Best Purchases of 2025

Between Covid and the "big hike" a whole lot of things haven't happened for several years. The last year I did a "best purchases" of the year was 2020.

But I think a few things are noteworthy from this year.

For starters, after thinking about something like this for almost six months, I finally decided on the brand I wanted, and it was on sale. I bought one of these little power pruners. Most of them weigh closer to nine pounds. This one by Greenworks is four pounds. With the battery. The company makes a lot of other tools that take the same battery pack too. With this, I was able to get truly serious about some of the autumn olive. I didn't buy it until November so only a couple of complete bushes got whacked, but next year those nasty autumn olive are going to take a big hit.



It's strictly happenstance that another great purchase is lime green. It's a popular comsumer color these days.

This is the kitchen chopper I got for easier salad prep. It's holding up perfectly, and I use it regularly. It cleans up easily if you don't let stuff dry on it. I wasn't sure if I could chop the cucumber and pepper and have it stay fresh enough. But I'm keeping paper towels in the veggie tub to absorb a lot of the moisture. I'm using more towels than I like to, but I think it's worth it to not have to chop the parts of my evening salad every single day.



I'm really happy with several plants I bought, but assuming it comes back in the spring, perhaps the favorite purchase is the Lewisia 'Safira Coral.' It bloomed for nearly two months.

I think I'll include one more purchase because it just makes me happy. At the end of our Adirondack adventure in June, at a convenience store, they had some fleece blankets marked at $9.99. That seemed reasonable as a nice souvenir. When I took it to the register, it rang up at $29.99. "Oh, no," I said. I took the clerk to the display, and she did give it to me at the lower price! It's a great reminder of the Adirondacks, and cuts the drafts on my legs as I do computer work.

It is a romance map of the Adirondacks. I do love romance maps! I've also seen it as a poster, but I like being able to snuggle up with it.

Today was nasty outside. I opted not to hike before bell choir. Cathy and I are going to try tomorrow. It was raining and just above freezing. Ludington actually didn't have school because it was ice in the early morning. Betty is on her way to a warmer clime for the winter, so there will be no afternoons of crafts for now.

I did do all the usual- editing, bell choir, miscellaneous little things.

See Best Purchases 2020

Putter, Putter, Scrape

I didn't accomplish much on several important fronts, but I did putter at some other things that needed doing. Probably the most important was that I got the headlights on my car fixed. The low beams weren't working at all. Since I thought that was going to be in the range of $250, and was only $71, I'm pretty happy.

I did a little prep work in the trailer; I did a lot of nothing. It was a dreary day, and my discipline was not up to snuff.

Every once in a while, I show you a purchase I'm pretty happy with. There were a few on the big hike, but the last ones for the house that I shared were in 2020. So here's a little item I'm quite happy with. It's called a "jar spatula." It's made (I think) of silicone with a metal, or perhaps hard plastic, core.


This was purchased with the hope of solving a very particular "problem," and that is the nearly empty 40 oz. peanut butter jar. My usual method to clean these out has been to wait till a day that I just wanted that last bit of p.b. even if it was hard to get at. Then I just put my hand in the jar and use my fingers to clear it. Messy, but effective.

However, it looked like this spatula was going to be just the right size to clean the sides and get in the curve of the bottom. It is.


Notice in the first picture that one side of the spatula sticks out from the handle a little more than the other side. This gives you two options for the depth of the shoulder of the jar.

How do you think it works? I'm very happy. This was on one of those "extra" aisle displays at Meijer.


I did do my daily quota of editing. It's how I'm paying my bills.

See Best Purchases of 2020

Sunny Has a Baby Brother

Today's big news is that we bit the bullet and bought a utility trailer.

I've been looking for a used one to purchase for possibly as many as 10 years. All I've found were larger ones with double axles. Apparently people just don't sell these little guys.

We have a lot of cleanup to do around here. Some is left over from before we even owned the property. More to the point is that our barn fell down this summer (I probably didn't share that- it wasn't a quality day), and we got some insurance money, but they want some cleanup done.

I'm pretty happy that I don't have to borrow a utility trailer or fill the back of my car any more. It's going to be put to use very soon.

See Spring Yet?

