to 50-percent energy savings. Learn more and find a dealer at Icynene.com. I-c-y-n-e-n-e.com.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Give us a call right now at 888-MONEY-PIT with your home improvement question. We're standing by to help you get the job done.
Say, have you thought about recarpeting your house as a home improvement? It's not so easy. You do need to do some homework before you set foot in the store. If you go to our website at MoneyPit.com, we've got some help there. Just search "buying a carpet." There's a complete list of everything that you need to know before you set out for your carpet-shopping experience, to make sure you get the right product and the right advice for your particular project.
LESLIE: Donna in Texas, you've got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
DONNA: We're looking at doing wood flooring downstairs. We've completed the upstairs.
DONNA: And on the upstairs, where we had subflooring, we put cork between it and the preattached foam that went on back of the boards.
TOM: Right.
DONNA: On a slab – and I know there's varying things – but on a slab is – what can we do, aside from that flimsy, little piece of foam that's glued to the back of those boards? What else can we do that can insulate against cold on the slab?
TOM: Well, you can first put down a vapor barrier and then you – there's special types of underlayment that's designed for – what kind of flooring are you putting down? Laminate floor?
DONNA: We did laminate upstairs because there's not that much traffic.
TOM: Right. But what do you want to put downstairs?
DONNA: But we were thinking about doing real wood downstairs.
TOM: You want to put real wood on top of concrete?
DONNA: Yes, sir.
TOM: Yeah, you can't do that. You have to use engineered hardwood. You can't use solid hardwood on top of concrete, because it's too damp and it'll buckle. So, underneath the engineered hardwood, you're going to use an underlayment there. And that sort of comes in a roll and it's like a thin insulation and that'll help a little bit. But if it's that uncomfortable because of the temperature, then I think you're going to have to supplement this with some area rugs.
LESLIE: Well, the sight of a crack in your home's foundation might send a shiver of fear up your spine but not all cracks need to be so terrifying.
TOM: Well, that's right. The size, the length and even the direction of the crack can give you clues to why it's happened and just how worried you ought to be about it.
Here to help us sort out the simple from the serious is Tom Silva, the general contractor for TV's This Old House.
Welcome, Tom.
TOM SILVA: Thank you. It's nice to be here.
TOM: Well, it's good to have you, too. Now, what actually causes cracks in foundations and how do you tell if they're serious or not?
TOM SILVA: Well, a foundation that's concrete, it could be concrete block – but cracks occur because of moving. Something's moving, expansion and contraction, heat, cold. Everything's going to expand and everything's going to shrink. It's basically the nature of the beast.
TOM: It's almost unnatural to not have a crack. I mean virtually all foundations have some level of cracks and …
TOM SILVA: Hairline cracks or whatever. What you want to start looking for is anything major, like a diagonal crack that may go across the window, door, at the top of the corner. That could just simply be a weak link in that foundation and it's usually not a big deal. You can repair it with epoxies or even some hydraulic cement. It still may come back eventually, over time, but it can be fixed.
TOM: And that's interesting, too, because that is where the cracks show up, because that is technically the weakest part of the wall. It's not that the movement is around the window; it's just that that happens to be where the foundation has enough give to actually break apart and evidence itself.
TOM SILVA: Right. Because you think about it, the foundation is a big mass and it's moving in and out of that door opening. You don't see it move but there's a weak link where the header meets the side wall. So it's going to give right there and why not give there?
LESLIE: When should you be really concerned when you're looking at a crack in a foundation? Is it the thickness that's going to sort of give it away? If you see something that's fairly wide …
TOM: The width, exactly.
So let's say you have a diagonal crack that runs down your wall and it's a hairline crack, you're not going to be too concerned about it. But if it's a good-sized crack and that crack is opening, that tells me that there's some settling going on somewhere and there's movement.
LESLIE: And there's still movement.
TOM SILVA: The wall is dropping away from the wall above. So even – and that can even happen with a wide, vertical crack. If you look at a crack that's wide, it could end up to be like a ¼-inch wide and you're saying, "Well, gee, what's going on here? Did I have some movement?"
A couple of things can happen; actually, a few things can happen. If your foundation – underneath your foundation, there should be a footing. Well, years ago in the 50s, they didn't put footings under foundation and if the soil wasn't compacted correctly or if there was something under the foundation when they backfilled it – it rotted or deteriorated, created a void – the foundation can actually settle down. And if it's settling down on one corner, the crack at the top could get wider. If it's settling under the crack, the crack could get wider at the bottom because the foundation's sinking right at the crack.
So that's when you've got to figure out: "How am I going to get this fixed?" You may need to bring in a structural engineer. They may need to drill down some holes underneath the foundation, in the area that's settling, and basically compact it, put another footing under the foundation. It can be dangerous.
