Learn how to clean 7 tough stains off your walls — and ensure a lasting paint job.   You can't wait to cover up that nasty beige on your walls, but as you take a close look at all the areas you're gonna have to prep you see a lot of grime, gunk, and stuff that looks too stubborn for your standard vinegar wash. Any cleaning rookie can wipe off dust and cobwebs. But it takes a cleaning pro to scour grease stains, watermarks, and kids’ crayon and ink wall art.   Kitchen Grease on Walls     Grease is an occupational hazard of cooking. If only it wouldn't find it's way onto your walls and cabinets, trapping all kinds of gunk. Yuck! Good news. Any decent dish soap can remove grease stains on walls. For small stains, mix: 1/4 teaspoon of soap in a cup of warm water, and wipe. Rinse with c... 06/28/2021

Successfully threading my way through a day with occasional rain, I made my first visit in several weeks to Winterthur Museum and Gardens.  After a rather silly encounter with a woman staffing the visitor center, who told me I needed a mask for the couple of feet I traversed through the visitor center (then said I didn't need one as I went out another door a second later), I proceeded mask free on my hour and a half walk through the gardens.  This was a great day for different types of hydrangeas, ranging from the Oak Leaf Hydrangeas to the Smooth Leaf type. One path was lined on both sides with the Oak Leafs.  Then I saw a plant thrusting its way up throughthe forest floor in many places on the grounds. Using my Google Lens, I found it was Black Cohash, a herbal remedy for various ills... 06/26/2021

  Although the summer months are a favorite for so many of us, homeowners can get stressed by the skyrocketing energy bills as your struggle to keep things cool inside the house. If you want to cut back on how much you’re spending on utility bills, a few behavioral strategies can make a huge difference. Consider the following popular strategies to keep utility bills manageable during the hottest months of the year.   Use Your Ceiling Fans Instead of switching on your air conditioner, consider turning on the ceiling fans instead. When we feel hot in the summer, most of the time it’s because of a lack of air circulation around the house. There’s no better way to increase the cool airflow around your home than by using the ceiling fans. When the fans are on, you can even switch off the ai... 06/08/2021

Remember all those who have served. Delaware Vietnam War Memorial  David HenkeLong & Foster Real Estate Inc – Devon, PA/Wilmington, DEOffice: 610-225-7400/Direct: 610-618-0808www.DelawarePAHomes.com 05/31/2021

My refrigerator died about a month ago. I had heard a clicking noise coming from the kitchen occasionally, like the sound a coffee maker emits, only I don’t have a coffee maker. Then I remembered when I had heard that sound. I heard it the last time my refrigerator quit working. One quick peek at the contents of the freezer confirmed it. Everything had defrosted. I tossed all of it. Goodbye shrimp and salmon, veggies and scallops. (Deep sigh) Knowing I’d lose the contents of the refrigerator, too, I called the appliance repair company who had breathed life back into it last time, except none of the repair guys would be available for a few weeks due to illness. A few phone calls later and I had ordered a new refrigerator. The only problem now was, it couldn’t be delivered for about a wee... 05/22/2021

This annual tour of 6 different gardens in Newark, Delaware and Landenberg, Pennsylvania led us on a merry chase this morning. A benefit for the Newark Arts Alliance, it led us to venues as different as suburban quarter acre lots to multi-acre properties in the woods.  We were lucky to see many red buckeye trees (top) in bloom, a favorite for these horticulture loving homeowners. And the sound of trickling water is always welcome, with unique containers and cleverly constructed waterfalls.  Being in the hilly piedmont area, gardeners made good use of the vistas presented by the rolling countryside, often carving out stone stairways to different levels of their properties.      One homeowner proudly showed off a working potting area, while another pointed out a spectacular bigleaf magnol... 05/22/2021

