September 20, 2025

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The Custom Potting Shed

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This is the cutest potting shed that I built off site and attached  it to the house once it was complete. There are several great things about this potting shed. It can be attached anywhere on your house, and by doing this, you only have the cost of building 3 walls (the back wall is your existing house). You can make it any size you need, this particular shed was built on a decked patio in a small courtyard.( finished size was 2′ x 4′) The picture shows just how well it was incorporated into the existing townhouse. (paint color and making it conform to the existing architecture). Finally the real cute part of this custom job was a recycled door. I got this door from another job and had it in storage waiting for just the right project. I realize that most of you don’t have this option, but I can tell you that Habitat for Humanity resale stores have great old doors that are very reasonable. And as you can tell with this little shed, the door is the crown jewel! Plus recycling an old door is just a really good thing.( saves you money and it doesn’t end up in the landfill). I do think the plastic Rubbermaid storage shed will serve the same purpose , but won’t be as sturdy  or last as long and certainly doesn’t have the same “wow” factor of this little potting shed! So the next time you’re in the market for a potting shed, build one with character!  Stephen Spurling

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Getting Old Is A State Of Mind…NOT!

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          I have a strong opinion on this subject. I think that getting older is not a state of mind, but a state of the body! My mind is great and I love the way it works… thinking I am still 21…. I mean; I think the same as when I was younger except for my well-earned wisdom. However I don’t feel young when it comes to the changes that I see and feel with my body. I see all the gray hair and the wrinkles. I feel the aches and pains of my joints. Plain and simple my body is aging faster than my mind. I think this can be cause  for great frustration, as I can embrace my gray hair and wrinkles ,but my body must continue to work! This is why I think it is important to keep moving, trudging through the aches and pains of our bodies. I remember my grandmother saying ” I have a “hitch in my get along” (meaning to her , that her body was failing). She still made breakfast every morning, did her daily chores and spent every afternoon rocking on the front porch. She always said; ” a strong body is the best medicine for a strong mind” I now understand. Let me put it this way; if the body slows down and it will before the mind does, don’t give in to your physical aches and pains. After all, being able to get up and go is a powerful stimulant for the mind. So when you get that “hitch in your get along” keep going… your mind will be all the better for it.   Stephen Spurling

Filed Under: Southern Gentleman, "Living Life with Ease" Tagged With: , , ,

Feeling “non-plus”and sharing the negative energy…

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Why can some people hide their “bad mood” (what I term as feeling “non-plus”) better than others.  For people who can’t hide their less than stellar mood, does this mean their character is flawed? I believe not.  They are hurting inside and feel the need to express these feelings outward.(getting attention is a need we all have) Although I must admit that we all can’t feel a 100% everyday,  I do believe that we all can spare sharing the negative energy! Think about it… do you want to be around someone who is “woe is me“…NO!  So remember the next time you are feeling what I call “non-plus” try hard not to share your pain as you will only be remembered for “sucking the air out of the room.” It may seem totally impossible to smile when you feel there is nothing to smile about, but we all want to be remembered for our positive energy, don’t we?. Try it,  as we all know that we get back from others what we give off. And I will tell you this… if you share your negative energy with others you will get nothing in return. This will only make your day more miserable and lonely. I have alway said,” I had rather be around someone’s dog that just had eight puppies than someone’s dog that just died”. I am not being insensitive to people’s problems, but generally when someone asks “how are you doing” they are just being polite. Sharing negative energy… is not something to be shared period!   As Dr Jill Bolte Taylor said ” please take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space” Stephen Spurling

Filed Under: Southern Gentleman, "Living Life with Ease"

We can have anything we want….

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We can have anything we want , we just can’t have everything we want. When we get something we want, we give up something else. This is true for even the richest of men, for if they didn’t give up something in exchange for something else… they too would eventually run out of money!  Once we realize this… the rewards are sweeter and the disappointments are manageable! Stephen Spurling

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Good tip for cleaning glass shower doors

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I love finding multiple uses for household items, and hate cleaning as most people do.  So here are two tips that will help with both. If you have glass shower doors use a new, not used fabric softener sheet (bounce) to clean off soap scum. The coarseness of the dryer sheet cuts through the soap scum, but doesn’t scratch the glass  (if you have a lot of soap scum build up, it may take several sheets). Once the doors are clean use Rain-X window cleaner as the finally step. You will be amazed at how clean it will make your glass. Rain-X works just like it does on your car windshield, the water  beads up and runs off! This will cut down on the number of times you have to clean. So don’t just use  your fabric softener sheet in the dryer only and go buy some Rain-X window cleaner. Rain-X will become a staple in your home once you try it! And, I almost forgot…. use the Rain-X cleaner on your car windshield too, since it was made for that! Stephen Spurling

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A Quick Head To Toe “Flip”