TOM: And that's a good point. I think when you have a crack that's that serious, it is a good idea to bring in a structural engineer, for a couple of reasons. First of all, you're going to get the right advice but secondly, you're going to get sort of a pedigree on the effectiveness of that repair. And when it comes time to sell the house, the crack's always going to show.
But if you can show that you had a structural engineer look at that and they specified how to repair it, then you had a contractor do it, the engineer came back and said, "Yes, this is done correctly; you have nothing to worry about," that's going to protect the value of your house.
TOM SILVA: It's going to cover you, sure. Absolutely.
There's another crack that you want to be careful of and if you have a block foundation, this is probably where you're going to see this more than in a poured foundation. If you have a horizontal crack halfway up the foundation wall, that tells me one thing: that 9 times out of 10, there's too much pressure on the outside of that foundation. And the pressure from the outside because you have poor drainage, you've done the wrong kind of compaction or too much compaction, the wall is actually bellying in.
TOM: Right.
TOM SILVA: And so the outside of the wall, think of that block as actually like a hinge. And the wall is opening up, the crack is opening up because it's coming in on you.
LESLIE: Would you see a symptom of that if it was a poured foundation or is that really just something that you're going to see with the block?
TOM SILVA: You're going to see it more on a block foundation than you will on a poured foundation, unless the poured foundation is a thinner wall construction.
When we pour foundations, even if it's not required by the code, we always throw some steel rod in the foundation: a couple of horizontals and a couple of verticals every now and then.
LESLIE: Why is that not required by code for all buildings?
TOM SILVA: Because if you can use a heavier concrete, a thicker wall, you don't really need it if the foundation wall isn't really holding back a lot. So let's say half of the foundation is out of the ground and you've got an 8-foot wall, you've got a pretty strong wall if it's a 10- or a 12-inch pour. You don't really need it. You use a 4,000- or 5,000-mix psi, you're not going to go anywhere.
TOM: That horizontal crack is very, very common and you're right: a lot of that has to do with drainage. And the bad thing about it is because it is sort of water-actuated, it's the frost heave.
TOM SILVA: Right. Frost.
TOM: And every year, it gets a little bigger, a little bigger and a little bigger. And eventually, that wall could come down.
TOM SILVA: Absolutely. And it will come in and it'll go right in. Think of the water as the enemy and in cold weather, it's even worse. Because that water gets in the ground, gets below the ground, freezes. It's an ice cube. What happens? They expand and they're going to go right against that foundation and blow it in a wall.
TOM: So the single most important thing that you can do to make sure that your foundation stays stable is watch the drainage.
TOM SILVA: Exactly.
TOM: Good advice. Tom Silva from TV's This Old House, thanks so much for stopping by The Money Pit.
TOM SILVA: My pleasure.
LESLIE: Alright. You can catch the current season of This Old House and Ask This Old House on PBS. Check your local listings by visiting ThisOldHouse.com.
TOM: And Ask This Old House is brought to you by Stanley. Stanley, make something great.
Well, the housing market is still a bit slow but things are starting to look up. That's why, next, we're going to have tips to help you sell your home in a recovering market.
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TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete. And the number here is 888-MONEY-PIT.
We have got a great prize up for grabs, as well as awesome home improvement information, of course. But a really great prize. We're giving away a high-tech way to check in on your house from pretty much anywhere at any time. It's the VueZone Wireless Home-Video System and it lets you see cameras that you've set up in your home from your computer or your smartphone. And it will even alert you if there is motion in your house. So give us a call at 888-MONEY-PIT for your chance to be the snoop on your own home.
TOM: Well, we don't have to tell you that the real estate market is a bit slow right now but that should not stop you from putting your house on the market, if you follow a few simple tips.
First, you want to give your house a mini-makeover. And think about projects that add value. For example, a front door. There's a lot of data out there that shows that if you update your entryway, it makes a big difference in your ability to sell your home because it has a very high perceived value.
You can also do less expensive things that are equally important, like servicing your mechanical systems. Want to make sure those are all working properly and also take care of any worn areas. What's a worn area? You know, the rotted window sill, faded or flaky paint and that sort of thing.
Next, think about staging your house. Now, that involves removing all the clutter and strategically placing furniture to make sure that you are letting light in and showing your home in the best possible light.
LESLIE: Yeah. You also want to help that buyer buy your house. In a slow market, potential buyers, they're looking for deals. So you want to offer incentives that put money in that buyer's pocket, such as buying down the interest rate or absorbing more of those closing costs.
Finally, you also want to hire a well-connected real estate agent because in a slow market, name recognition is super-important.
