Photo: Afrika Studio (Shutterstock)

Hello parents, it looks like you need to leave even more room in your budget for school supplies this year: Loud National Retail AssociationFamilies will spend an average of $ 849 on deliveries in 2021, $ 59 more than last year due to supply chain issues related to a pandemic. Here’s what to expect and how to save money on consumables.

Supply chain problems drive up school supply costs

As reported by Money.com, Retailers like Walmart and Amazon are fighting for space on shipping containers and are sometimes paying for the much more expensive air freight. Because of this, basic supplies like pencils and paper are likely to be upgraded to an estimated average price of $ 849. (It’s $ 1,050 for college students.) There’s also a microchip shortage that influence Laptops and other electronics, so you may see prices go up there too – or at least less deals.

This saves you money on school supplies

• Start shopping now: Get out of the hustle and bustle at the end of August and find deals now while you have more time to shop. Most large retailers Have newsletters or notifications that you can sign up for, informing you of discounts or coupons.
• Shop only as needed: Many consumables such as folders, rulers and pens can be recycled year after year. So, take a look around your home and take stock of what you already have, then go shopping.
• Find supplies on reseller sites like Craigslist: The people on these sites sell things like backpacks or colored pencils for next to nothing. Just make sure you meet these vendors in a semi-public location, e.g. B. in the lobby of your building, and that you don’t pay them until you’ve seen the items in person.
• Check if your school district offers free materials: As Verywell Family points out, Some states require school districts to provide free supplies to children when needed. Contact your local school district to see if they can provide help.
• Contact local charities and other nonprofits: If you simply have no money, contact the Salvation Army, local churches, or nonprofits near you as they have the ability to provide donated supplies. Here is a List by state to get you started.

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Photo: girls

Peaches are a great source of dismay for me. I am convinced that the last good peach I ate was consumed in my childhood in 2001 or 2002 somewhere near Kisela Voda in Skopje, Macedonia. Most likely, I had picked it from a neighbor’s tree on the way from one grandmother’s house to another – it was sun-drenched, warm, and fluffy. I would have wiped the fluff off my shirt because I’d learned the hard way that the down would tingle otherwise. (So ​​taken with the softness of my very first peach-off-the-branch, I snuggled against my face just to see the sting of trichomes on my cheek.) I doubt I would give myself a second thought about the looming Danger the fruit made status as I bit into juicy velvety skin, savoring the symphony on my taste buds as I strolled on as the juice ran down my chin and hands.

The perfect peach was hardly a rare commodity back then. Although my family lived in the capital of the city, our neighborhood was more orchard than big city, and in summer the dirt roads that served as roads were often littered with stone fruits in various stages of decay. It seemed to me that the only people who actually bought peaches in the market were usually friends who lived in the skyscrapers or the ones in charge of bringing groceries to old retiree Baba, who was too crippled with arthritis to travel to Zelen Pazar yourself.

I don’t know what happened to peaches. I don’t know if it was the arrival of the western-style supermarket serving a newly capitalized (and capitalist) workforce in need of convenience. Perhaps it was the succession of neighbors who started to fell their fruit trees and preferred grass to groves, bushes of flowers to food. My father spent years creating his own manicured emerald green Gatsby Lawn, all at the expense of the tart cherries, apricots, and wild roses that had survived decades in the front yard with little company. So the beloved peaches of my childhood were nowhere to be found. Still, I kept hope alive.

Hope lasted until summer 2018 when I finally made it back to Skopje. I booked a room in the center of town, just a few steps from the market. In a jet lag joint I bought peaches – from a few different dealers to be on the safe side – and took them to my grandmother’s barrack. Slivers of each batch were laid out to try, but these peaches weren’t. They were pale, watery, and lackluster. “It rained too much this year,” said my grandmother with a shake of her head and a tsk, drawing her attention to the Turkish soap opera on TV. It was easier for her to move on – she had had good peaches for decades.

From the orchards of Ontario to the Obor market in Bucharest, to the organic aisle at Whole Foods and back to Skopje. Nothing comes close to my memory in full saturation. The perfect peach with its fragrant wreath, its lanugo coat, its just blushed hue is now an elusive and illusory sphere.

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The longing for those past peaches is often accentuated not so much by their absence as by the facsimiles that arrive each season to take their place. At this point, I’ve given up trying to find the perfect peach. I can’t handle another anemic and floury disappointment. Instead, when the urge comes, I create my own holograms. I know it’s not the right thing, but it still feels kind of closer anyway.

