Good progress was made this week.

+ The dumpster arrived and was set up. It was bigger than anticipated since the smaller ones were all rented. So, I took on the additional task of rid of anything we planned to trash.

+ The cabinets were delivered and stacked inside our garage like hay bales.

+ The plastic ‘wall’ with the zipper door was installed.

+ The demolition was completed. This included cabinets, appliances, an island, and two partition walls.

+ The cabinet boxes were each opened and evaluated for accuracy and damage.

+ The wall behind the new stove location and the wall extending between the kitchen and laundry were framed up.

+ I selected the kitchen sink, stovetop, and water ozonator.

This week also included two unpleasant surprises.

The first one involved one of the partition walls that was removed. The area that will be the new laundry room used to be a closet, the dead space for the door swinging in from the garage, and the laundry room. The removed walls formed the closet and the old laundry entrance. The closet wall had nothing inside. The laundry wall was expected to have electrical wires for a switch but it had more than that!

That pipe is a sewage pipe from an upstairs toilet that is not located directly above that wall. So that means that there is extra work to be done to reroute that sewage pipe. The contractor has evaluated the options and it could be worse – at least the code will allow us to route the pipe through a joist since it is less than 1/3 of the width.

The second surprise was that one of the cabinets was damaged, despite the sturdy packaging. It will be returned and replaced. I hope it doesn’t take long. This surprise could have been worse too – at least the cabinet is not the one that houses the sink, the stovetop, the dishwasher, or the oven.

Tomorrow is the day work begins on the kitchen & laundry! I’ve done most of the prep work but I still have a few things to get done today.

To be done today:

++ Dryer to be picked up by DS1’s friend who is upgrading from a dryer that doesn’t work well

++ Clear an L-shaped space in the garage for the contractor’s on-site storage.

++ Take the garage opener for that side out of the car so we can give it to him to come & go without coordinating with us.

++ Set up a dishwashing station on the middle deck. I need to get a couple of dishwashing bins (hoping that Sams might have them) and a flat waterproof surface for a ‘counter’ (need to look around with creativity – I’m wondering if Lowes might have some sort of mesh metal like some outdoor tabletops use). Then snake the hose to that location and I already have a dish drying rack.

++ Cook some muffins. We won’t have use of an oven for some time so I want to freeze homemade muffins. BTW, a homemade bread item is a great neighbor gift if you know someone who is renovating the kitchen! Store-bought breads cannot compare taste-wise or nutritionally.

++ Empty the last cabinet – under the sink where the dishwashing detergent and scrubbers are. Use the dishwasher for the last time(s).

++ Take the old laundry door, the basement door old hardware, and the cabinet knobs to the Habitat RebuildIt store as a donation.

Already done:

++ Biggest chore – unrouting and rerouting the internet cable from the Verizon box across the garage and into the dining room. I’ll hire a professional to do it right with the router in a new location sometime after the remodel. The internet cable used to come through the mudroom area which now will be part of the new laundry room.

++ All cabinets emptied (but one) with the contents donated, stored, or organized to be accessible.

++ Cabinet knobs removed and bagged. The original knobs were a gold finish that didn’t age well. Same for the light fixtures. About a decade ago I replaced the cabinet knobs with brushed nickel ones as an upgrade. They were probably $3 each and there are maybe 20 of them so I figure that someone else might use them.

++ Setting up the dining room to be our temporary kitchen. This came together fairly well though we keep conking our heads on the hanging chandelier since it doesn’t have a table under it now. This included moving the refrigerator which is the one appliance that we are keeping.

++ Bought paint & hardware for the new laundry door. The contractor said that he is going to focus on the kitchen first and then move to the laundry. He wanted that interior door to be ordered so he can close off the laundry I think while we start using the kitchen.

++ Stocked paper plates, bowls, plastic cups, and utensils.

I considered putting a post on Nextdoor for our cabinets in case someone could use them in a garage, shed, or workshop. DH talked me out of it. He said that getting them down intact would be more work for the contractor and if I asked the recipient to take them down, he could damage the wall and cause more work for the contractor instead of less. They are 20+ years old and weren’t good quality to begin with so I let that idea go. I just hate to waste. I did decide though to take those knobs off.

