I have never heard of pumpkin blossom honey, but I'm sure I've never heard of many things. it's not uncommon for honey packaged in small containers to be priced high. Talk to the seller of the honey about buying a gallon. You may be able to get a substantial price break if you buy larger volumes. Find out if the seller would be interested in going 50/50 on a batch of mead. He gives you the honey and in return you give him half of the finished mead. If the seller is not the beekeeper see if you can talk to the beekeeper directly for buying larger volumes or doing a 50/50 partnership on a batch of mead.
Concerning potassium hydroxide, it is nothing to be afraid of. Careful with yes, afraid of, no. It is used in small quantities to control pH in fermenting mead. When making up a KOH solution it is an exothermic reaction when adding the KOH flakes to the water. No big deal if you are careful, go slow, and wear PPE. Exactly the same as making soap. It's easier, but a bit more expensive, to buy premixed KOH solutions. They are sold for doing calcium hardness titrations and soapmaking.