Have you ever refinished a deck railing?

I'm looking for advice today.

My project for the next few weeks is to refinish the railing to our deck. In past years, we've sanded and scraped flaking paint on the railing and repainted over it. Living where it's so wet most of the year, paint doesn't hold up well for us. 

So, we're going to sand all of the paint off the horizontal surfaces of the railings and use outdoor stain and seal instead of paint. For me, this means I have to sand off every bit of paint, years and years of layers of paint from the top rail and bottom rail. I'll use a grey solid stain (most coverage for a stain) on horizontal surfaces. The stain will need refreshing every year. However, reapplying stain is a lot easier than sanding/scraping and repainting.

Being vertical so water sheds easily, the balusters and support posts for the railing seem to hold the paint well. So, I'll paint all of the vertical surfaces, instead of stripping and staining those parts. I'll use a black paint on vertical surfaces. I'll need to repaint these parts every 5 years or so.

For this project I bought a disk sander designed for stripping paint. It works pretty well, but this is still an involved process. I've worked 2 days so far and have removed the paint from the majority of about half of the top railing. I should have the majority of the entire top rail done by the end of the weekend. I'll still need to go in with scrapers and sand paper to get the bits that are close to the upright posts where the sander couldn't reach. I'll also need to sand and scrape the bottom rail by hand, as the balusters are too close together for the sander.

My questions -- has anybody here ever refinished a deck railing? Have you stripped outdoor paint from wood surfaces? If so, did you sand it off or use chemicals? Do you have any tips for scraping/sanding paint in tight areas? Have you used any special tools for sanding or scraping? Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Knockoff of Kris's Blue Jean Button Waistband Adjuster

old button to the right, new button to the left

A while ago Kris mentioned buying a no-sew jean button pin that could be used to cinch in the waist on a pair of jeans. The way these work is you push the pin part attached to the button through the denim waistband an inch or so over from the original button on a pair of jeans. The pin is secured by a flat metal disk on the inside of the waistband. Then use this as the final button for securing the waist. Viola, a pair of jeans at least a size smaller in the waist.

If you tend toward a curvier figure, a button pin will hold the waist tighter while still being roomy enough in the hips and seat. A button pin is also helpful for someone in the process of shedding excess weight, but not at a final weight. The old jeans are too large, but one might be reluctant to buy smaller ones just yet. A button pin doesn't do anything for the extra fabric in the hips and seat, but it does keep your pants from falling off constantly. Of course, one could also just wear a belt.

This past year, between thyroid malfunctions and reduced ability to eat at times from dental issues, I lost weight. My thyroid is returning to normal, and I'm done with dental procedures for the time being, so I've been able to regain a couple of pounds. Yet my work jeans are still so big that they look sloppy. I'm constantly hiking them back up to my waist.

Being an impatient type, I decided to do something about it right here and now. I couldn't stand to have the low-crotch look another day, and I was too impatient to wait for an Amazon package with one of those jean button pins. I also didn't want to spend money on work jeans. So I decided to just sew an extra button on the waistband. I looked through my button box and found a plain looking button that would fit through the buttonhole while not slipping out easily. I sewed it on a little over an inch from the original button. I won't take the factory button off as I could very well return to my previous weight and need that extra room.

The extra button worked great. My pants actually stay up while I'm working. I'm now wishing I'd done this a whole lot sooner.

I'm sharing this today because I think many of us have weight that fluctuates enough to cause clothes to not fit right, and we'd rather not buy all new wardrobes with each fluctuation. 

Makin' Bacon (Bits)

We like to add bacon bits to salads. I've bought those fake bacon bits many times. But it bothers me that there are some artificial ingredients in those imitations bits. The real bacon bits sold in packets seem to be a more natural choice. I've made my own bacon bits from sliced bacon many times. However, I've only made them on an "as needed" basis.

Last week at Grocery Outlet I found 12oz packages of sliced bacon for $1.99. That's a great price for bacon in my area. The catch was that the packages expired in about 7 days. I decided right then and there to buy 2 packages and make a couple of large batches of bacon bits to keep in the freezer. (I didn't have more cash on me that day to buy more than 2 packages, in case you're wondering why I didn't buy more.)

On Saturday I cooked up my bacon bits. From each 12-ounce package, I ended up with about 4-5 ounces of bacon bits and about 5-6 ounces of bacon fat to use in cooking, all for $1.99 per pack. 

I checked Walmart's prices on packages of real bacon bits. For $1.98, Walmart sells a 2.5 ounce package of ready-to-eat real bacon pieces. By cooking my own at home, I about doubled the yield for the same price, plus I saved the cooking fat which will replace oil or butter in sautés.

