Here’s where we were up to in my last post – the kitchen island was taken out, the wall units were dissembled and moved, the tile backsplash for the stove was taken down, and the small wall and doorway to the stairs was removed entirely.

My teens told me that the drywall was badly damaged when taking down the tile wall, and I told them it’s not a big deal, we’ll replace it. They had a different suggestion – why not take down the entire wall closing in the staircase?

I had to pause to think about that. One advantage of having the door and the walls there is it makes it much easier to heat and cool the main living area. If it’s wide open to the second floor, that’s going to be much more challenging (read: expensive).

The door and wall made the two floors of our house more separate from one another, and provides our guests with a lot of privacy when they come to visit. We sometimes host guests of others for sleeping and the guests appreciate how much privacy they have, with a separate entrance to a completely separate apartment. But with the door already gone, the privacy and separation our guests had was already diminished.

Taking down the wall wouldn’t give us any additional space. The only thing it would do is make our living area feel more spacious.

Some people like cozy little spaces. I don’t.

I love, love, love open space. I don’t like to feel crowded. A friend visited a couple of years ago and commented that ever since she knows me (about twenty years), I’m always finding ways to maximize our space and make it more open. I had never been conscious of how consistent I’ve been about that.

Interestingly, since taking down the little wall that was behind our kitchen sinks, it’s much easier for me to keep the dishes washed. It wasn’t until that wall was down that I realized I had reluctance to stand in an area that felt constricting for me to wash the dishes and would therefore put it off.

Here’s a view of the stairs and the wall in question.

Having a feeling of more space was a gain for me – I gave the go ahead to take the wall down!

My boys were delighted. There’s a feeling of accomplishment that’s different than doing a little repair or hanging a picture when there’s a big project like completely rehauling the kitchen.

The bottom of the wall separated readily but the top wasn’t coming down so easily!

Teen boys need a lot of physical activity and challenge. During their last vacation, our three teens organized a two day bike trip around the perimeter of the Kinneret/Sea of Galillee with a few friends, and I was very supportive of a trip like this. Teens need meaningful activity and challenge; they get bored and into trouble when they don’t have it.

“One, two, three, push!”

I left them figuring out what to do to get the wall down while I ran a couple of errands. When I came back, the wall was gone, the rubble was removed and the floor was swept. And they felt very accomplished!

I am so happy with how this changes our space. Most of the year I keep my front door open to allow light and air in, but I’m now keeping the side door open instead. I have a nice view of our yard, great airflow and it feels much more spacious.

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Now that the wall is down we have another project. As nice and open as it now is, we can’t have a staircase with no railing! So ‘install staircase railing’ has gone onto the to do list.

I found a railing that I wanted on Yad2, a second hand site, but it was in a location I wasn’t comfortable driving alone to. And it was a huge heavy piece of railing that even with help I was afraid I couldn’t load onto my car. And once it was on, I was concerned about getting it securely lashed down. And then once it was tied down, I was worried about driving with it.

I don’t usually worry much about getting things done but once I had found and called about it, all of the other parts of it were outside of my comfort zone.

Bless my husband, who agreed to leave at 4:15 in the morning to drive there and get it, and then come back home and get to work.

So the first big part of the railing project is done – buying the railing. The next step will be installing it, and metal work unfortunately isn’t something the Werner family knows how to do. We asked the person doing the plumbing if he can help us get this done and he agreed. He said he’ll try to do it on Friday morning, when a friend of his who is a metal worker is available to help him.

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The new gas line has been laid and the stove moved from next to the staircase to its new location, and we were able to move the loveseat into the area that will be our new living room.

Here’s the stove in its new location, in what used to be our living room. The island next to it is temporary; there will be a long counter with a sink in it once we’re done. It’s nice to have the stove piece finished. Right now we’re keeping the curtains tied back so there’s no fire hazard; I’m going to replace them with blinds but that’s still on the list.

Yesterday afternoon the plumber began digging and drilling to put in new outlet points for the sink drainage to the main sewage line. Each of the two kitchen sinks will need their own lines. The sewage line for the first sink is finished.

