The Minneapolis Home and Garden Show starts this week.  It runs from February 24th through the 28th at The Minneapolis Convention Center at 1301 2nd Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis.

As usual, there will be special appearances by home improvement celebrities and, of course, miles of exhibitors eager to show you how to renovate and repair your house.  And there’s nothing like a little gardening for those post-winter blahs.  Maybe this is the year you finally start that vegetable garden, or plant a new tree in the yard.  My garden needs some major demolition this Spring.  I’m tired of people walking by my house, pointing and laughing at the remnants of plants from years gone by.

I love these shows because there’s always so much handy tips for the novice homeowner like me to learn.

I’m an avid fan of all of the home improvement shows on TV, even though I rarely do any serious work on the house.  I’m, naturally, partial to “This Old House” since Rich Trethewey, a distant relative, is the featured plumber.  My plumbing skills end at replacing the u-joint under the sink and installing a new kit in the toilet.  I nearly destroyed my kitchen faucet last year.  I kept pounding on it in frustration because it was running so slowly.   I finally got so fed up that I called the plumber, who thoughtfully asked if I’d cleaned the filter.  I hadn’t.  In fact, it wasn’t until I’d disassembled the thing that I remembered that I’d actually bought a new filter about 18 months prior because of the same problem.  I don’t know which embarrassed me more – the fact that I didn’t remember about the filter or that I’d put up with the slow faucet for so long.

I had a surge of ambition late last fall, and went to a paint clinic at the local Lowe’s Hardware.  Well, there was supposed to be a clinic, but despite the fact that they made me sign up for it on their website like space was limited, I was the only person who showed up.  But I persevered and bought some paint and brushes, and a sander, but my plans were thwarted by the onset of winter.   I will get to it this spring, though.  I don’t think the garage will keep standing without a fresh coat of paint.

My doors and windows are also showing their age.  Both the front and back doors are a bit skewed, and many of the interior sills on the windows need to be scraped and repainted.  That’s a chore I’m not looking forward to.  If you have doors or windows that need repair, stop by my friends at Everclear Windows and Doors who have a great site.  They have lots of documents you can download, and a forum where you can ask for advice.  They specialize in doors and windows by Andersen, based in Minnesota.