Out and About – Week of September 23rd

A reminder that this Saturday, September 28, the Centreville Lions Club will sponsor a pancake breakfast at the Nottawa Community School, 26438 M-86, in Nottawa. All donations will benefit the Nottawa Community School. This is a great opportunity to enjoy some great pancakes, while at the same time support the Nottawa Community School and the Centreville Lions Club. Come out and support these volunteers.

Everything has a life-span. We recently replaced a kitchen sink and we know that something else will need replacing eventually. This all comes with home ownership. If you have a bathtub, or a shower stall, you’ll eventually end up with either one looking worse for wear because of stains or some other sign of wear. Replacing a stained and worn bathtub can run $10,000 or more because you’ll more than likely have to replace everything that surrounds it also. However, for $150 or less, you can refinish it with an epoxy-based finish, such as Ekopel 2k, or the Rust-Oleum Tub & Tile Refinishing Kit. Check your local hardware or Home-Care store for the best deal.

I’m a very poor shopper. I do watch the prices, but if I see something at one store, I’ll probably buy it without shopping around. I’m lazy that way. It takes me about twenty minutes to buy a pair of shoes. Grocery shopping is a different matter. We usually go to one store for what we need. If the store doesn’t have it, we’ll go to a different store. Fruit Rounds breakfast cereal is the same thing as Fruit Loops, but costs a couple of dollars less if you shop at the “Discount Store”. It tastes the same and is less expensive. A good idea is to “Team Shop”. This is where you shop with a partner and double your savings. You can share discounts, buy in bulk and divide and conquer. You can also save on the BOGO (buy one, get one), plus other deals. One important thing to do is eat lunch before you shop for groceries.

Autumn begins this week. This is not a guarantee that we are finished with the heat and humidity, because, after all, this is Michigan. We will however be witnessing a change in the tree colors. The main reason for this annual color change is not the fall chilly weather, but sunlight, or rather the lack of daylight. Day and night are roughly equal in length on the autumnal equinox in late September, but afterward, nights are growing longer and days shorter. As the autumn days shrink, the reduced daylight tells deciduous plants that it’s time to stop gathering energy and get ready for the dormant season, winter. Nature is fascinating. In case you didn’t know, the vivid colors of fall leaves were actually there all summer, they were just masked by green.

Most of the folks who read this column are out of their teenage years. I would like to think that most of us still go out on a date once in a while. If you’re married, you date a little differently. Getting away from the kids for an evening can be very nice. The question was asked of kids about what most people do on a date. Here are just two answers:

— “Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. – Lynnette, age 8
— On the first day, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. – Martin, age 10

See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman