What do you do with empty tissue boxes?

In the past I've used them to store thin plastic bags, like the kind grocery stores used to give free (before the plastic bag ban here) or flimsy produce bags. Tissue boxes really do well for storing the thin plastic stuff. You can continue to cram more and more in, and then they are still easily pulled out one by one, as you need them. But I can only use so many plastic bag dispensers in the house.

corralling my socks

Here's what I've been using them for in this past one to two years -- organizers for my dresser drawers. I have three boxes for socks, organized into white socks, black socks, and assorted socks, one box for bras, one box for undies, and one box for tank tops. 

tanks rolled up neatly and easy to find

All of my "inner wear" are stored in one large drawer in the dresser. Previously, I'd try to keep the socks all together, the tanks in a stack, and undies and bras in their spots. But in real, everyday use, the socks and stacks got knocked around, and I spent way too much time each morning searching out a clean tank top. (I wear tank tops on all but the hottest of days as a base layer.)

So I made quick conversions of the tissue boxes into dresser organizers. This is such a game changer for my morning dressing and decisions on laundry timing. I know in a instant if I need to do a load pronto, and I can grab exactly what I need in seconds every day. I also think I'm getting just a little more into each drawer. For instance, rolled up tank tops store very compactly compared to folding and stacking. Ditto with undies.

The bonus is, I can transform the tissue box into a storage box in a minute, simply by pulling out the plastic opening stuff, cutting to each corner on the diagonal, then bending in each flap.

I tape down the flaps when I feel fancy, or leave them untaped if I want to just get the box formed and into the drawer. Boxes loaded with socks sort of hold the opening open. 

Anyway, just my organizing tip for the day. What do you do with those empty tissue boxes?

How is everyone faring?

The only snow we have is on the dining room table centerpiece -- fake snow on the pinecones and greenery.

Hi friends, 

I'm taking tonight off from posting. It's been a crazy week for me. On top of others issues, our internet went out and it took a few days to get it resolved. They ended up recabling our house, drilled a hole into an outer wall and replaced all of the equipment. But today we have internet again. I had been using the very limited data plan on my 10-year old phone to post, and I have to say that was less than easy. My phone would not tether to my laptop. But maybe that's a good thing. It kept me from hitting my limit and leaving me with nothing for the next 2 weeks. Anyways, that's resolved. But I'm tired. I'll be back to posting tomorrow and will catch up on comments, too.

How is everyone doing? How did the snow and ice storm affect you and your area? We've been cold (for our area that is), but no snow whatsoever. Do you live in one of the areas with widespread power outages? I've been praying everyone is okay.

Be back tomorrow!

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers Using What's on Hand

Friday  (no movie and pizza tonight tonight)

chicken and vegetable soup
sourdough bread and butter (I'm almost out of yeast)
orange wedges
dessert--last of the Christmas cookies

Saturday
pumpkin-sage-sausage soup (using chicken stock from yesterday)
tomato chunks topped with homemade 1000 Island dressing
toasted cheese sandwiches on sourdough bread
tangerines
dessert--applesauce-raisin bar cookies

Sunday
scrambled eggs
oven fries with homegrown purple potatoes
steamed carrots
frozen spinach
dessert--applesauce-raisin bar cookies

Monday
beef stew
homemade sourdough bread and butter
Asian cabbage-tangerine slaw
stewed prunes
dessert--chocolates I found in the pantry from a year ago

Tuesday
tuna-macaroni salad, using the last stalks the fresh celery with their leaves
last of the crackers from Christmas (I'm cleaning out the pantry, can you tell?)
carrot sticks
steamed frozen broccoli cuts
dessert--homemade sourdough cinnamon-spice rolls or applesauce-raisin bar cookies

Wednesday

Italian-style ground beef, canned tomatoes, fresh green pepper and seasonings over spaghetti noodles for the family, over shredded cabbage for me (I've been eating too much bread lately)

canned green beans

fig-applesauce

dessert--more applesauce-spice bar cookies

Thursday

spinach, onion, and cheese quiche, using frozen spinach and one of the last 3 onions

brown rice

frozen mixed vegetables

spiced, sauteed apple chunks from the freezer

dessert? not sure what we'll have. There are still apple cookies and sourdough cinnamon rolls.

I made dinner in the morning on Thursday, as I knew I'd be gone for the afternoon. So this post is coming to you before dinnertime in the US.

As titled, I used what I have on hand for this past week. Still no grocery shopping in the forecast. Maybe soon.

What meals could you make using just what you have on hand? Judging from past comments, I think all of you could come up with a week or more of pretty great meals!

Now's the time to use those foods I said I would once it's mid-winter

In the fresh produce drawer of the fridges (kitchen and garage) we are down to half a head of cabbage, 3 pounds of carrots, 3 medium onions, a bunch of heads of garlic from the garden, 1 Roma tomato, 2 avocados, 1 orange, and 3 green apples, plus 3 bananas in the fruit bowl. If you're a small household, that may sound like a lot of fresh produce. For my family of 4 adults eating absolutely all of our meals from home these days, this won't last long.

In the dairy department, I have fresh, frozen, and dried milk, lots of butter, about 18 eggs, a dwindling block of cheddar cheese, and enough mozzarella cheese to make several pizzas. We also have 2 whole chickens and perhaps as much as 12-13 lbs of beef.