Tomorrow I’ll be going to Beit Shemesh to attend the siddur party for my oldest granddaughter. I got notice this afternoon that ds7 will not be allowed on the school bus tomorrow and will have to stay home. Usually I don’t mind – he’s not hard to have around when it’s just the two of us – but tomorrow I won’t be here. I was feeling stressed trying to figure out what to do. I didn’t tell my granddaughter I’m coming, but I’ve had it on my calendar for weeks since she first told me about it and it’s a priority for me.

My husband can’t work and supervise ds7 (he needs constant supervision, it’s almost unbelievable how much he gets into and how quickly it happens). Our original plan was that he would take over for me at 2 pm when ds12 and ds8 got home – he can set them up with an educational video while he works. (Between the drive there, the party and then the drive back, that’s most of my day.) Then at 3 the twins come and at that point he would be fully available and take off of work.

Knowing how important it is to me to go to this party, he’s going to take the entire day off of work.

The electrician said if it rains he’ll come tomorrow and do some work for us. I’m the one taking care of the this project so I’d really rather be here when he’s doing the work, but I’ll leave detailed instructions for my husband in case the electrician shows up – it’s hard to get him here, and once he’s here I want him to be able to make progress! I have one place where if he can move a light switch, it will enable us to reassemble and attach all of the wall units so if he has even a small amount of time and can do that, it would help us move forward with putting things in order.

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I’ve had a question come up about my plans for the countertops. It turns out I need a small piece less than a meter long to cover a blind corner (the one to the left of the stove above). I contacted the business I bought the countertops from and he no longer does the cutting and installation. He does have the design that we bought so we can buy another piece, but we need to have a different company cut it to size and install the sink in the island countertop for the opposite wall. This has thrown a wrench into my plans.

I went to see the other company today to get a quote for the work and it’s going to be much more costly than I expected. That leaves me with a dilemma. It would be great if laminate countertops were an easily available option in Israel, but they’re not since stone countertops are the norm. I don’t want to spend this amount of money adding on to used countertops; the purpose of using the countertops was to keep costs down. Now we’re considering if we would be better off spending more and getting new countertops put in. Well, I’m considering it – my husband thinks stone countertops are a rip off.

Whether I add on to the current countertops or get new ones, the factory that cuts them won’t be able to have them ready until a few days before Pesach. I can find a way to work with that, but it delays finishing the kitchen well beyond my latest projected target date.

Avivah

When I shared that a number of people in our family eat zero carb and others eat a very high animal protein diet, people wondered how much we spend every month. I’ve carefully tracked every food item that I’ve purchased this past month, so that I can share with you what I bought and what I paid for it. For reference, I’ve also included the dates and the stores I shopped at.

Note: food is my highest budget item, meaning that this is the category I spend the most on every month.

January 6, 20255 – Yesh Chesed – 2264.44 – in conjunction with the price increases of Jan. 1, many stores ran excellent sales the first week.

• 21.45 kg meat x 49.90 – 1284.97
• 19.42 kg meat x 49.90 – 1163.26
• natural grape juice, 3 x 7.90 – 23.7
• tilapia – (on sale 14.90) – 2.144 kg – 31.95
• tilapia – 1.889 kg x 24.90 – 47.04 minus 8.56 sale discount- 38.48 total (only part of this purchase was at the sale price)
• sugar, 10x 3 – 30 shekels (usually 4.90 each)

There was a minimum purchase of 100 shekels on non sale items needed to get all of the above at the sale prices, so I bought:

• butter, 200 grams ( 11 x 8.90) – 97.90
• 1 sour cream – 2.70

January 6, 2025 – Yavniel supermarket – 7.84 – ingredients for group my teen leads

January 6, 2025 – Yavniel supermarket – 128.83

• carrots, 1.225 kg x 5.90 – 7.23
• 3 trays of eggs, 30 eggs each x 32 shekels – 96
• 3 challahs – 25.60

January 7, 2025 – Mishnat Yosef – 288.80

• carrots – 4.80
• Pink Lady apples – 13.2
• peanut butter, 4 x 7.5 – 30
• 7 trays of 30 eggs x 28.80 each – 201.60
• station fee (3) plus non food items – 39.20

January 9, 2025 – Rami Levi – 30.81, cheese, just short of a kilo for 31 shekels a kg

Jan. 11, 2025 – Shufersal – 4.60– 2 bananas (took two of the younger kids to an orthodontist appointment and wanted to get them a snack afterwards)