I bagged my bacon bits and am storing them in the freezer until needed. They crumbled apart easily even when frozen.

The time spent cooking the bits amounted to about 15 minutes total. Not a bad time exchange to pay half the price for an item.

What are your "bacon" tips? How do you save on bacon?

The Finished Chair-Bench

Over the weekend I finally finished the chair-bench. I love how it turned out. It's not a perfect-looking bench. But it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to look like a hybrid between a couple of chairs and a bench.

As you may remember, I combined the metal frames from 2 thrifted chairs ($5 each) with several cedar pickets from an old fence (free, repurposed) to make this bench. My husband helped me cut the pickets down to size. I braced the pickets together on the underside with shorter lengths of fence pickets to form a seat. And we cut notches to fit the seat to the metal chair frames at the back. 

I painted the pieces at a couple of different times in the crafting of the bench, doing sides and undersides of pickets as well as one coat of black paint on the top. Including the paint and sealer purchased last year for the chairs, I spent about $20 for spray paint/sealer. Added to the $10 for the chairs, my new bench cost about $30 plus my time. Not bad for a garden bench.

This weekend, I attached the seat to the metal chair frames and put the final coats of paint and clear sealer on the seat top.

I've set the bench on the small patio adjacent to the front porch of our home. I really like the way it looks in its setting. The scrolls of the metal chair frames echo the scrolls of the wall planters and wall scones by the front door. Meanwhile, the slats of the bench pair well with the slats of Adirondack chairs on the porch. And the bright green cushions (made from a shower curtain bought at Value Village last year) are a near match in color to the green of the spray-painted flower pots on the porch.

To prolong the useful life of this bench, my plan is to move the bench inside to the entry hall in late autumn, then moving it back out to the patio in spring each year. In the entry hall, it will occupy the short wall beneath the staircase. I think it will look nice right there during the holiday season. I'll be able to add a couple of wintry decor items on the bench seat for Christmas. Just a little teaser -- I'll post more later this week about a thrifted find to use as a winter holiday decor piece.

I'm glad to add this new piece to our furniture collection.

I'm trying to use up last years' jams and jellies as I start making this years'

We've just begin harvesting the raspberries. This morning I had a quart of fresh berries, enough to make 4 1/2 pint jars of raspberry jam.

However, I still have a couple of jars of raspberry jam remaining from last year.

So, as I was cooking today's raspberry jam, I began thinking of ways to use up the old jars. Since I have a bit of a sweet tooth, these raspberry finger cookies came to mind.

I was brainstorming other ways to use jam and jelly. Besides spread on toast, scones, muffins, or sandwiches, here's what I came up with:

Desserts

• various cookies and bars
• in making granola
• topping cheesecake
• between cake layers or to top plain cake
• to fill tarts
• to glaze fresh fruit
• to top ice cream

Salads

• to sweeten vinaigrette salad dressings
• to make fruit-flavored vinegar (swish a bit of jam with white vinegar)
• in creamy salad dressings to top fruit salads

Mains

• in glazes for pork, chicken, salmon, or meatballs
• in making barbecue sauce

Breakfasts

• as topping for pancakes, waffles, French toast, or in stuffed French toast
• to fill crepes
• inside a jam omelet

Beverages

• to flavor plain tea, iced or hot
• to flavor and sweeten lemonade
• to mix with sparkling water

What do you think? Do you have any favorite ways to use up jam or jelly?

Just barely enough

I did the grocery shopping this morning. I use cash when I buy groceries. Cash keeps me accountable in my spending. I thought I had more than enough for groceries. Imagine my surprise when at my final stop, I had just barely enough and was counting coins to make that last purchase. I will say, I skipped grocery shopping last week and needed to buy more than I might usually. But still, grocery prices have really jumped up in my area. 

I've got two sets of receipts in front of me, one set from 6 weeks ago and the other from today.A month and a half ago, I bought a 5-dozen case of eggs at Walmart for $9.98. Today, I paid $16.38 for the same size and brand of eggs. Six weeks ago I bought 2 pounds of butter at WinCo for $2.98 a pound. This morning I bought 2 pounds of the same butter at WinCo for $3.68 a pound. Six weeks ago I bought 1 gallon of milk at WinCo for $3.11. Today the same brand and size of milk at WinCo was $3.48. Six weeks ago I was paying $2.68 per quart of soy milk. Today I was shocked to see it had jumped to $3.38, same brand, same store. 

It isn't all bad news. The flour that I normally buy for bread, the natural peanut butter that my family likes, our staple fruit bananas, and the usual cheese that I buy have stayed at the same price. But nothing on my usual list has come down in price this year.