I last did a big shopping 2 1/2 weeks ago at WinCo. I stuffed our two fridges with produce and dairy. A week and a half ago I made a quick (and small) shopping trip to Walmart to get some bananas, a gallon of milk, coffee, and frozen spinach.

So, yes, it does sound like we have plenty of foods to build meals from, p.l.e.n.t.y. However, I'm often driven to grocery shop by the amount of fresh produce we have at home. Apples, oranges, tangerines, and stalks of celery make great and quick grabs for lunches and snacks. However, here's where all of the dried and frozen foods from last summer will lend a hand.

In late summer to early fall I made 120 dried fruit rolls, several gallon bags of prunes, a bag each of dried apples and dried pears, and chopped rhubarb, plums, apples, pears, and Asian pears for the freezer. I also made batch after batch of preserved green figs, froze several pies worth of cherries, lots of berries, and made several batches of applesauce and crabapple sauce. I froze all of the carrot tops, beet greens, and garden celery, chopped. I cooked, pureed, and froze 3 large pumpkins. Plus I've been stocking up on various canned and frozen vegetables as I find them green-tagged (month-long sale) at WinCo.

Now is the time to use this preserved produce bounty. 

This week I've been bagging up individual servings of prunes and dried apples. I also pulled a bunch of fruit rolls out of the freezer. And I thawed more crabapple sauce, apple sauce, and pumpkin puree. I bought a can of frozen orange juice concentrate the last time I shopped at WinCo, and just this morning I made up half the can for some of our vitamin C needs. The prunes, dried apples, sauces, and juice are providing individual servings of fruit for my family until I get to the store. And even with an ever-shrinking supply of fresh vegetables, we have plenty of frozen and canned ones to keep us awash in green and orange to get through many days. A final addition, I'm making lentil sprouts to add a crisp freshness to meals.

At this point I'm thinking, "you know, I really don't need to go grocery shopping." Meanwhile, my family would probably appreciate if I restocked everything soon. So, we'll see. Will I go grocery shopping on Thursday or Friday or Saturday, or will I wait until Monday? At least I know no matter when I shop again, we've still got lots of fruits and vegetables to satisfy our needs in the meantime. Using what we have.

What's wrong with this picture: A free and fun game thanks to youtube and AI

My family and I have been playing a game of sorts with AI generated art on holiday or seasonal videos found on youtube. We try to find all of the things wrong with an image. Some are real doozies. I thought you might like to join in on the fun.

Here's the first one to start. What looks wrong in this image?

If you need to see a larger image, here's the link to the video with the art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBlK-ofGBU4

AI art number two -- anything strike you as odd in this image?

Link to larger image here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEo1EmRArbQ&list=RDCEo1EmRArbQ&start_radio=1

Here's another good one, AI image three

Link to larger image and video here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wWr4ptbOGo&list=RD9wWr4ptbOGo&start_radio=1

And finally, AI image number four. This is a good one. You should be able to find 4 to 5 problems with this picture.

Here's the link to a larger version of this image.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQFdUBRsQww

We've had a lot of fun this winter trying to find the wrong things in each Ai image. As one of my daughters has said many times, I'll miss when this stage of AI is gone. It's been hilarious at times.

Are you entertained or annoyed by the problems with AI images? We'll be back to more serious posts tomorrow.

A type of list I hope you never read from me

You know those posts or vlogs that are titled "10 foods I no longer buy," or "10 foods you should stop buying, " or "I stopped buying these 10 foods and why you should too." I couldn't in good conscience write a post like that. And here's why.

1) My list of foods that I can honestly say I will never, ever, ever buy (either again or for the first time) is too short to even reach 10 items. So let me think, what would I even put on such a list. Okay, here's one, caviar. I would put caviar at the top of my list. And not because it's expensive. But because it has a texture that I can't stomach. Three of my family members actually think it's good stuff. Not me. I won't be buying any. Two, offal with exception to liver. Some people say when done right, dishes made with offal are delicious. I'll eat liver, but not the rest of the organ meats. And that's my complete list of foods that I'll never buy. I reached two entries, and neither one had anything to do with frugal choices or nutritional benefits.

There are many foods that I try to minimize or even try to avoid. But I can't say with certainty that I'll never buy those again. If it's a financial thing (it doesn't make good sense to spend my money on a particular food), who knows? Our finances may drastically improve at some point. or our priorities on how to spend the money we have may change. Even a pricey food like Wagyu beef could someday make it into my shopping cart, if we had a special celebration and the financial circumstances allowed it. If it's a nutritional thing, telling myself I won't ever have a particular food again just sets me up for obsessing over it. And I can say with absolute certainty that that approach never ends well for me.

2) Just saying I won't buy something in a blog post sort of implies that I think you shouldn't either. Why else would I publicly write my list of foods I won't or will no longer buy, unless I thought you friends should jump on my bandwagon. Who am I to say what someone should or shouldn't buy with their own hard-earned money or what foods they should or should not consume for their good health? I'm neither a professional financial planner nor a dietitian. Although I've studied nutrition as a lay person for about 50 years, I've studied it for my own personal use, not to make suggestions for someone else's health and well-being. What I can do from a financial point of view is suggest ways to reduce the cost of foods someone may enjoy. I can also share garnered nutritional information, and you can see if that info applies to your own life.