If you want some more tips, head on over to MoneyPit.com and search "sell your house in a slow market," and you will get a wealth of information.
TOM: 888-666-3974. That's a number that can also deliver you a wealth of information, if you pick up the phone and dial it with your home improvement question.
LESLIE: Mary in North Carolina is having a water issue at her money pit. How can we help you?
MARY: Yes. I have well water – well, I don't anymore – but it's been ruined over the several years. And the tub is porcelain and the tiles are not porcelain but they are stained with iron and I don't – I have tried CRL, everything to try to get it out and I just can't.
TOM: CLR, you mean.
MARY: Yes.
LESLIE: Hmm. And that's usually the one that'll do the trick. There's one that's called The Works, which is pretty much hydrochloric acid disguised in a clever cleaning bottle but it supposedly really tackles the toughest of rust stains. And I know people have used it with hard water or well-water stains and they say it's the greatest. We don't have that issue at our money pit but I know a lot of people lean to this. You just need to be very careful with the directions.
MARY: OK. Now, The Works is just a pump bottle. I've used that, also.
LESLIE: Wow, really?
TOM: Yep. I think you might be looking at some elbow grease here, Mary. I think you're going to have to use some sort of an abrasive like a pumice, to get down in there.
TOM: And listen, if all else fails, the other option is to add a tub liner.
MARY: A tub liner.
TOM: A tub liner basically drops into the existing tub and surrounds the whole thing.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. It's like a bath surround.
LESLIE: One of them is BATH FITTER. You know, there's so many different companies that do it.
MARY: What about the tile around the tub, though?
LESLIE: The liners – the surrounds – they'll have wall surrounds and wall liners. You can even add in handy, little soap-dish holders and shampoo holders.
MARY: Oh, OK.
LESLIE: But that really just surrounds everything that's there, so you never see it again.
MARY: And the pumice cleaners are just – do you have any by name or anything?
TOM: No. As long as – you can search for pumice cleaners online. You'll find a whole bunch of options.
MARY: And would you try that first?
TOM: By this point, I would try it next.
TOM: Alright, Mary?
MARY: OK. Well, thank you so much for having me on.
LESLIE: You are tuned to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. Insulation can be tricky in tight spaces. We're going to tell you how to make crawlspaces cozy and sealed, after this.
[audio timestamp: 0:33:13]
(theme song)
ANNOUNCER: The Money Pit is brought to you by Santa Fe, makers of the world's most energy-efficient basement and crawlspace dehumidifier. Santa Fe offers a complete line of high-capacity, Energy Star-rated dehumidifiers, specifically designed to effectively operate in the cooler temperatures of crawlspaces and basements. Visit DehumidifierSolutions.com to learn more.
TOM: Making good homes better, welcome back to The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show on air and online at MoneyPit.com. I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete. And have you visited the Community section of our website lately? Well, if you haven't, we've got a lot of new, great stuff on there. In fact, we've got a panel of experts that can answer any of your home improvement dilemmas. Just log on to MoneyPit.com, head over to the Community section, post your question. We love hearing from you and we love answering you.
And we're going to jump into some of those posts now and I've got one here from Eileen in North Carolina who wrote: "My bathroom's a little weird. There seems to be a ¼-inch gap between the tub and the tile. Is that too much to cover with caulk? Love your program."
TOM: Oh, there's no such thing as too big a gap to caulk; just ask all the sloppy trim carpenters out there.
LESLIE: Right.
TOM: What I would do in a bathroom, though, is this. First of all, I'd make sure all the old, junky caulk is totally cleaned out of there. And then I would probably, if it was that big of a gap, I might do it in two applications. So I'd kind of backfill the gap first with one application of caulk, let it dry and then add the second sort of finish coat on top of that just a few hours later. This way, if you put too much in it and then kind of sag – and it might pull away from the edge of the tile, Eileen, and that might leave a space where water can get in.
And speaking of water, by the way, a good trick of the trade for caulking your tub is to fill it with water first, because it kind of weights it down and pulls it down. And then after the caulk dries, you can let that water out and the tub will come up and compress the caulk and it's not as likely to pull apart again.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And you might be surprised when you fill that tub, that ¼-inch gap could become like a 3/8.
TOM: Yeah, right?
LESLIE: You never know what's going on in there.
Here's one from Cas in North Carolina who writes: "We have six steps heading from our kitchen to our living room. I removed the carpet from these and now I feel a lot of cold air coming up. What is the best way to insulate under my steps?"
TOM: Well, if you've got cold air coming up, I'm guessing you probably have a crawlspace under this or a basement but most likely a crawlspace. Crawlspaces, if they're properly ventilated, should be fairly chilly. In the area, though, where a staircase comes down can sometimes get ignored. So I would go down in that crawlspace, under that step, and look up.
