Well I've been going a little crazy lately in my house furnishing plans. I have several things I am looking for and am frequenting craiglist religiously. It is amazing how quickly good thing go. I was so bummed Sunday when someone else beat me to a 10.5 foot long solid wood shelf for free. I kept hoping the guy wouldn't pick it up and waiting for the seller to call and say it was mine now and was so hung up on it I was distracted several times during liturgy. I know. That was a sure sign of addiction. But it did give me a new idea for shelving configurations and also a shelving company to look into- Ballard Co.
Later that day Shane and I made a run up to Restoration Hardware- by ourselves which was heavenly. I always wince when I tell the kids we are going there because they all hate it. I think the workers there might feel the same way but they hide it well and usually give the kids stickers. Besides we have donated quite a bit of business there. I got a wooden curtain rod for Audrey's room. They were out of brackets but I can get those anywhere. I didn't find any drapes I liked but I am considering making them anyway. Her room faces south and got so hot on the really hot days, she slept on the floor of Cyril's room.
I've also been on the lookout for a small chair for Audrey's room. A little cozy one to put by her window and curl up with a good book. Everything I've found on craigslist has been too big or too ugly. Or both. Well today we were on our way to the store to get coke for Cyril's energy experiment- more about that later- and at the top of our hill I saw two small, cute, blue velvet upholstered chairs with a free sign. They were small but not child sized. So on the way home I stopped to check them out. They seemed in need of some cleaning but structurally sound. One of them has some worn spots so I decided to lug just one home in the back of my van and take a closer look. I unloaded it into the garage and left it while I made lunch for the kids. I tipped the chair sideways and left the garge door open just in case something needed to escape.
It had a zippered cushion so I thought I'd start by removing that and washing it and throwing away the foam. Well, under the cushion I could see some mildew stains and as I inspected I got more and more nervous. I could see "things" in the cracks under the cushion so I grabbed a weeding fork and pried anything I could see out- not sure exactly what I would "do" with anything that come out. There was some odd tool that looked like a cross between a stud finder and a lighter. I didn't touch it. There was some paper and not too suspicious things. I thought I should turn the chair over and see if everything was intact. It still had the fabric cover on it but there was no way I could be certain there was nothing nesting in there. I couldn't find any gloves and had shorts on so I was not feeling very protected or brave. I poked around with poker and though there were not any holes that looked big enough for a varmit to fit through I was still wary. I told the kids not to go in the garage. The more I thought about it the more I realized I was not up to the task of completely restoring a chair- mostly I didn't want to take it apart and discover who knew what. And I could just imagine the look on Shane's face when he saw it "You actually put this thing in your and allowed it tocome into our garage? I'll just buy you a chair." I thought it might be a good idea to get rid of the evidence so I replaced the foudn items and the the cushion and told the kids to finish lunch and we were going back to drop off the chair. I felt a little sneaky and was hoping no one would catch me and say we don't do returns. THe chair was a little big and I couldn't close the back all the way but it was not a problem when I picked it up. This time we drove a few feet before we heard a sound like the doors opening for Darth Vader and the kids start calling " Mom, the back is open." So I get out and fix it and we continue on, very slowly, playing a movie in my head about it falling out and causing massive accidents and Shane shaking his head at my crazy antics. It was not a good movie.
Audrey, who is sitting in front of it makes a face and asks,
" What's that smell?"
"Its the chair, Sweetie."
She moves forward a little to get a bit more distance.
I was just praying nothing more than the odor emerged from the chair. Audrey is a bit squeamish about spiders, but I could just imagine a mouse or something coming out and running loose in the car. I pulled up next to the other chair, which amazingly enough was still there. I quickly unloaded the chair trying not to let more of it touch me than was necessary, plopped it down next to its mate boasting the "free"sign and sped home to chanage my clothes and wash up.
So I am back to searching craigslist for things from pet-free and non-smoking homes. It was a cute chair though. I didn't have the camera to get a picture but it did have potential. I am just not the person to help it realize it.