  Keeping your home cool during the hot summer months can be an expensive prospect. This is especially true if you have large windows or rooms that have multiple windows that let sunlight in. While it’s great to have natural light during the day, it can work against your AC by heating up the air in those rooms at the same time you’re pumping cool air throughout the house. This can lead to your air conditioning running almost constantly throughout the day, and in some cases may even prompt an expensive HVAC upgrade if your current unit can’t keep up with the summer heat to your liking.   There’s some good news, though: It’s likely possible to cut your cooling costs during the summer without having to spend potentially thousands of dollars on a more powerful air conditioning solution. Th... 05/20/2021

“On the other side of the house, to a little distance, was a garden of old-fashioned roses and sweet shrubs that filled the air with fragrance when they  were abloom. And there were beds of tulips and daffodillies, and there were graveled walks edged with box, and a greenhouse of shining glass at the lower end of the garden. And there was a wooden summer house at the end of one of the gravel walks, and together it was such a garden as you will hardly find outside of a story book. It seems to me that when I think of that garden, I cannot remember anything but bloom and beauty, air filled with the odor of growing things, and birds singing in the shady trees in such a fashion as they do not sing nowadays.” – Howard Pyle (1853-1911) describing his childhood at Goodstay    A walk through th... 05/18/2021

Cleaning up around the house is obviously an important task, and some areas require cleaning more often than others. There are some spots that might need a bit more attention than they’re getting, though. This is especially true for those areas that are out of sight or otherwise not as easily noticed as higher-profile and more visible areas that get cleaned on the regular. While the specifics of your cleaning and maintenance schedule will depend on your home and what you have in it, here are a few common areas for you to consider in case they’re not getting enough attention in your home. Interior Cleaning Most of the time when you think of cleaning in the house, you’re likely thinking of tasks like dusting, vacuuming, and other common indoor cleaning tasks. Here are a few other places ... 05/03/2021

Delaware's  Mt. Cuba Center is a botanic garden that highlights the beauty of native plants. Once the estate of Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland, the  garden opened to the public in 2013 and now spans more than 1,000 acres. It features garden pathways in formal and woodland settings, picturesque meadows and ponds with stunning vistas, and more than two miles of scenic trails throughout its natural lands. Near the former mansion is the formal reflecting pool now featuring colorful tulips.   Mt. Cuba is recognized as a leader in native plant research and open space preservation, having protected more than 13,000 acres in the mid-Atlantic region. In 2020, it was voted best botanical garden in North America by USA Today readers. My visit today started with a threat of rain, but turned out... 04/29/2021

On Sunday, I ventured out to Winterthur Museum and Gardens to see what was in bloom. I did learn a lot, but not exactly what I expected to learn. I shall explain. The field (above) next to the golf course still housed the temple folly (from a special exhibit pre-pandemic).The ostrich ferns were doing their fiddley thing as I left the visitor center, and being a fern lover, I had to stop and admire them. Then I decided to follow the white arrow trail, which has made a return to the scene. It is supposed to lead you to the latest blooms, and sure enough, it did, although the azaleas were not yet at their prime, but this white one amid bluebells looked nice.  Another favorite of mine is the trilliums--a field of white ones. Having just purchased some to go alongside my ferns, I was happy t... 04/27/2021

  Get Your FREE New Castle County Home Value Now!   Special Financing New Castle County Coming Soon Search All Homes For Sale FREE First Time Home Buyer Seminar     Christopher Pataki RE/MAX Associates - Hockessin Realtor 302-562-0628 Office:302-234-3800 Licensed In: Delaware License #: RS-0019092 Contact Me You Can Also Visit Us At:    04/26/2021

  It may still be just barely spring, but summer is right around the corner. For a lot of homeowners, that means flipping the heat to air conditioning, and, potentially, discovering that their air conditioner isn’t working properly. This is why it’s so important to check your air conditioning system now, before you really need it. Not only will you be able to beat the rush for repairs, you’ll also get extra time to clean and prep your unit so it can perform at its very best all summer long. So when – and how – should you get that A/C ready for summer? Now Is The Time for A/C Prepping You can run a simple check on your air conditioner any time the weather is above about 50 degrees or so. You don’t need to leave it on all day, just long enough to make sure it’s blowing cold and there are... 04/12/2021