First of all, make sure that you've got plenty of insulation in the floor joists. And if there is an area that was carved out to accommodate those steps, you may need to box that a little bit further so that you can attach insulation to it. And if you seal the entire area where the bottom of the stairs are, then that should make a big difference in trying to keep that warmer. And then when you get done, just sort of re-covering those steps, I think the whole thing would be just that much more energy-efficient.
LESLIE: You know, Tom, when we're on the subject of crawlspaces, I think moisture is always a big concern. Do we need to worry, since we're insulating, about putting down a vapor barrier to keep it dry?
TOM: That's a really good point, because you do get a lot of moisture that comes up off the ground. And if you have soil, the easiest thing to do is just to get some really thick plastic sheeting and lay it down on top of the soil. You can overlap it about 4 feet so no moisture comes up through it. And that will make a big difference in stopping the evaporation of the moisture into the insulation. And that actually makes the insulation a lot more energy-efficient. If the insulation gets damp, it just doesn't do its job.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's a really good point. And then you're not going to feel warm at all, so definitely follow those steps, Cas, if you want to feel no more drafts from your staircase.
TOM: This is The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show. Thank you so much for spending this hour with us. Time to take on those home improvement projects. Now we hope you are armed with the information that you need to get that job done in your house. If you're not, remember, you can head on over to our website 24-7 at MoneyPit.com, post your question in the Community section. Or if you're really stuck and you just can't get to sleep at night and you just need to have somebody to ask this question to, call us at 888-MONEY-PIT. Because 24-7, we are there for you.
I'm Tom Kraeutler.
LESLIE: And I'm Leslie Segrete.
TOM: Remember, you can do it yourself ...
LESLIE: But you don't have to do it alone.
End 1 TEXT
(Copyright 2012 Squeaky Door Productions, Inc. No portion of this transcript or audio file may be reproduced in any format without the express written permission of Squeaky Door Productions, Inc.)


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Bring side edges of the skirt panel together, pin, and sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance to create a skirt "tube".
Quick and Easy Fat Quarter Skirt Tutorial
111 Comments
Kelly O.August 20, 2012 at 10:32 am
I just love this fabric! my summer memory isn't a favourite but moving over 2 hours away to a new home in the middle of a new city, church, job and school sure has been an adventure so far!
KVattAugust 20, 2012 at 10:34 am
Fishing with my grandpa and catching a huge Northern!
Dora, the QuilterAugust 20, 2012 at 10:38 am
I can think of several things for which that fabric would be perfect.
One of my favorite summer memories is of watching and sometimes catching fireflies. I now live where the altitude is so high that we do not have fireflies, and was thrilled when we were able to vacation where my daughter saw them for the first time.
giddy99August 20, 2012 at 10:43 am
Best summer memory? A BIG multi-family vacation to the beach (Gulf of Mexico) a few years back. A week of sunning, seafood and games. 🙂
JulieAugust 20, 2012 at 10:47 am
Love this color combination!
JaymeAugust 20, 2012 at 11:00 am
My favorite summer memory is spending several weekend in a row at my favorite lake in Northern California. I would wake up to the smell of bacon cooking and the sounds of dogs barking kids splashing and boats running. LOvE. And I LOVE that bundle!!! Sooooo pretty!!!
B GreeneAugust 20, 2012 at 11:19 am
What a great project – maybe I will have a granddaughter to sew for someday – sigh… My favorite summer memory is the fun we had swimming in our parents' pool. Fun, fun times 🙂
SarinaAugust 20, 2012 at 11:19 am
Love these colors! One thing I love is that my daughter still LOVES when I make her things… dresses, bags, quilts, anything.
KatyAugust 20, 2012 at 11:40 am
My favorite summer memory is my 15 month old eating a giant piece of watermelon on 4th of July. It was the cutest mess I have ever seen and she was so happy. I follow Art Gallery Fabrics on twitter and their blog on my google reader.
Mom2RyandSisAugust 20, 2012 at 11:40 am
Cute Skirt! Thanks for the chance to win!
LauraAugust 20, 2012 at 11:40 am
Favorite summer memory — water fights with our neighbor friends. And I love these fabrics and this skirt, so pretty!
Jill @ Create.Craft.Love.August 20, 2012 at 11:41 am
Adorable! What great fabrics! My favorite summer memory was watching my 2 year old get so excited to see Shamu at Sea World this summer. His excitement made me excited!
LynnAugust 20, 2012 at 11:51 am
My favorite summer memories are of the lake and beach with my family! I follow Agf on pinterest and via rss!