Besides all that, those "10 things not to buy" titles to posts and vlogs remind me of click-bait. An irresistible headline that leads to negative and fear-based content, which may or may not be based in truth. When I think of it that way, it feels a little slimy. Frankly, I have too much respect for all of you to do that. 

But just out of curiosity, are there any foods that you can with certainty say you'll never buy?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers and This Week's Shopping

a whole chicken rubbed with herbs and ready to go into the oven

As you'll see in a minute, several of this week's meals were based on a whole roasted chicken from Tuesday. There's still some meat on the carcass. So, I'll make chicken stock and remove the last of the meat from the bones on Friday. I think we'll have chicken soup for lunches this weekend.

Here's our menu for the last week.

Friday
pepperoni and pepper pizza
mixed frozen cauliflower and broccoli, steamed
tangerines

Saturday
burrito bowls (shredded beef, pinto beans, seasoned canned corn, fresh bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, avocado, cheese, salsa)
stewed prunes

Sunday
leftover tea sandwiches, carrot and celery sticks, trail mix, cookies, cake, and orange segments from earlier today, plus steamed broccoli/cauliflower mix and breakfast sausage links -- a very easy dinner.

Monday
Mex soup -- leftover (from Saturday) beef, beans, and corn, plus frozen peppers, fresh onion, canned tomatoes, seasonings, cheese, cilantro, and beef cracklins'
green bean salad -- canned green beans in vinaigrette
no sugar added applesauce bread pudding recipe here

Tuesday
roasted chicken and gravy
steamed baby potatoes in their skins
steamed carrots (I steamed extra carrots to add to my morning smoothie on Wednesday)

frozen peas
sautéed spiced apples

Wednesday
leftover chicken and gravy
sautéed spinach, garlic, and onions
frozen cauliflower, steamed
brown rice (I made extra for Thursday)

Thursday
chicken fried rice, using leftover chicken, leftover rice, fresh mushrooms, celery, frozen mixed veggies, and an egg
Asian cabbage and tangerine slaw
gingered pears

I also did a little shopping earlier this week. Last week I mentioned we'd run out of bananas and need more this week. I went to Walmart on Tuesday for bananas and a couple of other items. I chose Tuesday to go because Tuesday is Value Village's Senior day -- 30% off any purchase -- and Value Village is right next door to Walmart.

At Walmart, I spent a total $29.30 on the following:
1 gallon milk $3.13
decaf coffee $8.77
regular coffee $8.77
bananas $1.14
6 bags frozen spinach $1.26 ea (frozen spinach has been hard to find at WinCo since sometime in fall, due to a nationwide recall)

As I said, I also wanted to go to Value Village for another flannel shirt for myself. This new one makes 3.

At Value Village I spent $3.84 plus tax for the above flannel, sage buffalo check shirt.
I saw the same shirt on Poshmark, previously-owned, for $12.00 or $4.88, pre-owned on Mercari. I got a pretty good deal and didn't have to pay shipping.

I don't know how you launder flannel shirts, but I've found that machine washing followed by hang drying helps the flannel last longer and gives me a neater looking shirt once dried, as compared to running through the tumble dryer.

How was your week? Any special meals you particularly enjoyed? Do you wear flannel shirts in winter? Is there a brand you think is better than others? 

What Are Your Sourdough Tips?

My first loaf of the season -- extra tangy from a starter that had been dormant for 10 months.

I know there are a few of us here that make or have made sourdough bread and keep or kept a sourdough starter. So I thought I'd ask you friends for tips.

Every January I get my starter out of the fridge and work to revive it. Winter is not the best time of year to do sourdough in a house that stays around 64 degrees F during the day and dips down to about 61 degrees F at night. Starters generally don't do very well in colder temps. But this is the time of year that I actually have time to babysit a starter.

Here are my two tips for keeping a starter or rising dough warmer in a cold house.

1) When I've got a bowl of dough to rise, I set the bowl over another bowl of warm water. The top bowl (with the dough in it) sits an inch or so above the water level of the lower bowl. And the water is just warm and not hot. During the day I periodically rewarm the bowl of water in the microwave. Just before bed at night (if allowing to rise over night) I rewarm the water one last time. It's enough to give my dough a boost.

2) For the starter itself, I leave it on the counter just behind the warming bowl and on top of a dish towel. We have quartz countertops, which stay cool to the touch all day and all night long. Placing a dish towel underneath the jar of starter insulates it just a smidge against the cold countertop.

What have you learned about making sourdough over years? Any tips for lofty loaves? What do you do to revive a dormant starter when it has sat in the fridge for a while? Do you have a particular spot in your kitchen for proofing dough or keeping a starter vibrant?

No Sugar Added Apple Bread Pudding

In my pursuit of less added sugar this year, I ventured into the realm of no added sugar desserts this week. I made a no added sugar apple bread pudding.

I had a bunch of bread crusts leftover from tea sandwiches over the weekend -- once cubed, a little over 2 cups. I also had some applesauce from our tree apples thawed in the fridge. I asked Chat GPT for a recipe for bread pudding with no added sugar, using applesauce and apples. Here's what it came up with.