We're doing okay, though. I suppose the garden produce, cooking most meals from scratch, and using our stockpile of freezer and pantry foods are keeping us from needing to rework our grocery budget. The same can't be said for all of us, however. I read last month that 27% of Americans divulged that they are skipping meals periodically as a strategy to keep their grocery spending stable. Obviously, this isn't a sustainable solution to the problem of high food prices. Our church sponsored a food drive two months ago, informing the congregation that the food pantry's shelves were emptying at an alarming rate. I don't know what the answer is with rising food prices. My hope is prices will come down enough so that those 27%-ers don't have to skip meals anymore. In the meantime, generosity to food banks can go a long way to help those really struggling. 

As annoyed as I am to find higher and higher grocery prices, I also know that I am blessed. There is always enough food in my kitchen. I'm sorry that this post is more about me working through my thoughts about my grocery shopping than anything of help to someone else. Sometimes I just need to write things out to see what I am missing. Today, my writing revealed that I am already blessed beyond measure. 

Today on the farm . . .

 . . . we finished harvesting all of the cherries. 

We've been picking daily for the last week. Each day, we'd pick a dishpan or two of cherries, then my daughters and I would pit them all. Today was our last day, and I'm rather relieved. As I usually do, we left a few cherries on the tree for the squirrels, raccoons, and birds. I like to give them just one last taste before they have to find a new source of food.

So here's our total: 4 jars of cherry preserves, 1 pint of candied cherries, 3 jars of cherry syrup, 3 cherry pies, and 22 quarts of frozen pitted cherries for cooking later in the year. We also have 4 quarts of fresh cherries in the fridge right now, and we've been eating fresh cherries as a fruit for the past week. Fresh cherries, pitted and halved are delicious on salads. Today I made a large salad for lunch -- greens topped with cheese, chopped nuts, quinoa, and fresh cherries. I dressed it with a blackberry vinaigrette. Very delicious, and it felt so gourmet to have fresh cherries on our salad.

This is an absolute record for us. The local weather forecaster said this would be a bumper cherry crop for our area, and he was spot on.

I never thought it would be possible to get tired of eating fresh cherries daily.

A One-Year Compost Pile

I've mentioned before that we compost using two different compost bins. The first one is a straight-sided, rest on the ground, open to the dirt beneath plastic bin. It takes about a year to completely fill. I layer yard and kitchen waste with cardboard and paper. I don't follow precise ratios, but instead try to remember to add some paper and cardboard from time to time.

The above photo is just after lifting the plastic bin off of the pile after one year of filling. The pile is about 3 X 3 feet. I've moved the bin to a new location, so we can improve the soil there.

After one year you can still see some paper and cardboard in the layers, as well as some dried stalks from plants. I'll begin to turn the pile over into an adjacent bare spot to improve decomposition sometime this summer, when I have more time of course. As material breaks down, the pile shrinks.

In the meantime, I can access some good composted material from the bottom. I have dug out a couple of gallons of compost to amend soil when planting some perennials and shrubs this spring and summer. I simply dig away at the bottom edge of the pile where everything is pretty well decomposed.

Occasionally someone in the household will add something to the compost that is only partially compostable. Here's the plastic lining from a take-out paper coffee cup. All that is left is the plastic. The paper part is long gone. I pick these bits out when I come across them when digging. In a perfect world, my family would remember that these cups don't go into the compost but are better set aside for fire starters in the outdoor fire pit. It does make you think, though, right? When we get a takeout coffee, our tasty hot beverage is steeping in a plastic-lined cup. That can't be good for us. 

We've had the same plastic compost bin for 25 years. It's cracked and chipped, but still does a good enough job holding material in a heap. The pros- it was inexpensive. We bought it through a community program, paying about $10. It's great for bulky items like complete plants at the end of the gardening season. I pile whole tomato plants into the bin. Because it's open at the bottom, worms quickly get to work. Cons-also because it is open at the bottom, critters can dig into it from underneath. Also, as the material only gets turned after a year, it takes longer for it all to decompose. All in all, we're pretty happy with this composter.

Before we bought this one, we had an open heap behind an evergreen tree away from the house or boundary with our neighbors. The heap did work, but we had problems with critters digging in there and making a mess.

Our other compost bin is a tumbling one. I'll tell you more about that one, and what we think another time.

Do you compost? What type of bin do you use? Does your material breakdown faster than it does for me?

The Purple Chair

I think the garden is a great spot for a bit of whimsy or surprise.  

This wooden chair was formerly sage green, then white, and now I've painted it purple to tie in with the purple blooms of my lavender container garden. The large right lavender is just now in bloom. If you look closely you can see the purple blossoms.