Cara at Handful of TreasuresAugust 20, 2012 at 11:56 am
Done :)! I love the Summerlove color palette! I'm a newbie to sewing and uber-newbie to quilting, but my love runs deep 😀
JanAugust 20, 2012 at 11:59 am
My best summer memory is of camping with my family.
Jennie P.August 20, 2012 at 12:16 pm
My favorite SUmmer memory is anytime I'd go to the lake house that my grandparents owned. Swimming all day and delicious food! You get so hungry when you swim all day. 🙂
TiaraAugust 20, 2012 at 12:19 pm
I love summer especially thr fresh fruit!
JoelleAugust 20, 2012 at 12:25 pm
During the summer we used to slide down the grass-covered hill behind our house on pieces of cardboard. It was so much fun. And summer lasted forever in those days. Now summer is over in a blink.
pinksuedeshoeAugust 20, 2012 at 12:40 pm
It's lovely Amy! These are some of my favorite colors, and they look soo great all together. I would totally wear this. You know, a bit longer 🙂
MimiAugust 20, 2012 at 12:44 pm
My favorite summertime memory was having $.25 snow cones from Mendoza's store which was behind the city park which was across from my home. They were extra large with cherry and banana flavors and the best.
CJAugust 20, 2012 at 12:50 pm
Adorable skirt! This summer's favorite memory – my daughter's wedding. 🙂
BeckyAugust 20, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Love the fabric! My favorite summer activity is hanging out with my kids!
Holly SurpliceAugust 20, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Gorgeous skirt! Fav childhood memory is hay-making time on the farm, I still remember the smell of the fresh hay and how it felt when the sun was shining!
TracyAugust 20, 2012 at 1:12 pm
So cute! One of my favorite memories was spending a summer with my cousin on the farm in Minnesota, so much fun!
~Damita's Pretty Wrap~August 20, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Lovely giveaway! Such pretty fabrics!! Going to look at your tutorial! 🙂 Happy Monday!xx Holly
Amber @ fromtheseedsAugust 20, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Love this fabric! I can't wait to start making summer memories with my new son! <3
trishAugust 20, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Oh how cute! Heading over there now Amy.
I really want to learn how to sew my own
skirts and other garments. :o)
Have a great week. Love ya! Trish
ps. Will be playing with the Tapestry
mini real soon. Thanks so much!!
DonnaAugust 20, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Very cute! I have subscribed and following on Pinterest! Thanks for the chance to win this great fabric.
JenAugust 20, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Love this summery fabric! I follow them on FB and subscribe to their blog.
Melissa CorryAugust 20, 2012 at 1:56 pm
This is so adorable Amy!!! You just blow me away with all of your amazingly adorable tutorials!!
LisaAugust 20, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Just started following AFG on FB, and I will definitely be making this skirt. Maybe for the first day of school?!
Elisabet MolinAugust 20, 2012 at 2:10 pm
My strongest memory of summer is my grand mother sitting in her blue rose patterned dress picking black currents. Sunshine and summer at its best!

AllisonAugust 20, 2012 at 2:40 pm
this fabric is so pretty! thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
KristineAugust 20, 2012 at 2:50 pm
The skirt looks divine. My favourite summer memory is spending endless hours in the surf with my brother at our annual summer holiday up the coast.
QuiltjaneAugust 20, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Beautiful fabric and great tutorial. My fondest summer memory is water skiing on the glassy water as the sun goes down over the bay (hearing the jaws music in my head and hoping I won't fall off the ski)
Miss Beau JanglesAugust 20, 2012 at 3:00 pm
My favourite part of every summer is the Festival of Quilts, and now it's over for another year 🙁 Thanks for the chance x
TraceyAugust 20, 2012 at 3:21 pm
Lovely fabrics and a great tutorial 🙂 My favorite part of summer is time with my kids on a more relaxed schedule (and no preparing school lunches)
Layne BushellAugust 20, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I love this skirt…super cute. Just so happens I have a 10 year old DD who would love it! The fabric is amazing. My favorite summer memory is every year as a kid we'd travel from California to Montpelier, Idaho. We'd drive all night long (15 hours) and arrive at Bear Lake in the morning. I could hardly wait to crest Logan canyon and see the sparkling blue lake. Even to this day (I&#
ChelseaAugust 20, 2012 at 3:28 pm
Such a cute skirt and gorgeous bundle! My best memory from this summer so far will be going swimming in the river with my dog on Saturday. The water was gorgeous but her reaction was the best part. She was so stressed! She's supposed to swim, mum and dad are supposed to stay out of the water. I think I kind of blew her mind!

Thanks for the giveaway.
HeidiAugust 20, 2012 at 3:51 pm
I loved making sno cones in the summer when I was a kid.
KristieAugust 20, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Oh goodness, that looks like a breath of fresh air!