2 1/2 cups bread cubes
3/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)
1 large egg
1/2 large apple, peeled and finely diced (I used frozen cubes of apples, with peel on, about 1 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup raisins (I used about 1/3 cup)

I also added 1/8 teaspoon salt, definitely needed it.

What I wish I would have added was 1 teaspoon vanilla and an extra egg.  As it was, though, the bread pudding was sweet like a homemade muffin and had lots of flavor. An extra egg would have made more of a custard. And the vanilla would have added to the flavor. It also might have benefitted from a tablespoon of melted butter added to the liquid mixture before combining with the bread cubes, apples, and raisins.

I baked mine in a buttered pie plate at 350 for about 25 to 3o minutes, until a knife inserted came out clean. Once done I cut it into wedges.

Delicious! I'll make this again with an extra egg, some vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of melted butter.

Three Dozen Movies for Winter Watching

As it is winter, and many of us are spending more hours indoors each weekend than in other seasons, I thought I'd share some of my family's favorite movies from this past year's watching. Every Friday night we choose a different movie to watch. We take turns each week coming up with a slate of 4 or 5 movies to vote on. 

For group watching, we opt for light-hearted movies, with a G or PG rating. Before the current rating system, movies that were deemed morally acceptable for all audiences were granted "approved" (as opposed to " not approved"). All quoted description are from the individual movie's IMDb page. 

I recommend reading the Parents Guide (link near the bottom of the IMDb page for each movie). Other viewers leave specific comments about the movie's content, listed under topics with which one may be concerned.

Free streaming sites: Internet Archive (especially good for old movies), Classic Comedy Channel, Tubi, Pluto, Kanopy (library access), Hoopla (library access)

Here are 3 dozen good ones.

1. Operation Petticoat, 1959, Approved, comedy. "During World War II, a lieutenant commander finds himself saddled with a decrepit pink-colored submarine, a con-man executive officer, and a gaggle of army nurses making life aboard difficult for everyone."
2. My Favorite Wife, 1940, Approved, comedy. "Missing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the very day that her husband remarries."
3. Harvey, 1950, Approved, comedy. "A whimsical man is thought to be insane due to his insistence that he is best friends with an invisible, humanoid rabbit, but he may be wiser than anyone knows."
4. Forty Pounds of Trouble, 1962, Approved, comedy. "Hilarity ensues when a casino manager spends a day at Disneyland with a cute but troublesome little girl."
5. Marty, 1955, Approved, drama. "A middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other."
6. The Major and the Minor, 1942, Approved, comedy. "A frustrated city girl disguises herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with a handsome Major."
7. Yours, Mine, and Ours, 1968, Unrated, comedy. "A widower with ten children falls for a widow with eight, and they must decide about forming a huge, unconventional family."
8. Mr Smith Goes to Washington, 1939, Approved, drama. "A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character."
9. Monkey Business, 1952, Approved, comedy. "A chemist finds his personal and professional life turned upside down when one of his chimpanzees finds the fountain of youth."
10. The Secret :Life of Walter Mitty, 1947, Approved, comedy. "A clumsy daydreamer gets caught up in a sinister conspiracy."
11. A Night at the Opera, 1935, Approved, comedy. "A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies."
12. Larger Than Life, 1996, PG, comedy. "A motivational speaker discovers that the inheritance his father left for him is in the form of an elephant."
13. Mrs. Miniver, 1942, Approved, drama. "A British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II."
14. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946, Approved, drama/romance. "Three traumatized or physically disabled World War II veterans return home to the American Midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed making readjustment difficult."
15. Bringing Up Baby, 1938, Approved, comedy. "While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby."
16. My Man Godfrey, 1936, Approved, comedy. "A scatterbrained socialite hires a vagrant as a family butler - but there's more to Godfrey than meets the eye."
17. It Happened on 5th Avenue, 1947, Approved, comedy. "Two homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South."
18. The Bells of St. Mary's, 1945, Approved, drama. "At a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building."
19. For Pete's Sake, 1974, PG, comedy. "A housewife tries to finance her cab-driving husband's education."
20. The Spanish Prisoner, 1997, PG, drama/mystery. "A corporate engineer develops a lucrative secret process for a company but doesn't know who to trust when the higher-ups seemingly want to steal it from him."
21. Miss Potter, 2006, PG, period drama. "The story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness, and success."
22. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, 1949, Approved, Western. "Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled."
23. Hook, 1991, PG, comedy/fantasy. "When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy."
24. Charade, 1963, Approved, comedy/mystery. Romance and intrigue ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want to get their hands on a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. She soon loses trust in those who claim they want to help her.
25. Snowball Express, 1972, G, comedy. "When John Baxter inherits a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains, he quits his job in New York and moves west to run it--only to find his "estate" in a state of total dilapidation."
26. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. 1962, Approved, Western. "A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins."
27. Father Goose, 1964, Approved, comedy. "During World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female."
28. Frank and Ollie, 1995, PG, documentary. "A study of the personal and professional relationship of Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who started at the studio in the 1930s and worked on 23 films together."
29. The Biggest Little Farm, 2018, PG, documentary. "Documentarian John Chester and his wife Molly work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles."
30. Sabrina, 1954, Approved, drama/comedy/romance. "After her return from school in Paris, a playboy finally takes notice of his family's chauffeur's daughter, who's long had a crush on him, but he questions his more serious brother's motives when he warns against getting involved with her."
31. Christmas in Connecticut, 1945, Approved, holiday comedy/romance. "A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas."
32. To Catch a Thief, 1955, PG, romance/mystery. "A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation." 
33. Maverick, 1994, PG, Western/comedy/action. "Bret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief."
34. Roman Holiday, 1953, Approved, comedy/romance. "A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome."
35. A New Leaf, 1971, G, comedy. "When Henry Graham's lawyer informs him that his playboy lifestyle has consumed all of his funds, he must avoid sliding down the social ladder. He plans to marry wealthy scientist Henrietta Lowell--and kill her."
36. The Bishop's Wife, 1947, Approved, holiday comedy. "A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church."

