Valentine Decorating - use what you have

It's time to put out the Valentine decorations and since I don't like to shop,  I used what I had -

a small tub of Valentine decorations from years past,

a Christmas tree

lots of crocheted treasures from my Mom

a Christmas wreath 

and a cute little boy

this little pink tree is perfect for Valentines - most of the hearts were crocheted by my Mom
I made the felt and sequined ones. 

apothecary jars decorated with things from that tub
pink doilies from my Mom
and a cute little boy

the living room

the dining room 

frog candy dish
he wishes  he was filled with candy

thrift store cupid dish
and little cherubs that Nina used to collect

this may look silly to some people but I really like it.
This is the evergreen my brother made in December
It is still fresh and hanging by our entry way.
I found these cute red cupids in the tub and hot-glued them to the wreath.
so now,  it is a Valentine wreath!

 Do you have Valentine decorations in your home?

Please tell me in a comment , I would love to come to take a look.   

dishwasher woes and fixes

Good morning everyone!

My dishwasher has not been consistently cleaning the dishes all the way for a few months and I had just about quit using it.  

But last Sunday afternoon,  we had a lot of dirty dishes and I was tired so I loaded up the dishwasher, then  I sat down in the living room with my son and husband.  A little while later,  I went in the kitchen for a drink and saw that the kitchen floor was covered with water that was coming out of the dishwasher.

Thankfully my son helped dry up the water and my husband got the water shut off.

The appliance repairman came Monday morning, ordered a part and then replaced in on Weds morning - pretty fast service!

Anyway,  the water inlet valve was ruined as it was just full of alum that is in our water and it had corroded the fittings too.  That  part was so clogged, it was not letting enough water in the dishwasher 

After the repairman fixed the broken part,  I asked him about the not-clean-enough dishes.  

He told me several things to do and now,  I can happily report that the dishwasher is working right and yields very clean dishes!

clean dishes!

Lemi-shine ( bought mine at Walmart with the dishwasher detergents for about $3.

The appliance man said that all phospates were removed from dishwasher products about 2 years ago.  Phosphates are bad for the environment but were good for cleaning dishes and keeping the inside of appliances clean and free of buildup.
He told me to get some LemiShine.
I followed the directions on the back of the LemiShine.
First,  I ran the dishwasher, empty, on a hot long cycle with a full dispenser cup of LemiShine to clean the inside and all the spray holes, etc.
Then I ran a load of dirty dishes, again following the LemiShine directions.  I put detergent in the first cup, LemiShine in the second cup.
Those steps resulted in a really clean load of dishes.  yea!

I've been handwashing dishes lately and I think I mostly prefer anyway.  It is much quieter and does not take that long unless there are really a lot of dishes.
Even though my hand have been in dishwater a lot,  they are soft and not dry.
I think it is because of this  cream I found at Dollar Tree.
The tubes are big,  10 ounces,  and like everything at Dollar Tree,  they cost $1.  

Dermasil cream from Dollar Tree - $1 for 10 ounces!

I used to like that Blue Spa hand parrafin stuff from Bath and Body Works,  at about $12 for a little tube.
But I really think this Dermasil works much better.
I've bought 3 tubes to keep one in the kitchen, one in my bedroom and one in the living room.
And if I got back to Dollar Tree and they still have it,  I just might buy a few more tubes to have for later.

Another tip from the appliance repairman - he said any dishwasher or washing machine,  no matter the age or brand, could malfunction and flood your house during a cycle.  He said they should never be left running attended - either when we leave the house or go to bed.  I am taking his advice on this one.

Fruit for the week and a new kitchen

I think this fruit is so pretty - looks like jewels!  

We like fruit.  

Jeff takes 2 servings of fruit in his lunch box everyday.  

The grandchildren like fruit at every meal too.   No cooking is involved in serving fruit but all that peeling and chopping  does take time and gets your hands messy.

I like to buy fruit in bulk, usually at Sams,  and because of the mess, I like to prepare it in bulk too. 

Monday morning,  I cut up one fresh pineapple,  peeled about 10 clementines and sectioned about 10 ruby red grapefruit.  

Then some of it got put into serving size containers for Jeff's lunch box.  

The rest is in 3 containers in the fridge,  making for quick and easy fruit servings for me and the grandchildren.  

Gavin is cooking "meat" in the microwave and Elizabeth is filling the pitcher at the ice dispenser.

Isn't this a cute play kitchen?

My son in law got it from a coworker whose children had outgrown it.  

And they got it from as a hand-me-down from another family.  

It is Step2 brand and in really good shape to be several years old.  

Thrifty tip - pass things on that you no longer need and then  happily accept when other things are passed on to you.  

One of my very favorite things about getting something second-hand - no packaging and no giant box to deal with!