"Sneaking into the movies is wrong, as wrong as spilling juice on a new carpet." - Hank, King of the Hill

The Boy’s picture of morning in Fairbanks. Notice the two-lens-finger technique. That’s a pro!

A rainy weekend in Fairbanks is much like a -55ºF weekend in Fairbanks, since you don’t want to do much outside. I’d had plans. I wanted to paint the house, wander up into the forest and gather wood, and sleep in. I managed to sleep in, so I guess one out of three isn’t bad.

I had backup plans, though, even more energetic than sleeping in: we would finish the basement floor and prepare it for carpet.

Our carpet had arrived at the Home Despot last week. Spending money causes me physical pain. It hurts. In this case, I purchased top of the line, Stainmaster™ 10-year-warrenty carpet, with the only exclusion being having Robin Williams spend the weekend. The carpet is good stuff, rather than the $0.10 a square yard stuff that you’d think I’d buy.

I did get it on a 20% discount at Home Despot. If I’d dragged my next-door-neighbor down, I could have gotten another 10% off, since he’s in the military. But I would have had to kidnap him, since I don’t think he likes us all that much, and I would hope the training at Home Despot covers hostage situations, at least for the Store Manager.

I spent the big bucks because the carpet could be installed by us rather than having to pay someone to do it. Putting the carpet down consists of tossing the squares of carpet down on the concrete and then moving the sofa on. They have a semi-sticky back, so I’m thinking putting this carpet down is like covering your floor in Post-It® notes. Regardless, The Mrs. liked the color.

I read through the instructions, and saw that installation over “irregularities” in the floor bigger than 1/8” was discouraged. There were divots in the concrete floor of my basement that you could store a Volkswagen in, so I figured I should spend the time and money to fill them.

The Boy and I used a joint leveling compound and a trowel to fill the low spots. I spent the time filling the low spots with the leveling compound, while The Boy spent the time getting me beers. One day he’ll graduate to putting the leveling compound down between getting me beers. This may not be a great dream, but it’s all I’ve got.

So, it was a slow, wasted weekend, the time where I caught up on interior chores and wished that I’d done more outside. In that respect, it’s good. It will help focus me on the tasks required for winter, like gathering more wood and stocking up on more beer. Oh, and finishing the basement. Somebody’s got to put all the Post-It® notes on the floor.


Quote of the Day: “Sometimes I sneak into your bedroom and stare at you in the dark while you’re sleeping.” – The Boy to The Mrs.