I used spray paint, Rustoleum 2X Grape, gloss and top-coated with Rustoleum 2X Clear, semi-gloss. I chose the shade of purple that I wanted while in the store at Home Depot, comparing the color on the can to an actual English lavender plant beginning to bloom in the garden center there. Grape was practically the exact shade of purple. I'm sure I must have looked a bit silly holding cans of spray paint up against the potted plant.

It took 1  2/3 cans of the purple spray paint and just a little from the can of top-coat that I had from a project last year. The entire painting part took 3 days.

Anyway, purple may be an unconventional color for a chair. But I think it looks lovely in the garden next to the white pots of lavender.

It's a battle for the sweet cherries in our yard, but I'm making the most of it

Every summer it's the same battle. The squirrels, raccoons, and blackbirds want our cherries before they're fully ripe for our family's fresh eating. We do get to eat some of the cherries ripe and sweet off the tree. But also, I've gotten creative in using the cherries before they ripen and get snatched by the critters. 

a bit of a rustic looking cherry pie

This week I made cherry pie using underripe sweet cherries, lemon juice, corn starch, sugar, salt, and almond extract for the filling. 

more cherry pie filling to use in another pie this week

One trick I've learned about making pie with sweet cherries is to cook the filling in a saucepan before pouring into a pie crust. Sweet cherries tend to have a higher water content than sour cherries. So cooking some of that water out in the saucepan helps the pie cook evenly, fully cooked filling that's not at all soupy and crust that is golden brown. The pie was a hit and lasted 2 days in our house. I made another batch of pie filling yesterday, and I will bake it into a second cherry pie for tomorrow's dessert.

candied cherries

Today I made a batch of candied cherries, following the instructions from this site. Overall, I think they turned out pretty good. The next time, though, I'll use less water to begin (maybe 2 1/2 cups instead of 3), as it took a long time for the liquid to thicken to syrup consistency and thus candy the cherries. I felt the cherries came out slightly overcooked as a result. I suppose the site's author used a larger saucepan than I did, and that would've cooked the liquid out faster. Anyway, I am pleased with the cherries. 

Four cups of fresh cherries yielded two cups of candied cherries plus about 6 ounces of surplus syrup. I'll freeze the candied cherries and use them at Christmas in fruitcake and to top Swedish spritz cookies. I'll be using the surplus syrup on waffles later this week.

Tomorrow I plan on making cherry preserves. In years that we get a good crop of cherries, I make Bonne Maman style cherry preserves. These preserves are not only delicious on toast or muffins, but they make a nice topping for ice cream sundaes or filling for cakes. 

My fingernails are so badly stained from pitting so many cherries this week. Fortunately, I don't have any place special I need to go. I guess that's a price I'm willing to pay. Terrible looking fingernails in exchange for tasty cherry treats made with organic and very locally-sourced cherries.

Saving On Expensive Dental Products

image: pixels.com

In some ways, saving on dental products is a lot like saving on other items you might buy for your home or personal consumption. Comparing prices, using coupons, signing  up for emails, buying less expensive versions or brands are all techniques used for both dental needs and "regular" products. The difference between dental recommendations and say food or home furnishings purchases is that dental products are a lot more like medical products. If your physician recommended that you take a specific rx, you wouldn't try to DIY it at home. The same goes with what your hygienist or dentist may recommend. In contrast, I can very easily make my own ketchup or grow my own vegetables and not only cause zero harm to myself, but may actually increase my nutrient intake. I can also buy furniture second-hand with no ill effects. Not the same with most medical and dental recommendations. I can't manufacture my own dental floss or fluoride toothpaste in the basement. And I don't think it's prudent to buy an electric toothbrush or water flosser second-hand at the thrift store.

All of that said, there are ways to save a lot of money on the products and equipment that you need to keep your teeth and gums in good condition. For myself, I estimate that I have saved 30% to 40% on my dental product purchases by following these tips.

If you're one of the lucky ones who inherited a great mouth of teeth, then you may not need any of this. For myself, I come from a long line of family who no matter how hard they try to care for their teeth, they still have a mouth full of issues. So these tips are really for those who have received recommendations for specific, costly products and tools just so they can hang onto their natural teeth or avoid painful procedures down the road.

with your hygienist

• ask if there's a less expensive, but equally effective alternative
• ask for samples at every visit
• ask for coupons or coupon codes for ordering online
• if your hygienist is recommending that you purchase everything under the sun, ask why. In my case I asked about mouth rinses. My hygienist was honest with me and told me I didn't need a commercial product, but I could use a baking soda and water rinse to alter the ph in my mouth.
• if an electric toothbrush is recommended, and this isn't in your current budget, ask your hygienist for cleaning tips using manual toothbrushes. It may take a combination of 2 different manual toothbrushes to get your teeth thoroughly clean. 
• don't be passive in the dental chair but ask for tips on how you can do better. I think of my hygienist as more of a coach and less of a judge, if that is helpful to you.