Jan. 11, 2025 – Rami Levi – 195.16

• whole chickens,6.78 x 18.90 – 128.18
• chicken hearts, .756 x14.90 – 11.42 (dog)
• chicken hearts, .840 x 14.90 – 12.52 (dog)
• tilapia – 2.60 x 19.90 – 51.74

January 14, 2025 – Mishnat Yosef – 180

• 1 package of fresh dill – 3.8
• vitamin d drops 2 x 29 – 58
• 4 trays of eggs, 30 eggs each – 28.8 x 4 – 115.20
• station fee – 3

January 21, 2025 – Mishnat Yosef – 232

• onions, 2 -2 kg bag – 3.75 kg x 4 – 15
• sweet potatoes, 2 kg – 10
• 4 honey, 900 grams – 17.90 x 4 – 71.60
• dried dates, 1 kg – 14.50
• 3 trays of eggs, 28.80 x 3 – 86.40

January 23, 2025 – Shufersal – 161.58

• seltzer (1.5 liters), six pack, 2 x 16.90 – 33.80
• cottage cheese, 6 shekels x 10 – 60
• 15% sour cream, 21 x 2.77 – 58.17
• red peppers – 1.595 x 5.90 – 9.41

January 23, 2025 – Rami Levi – 815.50 – this receipt seems to have gotten lost – it was whole chicken, chicken quarters, chicken thighs, 2 pkg chicken livers (for dog) and almost 3 kg of salmon (on sale for 50 shekels a kg)

Jan. 28, 2025 – Mishnat Yosef –266.20

• avocados, 5.90 kg x 3 kg – 17.60
• celery – 4.4
• parsley – 3.8
• sliced bread (750 gram loaf), 5.60 x 2 – 11.20
• 10 – 1 kg bags spelt flour – 76.50
• 4 trays of eggs, 28.80 – 115.20
• non food items – 34.50
• 3 shekel station fee

Jan.29, 2025 – butcher –1474.70

• ground beef, 20.99 kg x 50 – 1049.50
• ground beef fat, 10.63 kg x 40 – 425.2

January 29, 2025 – Rami Levi – 401.95

• chicken wings, 48.77 kg x 6.90 – 366.55
• chicken thighs, 2.989 kg x 21.90 – 65.46 (sale price for up to 3 kg, if there’s a purchase of non sale items over 75 shekels)

My total grocery purchases for January came out to 6487.48 shekels.

The total includes all food and also the odds and ends that I get at a supermarket that aren’t food. Our family of eight daily eaters includes 4 adults who have mostly animal products, 1 adult and three children who eat a heavily meat based diet but also have some produce and starches, and a medium sized dog.

At least one Shabbos a month (sometimes as much as three times a month) we host our married children and their families, in addition to one adult son who comes home for one Shabbos a month. Most of the refreshments for the boys’ group that my teen son runs also comes out of our food budget.

I set a goal to get down to 6000 for the month of January; in the last few months since adding two adult carnivores to the mix I’ve spent close to 7500 and I challenged myself to lower the expenses in this area. While I could have come in below 6000 if I delayed the last purchases made at the end of the month. However, I didn’t have any ground beef left, and I had the opportunity to get a large amount of chicken wings at an amazing price and don’t know if a week later that would have been the price, so I bought them when I had the opportunity.

Most of the chicken and meat I bought in the last week of January will be eaten in February. It all evens out, since at the end of December I bought a lot of meat that we ate in January.

Produce – We don’t eat a lot of produce but we do eat more than what it looks like from this post. You won’t see everything we use listed, only what we paid for. I’ll share more about produce in a separate post.

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Bulk grocery purchases – This month I also did a bulk shopping run, which I do infrequently. (It’s been over a year and a half since my last bulk shopping trip.) Last month my husband took the car to work in Tel Aviv, which is not far from the bulk store, and to maximize the gas being spent, he stopped in to buy about 500 shekels of items there.

I purposely schedule a bulk shopping trip during a month that is lower in expenses. Averaging my spending for this over the year, it adds another 200 shekels to our monthly purchases. I’m including this shopping in the list of things I bought this month, but keeping the bulk order separate from the other food orders. If I need to refill anything that was bought in bulk during the coming year, it will be included in the monthly grocery category.