KristineAugust 20, 2012 at 4:36 pm
lovely pattern, i think i might have to sew one up tomorrow!! favorite summer memory…being at the lake with my whole family ♥
doloresAugust 20, 2012 at 4:38 pm
Was thinking of you yesterday….as I perused the Antique Emporium in Frederick! Wasn't as fun as when we went there!! Sorry…no cool Pyrex!xoxo
annemarieAugust 20, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Lovely skirt – my favorite memories are the time spent with my three little grandsons.
bethanndoddAugust 20, 2012 at 5:07 pm
ADORABLE!!! If only I had a daughter!
Smiles~Beth
hueiseiAugust 20, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Lovely skirt. I loved swimming with my siblings 🙂
BeccaAugust 20, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Love the fabric collection. My favorite summer memory is my son's wedding. It was a beautiful day!!
jemflAugust 20, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Great combo of fabrics! My memories of summer-walking to the playground for craft classes. Braiding gimp!
rinkcomms.netAugust 20, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Cute, cute, cute fabrics! What a great way to end the summer! When I think back to my childhood summers, I remember running out after dinner to play with the other neighborhood kids until my dad whistled us home. He had this amazingly loud and distinct whistle, something like "whee-you-WEEEEEEEE-you!" and when we heard it, no matter what we were doing, we were to head home. Other kids
FalkFamilyAugust 20, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Cute fabrics – One of my favorite summer memories is the 4th of July – we have such a great tradition and the kiddos are really starting to enjoy it and look forward to it every year.
Jezibels ~ sproutbabysprout.blogspot.comAugust 20, 2012 at 7:01 pm
My favorite summertime memory is camping at Devils Lake and taking breaks from swimming to snack cubes of cheddar cheese and strawberries on a blanket on the beach!
pizzaeaterAugust 20, 2012 at 7:09 pm
My favorite summer memory is going to the movies with my dad. I saw some great movies back then. Also, a favorite summer memory was going to the Central library with my dad. Those trips were the reasons I love to read so much.
VanessaAugust 20, 2012 at 7:12 pm
an ongoing favorite summer memory would have to be going to the pool here on the farm with our 9yr old grandson :-)Luv these fabrics and your cute skirt, Thank You!
sunnieday4uAugust 20, 2012 at 7:30 pm
That fabric is wonderful. My favorite summer memories are all the great vacations I took with my family growing up.
Marcia W.August 20, 2012 at 7:57 pm
We follow AGF on FB and Pinterest (under Margaret W. and Margaret Quilts), and subscribe to the Art Gallery Fabrics blog. This is a cute skirt and does look like would be quick and easy to make. Thanks for the chance to win AGF fabrics, and the tutorial.
CJ & MelAugust 20, 2012 at 8:01 pm
Summer = sun = fun. Thanks for the opportunity. I've liked AGF for awhile on FB already!

m_opel(at)yahoo(dot)com
MargaretAugust 20, 2012 at 8:17 pm
My favorite memory is picking blackberries with my sisters and bringing tons (well, not literally) of them home to my mom who made blackberry pies. Mmmmmm
betsAugust 20, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Favorite memories are just spending the summer in MN with my grandchildren! Live in the south all winter so this is fun! Have 2 Little girls to make skirts for…..great tutorial!
MelissaAugust 20, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Beautiful! I love spending time with friends. Random adventures.
GunillaAugust 20, 2012 at 9:14 pm
Recent summer memory: an evening swim in a lake just 4 minutes walk from my home. The woods surrounding the lake, the eater soft and refreshing… Love it!
Lisa in Port HopeAugust 20, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Running through the sprinkler, with the grass all crispy under my bare feet because we didn't usually water the lawn. I follow AGF on Facebook as well as their blog (and yours, do I get bonus points?)
SewSealyAugust 20, 2012 at 9:35 pm
Cute skirt. 🙂 I am curious, on the inside seams, you didn't mention you used a serger or zig zag over them. Are you concerned that they will fray over time or will it be okay not to? It's such a cute skirt. The fabric is perfect! I would love to win and make my own. 🙂 Thank you for the give away! I follow Art Gallery's block and Facebook.
TrudySAugust 20, 2012 at 10:02 pm
With Spring/Summer looming around the corner in the southern hemisphere I can imagine so many uses for this soft summery range of fabrics, gorgeous!
HaleyAugust 20, 2012 at 10:20 pm
Such lovely fabrics. My favorite summer memory is hunting shells on the beach with my family. I follow the Art Gallery Blog and follow them on twitter. Thanks for the nifty tutorial. So cute!
AnitaAugust 20, 2012 at 11:46 pm
Very cute skirt! Love the fabric! My favorite summer memory is spending the day at Golden Gate park feeding the ducks and walking through the gardens.
