How the deck railing project is going

I continued to use the disk sander on the railing all last week and Saturday. Sunday was a day of rest. And then Monday ushered in some rain. I did get pretty far on the railing until the rain. I've now sanded the handrail on the entire railing, with exception of needing to scrape the small amount up against the support posts.

With the sun coming back this afternoon, I'll get back to sanding and scraping. I'll begin the bottom rail tomorrow. I hope to get that part done in a week. Then I can apply a stain to the top and bottom rails.

The sanding is going faster than I had thought it might. So, I just might get the entire railing refinished this summer. I'll keep you posted. And again, thank you all for your advice and tips last week.

We had initially planned on having the deck railing replaced with a composite railing that would never need repainting. Then the roof needed replacing (big $$$), the car needed expensive repairs (more big $$), the dishwasher needs replacing, the furnace needs replacing, and the list never ends. So we sat down and talked about how we can do as much as possible on our list for this summer. Refinishing the existing railing was the one item that we could do ourselves. If we like the end result, we will have saved some substantial $$ over replacement.

Tomorrow morning I'll be up early and out there scraping and sanding.

What's been in my grocery cart this month? July 2024 Grocery Spending

I only had 2 shopping days this month, each about 2 weeks apart.

On July 2, I did the shopping for the 4th of July, sticking to the local stores Walmart and Grocery Outlet. I stopped at Grocery Outlet first and bought hot dog buns ($2.99), 3.31 pounds of Fuji apples (49 cents/lb), 2.25 lbs sweet cherries (2.49/lb), cherry tomatoes ($2.50), 2 bags of raw vegetable medley), 2 bags frozen sweet potato fries ($3.99 each), chicken jalapeño franks ($3.99), and a cheese, meat, breadstick, and olive charcuterie tray ($5.99). I made my own raw veggie tray, using the bagged vegetable medley (raw cauliflower, broccoli, and baby carrots) plus the cherry tomatoes, and some dip and raw bell pepper I had at home. At Walmart (right across the street) I bought uncured all-beef hot dogs ($4.99), bananas (58 cents/lb), a kale salad kit ($3.98), a case of flavored sparkling water ($4.98), bag of marshmallows ($1.17) and a bar each of unsweetened ($2.42), milk ($1.12), and 70% dark chocolate ($1.12) for making s'mores. I spent a total of $56.25 for all of the above. We ended up with so much leftover food that I was using it in meals for several days after the 4th and didn't need to go shopping again for 2 more weeks.

In addition to those 2 food stops, I also ducked into Value Village (right next door to Walmart). I've been looking for a waffle maker that makes heart-shaped waffles for a while. I lifted the lids on all of the waffle makers and lo and behold, one of them made mini hearts! It was Senior Tuesday, which means I received a discount of 30%. Originally priced at $7.99, I paid $5.59. This will be a fun addition to Valentine's Day brunch. I love specialty-shaped waffle irons, but I'm unwilling to pay the "new" price for this type of item.

On July 17 I did the second grocery shopping of the month. This day I went to WinCo, Walmart, and Grocery Outlet. At WinCo I bought 3 cans of tuna (88 cents ea), a jar of mayo ($3.28), 2 16-oz jars of peanuts ($2.28 ea), 5-lb bag of organic flour for bread ($6.96), salt (67 cents), 2 cartons soy milk ($3.38 ea), 1 pound natural peanut butter ($2.18/lb), 2/3 lb sunflower seeds ($2.08/lb), bananas (58 cents/lb), 24-ct string cheese ($5.48), 2 lb block sharp cheddar ($6.78), 2 lbs butter ($3.68 ea), frozen fish sticks ($5.98), a gallon of milk ($3.49). I stopped at Grocery Outlet next and bought 2 boxes of graham crackers (99 cents ea), and 2 packages bacon ($1.99 ea). Directly across the street is Walmart, where I bought marshmallows ($1.17), uncured beef hot dogs ($4.98), 2 packs turkey snack sticks ($3.72 ea), 3-lbs vegetable shortening ($6.18), and a 5-dozen case of eggs ($16.38). I spent $100.48 in total at all 3 stores.

We're planning another cookout, so I've been picking up a few things that will keep several weeks (beef hot dogs, graham crackers, marshmallows). Otherwise, we wouldn't be going through so many marshmallows!!!

For the month I spent $156.73 on food. Of course, this wasn't a meat delivery month, plus we'vee been supplementing with our garden and pantry/freezer stockpiles. I'll need to replenish some of stockpiled foods next month. So, I expect to spend more.

I'm curious, how do some of my prices compare to yours? In most cases I buy the store-brand on products.