And after changing, a half a dozen Trader Joe's lemongrass stix and some coke I have put the whole event behind me and am very happy with my decision. And I am not afraid of going into the garage now. I have not told Shane the saga yet, but if you read this first Sweetie, I was planning on saving it for after dinner.
Later that day Shane and I made a run up to Restoration Hardware- by ourselves which was heavenly. I always wince when I tell the kids we are going there because they all hate it. I think the workers there might feel the same way but they hide it well and usually give the kids stickers. Besides we have donated quite a bit of business there. I got a wooden curtain rod for Audrey's room. They were out of brackets but I can get those anywhere. I didn't find any drapes I liked but I am considering making them anyway. Her room faces south and got so hot on the really hot days, she slept on the floor of Cyril's room.
I've also been on the lookout for a small chair for Audrey's room. A little cozy one to put by her window and curl up with a good book. Everything I've found on craigslist has been too big or too ugly. Or both. Well today we were on our way to the store to get coke for Cyril's energy experiment- more about that later- and at the top of our hill I saw two small, cute, blue velvet upholstered chairs with a free sign. They were small but not child sized. So on the way home I stopped to check them out. They seemed in need of some cleaning but structurally sound. One of them has some worn spots so I decided to lug just one home in the back of my van and take a closer look. I unloaded it into the garage and left it while I made lunch for the kids. I tipped the chair sideways and left the garge door open just in case something needed to escape.
It had a zippered cushion so I thought I'd start by removing that and washing it and throwing away the foam. Well, under the cushion I could see some mildew stains and as I inspected I got more and more nervous. I could see "things" in the cracks under the cushion so I grabbed a weeding fork and pried anything I could see out- not sure exactly what I would "do" with anything that come out. There was some odd tool that looked like a cross between a stud finder and a lighter. I didn't touch it. There was some paper and not too suspicious things. I thought I should turn the chair over and see if everything was intact. It still had the fabric cover on it but there was no way I could be certain there was nothing nesting in there. I couldn't find any gloves and had shorts on so I was not feeling very protected or brave. I poked around with poker and though there were not any holes that looked big enough for a varmit to fit through I was still wary. I told the kids not to go in the garage. The more I thought about it the more I realized I was not up to the task of completely restoring a chair- mostly I didn't want to take it apart and discover who knew what. And I could just imagine the look on Shane's face when he saw it "You actually put this thing in your and allowed it tocome into our garage? I'll just buy you a chair." I thought it might be a good idea to get rid of the evidence so I replaced the foudn items and the the cushion and told the kids to finish lunch and we were going back to drop off the chair. I felt a little sneaky and was hoping no one would catch me and say we don't do returns. THe chair was a little big and I couldn't close the back all the way but it was not a problem when I picked it up. This time we drove a few feet before we heard a sound like the doors opening for Darth Vader and the kids start calling " Mom, the back is open." So I get out and fix it and we continue on, very slowly, playing a movie in my head about it falling out and causing massive accidents and Shane shaking his head at my crazy antics. It was not a good movie.
Audrey, who is sitting in front of it makes a face and asks,
" What's that smell?"
"Its the chair, Sweetie."
She moves forward a little to get a bit more distance.
I was just praying nothing more than the odor emerged from the chair. Audrey is a bit squeamish about spiders, but I could just imagine a mouse or something coming out and running loose in the car. I pulled up next to the other chair, which amazingly enough was still there. I quickly unloaded the chair trying not to let more of it touch me than was necessary, plopped it down next to its mate boasting the "free"sign and sped home to chanage my clothes and wash up.
So I am back to searching craigslist for things from pet-free and non-smoking homes. It was a cute chair though. I didn't have the camera to get a picture but it did have potential. I am just not the person to help it realize it.
And after changing, a half a dozen Trader Joe's lemongrass stix and some coke I have put the whole event behind me and am very happy with my decision. And I am not afraid of going into the garage now. I have not told Shane the saga yet, but if you read this first Sweetie, I was planning on saving it for after dinner.
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