This weekend, I found a whole bunch of tips and inspiration from four articles. Happy weekend to you and yours.

1. My whole cooking experience (and my family’s eating experience) is going to improve a bit after going through this. The tips are simple, but gold:

57 Things You Can Do to be a Better Cook Right Now

I’ve always followed #2, recently learned about #3. I know better and should do #4, #6, #9. #11 is like a commandment in a house of hungry boys. #20 saves a jillion steps, it seems, and #23 – oh my, yes. #30 I do regularly, and now I’ll be trying #33.

As for #48: here is mine.

captain mom, rhonda franz, cooking tips, salt in bowl

Pinching, tossing, and sprinkling salt gives a cook so much more control than shaking from a container.

2. Get your magnets on. I do love a good, strong magnet. Don’t you?

10 Super-Helpful Ways to Use Magnets 

That tip about holding pins in a saucer? Genius. Really, #4 is pretty great, and #9 – oh so handy! Magnets and refrigerators go together like peanut butter and chocolate. Not so sure about the magnetic wristband. Will all these magnets mess up our mobile devices and laptops? Maybe that’s a myth.

3. There’s a limit to my DIY capabilities, willingness, and time, but this piece by Country Living is inspiring:

11 Creative Ways to Transform Ordinary Objects and Thrift Store Finds

I even have something to start with:

captain mom, rhonda franz, wood spool, repurposing , thrift, diy projects

This wooden cable spool has taken up residence under the deck.

 4. Perhaps I should get on board with more DIY projects. Lookie here:

5 No-Brainer DIYs that Ironically Keep Your Mind Sharp (swell title)

That Country Living. I never realized what a treasure of information they offer for ideas, and now they’re talking about delaying dementia. How cool is that?

What cool things did you read this week?