Cheap Can Be Better!

So the city was requiring us to put in a sink, which is crazy because we use lake water for the shower and this just gives the opportunity for a guest to drink it, so we have to make sure they know not to. UGH

I met Jake at the boathouse to tell him what I wanted and he suggested getting new flooring, that he was on his way to Lowes, which meant I needed to pick something in a matter of minutes.  I looked online and saw this linoleum and it was perfect. Had the look of river pebbles.

Jake hated it!  He said it's cheap and looks like something from the '60s.  EXACTLY!! It wasn't the cheapest at .49 cents a square foot, lol, I did find one for .45 cents a square foot on sale, but it was Armstrong, so it was a brand name. He wanted to put down vinyl that looked like porcelain tile and use a vinyl grout.  He said we have opposite tastes. For sure!  Porcelain look in a cabin/boathouse?  Really? Wouldn't that make my "plastic" sink look cheap? 

In the end, once in the boathouse, Jake had to choke back the words "I like it."  I knew it would work, and I think Jake now agrees.

This was the year of the "hikes that wouldn't happen."  We had planned on hiking Bluff Mountain with Nature Conservancy in May.  It rained the day we were scheduled after driving an hour into the three-hour drive. We planned to join the group the next weekend, same thing.  We decided we would go in October.  We had a drought all summer, not a day of rain.  It rained the day we were to hike in October after an hour into our drive.  We could not get in on the last hike of the month and now will have to wait until next May.  

We decided to take a drive last weekend and go to Mount Mitchell for leaf viewing.  Got an hour into the drive and found out the portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway we needed to travel was closed from trees being down from the winds the night before, so we just drove around and looked at leaves from below, got a coffee, walked some streets.

The Thanksgiving mantel is done.

Weird wood and wishing wells and a bear!  Our bear was looking in our window the other night.  Bob yelled "go away" and he ran.  I still need to get that trail cam!!

I was a bit nervous Thursday.  I had a dog transport I was doing a leg of Friday and rain was coming in and the temps were supposed to drop from the 60s into the 20s and I had to go up the grade and was afraid of ice. We did get our first true frost, but as it turned out, it never happened and it was in the 40s in the morning, 60s in the afternoon, so all was good.  Still not a fan of driving up that steep grade, but I make myself do it.

This is Gus, a lab mix whose owner was a soldier being deployed and needed to send Gus back to his rescue in North Dakota.  He had a 3-day trip with lots of drivers from South Carolina all the way north.  It was my gift to a soldier for Veteran's Day.

In the 3-day trip he had about 20 drivers and kissed each one!

Beautiful grasses in the sun at the rest stop where I met Gus's next driver.

On the way home I stopped at my favorite nursery knowing the xmas decorations would be up.
 

Yesterday was so nice we had to get out and there was a local pet dog show at Harmon Field so we stopped by to see the dogs on our way to see a movie.

Bob found a husky.  Needless to say, no chows.

Love this guy!

Pig, not dog.

Kid and dog have the same hair/fur!

Dog kissing calf.

Today, so nice out, I will be doing yard work, planting pansies, raking leaves, getting some Vitamin D!