January 19, 2025 – 1326 – bulk shopping (the total includes 18% tax but the individual items are listed before the tax has been added)

• coconut cream, 1 liter carton x 12 – 138
• tuna fish, 1 kg vacuum pack x 12 – 258
• vinegar, 4 liter – 8.50
• tomato paste, A10 can (2.5 kg) x 2 – 42
• mini tuna cans, 95 grams – 2.75 x 12 – 33
• cocoa powder, 1 kg – 35
• baking soda, 1 kg – 5.20 x 3 – 15.60
• dried coconut strips, 1 kg – 31.50 x 2 – 63
• sunflower seeds, 1 kg – 13 x 2 – 26
• fish gelatin, 1 kg – 95
• walnuts, 1 kg – 35
• flax seeds, 1 kg – 5.30
• dried apples, 1 kg – 22 x 2 – 44
• cheddar cheese – 7.80 kg – x 32 – 282.80
• kashkaval cheese, 200 gr – 9 (I treated myself)
• dish soap, 18 kg bucket – 68

January 19, 2025 – 755.70 – bulk shopping

• 2 – 20 kg case coconut oil – 354 x 2 – 708 (this will last a year)
• 3 vanilla extract, 1 liter bottle – 15.90 x 3 – 47.70

Total bulk shopping – 2081.70

Total grocery shopping – 6487.51 shekels

For the month of February, I’m again setting a goal of 6000 shekels for groceries. Let me know if you found this breakdown helpful, and if you’d like to see me track the breakdown again!

How much do you spend on your monthly food shopping, and how many people are you feeding? Do you have any questions about the shopping I did? Share in the comments!

Avivah

I was sitting at my sewing machine working through a pile of pants to be repaired, when my daughter-in-law noticed what I was doing. She asked me if I could hem a skirt of hers, and I agreed, so she gave it to me. It wasn’t a major repair, it just needed a couple of minutes to sew and it was as good as new.

At the same time, a friend of my son came in and seeing what I was doing, asked me if I could fix his pants. Yes, I could, so he brought them to me and I repaired them as well.

It’s inconvenient and expensive to have your clothing repaired by someone else so most people will give or throw clothing away rather than deal with it. Replacing items that were overall in good condition other than the needed repair will cost money, and if you can maintain what you have so it lasts longer, you’ll be saving that money instead.

Basic things like replacing a button are super simple, but if you don’t know any sewing at all, you can find tutorials online that will demonstrate just about every sewing technique that you would want to learn.

I have a cabinet in my room where everyone knows to place anything they have that needs a sewing repair. It might be socks or tights, but usually are shirts that need buttons, pants that split in a seam, or something that needs to be tailored or patched. One son regularly gets his belt loops on the waist of his pants caught on door handles and they need to be reattached. Every so often I take out a pile, take out the sewing machine, and work through the necessary repairs.

My son really likes his pair of loafers, and wanted to continue wearing them even when the leather loop attached to the buckle detached, leaving the buckle hanging off to the side. I assumed I’d have to throw them away, but I took a look at them before doing so. I realized that the loops on each side had come unsewn, and thought I might be able to resew them.

I have a package of unusual needle sizes that are heavy duty, and found one that I was able to push through the leather. Less than ten minutes later, both sides of the loafer were sewn back on. If you look closely, you can see my repair but it’s not noticeable at a first glance. (The loose thread isn’t from my repair but I should snip it off.)

Why would I would waste time repairing these shoes, or fixing socks or tights? How much money am I really saving? It’s true that some things don’t cost that much. I can replace these shoes for 50 shekels on sale but although they aren’t expensive, ten minutes to save 50 shekels is still worth my time. If smaller items like socks are overall in good condition, I’ll fix those as well.

What about the time it takes? Aren’t I too busy for all of this stuff? Actually, these small repairs don’t take time out of my schedule since I take my sewing basket outside with me when I watch the kids play.

For the items that need the sewing machine, I wait until I have a pile – it could be two or three months – and then spend up to an hour repairing everything. That’s not a lot of time for what is usually at least seven to ten items of clothing.

Start to look at your items needing to be repaired with an appraising eye, and challenge yourself to repair an item that you would have in the past gotten rid of.

Do you do your own sewing repairs? If not, why not?

Avivah