Dragon

I would say there's about an inch between the grate and the window. I do love Clematis too but have never had much luck growing it here. I know it does grow well in our climate because I've had friends with it, but my family has tried and failed to get it to do very much. I don't think we'd be able to paint the grate without getting paint all over the window too and I suspect if we took it down to paint it then it would never go back up again.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Princess Eleanore of Belgium, Prince Sebastien of Luxembourg, Jonathan Vilma, Barry Jones, Paul London, Akon, Selena, Vickie Guerrero, Martin Lawrence, Jimmy Osmond, David McDowell Brown, Ellen Barkin, Bill Belichick, Gerry Rafferty, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dusty Springfield, Bobby Vinton, Herbie Mann, Roy Hamilton, Dick 'Night Train' Lane, Pope Benedict XVI, Edie Adams, Rudy Pompilli, Henry Mancini, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov, Spike Milligan, Wilbur Wright, Anatole France, Ford Madox Brown, King John II of France and King Louis the Pious.

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Sweet peas could be the best option. Their foliage is relatively small and open so the flowers could probably be seen from inside, even though they will tend towards the sun. They plants will die off in the fall.

I can't think of any other climber that will not shut out too much light.

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... sorry about the typo.

Lizzi

I would remove the grate,paint it black on both sides (2 coats) and put it back. It will look better all year. Unlike white, black does not show the dirt or "stick out". The sweet peas would be nice in the warm months. About the clematis~while on a local garden tour I learned that clematis does not care about sun or shade, but needs to be fed. As long as it gets lots of nourishment it's happy. Even I have managed to grow it.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Garner, Liz Phair, Boomer Esiason, Sean Bean, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Olivia Hussey, Don Kirshner, Harry Reasoner, William Holden, Thornton Wilder, Senor Wences!, Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) and J.P. Morgan.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Princess Haya bint Hamzah of Jordan, America Ferrera, Melissa Joan Hart, Princess Sayako of Japan, Mary Birdsong, Conan O'Brien, Steve Lombardi, Rick Moranis, Geoff Bodine, James Woods, Hayley Mills, Robert Hanssen, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Pigmeat Markham, Jessie Street, Clarence Darrow and Lucrezia Borgia.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Maria Sharapova, Curtis Thigpen, Hayden Christensen, Kate Hudson, James Franco, Jeff Wilkins, Jesse James, Ashley Judd, Al Unser Jr., Ruby Wax, Paloma Picasso, Tim Curry, Dudley Moore, Dickie Goodman, Jayne Mansfield, Fernando Botero, Dick Sargent, Eliot Ness and Deaf Smith.

marius

Hazer, great videos! And, the frazil ice was mesmerizing! Thanks!

Dragon, let us know what is decided for that window treatment. Wondering, can you take a photo of your grate/front window and show that to the staff at a garden nursery? We did that for a narrow strip of dirt/rocks between our driveway and retaining wall. The staff picked out holly bushes. We would have never thought of holly but they work great for that space. Now, holly may not work with your climate but surely a local nursery would have some other ideas. Good luck!

Baldur

Happy Birthday to John 'the Bull' Stamboli, Carmen Electra, Crispin Glover, Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr., Clint Howard, Don Pettit, Luther Vandross, Jessica Lange, Veronica Cartwright, Gordon Smiley, Steve Spurrier, Ryan O'Neal, Peter S. Beagle, George Takei!, Pat Roberts, Ernie Stautner, Tito Puente, Mother Angelica, Lionel Hampton, Joan Miro, Harold Lloyd, Emperor Napoleon III, Emperor Go-Komyo of Japan and Saint Rose of Lima.

Dragon

marius, one of the techs and I decided we were going to go ahead and do sweet peas there. We figured if we waited for the doctor to decide we'd still be waiting next year and I think we should get them started fairly soon if we're going to have decent coverage. One problem I had was actually finding some planter boxes to use (the ground is very hard and stony there so we're going to try boxes first). Well, we still have snow on the ground here and none of the gardening sections are open yet, I had to try 4 different places before I finally found some. Yay Canadian Tire!

mdawrcn

Baldur, I am a Jeopardy fan and am waiting to hear about the results of your test. Will we get to see you on one of my favorite shows?

Baldur

Good morning mdawrcn, I've haven't gotten a callback yet from Jeopardy.
This has happened over the last several years so it is no surprise.
I keep hoping.

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Princess Isabella of Denmark, Tarvaris Jackson, Carnell Williams, Tony Romo, Michael Franti, Andie MacDowell, Brutus the Barber Beefcake!, Tony Danza, Paul Davis, Gary Condit, Iggy Pop, Charles Grodin, Queen Elizabeth II!!!, Ira Louvin, Anthony Quinn, John Muir!, Charotte Bronte, Catherine the Great!, Blessed Joseph Vaz and Ludovico Carracci.

Dragon

Wow the Queen's birthday today, I think we should get the day off in order to properly celebrate!

Baldur

Yes, it was Her Majesty's day.
Here is a little preview of her grandson's upcoming nuptials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Kav0FEhtLug

Baldur

Happy Birthday to Marshawn Lynch, Matt Jones, Ken Dorsey, Ezekiel Jackson, Daisuke Enomoto, Marilyn Chambers, Peter Frampton, Larry Groce, John Waters, Steve Fossett, Jack Nicholson, Glen Campbell, Paul Chambers, Aaron Spelling, Bettie Page, Charles Mingus, Yehudi Menuhin, Eddie Albert, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Vladimir Nabokov, Nicola Sacco, Vladimir Lenin, Julius Sterling Morton, Immanuel Kant, Pope Alexander VIII and Isabella I of Castile.

autumn

now thats a wedding I would go to. great video Baldur!

Baldur

Here is another oddity that I've found online. An architect transformed an industrial ruin into a magical place.
Baldur finds much of the furniture too modern for his personal taste but the overall effect is stunning.

http://www.yatzer.com/A-former-Cement-Factory-is-now-the-workspace-and-residence-of-Ricardo-Bo fill

Baldur

Happy Birthday to John Cena, Bobby Shaw, Princess Zein bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Princess Aisha bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Melina Kanakaredes, Magnus Ver Magnusson. George Lopez, Terry Gordy, Valerie Bertinelli, Michael Moore, Joyce DeWitt, David Cross, Glenn Cornick, Herve Villachaize, Tony Esposito, Sandra Dee, Lee Majors, Roy Orbison, Bunky Green, Halston, Jim Fixx, Shirley Temple, Antonino Rocca, Marjorie Cameron, Lucius D. Clay, Cow Cow Davenport, Max Planck, Artemus Ward, Stephen A. Douglas, James Buchanan, J.M.W. Turner and William Shakespeare.