in use at home

• measure amounts used every time -- if toothpaste says pea-sized, eyeball a pea-sized amount, if floss says 15-18 inches, find something handy to the sink that is that length to measure against. I use the mirror above the sink to measure my floss, holding the string up to the mirror before cutting. If a recommended mouthwash calls for an amount by ounce, find a cup that measures that amount and use that cup every time.
• use every last bit. this is the tip that most of us already follow when it comes to toothpaste. We flatten and scrape tubes, cut open tubes, and rinse tubes to get every last bit.

purchasing online

• if product is only available online, compare prices between manufacturer "store" on website and Amazon or Walmart.com.
• sign up for email and text alerts to get initial introductory discount from manufacturer website
• take advantage of periodic sales, usually announced through texts and emails, stocking up as affordable
• buy in bulk, such as multi-packs to get a bit of a discount
• buy at least the minimum amount required to get free shipping every time
• price compare "subscribe and save" option to ordering on your own in your time. Amazon's "subscribe and save" offers 5% discount on initial purchase and 10% on subsequent subscription purchases of 5 or more of the same items. In contrast, I can save 15% off of the same base price through the manufacturer's website by waiting for a sale (notification by text and email). I save an additional 2% by buying a multi-pack bundle (and it qualifies for free shipping). So, my savings by skipping the subscription saves me 17%, whereas the best case with Amazon's subscription service is a 10% savings. (BTW, I've been advised to use a rather expensive toothpaste. So this works out to be a good savings for me.)

purchasing locally

• if the product can be purchased locally, obviously compare prices between stores, use coupons, and buy when on sale.

dental floss

• even if you're buying plain old regular floss, consider shopping online at either Amazon or Walmart.com. You can often find larger spools of floss online than you can in local stores. And beyond that, online you can find refill spools of floss. Compare the price per foot between the small and large canisters.
• There's a hidden savings in buying a large refill spool or a large canister of floss. At the end of every small container of floss, there's always that last short bit of floss that is too short for a complete cleaning. I usually end up throwing these short pieces away, unused. Larger spools of floss will mean that you come across that short end fewer times in a year compared with multiple small containers of floss.
• many of the newer eco-friendly or specialty brands of floss offer refills for their individual canisters. While you don't get big savings from buying a super large canister or refill, these smaller manufacturers do offer a discount when buying simply the refill (that you would then place in the holder) as opposed to the holder with floss. When searching in an online store, add the word "refill" in the search field.

night guards

• over the counter night guards that you fit yourself cost $20 to $30. Pros- cheap and quickly obtainable. Cons-they wear out more quickly than those provided through your dentist and need replacement. OTCs are also a one-size fits all product that is then molded to your bite. If you happen to have an unusually large or small jaw, the OTC may not fit properly.
• custom fitted night guards provided through your dentist can cost upwards of $200. Some dental insurance carriers will pay part of this cost. However, there is usually a coinsurance payment required. Pros-you know they will fit exactly to your bite, plus they tend to last longer than OTC night guards. Cons-they are expensive and take more time to replace when they do break down, crack or develop a hole.
• whether buying over the counter or through your dentist, most dentists recommend replacing night guards every 3 to 5 years, or sooner if they break down. So this isn't a once and done cost to consider.

electric toothbrushes

• both my dentist and my daughter's dentist recommended we buy the low-end big name brand electric toothbrush but buy off-brand replacement heads. The savings on off-brand replacement heads is substantial. For example, on Amazon you can buy a 4-pack name brand replacement head for $22.50, a price of $5.63 each head. Alternatively, you can buy a 10-pack off-brand for $16.96, a price of $1.70 each head. The ratings on both the name brand and off-brand are comparable. Even if the off-brand head wore out twice as fast as the name brand, you would still save almost 50% on your replacement head costs.
• as for buying the low-end big name brand of electric toothbrush, these models typically have just one or two settings and need more frequent charging. For my mouth, my hygienist agreed that I only needed two settings (1 gentle, 1 regular cleaning). And for my convenience, I plug my toothbrush in every night, so it always has a full charge.