Spring is definitely the time of year when my garden comes alive and shows all its bright colors. Daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, all vying for attention.  Therefore, I yield the floor to the stars!                      04/05/2021

  There’s nothing like a postcard-fresh paint job on your home to make it look and feel brand new again, but it’s unlikely you’ll need a new coat of paint every year. So how do you know when it’s time to repaint? Let’s walk through some of the biggest signs that it’s time to break out the buckets and brushes. How to Tell It’s Time to Paint Knowing when it’s time to paint your house is as much an art as a science. There are definitely things you can look for that indicate the time is coming near, but you’ll also need to balance that with the expense and effort involved. Here are a few clear indicators to watch: There’s chipping paint. Most people know that chipping paint is a sign it’s probably about time to start considering a paint job. But there’s a fine line between a littlebit of a... 04/02/2021

Planting a garden in the spring is a great way to have fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Even homeowners who don’t have space for a large garden plot often plant a few things in containers or small raised gardens on their property. While it’s not quite time to start planting in a lot of places, that doesn’t mean you can’t get the jump on gardening season by starting your seeds. Depending on where you live and what you’re planting in your garden, there are a few different ways to get seeds started for your garden this year. Starting Seeds Indoors Before starting your seeds, be sure to read the seed packet to get an idea of how long before planting you should get your seeds started. In many cases this will be six to eight weeks, but it could be longer or shorter depending ... 03/30/2021

Pets play a large part in many families. While these fuzzy (and sometimes not-so-fuzzy) friends can bring a lot of fun and companionship, keeping pets happy and healthy can take a lot of work as well. One way to keep this under control is to improve the overall pet-friendliness of your home. Much like babyproofing before bringing home a new child helps to prevent accidents and other problems, putting in some time to make your home more pet friendly now will save a lot of headaches and other issues down the line. Pet-Friendly Homes There are a few different concerns you should consider when trying to come up with ways to make your home more pet friendly. Think about whether there are any areas of the home that your pet might get hurt or sick if they get into. Do you have a pet that’s li... 03/16/2021

You can be pretty sure I am going to look for historic places when going on a hike. And this was historic for me, because this almost 3 hour hike came the day after I got my second Covid vaccine shot. Yes, I was tired afterwards, as was my friend Brenda, who is always up for a nice hike. We started out by the Delaware Art Museum on Kentmere Parkway and found our way off of Mill. Rd. and on a steep path leading down to the River.  After crossing on the old "swinging bridge", we made our way along the path and ended up crossing back over at Van Buren St. by the zoo. Brandywine Park winds alongside the Brandywine River in the heart of the city. Established in 1886, it is the largest urban park in Delaware, and much like Central Park, owes its origin to the late 19th century “Natural Landsc... 02/26/2021

A nearly cloudless sky led me down to the Christina River in Wilmington this morning. Past the tents set up for network TV to broadcast with the Wilmington skyline in the background, past the restaurants with outdoor seating areas, and continuting south along the Riverfront trail, my goal was the DuPont Environmental Education Center.   Once an industrial "brownfield," the environmental area opened in 2009 with a marshland creating a natural area to replace an industrial wasteland. There is an education building with a permanent exhibit  highlighting artwork featuring wildfowl paintings.    A stairway leads down to a loop boardwalk around the marsh. At this time of year, the birds have pretty much eaten all the wild rice and seed grasses, so the only visible fauna was some ducks swimmin... 01/16/2021

Around 3 o'clock today, I went for a hike at Winterthur and one thing jumped out at me--the long shadows. We are not long past the Winter Solstice, so the shadows are going to be getting shorter eventually.But the sun was bright, and it felt a lot warmer than the low 40's. There is a find Waldo in my first picture, but frankly, I couldn't find it after I looked at the picture. It's usually pretty quiet out there in the woods, but shortly after I started my hike, a hawk swooped down, a squirrel went chattering up a tree on the left, and the hawk perched in the tree on the right. The hawk sat motionless, while the giddy squirrel scampered in circles on the tree trunk, noisily protesting his near miss. Probably not a good idea to make that much noise, but what do I know?  Another noisy pla... 01/10/2021