We are always looking for recommendations for movies to watch. Do you have any favorite movies? What free streaming sites do you use?

Don't you love it when you solve a problem and save money while doing so?

About 10 years ago, I picked up this floor mat for the door to the garage at Kohl's for basically free. I had a $10 off coupon (back when that was a thing) and the mat was $9.99. I had to buy one small clearance gift wrap bag to make the purchase $10 or over. I spent 25 cents on the gift wrap bag at the time. Anyway, we've now had this mat at our door to the garage for 10 years. It has served us very well.

Recently, however, the backside rubberized surface began to deteriorate, making the mat slide around on the vinyl floor. It's become something of a hazard for all of us. I've washed the backing, tried to brush off deteriorated bits, and air-dried to no avail. The mat still slipped around.

After some research to determine the best way to restore a non-slip surface, I decided on some Mohawk Rug Griper tape. I compared prices around the internet and found it at Target for less than other retailers (including Amazon). I added a roll ($7.69) to an order I was already placing. In the meantime, I cleaned both the floor and the back of the rug one more time.

When I opened the roll of Rug Gripper and peeled the backing off of a corner, I was really unsure if this would work. It didn't feel sticky enough to adhere to the rug back. I cut 3 strips and tried to apply them to the back side of the rug, as the instructions advised, only to have the tape keep peeling off. I finally just decided to place the tape onto the floor, matching up to where I had intended it to be on the rug. I pressed the rug down firmly, and just like that our slip-and-slide rug remained in one space no matter how I tried to walk, hop, skip, or jump on it.

Anyway, a "repaired" rug backing saved me the cost of buying a new door mat. It's unlikely that I'll get another $10 off coupon to a store that sells inexpensive floor mats or rugs. I could perhaps buy a second hand one at Value Village or Goodwill for $6 to $8. But those would also be older and would lose their non-slip backing at some point int time. It's more likely I would spend $20 or more for a new entry mat. So for $7.69 plus tax, my rug now stays in place again. And I have some rug gripper tape leftover to use on another rug at some point.

I am trying to solve a variety of household problems this month. This is so satisfying. They're all small problems, but very satisfying nonetheless.

Are there small household problems that you've been working on lately? What have you tried and what has worked?

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for the First Full Week of January

Thursday's salad -- Citrus-Cabbage Slaw

Friday

• olive pizza (we ran out of pepperoni)
• steamed carrots
• roasted frozen broccoli cuts
• leftover Christmas cookies

Saturday

• leftover shredded beef (from New Year's Day) and potato hash
• pumpkin soufflé (made with pumpkin that I processed in November)
• frozen peas, microwaved
• fresh tomato wedges (a very mediocre tomato, very disappointing. What did I expect from a tomato in January?)

Sunday

• bean and cheese burritos in homemade tortillas, homemade salsa
• canned green beans
• Cole slaw

Monday

• spaghetti casserole
• steamed frozen cauliflower
• fig-applesauce

Tuesday

snacky dinner  -- Epiphany

We take our tree down on Epiphany every year. But before we do, we have a snacky sort of dinner in the living room next to the tree.

deviled eggs, crackers, sliced cheese, sliced chicken, dried fruit, tangerines, pickles, celery sticks, green pepper strips, gold foil wrapped chocolates -- I looked through the pantry, fridge, and freezer for odds and ends, and this is what I came up with.

Wednesday (my easy night. Tuna melts are an easy and somewhat hot meal. I try to do one easy night a week.)

• tuna-avocado melts (on fresh home-baked ww bread)
• smashed purple potatoes with rosemary, garlic, olive oil, butter
• frozen mixed vegetables, steamed
• apple wedges

Thursday

• beef and vegetable stir fry, with frozen broccoli cuts plus fresh mushrooms, celery, and carrots. (Before slicing the beef, I trimmed the fat off of it then diced and rendered the fat to save for cooking fat later.) 
• brown rice
• citrus cabbage slaw -- shredded cabbage, thin-sliced celery, chopped orange segments, sesame oil, soy sauce, chive blossom vinegar, ground ginger, crunchy chow mein noodles
• gingered pears (these are the Asian pears from my neighbor that we chopped and froze in late September. We still have a lot of frozen fruit to use this winter and hopefully into early spring.) 

Thursday's salad is a winter staple in our house. It's inexpensive, seasonal, and easy, but it's also very flexible. I shred or finely chop cabbage, slice a stalk of celery thin, and segment 1 orange then cut each segment into bites. The dressing is a mixture of toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, and vinegar to taste. Just before serving I toss with either chow mein noodles, sesame snack sticks, or sliced almonds. To turn this into a main dish salad, I add some diced cooked chicken. If what I have is tangerines and not oranges, I use two small tangerines. This salad also works with canned mandarin oranges. It's a delicious salad and a nice alternative to traditional Cole slaw.

