July 12 - Home improvement day

Today was home improvement day (as was yesterday). Actually, it was "remodel kitchen" day. We spent most of yesterday visiting home improvement centers in Hayward, looking for the materials we had in mind for remodelling our kitchen. There is this rather ugly, busy linoleum on the floor:

The kitchen walls are in need of a fresh coat of paint, and the stove/oven needs to be replaced because the oven door won't close properly. (When we had it checked before buying the house we were told it could not be fixed.) We're also rearranging things, putting the frig in a different place, and installing some additional cabinets and counter top.

We went to Duluth, MN today to see what Home Depot and Menards had to offer. We would prefer to buy everything from local businesses in Hayward (rather than a big box store) but we're on a tighter budget now and just can't afford the prices. We will buy some things locally, but not everything. After first thinking we would put some kind of laminate or vinyl tile on the kitchen floor (that looks like ceramic tile), we decided instead on a hickory hardwood floor. It will be more labor intensive to install but we think it will be worth the effort.

We also bought a used dresser from a Craigslist seller in Duluth. (I love Craigslist!) We came back to Hayward this evening with a van full of cabinets, hardwood flooring and a dresser. We had some difficulty finding cabinets to match the existing ones, but what we found is very close and will do.

Before leaving Duluth, we stopped at "Grandma's Saloon & Grill" for dinner (recommended to us by Juneauite Rose Welton, a Minnesota native). Chicken Tettrazini on a bed of wild rice was the dish we both chose, the Tuesday "special." Excellent!

It finally cooled down today (64 F this morning according to a temp sign we passed on the way to Duluth). It was in the mid-80s yesterday but the humidity was less than the couple days before so felt cooler. Right now it is 58 F and will drop to the mid-40s later tonight, downright cool. We might even sleep with a blanket on tonight.