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I have renovated  a bunch of houses over the years and this one was the worst, but turned out to be my favorite. We were able to finish this ” head to toe” renovation in 4 months! I felt the most like an Artist with this renovation as I started out with very little bones. Once I got into it… well let’s just say  the few bones I thought it had, were broken! EXAMPLE:The house was built in the early 1940’s and this was about the time they started using plywood as sub-flooring… Well it being a new product… the original builder installed it improperly. I want you to understand the proper way to install plywood but it would probably bore you. Let’s just say that I had to take up all the hardwood floors and re-lay new plywood. Do you get my point in telling you this, the house needed way more than a face lift. I had a vision for this project and I am the type that had to follow thru or the project would have just became “work”. I, of course saw money disappearing from my pockets with all the broken bones!(way over budget) Knowing full well that my vision for the house could not be compromised. I just worked faster in an effort to saving as much money as possible on carrying costs, so I could keep my vision alive!  We could have a 10 page discussion on what it took to renovate this house, but these before and after pictures say it all! Stephen Spurling

 

Filed Under: Featured, Home Renovations Large and Small

The “Soul” of our being…

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Have you ever wondered why we are all  uniquely different, but our physical bodies are the same? We can interchange parts… I can give you a kidney and it will work! The differences in each one of us is our soul. Wondering what makes a person laugh and another not? The Soul of our being  is what makes us different. I often think of my childhood years when my mother would feed me and my brother the same food and teach us the same rules, yet we turned out to be total opposites…. Well… the Soul of our being was different. No one can teach a soul how to act one way or another, but the mind that carries that soul can. Always adjust your thinking to preserve your inner being…I say be a “kind” soul, as I believe that when our physical bodies give out, our soul is eternally ours. Stephen Spurling

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It is up to us, Americans…and we can do it!

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We can bring  jobs back to this country, and we cannot rely on Washington to do it for us! ( they have their own political agenda)  We can rebuild the American dream if each one of us make the effort to buy products that are made in the USA. It will be difficult and most of all time-consuming, but our country ( everyday people) are in need of jobs and we all are in need of  believing in the  American dream again.  “The land of opportunity” This economic situation has held each and every one of us hostage, in one way or another( mentally or financially) … you can’t move  forward or up…. we are all treading water and it has got to stop! I seriously want you to research just ONE product that we all use that is made in America, and pass it on to me and your friends. If each one of us just do one product… we can make a difference. It was an epiphany for me to see the story on an average man who decided to build a house out of all American made products…Let the politicians have their elections, and we will do this ourseleves. IT CAN BE DONE….  Stephen Spurling

Filed Under: Southern Gentleman, "Living Life with Ease", Uncategorized

How to Build A Made In America Home

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I will be glad to do more than 5%  This was featured on ABC news! 

   

ht MIA Home nt 111010 wblog How to Build a Made in America Home

In Bozeman, Montana, Anders Lewendal is hard at work building a home he hopes will be a blueprint for creating jobs in America.

Lewendal, an economist turned builder, is constructing a house made entirely from American-made products. Everything from the nails, screws and bolts, to the steel, staples and bathtub is made in the United States.

In all there are more than 120 products from more than 33 states. However, the builders do acknowledge that using American products can be more expensive.

A box of nails is $5 more than those made in China and steel is $146 more a bundle. Even though certain goods are more expensive, in total, the cost of the house is nearly identical. Currently, the all-American home, which is not yet finished , is running only 1 to 2 percent more than a foreign-sourced house.

Lewendal is convinced that if every builder bought just 5 percent more American materials it would create 220,000 jobs.

THIS STORY WAS  FEATURED ON ABC NEW. I am going to make every effort to use made in America products with all future projects. This is what we all have to do! Bring America Back from the brink! Stephen Spurling

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Nervous wreck… Get a rocking chair!

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I have often encountered nervous people, and I grew up with a father that as he himself would admit and say…” I am so nervous, I could thread a sewing machine with it running!” (pretty scary thought, but funny) I have discovered that a rocking chair, as simple as it sounds, can help expel some of that nervous energy. Think about sitting in a rocking chair, your whole body is still,(except for a little head and neck motion)  rocking back and forth as hard as one wants! You may start out rocking really hard (fast) at first, but in a short period of time, you will find the rocking will become softer and easier. The peacefulness of rocking can put ones mind at ease. So the next time your nerves are getting the best of you, go to your rocking chair. I bet you will feel so much better after a “good rock”. I don’t imagine this to be proven scientifically. I do know that growing up in the south most families had rocking chairs and we did calm our nerves by just rocking. Slowing life down and taking stock in that present moment is good… As for my father, well he can still thread a sewing machine with it running, but I will say, he’s 81 years old and still going strong. So rock and rest your mind… we all need a moment!

Filed Under: Southern Gentleman, "Living Life with Ease" Tagged With: , , ,
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