Keepin' the kitchen cool...

The largest window in our kitchen faces the west...which means in the summer afternoons it gets quite hot near this window.

Well, this year I tried something different...I planted some morning glories outside this window, strung some twine from the top of the window to the ground and the rest is a nice window treatment made of morning glories.

Here's the view from the inside of the kitchen...it just LOOKS cool and does actually make a difference. I saw one bloom several weeks ago, but none since...these were suppose to be annuals but they come back every year, but this is the first year I haven't had plants full of blooms. They've even been doctored with Miracle Grow and Super Bloom and still a big fat nothing in regards to blooms. Oh well, they do provide a cool shade!

So now here's where I went over the top of making it a redneck project....

I had tallest son (6ft 4 to be exact) cover the sky light in the kitchen with tin (if you're real country!) or aluminum (if you're city slick)foil the last time he made a visit.

WOW, what a difference shading the sources of the sun makes!