Michelle, where did your mystery trip take you? And which of you was surprising the other? I like that you did that with Jeremiah last week, so maybe your mom decided to surprise you? Or did you decide to surprise her also?

Okay, I am being frugal, but sometimes you just can't pass up a deal. There was an enamel cast iron pot on clearance at a local electronics and department store. A Hamilton Beach cast iron dutch oven (1.5 quart) with a cast iron base (for a candle or sterno) and an electric cooking base for $9. This is perfect for small meals, it can be used for stovetop or oven. Amazon regularly sells it for $50 or more. I could turn around and sell it on eBay for three times what I paid, but I plan to keep this.

It has been my declutter practice to keep numbers of things at a certain level - if I buy new shoes, rehome or toss older or unused ones. I probably should look around the kitchen and see what in there is never getting used.

Back in the rest of the property, I've discovered a couple of leaks in the long hose that runs around the garage and over to the vegetable garden. There isn't a faucet on that side of the house and I have an expensive faucet-attached sprinkler management device that I want to keep out of sight in the back. Last year I bought a long hose that is still sitting in the garage, so it's time to drag out the old one (ancient, now that I think about it, over a dozen years old) and replace it with this new one. I need to put things to use that are sitting around waiting to be used.

It's also time to clean out the greenhouse and get ready to move plants in for the winter. Last year I lost one I'd wintered over successfully for a couple of years, so I think I need to address a large air leak in the back door of the structure. I love when we get to the season when I can use it - in the summer the greenhouse is where tools are stored and it's like an oven in there.