ZuzanAugust 21, 2012 at 1:05 am
Love Art Gallery fabrics Pat Bravo & Bari J. so thank you for this giveaway. My favourite summer memory is the beach, walking in the shallow water to feel crabs hidden under foot or trying to get worms from the sand which were yards long. I never got the knack but some would just extract them taller than they were. Amazing. Hot sand, cold water, sun setting, kids again,

Thank
dianeAugust 21, 2012 at 2:46 am
cute skirt, love the fabrics, I follow AGF on Twitter and their blog. My favorite summer memory…12 years old, laying on the driveway at 10 pm getting a "moon tan".
RosaAugust 21, 2012 at 3:03 am
Those fabrics are just beautiful and my favorite summer memory when I was a child is riding a bike with friends and eating ice cream,going to the pool.Now I love go to the beach ,walking and tapas with.

your skirt is just elegant and beautiful!!

I`m a happy follower of you and Art Gallery Fabrics.Thanks for the giveaway!!
SiobhánAugust 21, 2012 at 4:24 am
I follow Art Gallery Fabrics on my yahoo page and follow your blog as well. Oh, and I follow AGF on Twitter, too.

LOVE the skirt! It's so cute!

My favorite summer memory is of the years before the recession hit us so badly and we were able to go home to the US and visit my side of the family and all of our friends. Sigh… Please God we'll get to that point again!
CherilynAugust 21, 2012 at 5:31 am
My favorite memory of summer is staying out late and catching fire flies. I am a follower.
Quilt KnightlyAugust 21, 2012 at 6:12 am
I've been enjoying your blog. Beautiful!
Karen P.August 21, 2012 at 6:51 am
I follow art gallery on fb. & now also their blog.
I love going camping in the summer!
BriawnaAugust 21, 2012 at 6:59 am
honestly, my favorite thing about summer is being to just relax with my kids at the pool. they get worn out, i get a tan. everyone's happy. i follow AGF on FB and pinterest, as well as follow their blog in reader. thanks!
NancyAugust 21, 2012 at 7:58 am
I thik that skirt is adorable and I love the fabrics you used. Thanks for having a giveaway and thanks for the tutorial.
firstname.lastname@example.com

ChristyAugust 21, 2012 at 8:04 am
Thanks for the FQ give away. I love your skirt! My fav summer memory is wading in a cool creek with my brother and sisters,(that we were told not go near to by our parents). Of course one of us fell in so we were busted.
Lynn DixAugust 21, 2012 at 8:15 am
Great tutorial…My favorite summer memory is making clover chains and wearing them on our heads or around our necks.
JacklynnAugust 21, 2012 at 8:19 am
Thanks for the give away – my favorite summer memory is waking up and having the whole day ahead of me to do what I wanted – no school! I would usually end up walking to the neighborhood pool and go swimming.
JacklynnAugust 21, 2012 at 8:20 am
I follow AGF blog and on Facebook.
SharonAugust 21, 2012 at 10:16 am
I subscribe to agf.
I took a summer vacation in Hawaii this year. I loved snorkeling
no_ideaAugust 21, 2012 at 10:35 am
I love summer for the lack of schedules! It's nice to kick back and spend time together. Thank you for the chance, I am a follower.
Jane M.August 21, 2012 at 10:40 am
I love to work in the garden in the summer, but only until it gets too hot, then its indoors for quilting!

oAnholtAugust 21, 2012 at 12:01 pm
My favorite summers were spent at the city pool. The smell of chlorine and cracker jacks still takes me back…
TheMugglePuggleAugust 21, 2012 at 12:33 pm
My favorite summer memories always involve family vacations. The two that stand out are a 3 week long road trip throughout all of California's great sights, and the others are all of our Disney vacations. I've been to Disney World too many times to count…
blondie19012kAugust 21, 2012 at 3:01 pm
I love to take my little boy to the splash pools or the beach in summer, lots of good memories of doing that :)
Love the skirt :)
I follow and subscribe to AGF too!
CarynAugust 21, 2012 at 5:58 pm
My favorite summer memory was two years ago when we took my then two-year old daughter to the ocean for the first time. She loved it! 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win – this fabric is so lovely!

Caryn (www.sewneatbycaryn.com)
AddibraeAugust 21, 2012 at 8:54 pm
My favourite summer memories are of the beach
Ampligen Patient with CFSAugust 21, 2012 at 9:09 pm
I had a fun summer memory the other day when a pod of dolphins surfaced just yards away when I was dipping my feet in the ocean.
SherriAugust 21, 2012 at 9:17 pm
It's such a great skirt Amy…and the fabrics are beautiful! My favorite summer memory is chasing fireflies as a little girl while visiting my Grandparents in Iowa! They were such a magical thing that we didn't have in Nevada!