Tomorrow the dumpster is scheduled to arrive and so are the cabinets. The new laundry door has already been delivered. The contractor mentioned that he’ll be going through each of the cabinets to make sure they are what we ordered and that they aren’t damaged. (He’s super detailed.) That way we have time to reorder if something isn’t right. The cabinets will be stored in the garage until they are needed. The tile and some leftover cabinet trim from the last corner are already there.

our temporary kitchen

I’ve waited a few days to post this topic so the emotions aren’t quite so raw. We’ve had a couple of unexpected expenses arise as we’re preparing for the remodel and this one is painful.

We had to make the heart-wrenching decision to put down our dog. Once DH decided while talking to the vet, he made the appointment immediately before he could change his mind. While our pets are enjoyed by the entire family, it’s understood that the dog is DH’s and the cats are mine. So the decision was his.

She had a tumor on her belly that broke the surface of her skin and was actively bleeding. It was the right decision at the right time – the vet agreed – but still so hard.

For those of you who have pets, this is another reason to have an emergency fund. It’s a time when you want to make decisions based on what matters to you – not what you can pay. Having her poked only once made the IV worth the extra money, but getting ashes from her wasn’t something we valued.

$780 total. From the bill:

Euthanasia appointment - $280

Communal cremation - $205

IV catheterization + propofol anesthetic - $295

Her final hours included her favorite things - a ride in the car, a walk in the woods, and treats.

Following is the recipe I mentioned that was originally shared by the blogger Toilet Paper Tracker. This one is a hit with every member of the family.

Asian Meatballs

Ingredients

1½ lb ground turkey
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 scallions
2 tbsp ginger
1 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp Chinese 5-spice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 cup broth, veggie or chicken
½ cup ketchup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar

Cooked rice, for serving

Directions

1. Combine sauce ingredients (starting with broth) in slow cooker.

2. In a large bowl, mix meatball ingredients and make about 12 meatballs. Arrange in slow cooker in a single layer.

3. Cook on high 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.

4. Serve with rice.

Shared from my Recipe Keeper - the easy way to collect, organize and share your recipes on your mobile, tablet and PC.

This is our third year to be a host site for the local CSA. We’ve been a customer for much longer.

Especially this year, with grocery prices up, I am appreciating the fresh local organic veggies. Since we’re the host, our weekly box is free. This week our haul includes gold potatoes, red chard, mini romaine, spring onions, strawberries, lacinato kale, garlic scapes, and Italian parsley.

I abhor waste so I attempt to get every bit of it into our bodies! Last year I spent time entering favorite recipes into my Recipe Keeper Pro app and it’s paying off now. I have over 500 recipes in there and I can easily search on certain ingredients or characteristics to find something appropriate. I set up categories like finger food, okay to make ahead, instant pot, crockpot, etc. I’ll continue to add our recipes as I have time but I’m at least to a point where I don’t have to ask myself “What will I do with chard?”. And every recipe is something healthy that has ingredients I would use. I used to search online and I had to go through so much to find something that I’d feel good about making. It took too long – every time.

That reminds me: two nights ago, I made the Asian meatballs recipe shared by Toilet Paper Tracker. Do you all remember that blogger? I always enjoyed her posts. I hope she’s doing well. Her recipe lives on in my collection!

I’ve been searching and planning for a few years and this year I committed to a new primary care doctor. My upcoming milestone birthday caused a self-imposed sense of urgency. I want to remain healthy & active as I age and I figure that it’s good to enter each remaining decade with resolution of health concerns that have cropped up in the previous one.

I looked last year into direct primary care but couldn’t find a participating doctor in my area. This year I found one. In case you aren’t aware of the concept, direct primary care is a relationship with a doctor that isn’t through a large medical corporation. Most don’t accept insurance and instead the financial arrangement is like a subscription. For that subscription, you basically get all the visits and doctor’s attention that you require. I like this arrangement because it aligns the doctor’s best interests with mine. The healthier I stay, the more profit she makes. This is the opposite of the standard model of care in the US and I have felt that conflict to the point that for years I have just avoided doctors altogether. Orders that she gives me for lab work, scans, and referrals do go through my insurance.

My second concern with primary care doctors is that I know their beliefs and recommendations won’t always agree with my alternative-healthy ‘let’s brainstorm the cause & fix it instead of treating the symptoms’ approach. So, during the complementary consultation (via Zoom), I just put it out there. I told her that I view doctors as consultants just like accountants and that there may be times that I wouldn’t choose to take her advice. And that I would want her not to take that personally and to respect my choices. She agreed that the consequences are all mine of course since it’s my body and she was fine with it. She has been true to her word too, I’m happy to say! As one example, I refuse to take the recommended (and risky!) drugs for osteoporosis. Now she is working with me both to look for possible causes and to consider non-drug methods to address it.

