The last few days have been gorgeous here, but that hasn’t been the case all summer. We’ve had so much rain that severe weather warnings and flood watches don’t faze us anymore. In our neighborhood alone we’ve had lightning strikes, fallen trees, flooded roads and power outages on an almost weekly basis. I love a good thunderstorm and slow, drizzly days (I usually open a door or window to hear and smell the rain) but I can only take so many lazy, rainy days in a row before I start to feel a little batty. We’ve had to get creative and move beyond the typical book reading, movie watching and puddle jumping activities to thwart boredom. Here are a few things we’ve been doing when precipitation strikes:

We light candles all over the house. We play cards and board games by candlelight. We’ve eaten breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert by candlelight. It feels slower and special. The kids love it. It’s gotten to the point where as soon as it starts to sprinkle they ask to light candles.

We play glow-in-the-dark chess. Layne was gifted this set last year and it has gotten so much use. The kids usually set it up in the boys’ room on the bottom bunk and close the blinds and bed curtains. It’s kind of the coolest thing ever.

We make stop motion videos. We use the myCreate app. It’s ~$5 and worth every penny. The kids use Play-Doh, Legos, matchbox cars and figurines to plot out visual stories. They even add audio sometimes. It’s pretty comical to watch and it keeps the kids occupied for long periods of time.

We try new recipes. I’ve mentioned it before…this cookbook is my current fave. Paleo or not, the recipes are easy and tasty.

Or sometimes we stick to our old favorites like chocolate no-bake cookies. Who am I kidding? We make these even when it isn’t raining! I use almond milk instead of dairy milk. So, so good.

We visit local museums. Our favorites are the Dayton Art Institute and the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The latter has FREE admission!

We have a balloon party. It consists of blowing up a bunch of balloons and hitting / kicking them all over the house.

We listen to our Cone. The kids like to request silly things like “I like pizza” and “cucumbers.” Surprisingly, Cone almost always finds a song to meet their requests. (Yep, there really is an “I Like Pizza” song.)

We make origami. Earlier this summer, I purchased colorful origami paper and this beginner’s guide to modular origami. Sometimes we refer to tutorials on youtube as well. It’s a great activity for my oldest, Layne, who is 10 years old. He has created some really beautiful pieces. I think some of them might even make an appearance in the BHG feature.

We browse airbnb and vrbo for fun. We take turns picking destinations and then pretend to search for a vacation home. “Oh, I would totally stay here!” “That would be my room!” “Forget vacation, I want to LIVE here.” Sometimes we end up booking a place, most times not. The pretending is almost as fun as the real thing.

We look through family photo books. I’m amazed by what the kids remember about certain events. We talk about happy and sad times, easy and difficult times. It’s usually a good reminder to me to order new books.

We make silly costumes out of everyday objects. I’ll hand the kids electrical tape, a paper bag and scissors and say, “Okay, make me laugh.” They always do.

We visit a local nursery. It might sound counter-intuitive but rainy days are my favorite days to visit the nursery. We usually have the place to ourselves and the fresh air is just what we need. I think the plants look so healthy, thirsty and beautiful covered in rain droplets. Our local nursery even has a children’s play table set up in the greenhouse. There are miniature animal figurines, dump trucks, shovels, buckets, gravel, sand and dirt. The kids can scoop, dump, pour and dig to their hearts’ content.

We discover new parks. Again, it’s not an event that would normally come to mind for a rainy day activity but it’s one that we have come to really enjoy. Who knew there was a limestone waterfall just a short drive from our house? Or a real cave? (Perfect for hiding out in when the rain picks up.) Funny story: Layne was climbing on the natural rock walls which is against park policy. Steve and I quickly pointed out the “no rock climbing” sign. Layne said, “Oh, I thought that was a guy tripping on an umbrella.” Haha! That just goes to show how much rain we’ve had lately.

We visit open houses nearby. This is my new personal favorite ;) I love getting a peek inside houses that I walk or drive by regularly. If I’m lucky, the homeowners have great taste and mad DIY skills.

What are some of your favorite rainy activities? Do you have any unusual rainy day traditions?

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

We’ve been scheming ways to disguise the electric meter on the back of our house for nearly two years. I had always pictured a slatted trellis with planters hanging from the eave in front of the meter. With a legit photo shoot scheduled for next week (!), we finally made it happen.

I don’t have any in-progress photos to share because: 1) I’m a bad, bad blogger and 2) they would be really boring. I will give you the play-by-play in text though. Because somehow that’s not boring??

Anyway.

We opted for cedar slats with ¼” spacing, similar to what we used for the trash / recycling enclosure. We simply ripped 1 x 6 kiln-dried cedar boards in half and used exterior wood screws to construct the screen. There was some math involved (details, schmetails) to have only full slats in the finished product, but there’s a sneaky trick to make things a little easier.

HELPFUL HINT: Construct the side and top pieces of the frame using mitered corners. Add horizontal slats all the way down on the backside of the bottomless frame until you reach your desired height. Then cut and install the bottom frame piece for a perfect fit.

Hanging the screen from the eave proved to be more difficult. First, we removed sections of the vinyl soffit above the meter. We discovered a layer of plywood covering the ends of the rafters and Steve drilled a few pilot holes to determine rafter spacing and location. Lo and behold, there was a 2 x 2 centered just above the meter but we needed supports on either side as well to support the screen. Using a hole saw, Steve cut two holes in the plywood on either side of center to place two 2 x 4 supports. He used a palm nailer to secure the additional supports to the ends of the rafters and the top plate of the wall. Then he replaced the sections of soffit and installed a trio of hooks tied into the three supports hidden in the eave. Three eyelets on the top of the screen slip over the hooks.

We installed a pair of Woolly Pocket wall planters on the front of the screen to bring in some greenery and break up all the hard surfaces.

To keep the screen from swinging into the house from the weight of the planters, Steve added what we’re calling a “prop” or “kickstand” to the back with L-brackets. The screen swings away from the house to gain access to the meter, although the verdict is still out on whether or not we’ll piss off our meter reader. He’s actually a pretty swell guy. We’ve had outdoor furniture, french door screens, deck boards and all kinds of other stuff piled up against the meter at one point or another and he’s never complained but, if there’s an issue, we figure we can easily hinge the slats in between the planters for direct access to the face of the meter. Yeah, we planned for that…just in case. #breakingthelaw

The bottom of the screen extends just below the top of the outdoor sectional for a layered look.

I’m pretty proud of myself for those planter arrangements. I didn’t really have a plan in mind when I went to the nursery. I knew I wanted something willy-nilly and organic feeling with greens and deep purples but beyond that I had no idea what I was doing. I grabbed some sedum, purple sweet potato vine and ferns and threw them together and I kinda love it.

Obviously, there’s no guarantee I’ll actually be able to keep them alive, but I’m hoping the Woolly Pockets are as foolproof as they sound. They’re self-watering (I think I read to water every other week) and the vented shells allow excess moisture to evaporate, promote healthy root systems and prevent plants from becoming pot bound – something I’ve had problems with in previous containers. They’re made in the USA from recycled materials and were super easy to install so I’m a fan regardless of the fate of their contents. #notsponsored #butIhopetheyareplantmagicians

Now if it would just STOP RAINING so we could actually enjoy our deck without a fugly meter mocking us that would be great.

P.S. – Immediately after snapping these pics, it started raining and I put the outdoor cushions back up in the attic where they have been all summer. On the bright side, the meter has never looked better!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking