so i picked up the finished mantlepiece and it is gorgeous. beautiful medium-to-dark warm brown toned wood with smooth grain variations running diagonal to the slab. he put a thoughtful chamfered edge on it that helps it blend stylistically with the original fireplace surround, and with the routed underside that lets it sit over the original, not laying on top, i don't think anyone would guess i just stuck wood on top of a mediocre generic feature. i probably don't even have to cover the legs, but i bought the stuff already so we're committed. absolutely worth the $350, makes the entire room seem nicer with a gorgeous focal point.

the mantle was made from the center scrap bit of a much larger slab that was cut in two pieces to make a large table (i walked up just as he had finished the cuts for the table and the two outer pieces were ginormous). the starburst crack (filled with dark blue resin) on the left side of the mantle is from the center of the tree. so it's like i got the heart of the tree, and i was thinking that the fireplace is like the heart of the house. so i am pleased as punch, i don't think it could possibly come out better. i love having a real wood fireplace. maybe i spent too many winters in fairbanks but i see a wood fireplace and i associate it with not-freezing, which is extremely positive. "these people have a wood fireplace and they will not freeze if things go to heck. this is good." it just makes sense. who wouldn't want a wood fireplace? not a gas one with a switch on the wall. i'd love to get a wood stove insert in there, that would be EVEN BETTER. many many heats, no freezes. good.

i like the mantle so much that i want to redo the kitchen counters to match. i dislike the current sink & faucet. it is barely one step above "bargain apartment" quality. if i'm going to put in a new sink, i may as well replace the dated laminate counters. they're in good shape and i don't hate the design (i kinda dig it), but it's obvs they've been there a while and they won't match the viridian green tones i want in the kitchen. the old cabinets are fine, esp once i fix the botched grey paint job. (maybe it's just me but i don't pay much attention to cabinets? a cabinet is a cabinet? they hide dishes and such? as long as they aren't obvious particle board i don't care.) i feel like if i replaced just the sink, faucet and countertop, it would feel like a fresh new kitchen. i don't want one of those dumb apron sinks, i just want a regular nice stainless steel drop in. i had lingered over the stacks of butcher block wood tops at home depot, thinking that might be a good counter replacement, but this mantlepiece makes nice butcher block look like sorry trash.

the guy said he'd be happy to do kitchen counters. can you imagine? gorgeous wood slab on the mantle and matching gorgeous wood slabs for kitchen counters? it would be a jaw dropping feature in this modest little house. the home depot butcher block would run me $800 for two pieces that i'd have to combine somehow, and either shape it myself or pay someone else. i know the wood slab counters will be more expensive, i'm guessing $2k minimum, but i also know the guy will custom make it to fit and route out the hole for the sink and everything. plus, giving money to a local artisan who is awesome to work with, major plus.

i think this will be a fall/winter project. get the ball rolling in september, maybe. i want spouse to come home and see the mantle first. i know he won't be as excited about it as me, but i think he will appreciate how nice it is and how it improves the whole space. then he'll get how amazing the kitchen countertops could be. if we're doing fine on money still, i want to do it.

still glad i dumped my 401k. it's somewhat hypocritical because spouse still has his govt retirement stuff. but severing that personal tie to the insane money machine feels very freeing. i know crypto is dumping and i still have a bit somewhere, but i never got around to investing regularly. partly because it seemed obvious it would be "buying at the top" and a big drop was in the future. i've considered starting investing now that it has fallen. i think crypto has established itself enough that it won't "go away". so maybe now is the time to pick up "free money". but is it free? is it ethical to participate in systems of money that are not sane, like the stock market and crypto? is it ethical to gamble in the pursuit of acumulation (greed)? if you're buying something just to sit on it and sell it later for more, are you adding positive value to the world? or are you a parasite?

on the other hand, rigid high-horse ethics won't pay the mortgage or buy wet foods for the kitties ...

i will have to think on this more.

what does money mean, really? what is it? we use it every day but we don't understand it. we just know more is better and we can trade it for ice cream and shiny things. the more you have the more you are enslaved to the larger machine, the more incentivized to perpetuate the insanity that ultimately rolls down and hurts/kills a segment of the population by design. guaranteed. like jesus said, "easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven."

if the greatest depression is coming, better figure out what you can barter in a pinch. what practical skills do you have. i bought a glass bottle cutter, so i can recycle jars and liquor bottles and such. maybe knee jerk, but great depression makes me think of saving jars? i also threw away all our grungy pub glasses in the move, so we need new glasses anyway. if you need spaghetti sauce or something, buy the one with the best jar. bonus free pencil cup or whatever.

costco does not have lentils. probably just as well, 20lbs of lentils would go to waste. i remember just before the pandemic i would panic purchase dry beans. it made me feel better, to pick up a 99¢ bag of pintos. i ended up using most of my panic beans to fill a large cushion for engraving, so i could technically rip it open and eat old beans. you won't starve if you have beans. these days i like lentils, tho. cook faster, less carbs. gotta get some lentils.

spouse and i talked about getting a smaller chest freezer but i'm not sure we will. 1) our fridge has an impressive freezer we have yet to fill. 2) unfortunately his work car requires almost the whole garage so there's not a good spot to put one.

supposedly the youtube howlers are saying we have a month or so to plan for horrible horrible disaster. i'll make sure we're stocked on essentials but i'm not going to freak out. 1/2 tank of gas at all times, etc, is just normal alaska winter prep, so you can chill out and not fuss if something unexpected happens, like a day of freezing rain where everyone is sliding around crashing into power poles. make sure you have wood for the fireplace, etc. light sources ready if the power goes out. just takes the stress down a notch. have warmth, have light, have food (& way to cook it), have basic meds (bandaids & nyquil), have transportation (snowshoes & bikes count). check your camping stuff, maybe get that spare piece of useful kit you wanted. it's likely now is the cheapest and most available it will be for a while.

that sounds terrible but it's not. we're about to figure out what really has value in our lives.