water flossers

• I've had the same Waterpik for 10 years. I bought a low-end model at a local big box store, on sale and using a coupon. It still works as well as it did when new. 
• maintaining a water flosser will extend the life of your unit significantly and save its replacement cost down the road. The 2 problems that would make a Waterpik completely unusable (and that you can prevent) would be with the pump motor if it were damaged through contact with water or mold, bacteria, or mineral deposits inside the reservoir or tubes and hoses. The first is simple. Just keep the motor unit itself out of water. Keeping it free of mold, bacteria or mineral deposits requires a little more attention. Empty completely after each use. My model holds just enough water for one use. After each use I empty the reservoir into the sink. Since the spaces inside the tubes and hoses is not visible to the user, I also empty the hoses completely after each use by holding the reservoir above the dental pick end and allow all of the water to run out of the hose into the sink. A little moisture might remain inside the tubes or hoses. To combat mold and bacterial growth in those areas, I run about 3 capfuls of hydrogen peroxide diluted in 1/2 cup of water through the machine and into the sink every other Saturday. Alternatively, you can use a 2:1 ratio of white vinegar to water. (The vinegar approach will also tackle mineral deposits if you have hard water.) I follow this cleaning rinse with a reservoir of plain water. Air dry thoroughly. After each use I detach the reservoir from the motor unit and allow the area where these two parts meet to dry between uses. Once a month wash with soap. I hand wash the reservoir (detached from the motor unit) and the wand and tip using liquid dish soap once a month. I also remove and clean the rubber valve at the bottom of the reservoir. Note: some wands contain a battery and can't be immersed. Know which type of wand your model uses and clean that part according to manufacturer's directions. This all sounds more involved than it really is. For more information on cleaning a water flosser, see this wikihow.
• if you buy a big name-brand water flosser, replacement parts for some elements are easily purchased online. Here's Waterpik's replacement part listing with links to trouble-shooting a couple of issues.

I'm on the fence when it comes to tongue scrapers. I currently brush my tongue with my toothbrush after doing my teeth. One study I read indicated that while scraping your tongue can reduce bacteria in your mouth, tongue scraping didn't reduce plaque formation on teeth. And yet another study indicated that scraping your tongue and/or brushing your tongue can reduce plaque. I'll have to ask my hygienist when I see her later this month what she has read on tongue scrapers and plaque.

Our 4th of July Celebration

For those of you in the US, I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Actually, I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, in the US or not. 

Our family gathered for a very fun day at home, so much fun it took a couple of days to recover! What can I say? We're patriotic people and like to celebrate our country's independence to the best of our resources.

My daughters gave me a gift card to Dollar Tree for my birthday last year, so I could pick up more frivolous things without guilt. I used some of its value to buy a bunch of small American flags and these patriotic dinner napkins. There were 25 napkins in the package. So I put the rest away and now have napkins for a few future 4ths of July.

The flags have plastic sticks, so they're perfect for popping into flower pots. And the flag part is plastic. I bought 2 packages of 3 flags/package. I'll put these away for future 4ths, too.

Another patriotic decor item came from a free pile this past winter. One of our neighbors put a box of  red and blue outdoor string lights out with a "free" sign back in February. Of course I picked it up. My family helped me hang a couple of strands along the deck railing and up into the trees on the 3rd.  The lights were festive and cheery in the background. The other great thing about this freebie is I will be using the strand, subbing orange bulbs for the red and blue, in the fall for Halloween. My other strand shorted out, but the light bulbs are still good.

We had perfect weather for the day, mildly warm at midday just as our neighborhood 4th of July parade passed by. My artist daughter set up a table and small easel at the driveway's edge and drew caricatures for anyone who wanted one. We had a couple of chairs set up, making our little part of the neighborhood a bit of a gathering spot. As a bonus, my daughter got hired for a caricature gig over the weekend as a result of her work on the 4th. She hires out to do caricatures at parties to earn a little extra money on the weekends.

After the parade our little foursome retreated to the backyard for a picnic on the lawn in the shade. As the afternoon began to heat up, we headed indoors to put together our 4th of July dinner.

Our son and daughter-in-law came overrun time for a cookout, yard games, and lots of fun fireworks. The menu for the cookout included a variety of hot dogs and sausages cooked on sticks over a fire, buns, sweet potato fries, potato chips (leftover from lunch's picnic), a slaw-type salad, raw vegetable platter, fresh cherries, fresh papaya (provided by my son and daughter-in-law), a cherry pie/jello/pretzel crust/sour cream dessert, lemon bars (leftover from lunch), and s'mores. It was a delicious dinner and dessert and an enjoyable time sitting around the fire ring.

After our own fireworks, the 6 of us took a late night walk through the neighborhood to watch our neighbors' fireworks displays. We tend to spend modestly on fireworks. However, a few of our neighbors go all out and put on pretty spectacular displays. One display went on until just before midnight. Around 1 AM we finally made it to bed.

We had such a fun time together. But now it's time to get back to work. 

Did you do anything fun for the 4th or over the weekend?