In addition, this doctor has a certification in lifestyle medicine, which means that she has studied nutrition (among many other things I'm sure but nutrition is huge for me).

I have direct access to the doctor (not via a nurse or receptionist) by portal and direct text and she has even been willing to read articles that I send to her on studies and treatments that aren’t familiar to her. I’m impressed.

For my doctor, I pay $150/month. I can cancel at any time with 30 days’ notice. My first in-person appointment (I took a list!) was over 2 hours. I’ve never had such a comprehensive discussion (with exam too).

Now I have an assortment of follow-ups with bloodwork, scans, eye exams, dermatology appointments, etc.

For whatever reason, Saving Advice wouldn't allow me to include this with the last post. Perhaps there's a limit on the number of photos - I don't know.

Following are before & after photos of the 2024 kitchen corner #2 project. It was removing a goofy half-wall and replacing it with a full wall to support a new pantry cabinet. Because removing the half-wall left an exposed strip with no flooring, I elected to go ahead and replace the flooring in the family room and that portion of the kitchen. I bought enough of the tile for the kitchen and laundry floors that will get finished this year. I didn’t want to risk having that particular tile getting discontinued. So, we have a pallet of tile in the garage.

I know it looks odd to have a tall cabinet next to the short wall. I did it on purpose a year in advance so I could see how the flow of the kitchen would work with a pantry there.

Like DisneySteve and LuckyRobin, I also have an upcoming renovation. It’s our kitchen & laundry areas which are adjacent. We’ve been in this house for over 20 years and I’ve waited so long for this day!

Our current start date for the physical work is June 20^th. On that day there will be a dumpster in the driveway and the demolition of the current kitchen will be underway. But I wouldn’t call that our ‘start’ date. I have spent the past several months designing the kitchen, then my contractor came over and walked through the project with me in early April. He had a couple of great ideas that generated some minor changes to the design. Then he worked a quote and following that I drew the final plan and submitted the application to the township for the building permit. The permit was approved about a week or so ago so we signed the contract and set the start day for the work. Because the cabinets I’m using have a long lead time, we actually ordered them before I even had the quote. I had to pay half upfront to order them too. That’s how trusting my relationship is with my contractor. This is our 5^th project with him (and the largest one). He wrote the quote knowing that he would be awarded the project and I was okay with that.

Since this is a financial site, I’ll plan to share my costs as the project proceeds because I know that’s of interest here. So far, this is what I’ve spent:

$24,000.00 cabinets (2 of 2 payments included)

$12,233.00 initial labor payment

$309.50 building permit (admin & inspection charges)

$570.28 new laundry door (will be picked up by contractor)

So, $37,112.78 and work hasn’t even begun!

I should mention too that there are two far corners of the kitchen that are already done. I was able to have those done as smaller separate projects and it allowed us to live with the cabinet style, backsplash, and countertop for a couple of years before putting it throughout the kitchen. I used the same contractor for those projects.

Following are before & after photos of the 2023 kitchen corner #1 project. It was taking an empty wall section and turning it into a beverage station for our water filter and coffee machines. I still love it.

I am going to try to get back into the habit of posting – I have so many money-related things going on. This post is about a frustrating one.

You know how when you send a package via USPS Priority Mail it’s insured for $100 by default? It turns out that that’s not really the case.

My package was lost and USPS’s own tracking records indicated that they delivered it to some other address. When they couldn’t find it, I was instructed to file a claim. At that point I was annoyed, but hey – mistakes happen. Once I started the claim process though, I got angry.

The first question in the online claim process was to state whether this was (1) an initial claim, (2) a first appeal, or (3) a second appeal. That should have been a clue!

I was required to list all items in the package and provide receipts proving their value. I actually was lucky that my package was a birthday gift so I had bought new things and most receipts could be located. [Unfortunately, not the card which I bought on vacation months ago – it could be planted after being read and it grew wildflowers. So cool!] It was a pain to locate receipts & scan them but I did it and attached to the online claim.

I received a letter in the mail that my claim was approved but only for $48. I don’t even know where that figure came from – nothing was $48 in value. My total claim was $128 - $100 for the contents (I had receipts for more.) and $28 for the shipping I paid. I just received a check in the mail separate from that letter – it’s for $77. Why that amount? Who knows!

Just imagine if the contents were not new things. I would not have had receipts for them. Does that mean that it’s not really insured?

Lesson learned. From now on I will send all packages via UPS.