Best of 2020 - Best Purchases

  I predicted that new camping gear items would be the winners for 2020, because I knew I would be buying so much new stuff. Almost all my old gear was purchased 1992-1994, and was just plain tuckered out. Some of the new gear was bound to be good, eh?

Well, fortunately, two of the big ticket items make the list. Early in the year, I got a brand new backpack after 28 years. I'm pretty happy with it. Her name is Modestine, nickname "Teeny." Here's the story of how this pack was chosen, and her naming, at Meet Modestine. It's a Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60L pack. Since I'm outrageously unhappy with some of my new gear, being generally pleased puts this in the win category.

The other expensive piece of gear that I'm happy with is the boots I just got. These are Oboz Rainier winter hiking boots. You might remember that I've switched totally to trail runners for 3 seasons. But you really need boots to hike in the snow unless you want wet, frozen feet all the time. My right ankle bone and the boot are having a discussion, but they are slowly coming to a compromise. I've worn them for quite a few miles already, even though I just got them for Christmas. The heels don't slip, the toes don't scream, and they are keeping my feet dry and warm. See Maybe I've Grown Up for more about the boots.

The final best purchase is also a piece of hiking gear, although much less pricey. I wasn't sure how it was going to work out, but I've worn it all year long as either a sweatshirt or as one layer on colder days. I'm very happy with it. Well, except for the useless pockets, but I guess you can't have everything. I got this on closeout, but it was made by Dickies- not really a hiking brand, but it fits well and does the job. And I can do something about the pockets if I really want to. See New Sweatshirt Replacement for more details.

I did buy some useful things for the trailer, but I guess they don't rise to the level of "best." Mostly, they are just functional, which is good, but sort of ho-hum.

In other news: I did another session of the on-line class I'm taking. I worked on some editing. I worked on a pet project. So much for today.

See Best Purchases of 2019

New Toy- Not Quite

  I've been keeping you in suspense about my new toy. Well, here is it, and here it isn't.

I bought a digital microscope that will take pictures. I want to use it for seeds and other plant parts. This is not a high quality one, but it's not the cheapest one either. It doesn't have quite the clarity I would like, but it's pretty good. And I could afford it.

The first big problem was that it didn't come with the micro SD card. So, no big deal, right. I even had an extra one. But it wouldn't snap in place. So, I read the fine print and it specifies a particular kind of micro SD card. I could not buy it locally. Had to order it. Second big problem: It won't snap in either. I guess there is something wrong, and I'll have to send the scope back for replacement. Sigh.

I wanted to show you the next seed today. Well, I will. But I had to take a picture of the screen and of course all the interference lines and color cast show up when you do that. Until I can get this replaced, you can guess at what kind of seed this is.

In other news: I took a 4-mile walk. I wrote chapter 8 in Dead Mule Swamp Singer for a total now of 7664 words, 799 of them written today. And I finished editing one of the MS I'm working on for other people. Not bad.

See Seeds- Spotted Knapweed

New Gear- Sweatshirt Replacement

 
Well, as you can probably tell, I've been ordering some new hiking gear. My mostly 28-year-old stuff is just worn out.

I have a favorite camping sweatshirt, but I'm hoping this will replace it. My initial reaction is positive. This is made by Dickies. I got it on closeout at Sierra Trading Post, so I'm not sure you could find one if you like it too. What attracted me, for one thing, was the closeout price.



Probably the most negative thing is that it's 100% polyester. Polyester and my skin are not friends. However, I'm hoping I can get away with it in a jacket where I'll have at least a short sleeve shirt under it.

I'm really pleased with the fit. In particular, the sleeves aren't too long, and the hood isn't so big I can't keep it out of my eyes when it's in use.


It's an odd combination of quilted fabric and fleece. I'm not sure if there is a reason for that, or if it is supposed to just be fashionable.

The color is one I can live with although it's a little more blue-green than the pictures. (I wouldn't have ordered it if I could only get pink or purple, eh?)

The zipper is smooth.

The jury is out on the pockets. I expected handwarmer pockets. These are top loading. Biggest negative- there is only a flap. No actual closure.