When you're going through a "tired" phase in your life -- 10 tips

Tired periods in life can be precipitated by illness, injury, surgery, grief, stress, loss or even those "happy" moments such as adding a child to the family or excelling in one's career or education. We all have those phases at some point. My own tired phase this go round is primarily due to my recent surgery. To deal with this, I compiled all of the advice I've been given in life and my own previous experience to come up with a list of 10 "rules" for myself.

Obviously, these suggestions only apply to responsibilities that are not part of paid employment. Beyond taking sick leave, most employers have only so much patience for an employee who performs well beneath their usual level for a prolonged period. My rules are more for how to deal with home responsibilities during a challenging phase.

Here they are:

1. Make physical contributors to recovery (those that boost health, such as sleep, water, good food, and sunshine) a priority. This is not the time to stay up late watching movies night after night or binge-eat a box of cookies or bag of chips. I've had to be more disciplined than normal and opt for a bowl of brown rice and garden greens for a snack in place of crackers more than once these last couple of weeks. I will say, however, that it's also important to allow yourself a treat here and there. Eating food that is pleasing lifts spirits, and that in itself is healing.
2. Lean into the responsibilities that you enjoy most or have the most ability for. For me, this would be cooking. I enjoy cooking and feel accomplishment when I've baked cookies or made a good lunch for the family. For others, this might mean doing basic cleaning, organizing tasks, or garden work. I've never enjoyed cleaning the house as much as I do baking. These last 2 weeks I've spent many of my work hours baking cookies, snack cake, bread and cheese strata, and mixing up a small batch of frosting for some lingering plain cupcakes that my daughter had baked. I feel productive. I am taking care of my family in this limited way. And I'm slowly reintroducing regular life back into my days.
3. Take the easy route with the jobs that you like less. This might mean spending a bit of extra money to buy cleaning supplies that do more of the work for you, or buying a few more convenience food products for daily meals. It might also mean using the vacuum on the kitchen and bathroom floors in place of a broom and skip the mopping for a week or two or three. Dusting tools abound and are real time-savers compared to a rag and spray. Heating a healthy frozen meal for dinner one night could provide you with time enough for a quick late afternoon nap. If you have friends or family who can pitch in on these chores that you find burdensome, ask. We'll be hosting a 4th of July celebration this Thursday. I don't mind the cooking part. It's the cleaning house that I dread. One of my daughters has offered to clean the guest bathroom and stove top for me. I'll also skip mopping the kitchen floor until after the gathering, running the vacuum over it to clean before our guests arrive. That will be clean enough, in my opinion.
4. Intersperse rest breaks in between work periods. These past couple of weeks I've found my days are often composed of 30 minute work periods alternated by 20 or 30 minutes rest periods. I also alternate rest days with work days. Yesterday needed to be a rest day, as I had constant low-level pain that didn't respond to meds. Today I was up and out the door to run my errands, shopping for the foods we'll want, picking up an rx for a family member, dodging into Value Village for a minute, and buying the fireworks. After a long rest break and lunch, I was able to get outside and water the garden. After a bit more of a break, I'll get up and make dinner. I can do all of this today because I had yesterday as a rest day and I know that tomorrow will also be rest day.
5. Accept a lower standard of "doing" for the time being. My projects are stacked up, but I'm not pushing myself to work speedily on any of them. I'm puttering, doing a bit here and there on my project list. On Saturday I began another spray paint project, but I only got halfway through it. I'm not pushing myself to complete this one, even though its completion is simple and uncomplicated. For now, I have accepted that I can't keep doing and doing,
6. Go fewer places in a week if you can. Send someone else to do the grocery shopping. Last week, I made a detailed list for my daughter to use when shopping for the family's groceries. It worked out well. She had time to spare and wanted to pick up a few things just for herself anyway. And it saved me from a huge energy crash that would have incurred had I done the week's shopping myself. If you don't have someone who can do the shopping, do a grocery pick-up order or even have your groceries delivered. Staying in more often during this "tired" time will result in a shorter recovery period overall. 
7. When you rest, really rest. Don't go online or even read a book. Close the curtains and lie down. I have to admit, I am so guilty of using rest breaks to go online. It's just so tempting. I've had to remind myself over and over that I do need real rest for me to move forward.
8. Expect bad days, whether those are emotionally or physically bad ones. They'll happen. Prepare your mind for them. The pain I had yesterday came seemingly out of the blue. I'd been doing so well with pain. It didn't make much sense that I would now have persistent, although low-level pain. But my doctor had warned me that doing too much too soon would increase blood flow and exacerbate pain. The same can be true if what's going on in your life is dealing with loss or excess stress. You can feel like you're dealing with everything well. And then boom, one little thing derails you. If you mentally prepare for these set-backs, you'll know in advance that you need to show a little more kindness to yourself and not try to power through it all.
9. If and/or when you have a set-back day, don't feel like you need to completely catch-up the next day. Go slow in catching back up and forgive yourself for your body or mind's limitations.
10. Finally, try not to think of yourself as feeble, infirm, or a hot mess. Stay hopeful that this period will pass, just as they always have passed before. My own "tired" phase does not define who I am at the core. I will return to an energetic person once again. No matter how fatigued I feel, I intellectually know that I've made a lot of progress from those first couple of days post-surgery. The fact that I got out and did the grocery shopping today is evidence that I'm doing better. One step in front of the other, and soon I'll be back to my normal.

