Using Logs as Budget Rustic Patio or Yard Furniture

I saw this done in a photo online when searching for budget or cheap patio furniture. I thought it had a nice look for a rustic setting, such as when placed around a fire ring. 

Last summer and now this year, I've been working on fixing up our outdoor living areas. We use 4 resin Adirondack chairs around the fire ring and whatever small tables we can borrow from other areas. We find it's nice to have a small table within reach of each chair, as when we cook out around a fire, we also take our meals right there. Having someplace to set your glass down within reach is a nice extra to have.

Seeing the online photo of logs used as stools and small tables really clicked with me.

This last weekend, we had an overgrown birch tree taken down. It was shading a section of the roof and depositing a ton of leaves each fall on the shingles, which ultimately led to a leak in the roof in that area this winter. It's the same basic area we've had previous leaks before the last re-roofing. It was recommended to us to remove that particular tree. Sad as we were to lose a beautiful tree, we welcome having our new roof (later this month or early next month) not have that same leak issue. As a bonus, we have lots of beautiful logs for our use now.

Saturday's weather was gorgeous, bright and sunny with just enough sun to want to spend some time in the evening outdoors. It seemed like the perfect day to have a cook-out. One daughter and I brought 6 of the birch logs to the patio and set them up to use as side tables. I like the rustic look, and for now, logs work well for placing a drink, pot of flowers, or a plate of s'mores fixings.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers Using Up Odds and Ends

Friday

scratch pepperoni pizza, using tomato paste and dried tomatoes in the sauce

Cole slaw, using a leftover dressing packet from a salad kit last month

apple wedges

chocolate chip cookies

Saturday

various leftovers turned into soup (lentil soup from earlier in the week stretched with leftover lentils, rice, and veggies)

homemade tortilla chips

cake

Sunday

peanut butter sauce with frozen spinach over

mix of brown and white rice

buttered carrots

leftover cake

Monday

beef and bean enchiladas

Cole slaw

leftover cake

Tuesday

leftover enchiladas

steamed carrots

Wednesday

tuna noodle casserole

steamed broccoli

Thursday

tofu and vegetable stir fry

brown rice

pumpkin souffle

pumpkin chocolate chip snack cake

This was an exhausting week for me. I did my best with meals. I'm rushing to get the garden planted at the same time I'm juggling medical and dental appointments. This past Wednesday I had another long dental appointment, another crown. This one exhausted me. I did very little after coming home. But I did rouse myself enough to make a soft dinner. Thursday's dinner was another soft one. The nerves in my mouth are easily irritated still. I slept poorly Wednesday night. I'm hoping tonight's sleep is much better. I go in for more testing to see how my thyroid is doing on Monday. I'm hoping that there's been some improvement.

My husband pitched in on Saturday and Sunday and my daughters made the enchilada dinners on Monday and Tuesday. I'm thankful that I didn't have to cook every night. Thursday I got a bit of an energy burst and did some extra cooking and garden-harvesting so there's plenty of easy foods to grab. I picked a bunch of kale, turnip greens, Brussel sprout leaves, and watercress today. I washed it all, used some in dinner, then put the rest in containers in the fridge for lunches the next couple of days. The pumpkin shuffle was made with the 25 cent/cans of pumpkin that I bought at Grocery Outlet. I used 1 1/2 cans of pumpkin, making enough for leftovers to use as a vegetable side for breakfasts or lunches. The other 1/2 can went into the snack cake, hence the 2 pumpkin items on one meal's menu.

We're making progress using up foods from the deep freeze. I want to get that freezer thawed and cleaned sometime in May before I begin freezing produce from this year's garden.

I went grocery shopping earlier this week, mostly buying produce, milk, and eggs. My plan is to spend less on groceries for the month of April, both to use up foods in the freezers and pantry and to offset our big beef purchase last month. This looks do-able.

How were your meals this past week? Did you have any favorites?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!