Last week was an interesting (and challenging!) one! It started with a visit to the house to discuss lighting. We are old and we have old eyes - WE NEED LIGHT! And not those curly-q, energy efficient ones that take forever to come on and once on they don't light up anything! We added lights everywhere - an important consideration in the winter when there's not much light (currently sun rises at 9:45 and sets at 4:10)! We were very creative with placement of switches and thanx to our friend Deb our outlets are at such a height we don't have to stoop over to plug something in. Once again....old and not getting more limber! 4 1/2 hours later we returned feeling pretty good about ourselves and our lighting. The next day the builder sent us the total number of lights and estimate. We were mindful of our $3,000 allowance so when Jim read the total was $4,500 he quickly opted not to include the $1,500 transfer switch for the generator – yay, we are right on the mark!! $3,000 - we were doing the happy dance! We were finally within our allowance! And our home will be well lit with convenient switches! I was really looking forward to talking with our builder that day – it will finally be a pleasant discussion! He explained how he arrived at the estimate in great detail and since we were within our budget my response was basically yea, yea, ok, good, (I was really listening to Matt Lauer’s interview on the Today Show) good, yea….whatever, I was happy!! Then I handed the phone to Jim who needed to discuss the eventual generator placement and all I heard was OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Was my good mood going to be ruined? Should I stop my happy dance that I planned to premier on the next season of DWTS?! I’m sure Derek and I would be amazing and I had just the right costume in mind!! Jim hangs up and says….”We are $3,000 OVER the allowance!” Ugh…….no happy dance, no Derek (double ugh), no costume (it was pink and sparkly with feathers), no lights….all I have to say is when you visit “Bring flashlights”! Or come in the summer and you won’t need lights!!
So then we move onto kitchen countertop and tile. We worked pretty hard to select a great countertop material and color. It was made in Alaska so how expensive can it be? We were thrilled when we found perfect kitchen tile that complemented the countertop and the maple cabinets then (also thanx to our friend, Deb) we found a nice transition piece leading to another fabulous tile for the not-so-great room. These tiles were close to our allowance (which come to find out does NOT include shipping costs so an average tile costing $2 in your local Home Depot costs us $5). It was all coming together…and we didn’t even have to leave Homer!
But just to be sure we planned a drive into Kenai and Soldatna (90 minutes away) to check out their selection. We had a break in the weather (after our 5 inches of additional snow on Thanksgiving we were still deep in the white stuff but roads were drivable) so it was a good week to drive off to the big city….what to do with the wild wheatens??? They have little bladders with no ability or desire to hold it…add Pushinka’s spitefulness and we knew there would be accidents….but wait…what if we deprived them of food and water for a day?...they could possibly make it for 6 hours. Too cruel. Not to mention Molly would hear nothing of being starved for ANY length of time. That chub of love can barely make it an hour without tossing her bowl about! She was putting “Animal Cruelty Hotline” on speed dial. We must first find a day care before planning a day trip. Easy enough – this city loves animals and we’ve seen ads for day care. We drive up East Hill Road which goes up the mountain to a facility that was heavily advertised– more ads must make you good, right? The drive was straight up snow covered roads with twists and turns and at the end of the road there was a house. Surely she can’t have a doggie day care in her house so we turned around a looked for a sign. Not an easy feat given road conditions. I called to find out how we messed up her directions but sure enough it’s in her house…a small one at that. No yard – only a small deck – and dozens of dogs were on it. We approached and she let out even more dogs from inside! Dogs were barking and trying to squeeze out the gate…some making the break! Oh, that’s ok – he’ll come back, she says. Jim and I weren’t speaking that day – I don’t remember why…a disagreement about tile, a heated discussion about cabinets, the weather, maybe I was cranky with the snow, I KNOW I was cranky about the allowances, the constant pick this, pick that….whatever the reason it all disappeared as I clung to him in the house of dogs! They were all cute but my goodness she housed at least 2 dozen with no indication she could control any of them. On the sofa, on the table, on the deck, on the chairs, in her arms….everywhere! Then she said she throws popcorn everywhere and the dogs snack on it – WHAT? No one shares food in our house! Get close to a kernel and Bubis would snap! Just try stealing Molly’s treat! A few growls and I knew this was not the place for our baby dogs. I could see Bubis pick a fight with anyone who wanted to over bark him. I could see Molly get annoyed at anyone who wanted to be brattier than her. And I could see Pushinka revolt and want to run under a bed to hide from the chaos. None of them would ever speak to us again! Then they would call Animal Cruelty!
Ok…we plan the trip to Kenai and Soldatna leaving the dogs behind…you kids be good, don’t eat the doors, don’t pee on the floor, Mommy will be back soon. I knew I was lying – I’ll stock up on carpet cleaner in Fred Meyer!
