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Showing posts with the label 2024 projects

Gabion Pillars In The Garden - Inspiration from Garden Tour - January 2024

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I was watching this garden tour on YouTube from Garden Gate Magazine and just about totally fell in love.  What a garden.   There is SO MUCH to appreciate in this one video in this one garden that I'll probably post a few things about it that struck me.  The first of which...is related to gabion-style walls.  Below is a screenshot of the garden tour - at the 9:53 mark ( here's a link to that 9:53 mark in the video ) that shows off a set of pillars that are done gabion-style.  See below: The garden-owner talks about framing and how they use these gabion-style pillars as a way to frame the entrance for visitor's experience.  The gardener saw these in a local garden and decided to replicate them and included putting pots on top.   I've posted about gabion walls back in 2019 when I saw them in an annual garden trend post .   I also posted a few other posts about various walls over the years including this stone wall at Disney's Aulani resort , a timber wall in our neig

Illinois Should Bring Back the Blue Line License Plates - December 2023

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We popped down to Wally's Gas Station (our version of Buc-ee's on I-55 near Bloomington) and I nocied this magnet display that included a Wally's-branded magnet in the design of our old, blue-topped State of Illinois license plates.  These were the plates that I grew-up with and feel quite a bit more iconic that the ones we currently have in Illinois. This is what we have now - below.  It has half-an-Abe on the left, shows the Sears Tower and the State of Illinois Capitol dome.  There appears to be a windmill in the middle to represent our agricultural base.   But, they stink.   Why can't we have the blue-topped ones back?  There are literally DOZENS of special plates you see on the road.  University ones.  Charity ones.   Why not a vintage Illinois one?  Come on, Alexi .  Stop trying to put points on the board with the silly book-banning stuff and focus on the job that matters most as the Secretary of State:  Drivers licenses and license plates.   Look at that Wally