apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

:) It's so nice to be welcomed again!

Hi All:

I have an old six-drawer solid-wood "Horrocks" desk. I picked it up about ten years ago from an antique barn upstate when I was in college. I've been lugging it around from apartment to apartment with me since college -- has sentimental value as I was so proud of it when I got it as it was my first real piece of furniture. Now I'd like to refinish it -- and before I do I tried to do some research on the maker, etc. But not much luck in that category. Anyone heard of "Horrocks?" That's what it says below the center drawer.

Thank you!

InBklyn -

According to this article and subsequent links, the Horrocks Desk Co was located in Herkimer NY (the Desk Capital of the World!) in the 1940's

http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyherkim/herktown/stanfurniture.html

Has anyone had any experience with Urban Organics, in NYC? They deliver boxes of organic veggies and fruit. I've been wondering about the quality of the food, if there are any stories about the company itself, or if anyone has an opinion on this. Thanks!

Anyone know why the "Smallest, Cutest" contest voting has been limited to 3 days this time 'round?

Harley--

I think to counter the past-years' complaint that earlier entries had the benefit of longer exposure, hence more oppportunity to rack up more votes.

Oh thanks Patrick. That makes sense.

Anyone out there with cats? What flowers do you recommend and how do you place them in your house/apartment without the cats beating them up?

thanks~~

Hey kids. I'm just enjoying the pre-monsoon lovely weather and just bopping in to say hello. Working on a little project at a friend's place tonight, and HOPE to finish it, so I can put it up on my little Flickr thing soon.

I hope everyone's weekend goes well.

Cat flowers at my house = regurgitation
So I don't bring live plants into my living space. If my daughter receives blooms from a suiter they must live in the garage or her closed bathroom OR she gets to clean.

Sea, my experience w/ Urban Organics (about 2 years ago in Queens) was very good. They were definitely not perfect. I hate grapefruit and indicated "never bring me grapefruit" on the form, so naturally they kept bringing me grapefruit and one week actually brought me an entire box of grapefruit. But they were very nice about it, never charged me for the grapefruit, and all my officemates appreciated the grapefruit I brought in every week. A couple times they were extremely late with delivery, but if I remember right they credited me for it. The food was always excellent, no complaints whatsoever, and as a single mom with a baby I was thrilled beyond words to get delivery, especially since there were no organic stores in my area. So I recommend it.

Sarah Mac, hang plants way high where they can't reach and plant some cat grass down low for them to munch on.

Cats and plants: perhaps different cats have different habits with plants. But here's what I do to limit my muncher: thin-leafed plants I hang/place up high and only cactus, succulents and other rough, waxy-leafed plants get to live on window sills and low areas.

She likes to tear at and chew on plants to get my attention to feed her so there's always a struggle there. Also, I try to provide her with a regular patch of wheatgrass so she has something to chew on. She loves it.

One thing I've noticed with the plant she regularly used to denude of leaves, it has sprouted growth elsewhere and is very fullsome and healthy. Ah, I should be a better pincher/pruner.

There are many plants here and they are arranged around her areas, so everyone co-exists.

thanks for your comments! i will give it a shot and see how they react to some other life in the house.

Alice--
So how many suitors ARE living in your garage, then?!

Until yesterday I would have said that my cats had no interest in flowers or plants. The Senior Cat in Charge has always ignored all flowers and indoor plants, even though he likes broccoli and begs for it while I'm cooking. But last night the Junior Cat knocked over a vase of flowers.

I'm not sure that she was really interested in the flowers - she could have knocked the vase over while running across the table that it was on.

I agree with the cacti for cats! I have four (yes I am crazy) cats. We have lots of cacti, succulents, African Violets (which I have to watch out for), and a large rubber plant and palm indoors. They are also all varieties that are safe in case they are ingested.

Another thing to keep in mind for cats plants, before you bring in anything new that might be in their reach, have a look at a list like this to see if the plant is safe for them:

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

Myself, I have a cat who isn't very interested in plants at all, but it DEFINITELY varies from cat to cat.

I think cats need to have some green grassy plants to munch on, if they don't have access to the outdoors. Cats I've lived with in the past ignored all the indoor plants -- but that's because they could graze all they wanted outside. By the way - I've often thought they might be self-medicating, so it might be a good idea not to try to prevent them entirely from getting their green nutrients....!

mjoe,
Thanks for your thoughts on Urban Organics. I found a thread on the topic at the AT kitchen site. I'll try to sign up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) farmer's pickup (they seem to be full for the season, so far).

Sea, I don't know Urbanorganics but I use doortodoororganics.com and have great experiences with them. I don't know if they deliver in NYC - you can check the site. I like them because you have box size choices and you can change items that you don't want. Check them out.