Ugggghhhhh..... nature decided to give us a heat wave. Currently, it is 108 (yes, 108 degrees) in our bedroom and even hotter in the living room (thermostat is inside the drying tent so can't get a exact reading downstairs). Even our CARPET is noticeably warm to the touch. The equipment they're running puts off an insane amount of heat, which aids in the drying process. We have instead been holed up in the office with a pissed off parrot and our poor little newt all weekend because it's a little cooler in there. It's in the mid-90's in there (because the window has been open all night), which while no one is dead yet, it's is highly miserable. Can't wait for this stupid tent to be gone so we can use our AC again.
On the kitchen front, we did look at some various styles over the weekend online. Came up with some ideas. We'll have to see what insurance plans to payout, what we will need a contractor to install/repair (and how much the labor will be) and what we can install/repair ourselves. If the granite has to go, we may get cheaper counters and install the flooring ourselves. Butcher block counters are less costly than granite but still unique and durable and not laminate so we might look into that option instead. I bet if we budget carefully, we may be able to squeeze it enough to redo the entire downstairs floor (except the bathroom and office) without being more than a few hundred bucks out of pocket. I think my husband didn't get why I find carpet so nasty, as we don't wear shoes indoors, I vacuum often, use a carpet rake and am diligent with spot cleaning (plus we don't eat anywhere but the dining room, to minimize spills) so our carpet looks pretty good for being old. When they pulled that carpet back to dry under it and he saw all the stains on the back (that weren't ours) and the nasty hair and dust trapped underneath, he suddenly became a whole lot more interested in hard flooring LOL. We are going to go ahead on our own dime (as I doubt insurance will want to pay for one when ours is undamaged) and get an upgraded faucet and possibly sink too. We're also looking at new appliances, but that would likely be something we'd upgrade after we recuperated from this as all our appliances currently function, aren't like 1980s outdated old and appliances aren't a big deal to swap out whenever, so no particularly pressing need to upgrade/replace them right now.
Also, maybe I'm the only person out there crazy enough to feel this way, but I really do NOT like eating out so much. Insurance is paying for our extra spending as the kitchen is non functional but I *hate* feeling out of control of the ingredients in and preparation of my food and it just doesn't make me feel good eating it. Every once in a while it's fun to go out and eat junk food, but not for the majority of meals. Plus, most of the portions they give are like 2 or even 3 meals for me, so I don't know how much over my baseline food budget I'll actually go but I do know I'm definitely NOT getting the same kinds of food/nutritious foods I typically eat. Really struggling with this aspect of this whole ordeal. Once the heat tent is gone, I'll be buying fresh produce again and at least making smoothies. I'd almost rather fast on smoothies until the kitchen is repaired than continue eating every meal out. Dense, chemical laden foods in this heat with this much extra frustration are just not working for me.
Oh well. Guess we'll really be getting effectively a brand new kitchen from top to bottom.
, he's been such a brave and overall good boy throughout this process. While he was scared crapless of the drying tent, he has otherwise been unphased by the upset to his routine, all that demolition and all the people coming and going. Such a good bird. Mostly just very curious as to what these strangers are all doing tearing up his favorite room in the whole house as an amazon- the kitchen