It was very exciting to drive into Kenai. We’ve not been to Kenai before and ever since moving to Homer we’ve been in a commercial draught….Kenai had fast food, Walmart, grocery stores, and the famous Home Depot! We were giggling like kids excited about all that is “the big city”. We go straight to Home Depot - lots of options, so much to see, so little time! Grab tile, run to cabinets, check out countertops, grab more tile, run back to cabinets (they won’t let you take a cabinet sample to the tile area to match it so we must run back and forth). Just buy a stinkin’ piece of maple and let’s be done with this nonsense! We didn’t have time to look at carpets, vanities or lighting – it was overwhelming to do it all in one visit! More affordable choices and more of them so we’ll go back. Before we head back to Homer we check out another flooring store where on a previous trip we found the perfect “tile” for the mudroom…durable, nice, and certainly a linoleum product would be cheap! Now mind you…..we have a $3/sq ft allowance for our tile…..we will be saving buckets of money on this tile and we can apply those savings to a pricier tile elsewhere in the house…or plusher carpets….or a light for our guests! We had the savings spent before we even entered the store. The clerk checks the price and when he comes back at $7 a tile we were speechless. How cheap would it sound of us if we gasped? How low rent would it be of us if our eyes fell out of our sockets? We neither gasped nor lost our eyes (although mine bulged a fair amount!) but simply turned and inquired about the location of the sale rack. I am feeling overwhelmed at this point and Jim’s eyes, while back in his sockets, are glazed over.
A quick stop at Fred Meyer to stock up on some supplies, cucumbers that aren’t rotten by the time you get them home, and some DVDs for entertainment greater than what is on our 12 channels. And if it was any other day but Monday I’d stop at “The Moose is Loose” bakery for my favorite apple bear claw….a girls gotta indulge in something to sweeten her mood….and it has apples so it’s practically fruit! Next trip to Soldatna will definitely NOT be on Monday!
On the way back we are driving like reverse vampires…..must return to the nest before the sun goes down!! We have taken way too long at Home Depot, Flooring Store and Fred Meyer! We are heading back at 4PM – already 6 hours since we left….hold on Pushinka…..keeps those paws crossed! Road conditions are surprisingly not good for Alaska. You would think as a rich state we’d invest in keeping our roads clear. One would think of any state in the union Alaska would know how to keep their roads clear…and do it! The sun is setting over the Cook Inlet and it is breathtaking!! A sunset that would rival Key West (only 60 degrees colder). A big red ball slowly setting into the water with glorious mountains looking like they are on fire! We couldn’t miss it so (please forgive us Bubis) we pull over, run out to the edge of a field in 5 inches of snow (that health club routine ain’t working!), and photograph the view up to the green snap! For any future outings we’ll be sure to pack some snowshoes! With hearts pounding, gasping for air and a bit chilled we walk back to the car to finally head home to Homer…..did we leave the lights on for the hoodlums??? They will NOT be happy with us!
Just to be fair to the wild wheatens….they did very well, no accidents, no attitude, no grudges, just lots of kisses!! A special dinner eased their loneliness. Oh Mom, I love dinner. Thank you for feeding me! Bubis says. Pushinka comments on the combination of her favorite flavors. Is that salmon I taste?, Mommy. Oh this next nibble has a hint of turkey broth. Molly has her face buried in her bowl num num num num num mmmmmmmmmm!!!
Just for grins and giggles I checked what these Armstrong Alterna tiles would cost all of you “outsiders” in the lower 48 and I discovered these are ~$3 a tile! I called various distributors with a price range of $3-$3.79 a tile….can you ship them to Alaska? I see your site offers free shipping! Please hold….yes, ma’am, that’ll cost $675 to ship. That’s not free!! “Oh, free doesn’t apply to Hawaii or Alaska”. Add shipping to cheap tile and you get….$7 a tile…ca-ching!!
So, not only are we asking for you to pack a flashlight you must also pack a box of tile in your suitcase! I decided it would cost less for us to buy 2 tickets to Seattle, stock up on tile then stow 100 pounds of tile as our check-in luggage with 25 pounds as our carry-on! Add in hotel, doggie day care (ugh) and 2 nice dinners at Ivers Salmon House (with drinks and dessert!) and it would STILL be cheaper! It’s freakin’ linoleum for cripes sakes!
By the time we get back from our big trip the estimate for the kitchen countertops came in from the local building supply store. Do we dare open the email knowing how long and disappointing this day was…sure why not?!! Double whammy!! Or are we up to triple or quadruple whammies?! I’ve lost count but I do know that I’m one more overrun away from a ticket to somewhere!! I couldn’t bear changing the countertop we loved….the countertop that tied the kitchen tile to the great room tile to the cabinets to the….on and on. If the countertop falls apart we go back to square one and start the discussions all over. I know this is trivial and small minded…it’s only a countertop and certainly not as dramatic as world hunger or the nation’s debts or a Kardashian marriage. It would take us longer to make another series of affordable choices than Kim’s wedded bliss! God Bless Jim for taking this issue into in own hands (upon threat of divorce, abandonment and mental breakdown!) – he tracked down the manufacturer in Anchorage, told our builder what we wanted and requested we buy it direct thereby cutting out the middle man’s mark-up and profit! Yay! Happy dance! Happy wife! I should probably get fitted for that pink sparkly outfit!!! Here I come Derek!!!
Also last week we celebrated Jim’s birthday! His friends know him too well and they are all very generous!! Scotch-related gifts! So, on his birthday I baked lasagna, our neighbor baked him a cake and we all played Monopoly til we dropped (scotch helped!)! A light dusting of snow brightened up the evening sky, 25 year old scotch brightened up Jim’s spirit and a Husband who saved the countertops brightened up my mood….ALL seemed to be brighter at week’s end!
Pushinka stands guard! No shrews ever get past her!
Molly waits for food!
Bubis romps in the snow!
The night sky looks like it's on fire
Happy Birthday Jimmy!! Thanx Iris and Shauna!
We're still feeding the pheasants! And they come by the dozens!
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