Perkins Pad - Before

Perkins joined our family this past Christmas, and we quite enjoy his antics. Although he quickly became a part of our human family, we are sensitive to the fact that Chinchillas are social creatures and we are hoping that Santa will bring him a friend or two of his own species this year. In anticipation of friends being delivered for Perkins, we have designed and commissioned a project with the aim of expanding and  upgrading his digs.

When construction is complete we will post photos and announce the name of the rodential high density development...

E-Cloth Envy

Grandma Joyce found this AMAZINGLY COOL thing called an E-Cloth -- but she only sent ONE to Utah. Now only Nova has crystal clean mirrors and windows -- which I could probably deal with if she hadn't teased me by letting me try the E-Cloth for a week. During my brief dalliance with the now coveted E-Cloth I discovered that, in addition to cleaning windows and mirrors better than anything on the planet, it also does a beautiful job of removing fingerprints from stainless steel appliances. This is a task for which I have a great need and have spent mucho deniro on a myriad of products, all of which claimed to be specifically engineered for the job, but none of which has proved to be an effective remedy.

I have used forlorn puppy eyes on Nova in vain hope that she would have pity on me and give me the revered E-Cloth, but alas, she acts oblivious to my passive aggressive begging techniques. I have thus far refrained from stealing it from her (my moral fortitude assisted in no small part by the fact that she has kept the whereabouts of said E-Cloth conspicuously vague). So my stainless appliances become progressively more fingerprinted, and I live continuously on the precarious brink of being overtaken by the green-eyed E-Cloth monster...

Remodel Runs Amok (aka: Broken Dishwasher Costs Household $30,000 +)

Beware of appliance breakdowns.

5 years and $30,000 ago, our dishwasher packed it in. Apparently, you can't just buy a single replacement appliance, because it makes more sense to buy a matching set of all four appliances. And then, if you are going to buy appliances you may as well buy a good brand, and go for the upscale stainless steel instead of the run of the mill white or black. Then once the new appliances are delivered, you realize that they sort of 'overpower' your small galley-style kitchen and upstage your cabinetry, so you feel the need to install skylights, tear down walls, pull up tile from the 80's era, and install new cabinets, hardware, fixtures, Corian countertops, and hardwood flooring so that the appliances don't look 'out of place'. Just when you think you are done, you notice that the rest of your main floor living spaces look woefully forlorn compared to your sleek new kitchen, and so phase 2 of the remodel begins to take shape...