This picture didn't focus well, but you can still see the angle of my hands to get them in the pockets. I'll probably need to be careful to not put something in there that could fall out, like a flashlight. Or, I could add some kind of closure.



Weight is 11.3 ounces, as opposed to my sweatshirt which was 11.7 ounces. That's a little reduction.

I'll let you know how I like it after I've used it a bit.

In other news: I did laundry and beat my brains out on the index for North Country Quest. Made good progress. 217 pages indexed.

See New Gear, Small Tweaks

Got the Right Stakes

 
This time I got the correct tent stakes, and I can tell you how to know if you are getting them.



What you need to look for, if you want this kind, is 7075 Aluminum. This brand is HikeMax, but there are others. REI also has them. I can not even begin to bend them by hand. Just like my old ones. Weight 0.55 ounce each. But don't judge by the weight because the wrong ones that I could bend weigh the same. I paid $7 for 8 stakes. The REI ones cost a bit more.

These work really well in anything except sand. If you need to fasten down your tent in sand look for driftwood or rocks and tie the guy lines off to them anyway.

I'm really pleased to now have enough of these stakes for my Fly Creek solo tent (takes 9 stakes), and a few extra. I don't always pack a tarp, but when I have, I didn't have any decent stakes to take along.

In other news: Well, it was editing and formatting all day long. Got more front material done, and the main body of the book is formatted through page 326.

See New Gear, Small Tweaks

Best Purchases of 2019

 
I guess I didn't really buy very many things this year that might even be in the running.

I think the best things are one tool for working on the trailer, and one item for its interior.

This template tool turned out to be as useful as I anticipated. It would have been much, much more difficult to create the interior pieces for my trailer without it. See details at Template Tool



And perhaps the other great purchase is these little lights for the interior of the trailer. I still like them a lot.



Now, I've made myself lonesome for being able to work on my trailer! But that's OK. I sure don't have time right now. Have to get NCQ ready to go to the printer.

2020 is bound to have more interesting best purchases because I'm ordering several new pieces of camping equipment.

In other news: I reworked the final chapter of the book this morning. It needed some help. Then I edited and formatted in the afternoon (306 pages done), and went grocery shopping. (boring) But, a productive day.

See Best Purchases of 2018

New Gear- Small Tweaks

 
I had ordered a couple of things and they came today. One is a winner, one not so much.

The first is that little blue item on the left. That's a Deuce Ultra-lite backpacker trowel. It will replace the plastic one on the right. A trowel is an essential part of the backpacker's potty kit to dig "cat holes." The plastic ones are relatively light, and the orange color shows up well enough they are fairly easy to keep track of when you set them down. But they don't cut through peat or roots very well.

I'd seen the other kind- space material aluminum, and liked what I saw. Then, last fall, Annie Nelson had one, so I got to see for sure how good they are. The high-quality metal means it won't structurally collapse when stressed. They are sharp enough to actually cut into rooty ground. You can see it's shorter than the old one, so it packs better. And, the plastic one weighs 2 oz. The new one is 0.6 oz. Savings of 1.4 ounces. Winner



New here are several piles of tent stakes.



The blue and red ones on the right are my old ones. They are exceptionally good stakes. I bought them in 1992 at a specialty backpacking store. You can see that I've not bent one yet. Not with a foot, a rock, or a hammer in 28 years of regular use. Again, high-grade aluminum. So why do I need more stakes?

For one thing, my wonderful little solo tent needs 9 stakes, not 8. For another, I've been using really crappy stakes if I needed to put up a tarp. And, I had no decent spares if I were to lose one.

So, I went looking to try to get some more of the same stakes. Shape looked the same. Weight of each stake matched at 0.56 oz. each. These were a little cheaper, but that's hard to compare- different type of sales venue- long time difference. These are Freehawk "high quality aluminum alloy" stakes.

Now look at this picture. Not too closely. It didn't focus and I decided I wasn't going to bother to take it again.

First of all, the smaller stake in the middle is what I've been using for my 9th stake. It's steel and actually weighs more than the aluminum ones. So taking the new stakes will save weight.

