Cornbread and Callouses
31/08/17 07:14
And now it seems that we will be moving out of our home for the better part of a month while the renovation takes place. To say that this Airbnb thing fell into place is an understatement. We waited until a week before the renovation was scheduled to take place to even start looking. It didn't make any sense to do it any sooner since things sometimes don't come together for one reason or another and the next thing you know you are losing a deposit that you put down to stay in a place that you no longer need. We thought as well that once the summer was over that finding a place might be easier and cheaper here on the Seacoast and to some extent that is still true. We were but a day or two into our search when I looked on the internet after Evan mentioned the rental website, Airbnb. There amongst the few properties available was a gem of a joint that is close by, affordable, and after a blip on the radar screen regarding a potential tenant that decided not to take it at the last minute, is now available. We expect to go see the place tomorrow and if everything works out we will be on our way. More than likely I will be back home every day doing things I usually do but early in the morning and I will be gone by the time the workers arrive. We may even plan to spend weekends at home after the initial work is done which involves ripping out our old bathroom before putting in a new one. It was a piece of good news and one less thing we need to concern ourselves with as things get going. Hallelujah!
Nancy seems to think that this contractor we're working wth is a little bit of a sly one in that they gave us a budget to work with but sent us to a plumbing wholesaler where fixtures and the like were expensive to the point of putting us over budget with every decision made. To make matters worse, the wholesaler never discussed prices with us since their relationship and loyalty was to the contractor and not we the end users. We pressed the wholesaler from time to time on prices for vanities, tubs, etc., and they divulged them only reluctantly. Whether or not that was intentional on the part of the contractor is hard to say but it seems somewhat obvious at first blush.
It certainly bolsters their case for a job well done if in the final analysis we're more than pleased with not only the way things look but with how they function day in and day out. Inferior products invariably feel cheap, look cheap, and have failure rates that simply don't warrant trying to save nickels and dimes on the margins. Besides, most renovation projects end up being over budget by 10 - 20% anyway so you suck it up and move on. The budget issue to me is simply a pretense anyway and not worthy of consideration one way or another. While it is possible to overspend where those allocations are not otherwise worthwhile or retrievable in a resale situation, I tell Nancy to get what she wants and stop with the concerns about cost. Enough already.
Evan has been talking a lot lately about getting more protein in his diet. That makes perfect sense and it comes as no surprise to us that when he doesn't get enough protein he feels overall less well. He is doing a better job at not eating sweets and loading up on carbs that wreak havoc with his blood sugars. He seems to know and understand which foods are good for him and which ones aren't and that is otherwise critical to the proper management of his disease. For him, it is all about feeling good or not feeling good and the many gradations in between. He certainly could eat more vegetables but couldn't we all. His doctor told him once that fruits were not a good choice and he deliberately avoids them. I think it is something that he enjoys and I don't think having an apple or a handful of blueberries every now and then is the end of the world for him. In fact, he's had an apple and a peach this very week and while I don't know for sure I would probably say that he enjoyed them both.
I wouldn't recommend that he follow his mother's lead and gorge himself on seasonal watermelon and corn on the cob since both are high on the glycemic index but other seasonal fruits and vegetables may be okay in moderation. Since he has vocalized a hankering for protein as of late, and to coincide with the coming of the cooler temperatures and what appears to be a premature Fall season, I made a nice batch of chili yesterday. I didn't want to but I scratched together a meatless version for Nancy out of the ingredients I had assembled and she enjoyed that for dinner. Parsing out the various components of that dish is and has always felt odd to me so I avoid it like the plague but relent if and when Nancy makes a request. By the time Nancy and I got back to the house from our late-day bike ride Evan had ladled out a sizable dish of the chili for his enjoyment. It is just so good. I like mine with chopped onion, a mishmash of Mexican cheeses, maybe a little avocado, and all served with a piece of hot corn bread and a glass of cold milk. You haven't lived until…
Nancy seems to think that this contractor we're working wth is a little bit of a sly one in that they gave us a budget to work with but sent us to a plumbing wholesaler where fixtures and the like were expensive to the point of putting us over budget with every decision made. To make matters worse, the wholesaler never discussed prices with us since their relationship and loyalty was to the contractor and not we the end users. We pressed the wholesaler from time to time on prices for vanities, tubs, etc., and they divulged them only reluctantly. Whether or not that was intentional on the part of the contractor is hard to say but it seems somewhat obvious at first blush.
It certainly bolsters their case for a job well done if in the final analysis we're more than pleased with not only the way things look but with how they function day in and day out. Inferior products invariably feel cheap, look cheap, and have failure rates that simply don't warrant trying to save nickels and dimes on the margins. Besides, most renovation projects end up being over budget by 10 - 20% anyway so you suck it up and move on. The budget issue to me is simply a pretense anyway and not worthy of consideration one way or another. While it is possible to overspend where those allocations are not otherwise worthwhile or retrievable in a resale situation, I tell Nancy to get what she wants and stop with the concerns about cost. Enough already.
Evan has been talking a lot lately about getting more protein in his diet. That makes perfect sense and it comes as no surprise to us that when he doesn't get enough protein he feels overall less well. He is doing a better job at not eating sweets and loading up on carbs that wreak havoc with his blood sugars. He seems to know and understand which foods are good for him and which ones aren't and that is otherwise critical to the proper management of his disease. For him, it is all about feeling good or not feeling good and the many gradations in between. He certainly could eat more vegetables but couldn't we all. His doctor told him once that fruits were not a good choice and he deliberately avoids them. I think it is something that he enjoys and I don't think having an apple or a handful of blueberries every now and then is the end of the world for him. In fact, he's had an apple and a peach this very week and while I don't know for sure I would probably say that he enjoyed them both.
I wouldn't recommend that he follow his mother's lead and gorge himself on seasonal watermelon and corn on the cob since both are high on the glycemic index but other seasonal fruits and vegetables may be okay in moderation. Since he has vocalized a hankering for protein as of late, and to coincide with the coming of the cooler temperatures and what appears to be a premature Fall season, I made a nice batch of chili yesterday. I didn't want to but I scratched together a meatless version for Nancy out of the ingredients I had assembled and she enjoyed that for dinner. Parsing out the various components of that dish is and has always felt odd to me so I avoid it like the plague but relent if and when Nancy makes a request. By the time Nancy and I got back to the house from our late-day bike ride Evan had ladled out a sizable dish of the chili for his enjoyment. It is just so good. I like mine with chopped onion, a mishmash of Mexican cheeses, maybe a little avocado, and all served with a piece of hot corn bread and a glass of cold milk. You haven't lived until…