It's windstorm season, again, and other stuff

Monday evening was super windy. We lost another tree. Usually the trees come up roots and all. But this one snapped off and splintered a stump, about 6 feet from the ground. It didn't do any property damage, but these trees are massive, and this will be a mess to clean up.

Then, Tuesday evening, the winds started again. It's not expected to be as windy as Monday, but with the soil so wet, and root movement in the soil after the earlier segment of this storm -- I'm a bit nervous when the wind kicks up.

Other things, I unclogged the drain hose from the dishwasher's airgap, using, of all things, picture hanging wire and boiling water. First, I took a long piece of stiff wire, made a loop at one end, and snaked it up and down the hose, through the airgap. I pulled out what look like  sticker from a piece of fruit or a piece of a label. It was coated in gunk, so hard to tell exactly.  The hose would still not allow water to flow through. So, I poured boiling water down the draining section of the airgap. If you take the cap off of the airgap, there are two sections, one for incoming drainage, and the other where the dirty water will flow back down to the garbage disposal or drain. I used the wire and poured the boiling water down the latter of the two sections, using a narrow-spouted watering can to get the water into the narrow hole. At first, the boiling water just sat in the upper part of the hose. then I heard a whoosh and I knew I'd unclogged the drain. The clog was likely a combination of fat and food particles which clung to the inside of the hose. I have to do this about once per year. Our dishwasher was only out of commission for one dinner, until I could work on it. Not bad.

What else? Lite Mock Apple Pie. This is my latest dessert-in-a-jiffy creation, using applesauce, cinnamon-sugar, saltine or graham crackers. You can see where this is heading, right? Put two saltines or one square graham cracker in a microwaveable bowl, topped with applesauce, sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. Microwave for 15 seconds. Mug cakes are sometimes too heavy, that's when a lite apple pie is just perfect.

And now, I think I'm actually going to get a good night's sleep, after last night's wind storm. Have a great day!

I'm working on a big project, plus have some other stuff

This week and next will be super busy for me. We have birthdays, Thanksgiving, a big project for me, and all of family life's other little things to tend to. I'm still living frugally, mostly by force of not having time to actually spend much money.

• We still continue to cook all of our meals at home. 
• I made laundry soap, again, as we ran out last week, and I haven't had time to buy more. (And by homemade laundry soap I mean I melted a bar of hotel soap in a pan of water, and just use the gloppy, melted soap for the laundry.) Homemade laundry soap doesn't remove stains or whiten as well for us as commercial detergent, but it cleans the fabric (gets dirt and oil out, just not stains) well enough in a pinch. 
• I used a gift card and coupon to order myself a new fleece jacket, as my old one now has several holes and bald spots (13 years old and worn daily for 9 months of the year). I can sew up the holes, but I can't reweave the bald spots. Besides, as it is balding, it doesn't keep me warm like it used to. 
• I used the library for books that I needed, instead of buying the books. 
• My daughter used a coupon code for Redbox for a free movie that she wanted to see. 
• I made a so-so dinner on Friday; we ate it anyway, and remedied the blandness at the table with a small pitcher of soy sauce for everyone to add.
• My daughter made Monday's dinner in advance. She will be home late tonight, so she put together a casserole on Sunday, which just needs heating, and everyone can serve themselves.
• We received the gift of pumpkin-spice coffee creamer on Friday, so we've been enjoying flavored beverages all weekend, for no extra cost.
• I watched a show on my laptop, through PBS.org, for free. We don't have cable or satellite, just rabbit ears.
• I continue to use up what we have, such as face cream samples, hotel soap and shampoo samples, perfume samples, and a brand of vitamins which I don't enjoy as much as another brand, but we have them, so I'm finishing them.

What's new in your life? How was your weekend? I hope that your week is off to a great start.