But here's the bad news. These are not the good stakes. Just for kicks, I tried to bend one by hand. Just hold it in my two hands and bend it. Yup. I didn't want to get carried away and totally destroy one, but perhaps you can tell that the two silver ones to the left of the steel stake are not quite the same any more. Or that the single one in the top picture is no longer straight. I'll probably keep these. They didn't cost too awfully much. But I'll have to keep looking for the good ones.



In other news: I wrote all morning, and edited quite a lot of the afternoon. The big news was a power outage, so I moved to Ludington before time for bell choir so I could recharge the computer. Still not restored after that, so I went to movie night at writer's group. The Consumer's web site said power was still down, but I came home anyway figuring I'd just go to bed. But the power was on. Good deal!

I haven't told you what I think of that new "sleep system" I got two years ago. Maybe soon.

See New Gear- Sleeping System

Little Things that Make Me Smile

 
As you may recall, Verizon replaced my phone under warranty. They gave me a serious upgrade, which was nice, but no one seems to carry cases for it, and of course the previous case did not fit. I went hunting on line.

I found this one, leather, for under $10. I did have to pay shipping, but still, very reasonable. There were many, many choices that did not look as nice for up to $50. As part of level five, I'm trying to buy things that look nice, but still don't break the bank.



It has a magnetic catch. That could be a tiny bit stronger, but it's not terrible



I'm especially happy to have a case for the protection, but also to prevent more funny stories like what happened on my walk the other day. I had the phone, sans case, in my pocket. The slapping against my leg did a lot of strange things. It changed some of the settings I had chosen. But the funniest was that it sent a weird text message to a random person from my contact list. It made no sense at all- just some letter combinations and some suggested words- but she said she was glad my phone had chosen her to send nonsense too!

In other news: I was at a small vendor event all day. Did quite well for the venue, but we were freezing! I think that's my last one without heat this year. (It was inside the Shagway barn, so we weren't out in the wind, but no heat.) I'm trying to thaw out now. Maybe early bedtime.

	See Level Five
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I Can Make Any Two-Hour Trip Take Four

 
So, today, Loretta took me to get my car for real. She scooted back here to meet friends for dinner, but I had to teach the new vehicle what life with me is like.

We began wandering home by various roads- no map allowed, just keep working north and west. Well, hey, that worked out well! I stumbled across the North Country Trail. I was wearing sandals with no orthotics and had no walking stick, but I had to take a little hike. Three miles.



Late summer flowers are coming out. Joe-Pye Weed, and the horrible invasive Purple Loosestrife. I will admit that it's pretty.



The trail follows high above the Muskegon River.



I watched a northern pearly eye butterfly fly into a spider web. I rescued it. The spider will have to find a different meal.




Continuing to wander after the little hike, I found these chainsaw sculptures at a corner in Newaygo County. I'm pretty sure the building they are near is an old school house that is being renovated. No signs yet, but I love the carvings.


I also made quick stops at a few places so I can update my Get Off The Couch web site. This is the Pere Marquette River at Indian Bridge.



Both cars eventually ended up at my house. This is like one of those "find the things that are different" puzzles. The cars are one model year apart, but they are VERY alike. Mine seems to be a tiny bit bluer.



I only made one concession- I tried to keep the car clean for one day by not taking dirt roads. But I did end up on dirt a little bit to check out those boat launch sites. So it's been warned.

This is all that happened today. The car has had its orientation lesson, and it may get a name. I usually don't name cars, but it could happen. Tomorrow it learns how to accept being a truck.

North Country Trail from Croton Dame to Croton-Hardy Road and back. Newaygo County, Michigan. 3 miles

	See Northern Pearly Eye
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Not As Planned

 
Let's just say that today did not go as planned. I'm still working on seeing this as a blessing. Nevertheless, I will be bringing this baby home on Monday. 2013 Subaru Forester.







We did have a nice drive, partly through Amish country where we saw real hay stacks, and men threshing with teams of horses.



We had a nice dinner before driving home. It was very helpful to me that Loretta is here and was willing to drive me all over to look at cars.

My previous car (2007 Subaru Forester) will be put back together and will be for sale at a low price. It would make a good first car for a young person, or to drive to work locally, but won't be recommended for long trips. Contact me if interested.

	See Acadia to Argent
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