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A hole in my wall, a broken dishwasher door, and more.

It’s time for miscellaneous randomness!   Buckle up!

(Actually, never mind.   It’s not quite that thrilling of a ride, to be perfectly honest.   Seatbelts: optional.)

egg bread

This post contains affiliate links to products/service I use and love.

You guys are fun to chat with.

You know something that’s awesome about the community here?   You all are talkative!

Please write more about the bad stuff in your life. - The Frugal Girl - Mozilla Firefox 542016 81128 PM

The comment sections at a lot of blogs (even blogs way bigger than mine) have sort of died away in the last couple of years, but you all still take the time to leave comments and I love that.

Also awesome: 99.99% of blog comments here are thoughtful and kind.   You guys are great.

My dad cut a hole in my wall.

The other week, while Mr. FG was away, I turned our outdoor faucet on for the first time this spring.

It turned on fine, but then it would NOT shut off.   Gah!

Fortunately, my dad was here at the time.

He is a whiz at anything handy so he pulled it apart and found a broken washer.   He and I tried to get a new part, but had no luck at two stores.

My dad thought the old faucet mechanism was unnecessarily complicated anyway, so we picked up a new, simpler faucet and he installed it.

drywall patch

Unfortunately, since our lower level is finished, we had to cut a hole in the drywall to access the pipe.

Luckily, we had extra pieces of drywall in the shed, so my dad screwed in a patch, put some spackle on, and after he left, I finished the spackling and painting.

painted drywall patch

I feel really fortunate that my dad was here when I discovered the leaky faucet.   I might be able to do some handyman jobs, but I am irrationally terrified of plumbing.

So, yay for handy dads who are willing to help!

We paid for a dishwasher repair.

While Mr. FG was out of town (Of course.   Things always break at times like those!), I was loading my dishwasher and heard a loud popping noise.

I couldn’t figure out what it was until I went to use the door, and then I realized something had gone wrong with the door spring mechanism.

While this was possibly something we could have done ourselves, when he got home, Mr. FG and I opted to just call our wonderful appliance repairman to come fix it.

dishwasher spring

Apparently, the cords that attach the springs to the door were designed poorly, and they snap over time. So he brought over a new, better-designed set and replaced both sides.

You guys, my dishwasher door is amazing! It had been creaky for years (it’s 12 years old), and it’s perfectly silent now.   Also, before it would only stay put in the top position or the bottom and now the door stays securely no matter where you put it.

It cost a little over $100 to have the repair done, but it was worth it to us.   My repairman says my dishwasher is the best one out there and that the new Kitchen-Aids aren’t nearly as good.   So, we plan to just keep fixing this one as long as we can.

We found our repairman through Angie’s List, and he’s been great.   He’s really knowledgeable, I like that he’s enthusiastic about making appliances last, and I feel great about supporting an independent entrepreneur.

It’s dance recital time.

This is both a happy time for Sonia and Zoe (makeup! fancy hair! fancy costumes! being on stage!) and a slightly sad time (after the recital there’s no dance all summer long).

zoe's ballet shoes

I like this picture because it shows Zoe’s two sides…delicate ballet shoes and plaid flannel Converse hi-tops.

Hurry!   Use your $0 in credit!

I think ThredUp must have had a glitch in their system, because I got this hilarious email from them.

You earned it (but it's about to expire). - Message (HTML) 4302016 92227 AM

You’ll be pleased to know I used my $0.00 of credit post-haste.   That was a close one…

There are still some $5 container sets.

When you sign up for The Mighty Fix, you can get your first fix (two stainless steel containers) for half price…just $5.

mighty Fix promo code

Click here to sign up (the $5 deal will already be automatically applied).

Mighty Fix stainless steel containers

Or if you want to know more, click here to read all about this deal (lots of container photos included.)

_________________

Aaaaand that wraps up this week’s edition of miscellany!

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Grandma Bev

Wednesday 11th of May 2016

Mold appeared on the breadboard next to the kitchen sink, you know the cutting board as older houses used to have, ours is over 40 years old. That's odd. Then Mold appeared on the inside of the cabinet door next to the sink. What is this? Long story short; The hot water pipe under the kitchen sink INSIDE the wall had slow leak. A very big deal to repair. Watch out for water.

Kristen

Wednesday 11th of May 2016

Oh wow, that's awful!

nabs

Sunday 8th of May 2016

Hi Kristen, I live in Singapore. I have a small family of 3 and am toying with the idea of buying a dishwasher. Do I buy a big one ( size of a washing machine) or a small one ( like a drawer)? Once in a while, I do have guest coming in and dish washing is such a pain. What do you think/suggest?

Kristen

Monday 9th of May 2016

I'd buy whatever size would make sense for your own family. Washing extra dishes by hand when you have an occasional guest isn't a big deal, you konw? So, buy what works for your everyday life.

Linsey

Thursday 5th of May 2016

Here is my piece of advice on buying a new fridge: DON'T buy a stainless one. We found a floor model at an unbelievable price so bought it and I curse it every single day. It always looks dirty and those special cleaning cloths are expensive, but using home cleaners don't work as well. I am very frugal but I swear if we had a windfall I would give away this fridge and buy a matt finish white one!

Penny S

Thursday 5th of May 2016

We will have to buy a new refrigerator very soon as ours is on it's last leg. I have been trying to read as many customer reviews as I can on the pros and cons of different brands. It seems to be touch and go as to find a brand that is recommended over others. Would like to hear suggestions from you and your readers on a dependable brand. Thanks All

Kristen

Thursday 5th of May 2016

We've been very happy with our Kenmore Elite. I'd definitely buy another one if I needed a new fridge! We've had ours for a decade now with no problems.

Sarah G.

Thursday 5th of May 2016

Kristen, I think the reason you have such an "awesome community" is because you've set such a wonderful tone for your blog. Some homemaking/frugality blogs I've read have felt so impersonal and ad-driven, I am skeptical about the genuine-ness about anything they write.

But you have kept it real... You post about what you truly like, and talk about things that you actually use; you admit to refusing to promote things that you wouldn't use yourself, you care about sharing your own words, not just typing whatever you're paid to say. I think your readers, including myself, truly appreciate that.

So when we comment, we feel like we're communicating with a real person, not just someone writing posts that speak only their sponsors' words.

Kristen

Thursday 5th of May 2016

Ah, that's all really encouraging to hear! Thank you.

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