First World Problems

Cool Spanish Flowerpot spotted at Cordoba

So today I am running around madly trying to pack everything for our weekend trip to Ucluelet and Tofino which we leave for tomorrow.

We got some rather bad news this morning.  Our beautiful new floors that we had put in last August and paid $8000 to have installed in our hallway, front entry, kitchen, dining room and living room are faulty.  They creak really loudly.  Initially we had thought they were just settling but it is getting worse.  We called the flooring company as there is a warranty on it.  They thought it might have been improperly installed (they installed it) as unless you leave a bit of room for expansion and contraction between the boards and the wall (under baseboards) it has no room to move and may creak.  A little creaking is standard, a lot is another matter.  A salesman was here last week, he agreed with us it is creaking a lot.  Not just one place and not a normal amount.  An installer was here today with the company owner who removed the baseboards in one area and double checked their work.  It is a definitely a product issue, not an installation issue.  Now they have to go back to the manufacturer and see what they say.  Needless to say what this likely means is that all of it will have to be bloody ripped up and redone.  In the mean time we wait.  Did I mention that we installed it before we had our new appliances put in?  Crikey.  It will mean a larger job than it was the first time because of more furniture in each room. Not great news and not something I wanted to blog about until I knew the outcome but I have a sneaking suspicion this will drag on for a while.


Plus more headache of living in a construction zone.  Last time we were responsible for replacing the baseboards, re-caulking them and doing paint touch-ups.  Not this time!  I am peeved to say the least but not much we can do.  Definitely a first world problem.  Anyway, at least we get to go away this weekend, away from the creaking floors and take buddy and walk the beach and watch the crashing waves and surfers.  The weather looks like some rain and some sun so we are taking the kayaks hoping for the best.

I thought I would throw my grocery results into this post.  I went over my budget of $550 in May(all food, non-food products like cleaners and over the counter meds for two adults who eat 99% of the time at home) and came in at $599.01.  Due to being under budget last month I am still pretty much on track for the yearly budget (within $1.90 cents).  We had a couple of splurging family dinners when my stepdaughter was here plus I stocked up on over the counter meds that were on sale at the end of the month.  Sometimes you have to spend money to save money and that is why I went over-budget.

I hope to take lots of pictures of our weekend - see you on the other side!