MBAugust 21, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Such a cute skirt. I have a 12 year old girl that I could possibly convince to actually wear a skirt if she had one like this. We could also make a mini version for her 2 year old sister. My favorite summer memory is watching my dad's face turn red after I see him looking at a pretty girl on the beach and informing him that she was in my class at school. So funny!
CarolynAugust 21, 2012 at 9:35 pm
I adore fat quarters! Especially the ones you picked. Cute! My favorite summer memories involve southeastern Idaho – miserable in the winter, but absolutely incredible during the summer (a season I never appreciated while living in so. NV). When you could see the Tetons clearly, they were absolutely breathtaking! Even though summer lasted for just a couple of months, hiking at the Palisades in
PugsAugust 21, 2012 at 9:38 pm
Our little local water park, "Cherry Hill" in Farmington Utah, is our memory making location. Fun in the Sun! I love the colors of this current giveaway. So warm and sunny. I would be tickled pink to win.
dreamalittledreamalotAugust 22, 2012 at 4:48 am
Cloud watching by the river near my house would be my favourite summer memory. I'd love to make something bright and beautiful from these fabrics!
LeahAugust 22, 2012 at 6:02 am
That is a beautiful skirt! And the fabrics are wonderful!
Amy GibsonAugust 22, 2012 at 7:16 am
Cute tut, Amy! I always love seeing the fun quick projects you come up with for fat quarters- you have a gift my friend! XO
Amy GibsonAugust 22, 2012 at 7:18 am
PS- I am loving the note on your comment form and I couldn't possibly agree more. BLOGGER IS MAKING ME INSANE! Don't they hear the 1000s and 1000s of bloggers griping all over the net about this problem? It's maddening. Hoping an easy solution is found soon, for all of our sakes! XO
amers56August 22, 2012 at 8:12 am
lovely skirt and fabrics! my favorite summer memory is glastonbury festival! (all of them, haha). I am hoping to add to my favourite summer memories with the birth of my little girl in a couple of weeks 🙂
andri.August 22, 2012 at 8:34 am
My favourite summer memory is hanging out with friends and family for a trip:)
andri_chama(at)yahoo(dot)com
Miss KimAugust 22, 2012 at 9:21 am
Great skirt. My favorite summer memory? Popsicles.
HKittrellAugust 22, 2012 at 1:48 pm
My favorite summer memory is camping at the lake and spending the entire day in the water!
KurtzCraftsAugust 22, 2012 at 2:29 pm
The skirt is so beautiful! Thank you for sharing! My favorite summer memory would be toes in the sand, planted on a towel next to my husband!
clairesopranoAugust 22, 2012 at 3:31 pm
My favorite summer memory is sitting in a cabin in the mountains while the rain is falling and the fog is rolling in! Thanks for the giveaway!
AmberAugust 22, 2012 at 11:53 pm
Ahhh… I just can't get enough of Art Gallery. Nothing better than their silky soft feel. And your stack of fq's with those soft tones…to die for! Love love love! Thanks Amy and Art Gsllery Fabrics
-Amber!
JocelynAugust 23, 2012 at 6:43 am
Love this fabric! My favorite summer memory is of visiting relatives in beautiful western NY. It was always so much fun hanging out with everyone and being in the country for a while.
ElaineAugust 23, 2012 at 2:14 pm
I love your projects! Thank you for sharing your talents!

fashionmommieAugust 23, 2012 at 6:23 pm
My favorite summer memory this summer was getting to go to a work related seminar in historic Leiscter England and getting to tour London on the weekend.
StephanieAugust 23, 2012 at 8:57 pm
My favorite summer memory is spending two weeks in Michigan with our family. We are military and we only get to see them twice a year. Not enough! Ice cream, cook outs, country life, swimming, cousins, kayaking, and kittens. Hugs and kisses… oh the memories! Shuttermom77 at gmail dot com
Rachel SAugust 24, 2012 at 7:31 am
I really love the pinks in this collection. One of my favorite summer memories was camping in the Dells.
StephanieAugust 24, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Love the Summerlove collection!!
LauraAugust 24, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Love these fabrics! My favorite summer memory is seeing Lady Antebellum in concert. Such a fun night!
Thanks for the chance to win!
Anne RitaAugust 24, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Both the fabrics and the skirt so nice! Thanks!

I've got mye best summer memories being at my grandparents house by the sea, fishing and bathing and doing all kinds of fun stuff.
mary fordAugust 8, 2013 at 12:01 am
I don't really have a favorite summer memory but I love going to the beach and backyard bbq's. Anyway thanks for the chance to win.