There are entirely too many vendors of bathroom hardware for someone who hates shopping.  Just sayin'.

Still choking on prices, too, even on eBay.

Perhaps if I'd never worked in the machine tool industry or done any material purchasing, I'd just worry about the style (which is challenging enough, given the thousand of options out there on the market).

But retail costs are completely out of whack with the actual price of a product.  Sure, scold me, tell me there's handling costs and shipping and all sorts of fixed and variable costs that contribute to the price of any retail product.

I know that.  I'm a business major.

But I also know that I can buy an 8-foot length of 3/4 inch diameter 304 stainless steel rod for under fifty bucks, and an 8-foot length of 3/4-inch diameter 2024-T351 aluminum rod for under thirty bucks.

While the 18-inch long nickel-plated aluminum towel bars I'm looking at are selling for forty bucks EACH.

For that kind of cash, I'm seriously thinking about fabricating my own towel bars...

Anyhow, shopping continues.  Thanks for all the great suggestions; there are a few I'm going to look into over the next couple of days.

7:47:41 PM    comment []

This means you, Alyssa!

I'm suffering from sticker shock over the cost of bathroom hardware.  I cannot believe the prices I'm finding for towel bars.  Yes, I know, we use them every day and we take them for granted.

But $55 for a simple rod?  Holy cow!

All the fixtures so far are brushed nickel or brushed steel.  I'll even settle for brushed chrome, pewter or brushed aluminum, depending on the shape of the fixture and the patina or finish as well as the overall quality.

And any helpful hints on cabinet knobs and pulls would be appreciated; that's going to be another small fortune.  At last count I needed 40+ knobs and pulls.  Ouch!

10:12:55 AM    comment []

Today is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year.

So?  What are you going to do about it?

I'm going to do physical labor all day over at the new house; that should keep me from stewing under gloomy conditions here at home.

There's a fresh, hot pot of French roast coffee -- regular, mind you -- on the stove that I'll pack in a thermos to take with me to the site.  That will keep up the caffeination level through the morning.

And I'm stowing a bit of chocolate a friend bought for me as a treat during her last trip abroad.  "Erdbeer mit pfeffer noir", meaning, extra dark chocolate with strawberries and pepper.  Sounds bizarre but it is heaven, only a hint of sweetness, the highly floral scent of dried strawberries adding a spring-like note to the buttery bitterness.  The green pepper bits make the tongue dance.

Pack some CD's with techno and French hip-hop, to keep things jumping.  It'll offset the inevitable country-and-western tunes the contractors play.

Try not to look up at the monochromatic grey of sky, and keep moving until it's time to pick up the kids.  No incentives required after that time; the kids keep things humming without any conscious effort.

I guess it must be all down hill after today.  We can only hope.

So?  What about you?

9:29:50 AM    comment []