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JULY 2019 HOME 3 How to add excitement to outdoor entertaining (StatePoint) — It's time to take the party outdoors. Here are some fun ideas for entertaining on the balmy days and nights ahead: ■ Cool spread: Host a potluck in your backyard, setting up a long picnic table for guests to display their dishes. You can make things more interesting by adding a theme or chal- lenge. Whether it's to incor- porate a specific seasonal ingredient into every dish or to only bring dips, the possibilities are endless. Use online tools to help you organize, such as perfect- potluck.com, which gives guests an opportunity to sign up for a specific item ahead of time so there are no duplicates. ■ Outdoor movie night: It's easy to turn the back- yard into an outdoor cine- ma. Grab some lawn chairs and blankets and host a movie night outdoors under the stars. You can be sure you get a clear, crisp picture with a projector designed to automatically adjust its brightness relative to ambi- ent light. For example, part of Casio's Advanced Series line of projectors combines a laser and LED light source and uses an Intelligent Light Control feature to ensure great visuals. ■ Decorate: Your decora- tions should evoke the spirit of the season. Think gar- lands, fresh flower center- pieces, paper lanterns and vibrant colors. ■ Make music: No party is complete without music. Whether you're hosting a jam session or karaoke night, take advantage of the season by taking the musi- cal fun outdoors. A versatile portable keyboard can help you get the party started. This season, be the host with the most by taking the party outdoors. Kzenon / stock.Adobe.com Fun decorations and a great spread make for amazing summer fun. However, you don't have to foot the whole bill. You can make your summer get-together a potluck outing. When the pressure's on ... Make cleanup fast and easy Whether you're hosting an outing or just trying to make your home and property look their best, you'll want to get a deep clean. A pressure washer is a versatile cleaning tool that will save you countless time and energy and does a fantastic job of boosting cleaning performance for a renewed sparkle to surfaces. The high-pressure water stream generates a cleaning action to remove paint, mold, grime, dust, mud and dirt from surfaces and objects such as buildings, vehicles, fences, walks and driveways. ■ Decades ago, people cleaned challeng- ing surfaces with steam cleaners, sand blasters and chemical compounds. Pres- sure washers have replaced these process- es and proven to be more effective. ■ A pressure washer refreshes and reju- venates surfaces at a relatively much lower expense than replacement costs or restora- tion projects. Additional background about pressure washers: ■ Powered by either gas or electric motors. ■ Mixes water and other liquids with compressed air to generate a powerful stream. ■ Can be fitted with different types of nozzles that eject water in a fan pattern or a thin jet of water which spirals around rapidly. Some nozzles allow detergent to be introduced into the water stream to help with the cleaning process. ■ Sometimes when repairing or restor- ing a surface, it is critical to remove as much grime and grease as possible to insure the best adhesion of new materials. ■ Pressure washing gets into the cracks and crevices and increases the cleaning performance. Remember: Be careful when using a pressure washer and keep in mind if held too close to a surface, the high velocity water jet can etch or damage surfaces. Be careful with the velocity when cleaning boats, washing vehicles, cleaning side- walks or other surfaces. Start small and experiment with the amount of pressure when doing any pressure washer project.

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