I don't do a full menu plan a week in advance. Instead, I plan two to three days of dinners as the week progresses. I look over the previous few days and see what foods we should add in for the next two or three. It helps me round out the nutritional value of our meals across the week without having to sit down and plan for all seven days at a time. 

What was on your menu this past week? Do you plan meals as you go, a week at a time, or a few days at a time? What has worked best for you and your situation?

Did the power scrubber clean the baked-on grease on my oven window?

And the answer is . . .just about.

Yesterday afternoon I had an hour to spare. I thought this would be a great time to "quickly" clean the oven door window, using Mrs. Meyers spray and the power scrubber.

before

I first tried the scouring sponge (yellow sponge with green scrubbing side). It didn't work as quickly as I wanted. I next tried the flat brush attachment. I could tell it was getting grime off as it turned the cleaning solution into a gray foam. But even so, it wasn't working as quickly as I had wanted. So I went for the stainless steel mesh brush. (It's under the microfiber flat polishing attachment in the photo below.)

The instructions say that this attachment is for the toughest jobs, like BBQ grills, oven racks, and range hoods. I was a little worried it might be too harsh on the glass surface. My worries were quickly allayed. It did just fine on the glass and the enameled steel parts of the door.

I worked for about 35 to 40 minutes on the inside of the window. It wasn't hard work, but it was slow going. Near the end, it seemed like I needed a less coarse tool to use on the glass to get those last tiny splatters of grease. I set the power scrubber down, donned some gloves, and grabbed a piece of steel wool. I spent 4-5 minutes with steel wool, putting some muscle into getting the splatters off, and voila a clean oven door. 

It was hard to get a photo of the how clean it is. That's the power scrubber on the floor beneath the open oven door in the photo below. The glass is so clean you can see through it again.

after

With the power scrubber and a little muscle to use a bit of steel wool at the end, I can get stubborn oven grease off of glass and enameled surfaces with somewhat ease. Could I have scrubbed with steel wool alone? Yes, but I think I would have needed several breaks. The 4 to 5 minutes of scrubbing I did at the end did tire my arm a little. 

The power scrubber is not a magic tool that will make every chore super fast and easy. But it does cut the work time by as much as half and effort by a whole lot compared to manual scrubbing. I'll be trying this tool on the stove top surface next. There's some stubborn carbon around the gas rings that I'd like to get rid of.

Sara, I also scrubbed the bottom of a stainless steel skillet. I did this in the sink. The scrubber did throw off dirty, carbon stained water in spatters onto the insides of the sink. However, no spatters ended up on the backsplash above the sink or on me. 

A few of my favorite things: kitchen edition

More gifts that I received for Christmas.

What can I say, I like the practical, especially when it comes to gifts. Here a few of those very wanted practical kitchen-related gifts.

My two daughters listen closely when I say I would like something or want something. They bought me a box of new freezer bags. Yes, I said freezer bags. And yes, I did say to them that I wish someone would buy me a box of freezer bags. I am thrilled to be the owner of a bunch of brand new, untorn, no-leak, uncloudy freezer bags! 

My daughters also bought me dates and unsweetened chocolate. I've mentioned before that I make unsweetened chocolate-covered dates as a sweet treat for myself. Those are the only two ingredients needed, unsweetened chocolate and pitted dates. 2 squares of chocolate will cover 8 dates. I melt the chocolate in the microwave and dip the dates into it one by one, then scraping the bowl with a rubber scraper to coat that final date. I wrote about this vintage confection a couple of years ago, here. One of my intentions or priorities in this coming year is to eat less refined sugar. As I still want to have sweet treats, these dates fit the bill, and to me are like candy. My daughters bought me the ingredients to make more of these for myself. And as I'm the only big fan of these in the house, they're all mine!

My last kitchen-edition practical gift came from my son and daughter-in-law. The price of real vanilla extract is insane at grocery stores. Costco has their own brand, however, that has been highly rated for price by many consumers. So, I suggested my son and daughter-in-law could use their membership to buy a bottle for me. For the past several years I've used imitation vanilla flavoring, and I just wanted to return to the natural version. I costed out the difference in price between homemade vanilla (using alcohol and beans) and commercial pure vanilla at Costco, and Costco's was the winner. As far as I can tell so far, this vanilla is very good.

I have to say, I am so grateful to have family that understands me and listens. I don't need expensive gifts or luxury items. I'm really very happy with small items that I can really use. (And you may have noticed in the top photo, I'd already opened the box of freezer bags. I think those were the first gift that I used this year.)

First Week of January Grocery Haul

I did a big grocery shop this morning. Monday morning, schools are back in session, we just had a holiday -- I thought early today would be a great time to grocery shop. I was right. The produce section was pleasant. Aisles were barely populated. And the line for checkout was short.

It had been several weeks since I bought much in the way of produce. You could really title this post "Fruit and Vegetable Haul." I did buy a couple of other foods, but as you can see, this is mostly fruits and veggies.

From left to right, front to back, this is what I bought.