This week’s cocktail is an ode to my memory of peaches. Seasonal peaches form the basis of this evocation and mezcal brings out the salt content of my tears (lol). The heat splatters are optional but necessary if you want that trichome-inspired stitch. To do this homage you will need:

• 3-5 peach slices (I use donut peaches, but everything that is ripe and nearby)
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice (fresh)
• ¾ ounce honey syrup *
• 2 ounces of mezcal (the less smoky variety) or blank tequila
• Optional: a few dashes of habanero bitters or just tabasco work well.

* To make honey syrup, simply add 1 part hot water to 3 parts honey and stir thoroughly.

Put the peach slices and a few dashes of hot sauce in a shaker and puree to a puree. Add the lemon, honey syrup and mezcal. Fill the shaker with ice and give it a short shake. counting to eight should be enough. Strain in a chilled glass on ice, the fresher and drier the better. A single large ice cube is ideal, but work with what you have.

(Please treat this as a template for reefing. Play around with different modifiers and different spirits. Gin, for example, almost always plays well.)

Google Drive is finally introducing its long-awaited user blocking option. While it was previously possible to remove users from a shared document or prevent them from downloading and sharing files they work together, you can now block all interactions directly in Drive.

According to Google’s announcement post, blocking someone in Drive will:

• Block another user from sharing content with you in the future. This can be a useful control if, for example, another user has sent spam or abusive content in the past.
• Remove any existing files and folders shared by another user. This is an easy way to remove all spam or abusive content that is shared by a specific user at a time.
• Remove someone else’s access to your content, even if you’ve previously shared it with them.

Later in this post, Google confirms that blocking users in Drive will also block them in other Google services and apps you use, such as Gmail.

Google Drive’s new blocking option might seem like a small addition, but it’s a crucial feature that helps keep the number of Using the app as a cyberbullying tool and could help prevent malware and phishing scams from spreading through malicious Drive files.

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How to block someone on Google Drive

You can only block other Google Drive users from your desktop, but it works in any browser and the Progressive web app. It is not available in the new one standalone desktop client nor the Android or iOS apps, but it’s easy to jump on your computer and stop someone from sharing files with you forever.

1. Open Google Drive in your browser or the Google Drive PWA.
2. Go to “Shared with me” Tab.
3. Right-click a shared file from the user you want to block, then select “Block [username]. “
4. You can also add or remove users from your user Google account blacklist. Blocked users cannot contact you through Drive, Gmail, or other Google apps.

[GSMArena]

Photo: Paul Maguire (Shutterstock)

Depending on where you live – and your attitudes towards the appearance of the garden – lawning can be hard work. If you don’t wanna go artificial route (which has its own environmental and physical challenges) there are other ways to make lawn maintenance easier. There are many small steps you can take to maintain your lawn lush and green or to save water– and one way to encourage lawn growth and make your landscaping easier is to aerate the grass.

Here’s what ventilation is and why you should poke holes in your yard.

What is ventilation?

Grass can be deeply rooted and healthy, but sometimes it takes a little help. Ventilation is that Method of punching holes in the lawn so that water and nutrients penetrate deeper into the soil and strengthen the roots. When you have well-nourished and hydrated roots, they will grow deeper and make the grass stay green longer – not to mention thicker and more sustainable. You don’t need to water or fertilize nearly as much as you normally would when a lawn is adequately ventilated.

When to aerate your lawn

Landscaping Briggs & Stratton explains that ventilation helps with stunted grass growth, which is compacted soil: “Compacted soils have too many solid particles in a given volume or space, preventing proper circulation of air, water and nutrients in the soil.” Amounts of straw (densely mixed layers of organic debris, such as live and dead stems, leaves, and roots that accumulate where the grass stems meet the ground) can contribute to a compacted lawn.

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According to lawn care page Trees.comOnce you have half an inch or more of straw, it is probably time to remove it and ventilate your garden. Ventilation can also be beneficial if your lawn dries out quickly as the water may not penetrate deep enough. If you’ve just bought a new home, the ground may be compacted due to construction work, or if your lawn has heavy traffic it can compact the soil and prevent it from growing.

How to aerate your lawn

First you need to prepare the lawn. Remove the straw layer so the aeration tools can properly pierce the soil. After removing straw, Real green recommends watering your lawn a few days before aerating. Pour an inch in the soil to make it easier to penetrate. Then choose the type of ventilation you want, be it Spike or plug. Spike ventilation is the pricking of holes in the yard that can be done with Ventilation shoes, manual thrust or Hand aerator, and electric aerators.

Connector ventilation includes hollow spikes that punch the ground and remove a chunk of the earth. This process creates a wider hole for optimal ventilation. Whichever variant you choose, make sure that you cover the entire lawn in one direction. Home depot suggests walking across the courtyard in a vertical motion again. After this process is complete, you probably should fertilize or add a layer of compost (but it is not required). Be sure to water your lawn the next few weeks two to three times a week to strengthen the roots.