What do you think? Do you have any advice for someone going through a "tired" phase in life?

What's been in my grocery cart this month? What's your stock-up style?

June 8 Walmart and Grocery Outlet just before our Father's Day celebration, 1 week early. Many items that I bought were for our cook-out dinner.  

2 lbs fresh strawberries, 2 lbs frozen broccoli cuts, large bottle ketchup, 5 lbs shredded mozzarella, package turkey snack sticks, canister whipped cream, 3 lbs apples, bagged salad kit, 3 lbs onions, small bag yogurt-covered pretzels, package hot dog buns, 1 bell pepper, bunch bananas, bar unsweetened chocolate, cabbage, 5 dozen eggs, 2 jars salsa, chicken bratwurst, Doritos, regular tortilla chips, andouille sausage, uncured beef hotdogs -- spent $87.56

June 13 WinCo for the last shopping before surgery 

multipack string cheese, 1 gallon milk, 2 cartons tofu, 2 lbs butter, 2 lbs frozen broccoli, 2 lbs frozen peas, 5 lbs carrots, 3 lbs apples, cabbage, cucumber, celery, 3 tomatoes, 2 red bell peppers, 2 bunches bananas, bag of dates, almond flour, natural peanut butter, 2 cartons soy milk, 10 lbs bread flour -- spent $69.85

June 18 Daughter went out and bought some raspberry sorbet for me. Spent $5.48

June 23 Husband went to Grocery Outlet and bought 1 bag of frozen chicken breasts. Spent $6.99

June 27 Daughter is doing grocery shopping for this week. 

1 green and 1 red pepper, 3 tomatoes, 1 bundle celery, 5 lb bag carrots, 1 bunch bananas, natural peanut butter, 2 lbs butter, pepperoni, 2 lb block sharp cheddar cheese, gallon whole milk, soy milk, unsweetened, 2 cartons, organic unbleached all-purpose flour, 5 lb bag, 1 lb roasted peanuts -- spent $44.84

Total spent in person for the month of June -- $214.72

We also received another delivery of beef, at a cost of  $359.00. It was charged in May, but we received it in June. So my grand total for groceries this month is $573.72. Wow, that's a whopper! However, next month our total will be significantly less.

The Father's Day foods consisted of some of my husband's favorite foods for a cook-out, Doritos, regular tortilla chips, salsa, yogurt-covered pretzels, a salad kit, fresh strawberries and whipped cream for strawberry shortcake, andouille sausage, beef and chicken sausages plus potato buns. We otherwise wouldn't have spent quite as much that week. Our budget for our Father's Day cookout was $25. We went over by about $2. Still, not a high spend for a special meal.

I didn't do the grocery shopping for 2 weeks, instead sending out family members twice to get 1 item each time. This turned out to be a good thing with regards to food wastage. When I was finally up and around, one of the first things I did was straighten the fridge shelves. I only had to compost one item due to spoilage. My family did a great job trying to use everything up. What I did find that was still good to eat but in need of consumption soon was a container of cooked macaroni noodles, a container of cooked rice, and a container of pumpkin puree. I turned all of the macaroni and some of the rice into a dish of macaroni and cheese for lunches today. I've been working on the pumpkin puree. I made a snack cake the other day. Today I made pumpkin-chocolate chip cookies. I still have a few tablespoons left of pumpkin. I'll stir that into some applesauce along with some cinnamon to go with tonight's dinner. It's been a drizzly day today. Those are always good cooking and baking days, in my opinion.

I am in stock-up mode again, focusing on bread flour, butter, and cartons of soy milk this month. I'm not buying a lot, instead just buying maybe one or two extras of each item per month to slowly build a surplus. While it may save more money just waiting until these foods go on sale before buying a lot, buying one or two extra of anything not highly perishable each week is an easy and less financially painful way to build a stock pile.

So that's what was in my grocery cart this past month. What's been in yours? 

Do you prefer to stock up little by little, even if you don't get the lowest price, or all in one fell swoop when items are on sale?