1/2 lb sliced pepperoni (for pizzas, enough for 3 large)

4 Granny Smith apples, 98 cents/lb

1/2 lb mushrooms, 3.98/lb (Canada)

4 d'anjou pears, 98 cents/lb

8 navel oranges. 98 cents/lb

2 large green bell peppers, 68 cents ea (Mexico)

2 dozen eggs, 1.97/doz

2 bottles ketchup, 1.18 ea (smaller bottles were less expensive/oz than larger bottle)

8 cans tuna, 78 cents ea (tuna cans are shrinking, these were 4 oz, but still less per oz than the 5 oz cans -- **Edit: 4 oz is drained weight)

box black tea, 1.93

Roma tomatoes, 92 cents/lb

8 Cosmic Crisp apples, 1.28/lb

bananas, 50 cents/lb (Ecuador)

2 lb bag mandarins, 2.98 (we're near the end of peak tangerine season/best quality in my area)

8 avocados, 56 cents/ea (Mexico)

2 lb block cheddar, 6.48

1 gallon milk, 3.39

2 bundles celery, 1.27 ea

2 heads green cabbage, 78 cents/lb

large bag breakfast sausage, 6.71

10 lb bag carrots, 6.98

2 lb bag frozen broccoli cuts, 2.55

2 one-lb bags frozen cauliflower, 1.28 ea

2 one-lb bags mixed vegetables, 1.28 ea

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate, 2.82

2 five-lb bags organic flour, 6.63 ea

small bulk bag almond flour, 4.78/lb

tiny bulk bag nutmeg, 9.59/lb (I refilled McCormick small canister and had some leftover. I spent 86 cents for 1.44 ounces. Comparable amount in container at Walmart -- $2.46.)

large bulk bag rotini pasta, 74 cents/lb

large bulk bag shell pasta, 74 cents/lb

large bulk bag peanut butter powder PBFit brand, 6.08/lb

large bulk bag raisins, 2.48/lb

pint fresh ground peanut butter, 2.18/lb

Total spent today -- $114.80

If you buy canned tuna at the grocery store, check the ounces and unit price. I was shocked to see "regular" cans now 4 ounces. I remember when a standard can was 7 ounces, then 5 ounces, and now 4 ounces. Just how small will the cans eventually get? Despite the shrinking can size, canned tuna is still a good buy for seafood, at now $3.12/lb for me at WinCo. **Edit -- 4 oz is drained weight. Still, not a great thing.

I don't know what your produce prices look like these days. By buying just the lower-priced fresh fruits and veggies and the marked down price on select, store-brand frozen veggies, I was able to keep my arm and my leg this grocery trip. 

As it is now January, and the Visa bill covering Christmas is now due, I worked hard to shop smart today. I checked unit prices on all packaged foods. I took a look at the end caps in the produce section to find the better deals. And I bought select pantry staples from bulk bins. 

I hadn't planned on buying pears for us this week. But when I saw the price was as low as the least expensive apples, I bought one for each of us. I also hadn't planned on buying green peppers. At 68 cents each, it was a no-brainer to add a couple to my cart. And on those avocados, at 56 cents each, I wound up buying twice the amount I had wanted. We all love avocados here. You may wonder if we'll eat the Granny Smith apples fresh or baked into something. My daughter has promised to make another batch of caramel sauce/dip for these apples. Tart apples and sweet dip sounds like a wonderful winter treat to me.

In the freezer aisle, my plan had been to buy more petite peas and frozen spinach (if they had any). No frozen spinach, and the peas were no longer marked down to $1.28/package. So I wandered down that aisle to see what was marked down. Cauliflower and mixed veggies were. I added the broccoli cuts for variety. And -- the frozen broccoli cuts were less expensive than the fresh broccoli this week.

How long will all of this last us? 

The fresh produce will last two to three weeks, with carrots, cabbage, celery, and oranges lasting the longest for us. I'll keep the bulk of the avocados and tomatoes in the fridge until a few days before we want them. This will prolong the time we have variety in our fresh produce. I'll want bananas again late next week. Walmart's price on bananas is close to WinCo's, and Walmart is right around the corner from us. 

The pantry items will last one to three months (nutmeg even longer). We eat one large pizza per week, so the pepperoni will last 3 weeks. The bag of breakfast sausage will last about 3 weeks. The milk and eggs will last 1 1/2 to 2 weeks and will be the driving items prompting another grocery trip.

Our fruit bowl has looked pathetic for the last couple of weeks.
It finally looks respectable again.

Most of the fresh produce was USA. The peppers and avocados were produced in Mexico. And the bananas were from Ecuador. I don't know about the tomatoes. I forgot to check the bin and they don't have stickers. My guess they would be Mexico or possibly Florida. And the mushrooms are from Canada.

I thought these were all good to great prices for fresh produce in January, the month when I don't expect to find any deals. Of course, some of the fall produce deals are now gone. I didn't even see fresh cranberries and sweet potatoes this shopping trip. And celery was up from 97 cents/bundle to $1.27/bundle. 

Has your area had any good deals on produce since Christmas? How do my produce prices compare to your area? Are you seeing a lot of imported fruits and vegetables, or just a handful, as I did today?

A few of my favorite things . . .

I received several very nice gifts from family members this Christmas. I thought I'd share and tell one of them today.

My husband gave me a rechargeable handheld automatic scrubber set. And you may not have guessed it, but I specifically asked for this. Could I clean without a tool like this? I most certainly could. But this tool makes the work easy enough that I can "scrub" for more than an hour without needing breaks.

I put it to good use last weekend and did a thorough job on the tub and separate shower. It cleaned off soap scum, water and hair product residue, and basic oil-based dirt. The tub is acrylic and has a pebbled bottom. The bottom surface has been difficult to get thoroughly clean without using heavy chemicals. 

The pluses

The scrubber with a brush followed by scrubbing pad took care of that. The separate shower is tile and glass with an acrylic textured floor. The scrubber brush and scouring pad cleaned up the glass, and the scrubbing brush alone cleaned grout and the textured floor. The tool came with a crack and crevice brush which worked well in the corners. I even had time on the charge to do good detail work on the shower exterior. This is the cleanest all-in-one-go that the shower has looked since it was new. In the past, I've been able to scrub with brushes and pads for an hour or two on one specific area (like glass walls and doors), and then would work on another area the next week. I prefer having it all clean at one time.

I'm able to use less toxic cleaning solutions, like Mrs. Meyers, or even watered down vinegar. As I cleaned last weekend, I periodically rinsed surfaces with a spray bottle of just water. And I really used very little cleaning solution in total. 

It stores compactly and doesn't take up much space.

And, it will be useful in the kitchen for cleaning the stove top and scouring the bottoms of pots and pans.

The drawbacks

The charge lasts a little over an hour of continuous run time and takes a few hours to recharge. We all know that rechargeable batteries in appliances lose the ability to hold maximum power over time. The tool was inexpensive enough that I don't think it would be worthwhile to replace the battery when it no longer holds enough power for a cleaning session. But I could use it plugged in. Also, it requires a charging block, the kind that converts standard electrical outlets into USB charging ports. We have a couple of those around the house, so I simply used one of those.

Gifts that make my work easier or more pleasant are always welcomed by me. This was a great one.

Do you use powered equipment for cleaning surfaces? What's been your opinion?

Mostly Cheap & Always Cheerful Suppers for the Week After Christmas

"Are not flowers the stars of the earth?" --Clara Lucas Balfour

This was the quote on my tea bag tag today.

Mostly cheap because I did use some frozen prepared foods this week, the Chinese entrees, the egg rolls, the chopped peppers and onions, plus I splurged on broccoli florets instead of broccoli cuts for New Year's Day. Otherwise, everything else used my ordinary ingredients for this time of year.

I feel like we've been eating non-stop since Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to more humble meals beginning next week. But it's been a great feasting season.

Tuesday's salad -- we're still harvesting kale

Here are our menus for this past week.

Friday
scratch pepperoni pizza
cabbage, turnip green, and carrot slaw
tangerines
leftover cherry pie

Saturday
beef and vegetable soup
leftover dinner rolls from Christmas
tangerines
cookies

Sunday
scrambled eggs with avocado wedges and salsa
frozen broccoli
brown rice
tangerines
cookies

Monday
ground beef stroganoff, using a combo of leftover Greek yogurt, soy milk, cornstarch and lemon juice to stand in for sour cream
leftover brown and white rice
peas and carrots
cabbage slaw
stewed prunes

Tuesday
tuna-avocado melts (a great way to use up aging avocados, as they're hidden beneath the cheese)
canned green beans
kale, dried cranberry and orange salad
gingered pears

Wednesday
frozen Chinese entrees (one beef, one chicken, both with veggies)
leftover egg rolls (from Christmas Eve)
white rice
tangerines

Thursday (Happy New Year!)

beef pot roast with mushroom gravy (using dried mushrooms gift from Christmas 2024)

black-eyed peas with onions and peppers

oven-roasted broccoli florets

oven-roasted sweet potato cubes

spiced apples and cranberries

What was on your menu this past week? Are you back to normal meals, or do you still have more festive foods to use up?

What's on your New Year's Eve and New Year's Day menu?

This is what I have planned.

New Year's Eve

Homemade Chinese food 

By homemade I mean from two frozen bagged entrees -- P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef and Orange Chicken, supplemented with additional veggies.

Steamed rice

Tangerines

New Year's Day

Everyone is on their own for breakfast and lunch. 

For dinner:

Pot-roasted beef Heel Roast and gravy

Black-eyed peas, peppers, and onions

Oven-roasted sweet potato cubes

Oven-roasted broccoli florets

Spiced apples and cranberries

Either a pumpkin pie or Christmas cookies (Dessert depends on if my son and daughter-in-law come over. Cookies if just us, a pie if they join us.)

Perhaps you're wondering what a heel roast is. Since I've been buying beef directly from a rancher, I've learned a lot about many cuts of beef. A heel roast is also known as Heel of Round. It's a tougher cut, needing slow-cooking, like braising or pot-roasting. It also works well for stew meat. It's lean, flavorful, and an economical cut, when you can find them. Here's another name for a cut you may not be familiar with -- English Roast. An English Roast is cut from the shoulder, like a Chuck Roast, but the English is leaner than the Chuck Roast. Both require low and slow cooking. Anyway, I'll be pot-roasting the Heel Roast tomorrow.

What's on your menu for tonight and tomorrow?

Wishing you a very joyful celebration and happy year ahead! 2026, we''re expecting great things from you.