4 weeks to a comfortable sofa ...

When I moved into my place I decided to see if it is possible to furnish an entire home with items found on the internet. The early results were very positive. Not only was I able to purchase everything (from pots and pans all the way to living room furniture) off of the internet, but everything was delivered set up and looked great within 4 weeks of my pressing the enter button. And, the entire shopping experience took no more then 90 minutes to complete. (For anyone who has ever been furniture, bedding, kitchen, etc... shopping 90 minutes is a world record.)

Unfortunately, over the past year there has been one purchase regret or as some would say "sore spot". The sofa, while looking fabulous, is not actually conducive to sitting. The problem is that while most sofas have a seat that tilts toward the back, mine tilts toward the front which results in my guests being slowly propelled off of the sofa and onto the living room floor. As for lying on the couch – don’t even think about it.

I’ve known this was an area that needed to be rectified. I’ve gone to furniture stores and sat on countless sofas. I’ve even considered purchasing big bean bags. Nothing seemed like a good replacement for the sofa which aesthetically looks so good but, which is such a pain in the butt.

A couple of weeks ago while driving to work I managed to spill a huge bottle of water all over the passenger side. As I reached into the console to pull out some napkins, to sop up the mess, out popped an article I had clipped a year ago about the Seat Company.com. Bingo! Another internet sofa is on the way!

This one tilts toward the back is covered in a beautiful plush fabric (instead of the ultra-suede I chose last time) and I sprung for the “down-filled" cushions. The fact that it has cushions instead of the padded bench of the current sofa is a plus, I figured “down-filled” should put me over the edge in terms of comfort.

So, here it goes. If this sofa arrives as promised and looks and feels great, I will have succeeded in demonstrating that the internet is the perfect shopping experience. If not, I guess we will be sitting on bean bags this winter.

Btw – here are photos of two other internet sofas which I had the sense not to purchase.

observation test

I received the following from a friend who scored 15. I scored 17 and think a few of the answers are bunk. - How well do you think you can do? (I will put the answers in the comment section - good luck)

The average person only gets 7 right. This is based on
U.S. info, so use all lobes of your brain. This can be
more difficult than it looks -it just shows how
little most of us really see!

There are 25 questions about things we see every day
or have known about all our lives. How many can you
get right? These little simple questions are harder
than you think. It just shows how little we pay
attention to the commonplace things of life.

RULES: Put your thinking caps on. No cheating! No
looking around! No getting out of your chair! No using
anything on or in your desk or computer!

Can you beat 20?? (The average is 7) Write down your
answers and check answers (in the comment section) AFTER
completing all the questions. REMEMBER-NO CHEATING!!!

LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE. - If
not, just have fun!

Here we go!


1. On a standard traffic light,is the green on the
top or bottom?

2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don't
laugh, some people don't know.)

3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?

4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup
label?

5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have
letters by them?

6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your
right or left leg? (Don't you dare get up to see!)

7. How many matches are in a standard pack?

8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or
white?

9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial(including decimal)? (Don't
look at that dial!)

10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or
clockwise? (Get out of the bathroom!)

11. Which way does a "no smoking" sign's slash run?

12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?

13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons(no looking!)?

14. Which way do fans rotate?

15 How many sides does a stop sign have?

16. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right
or left side?

17 How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?

18. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

19. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's
missing?

20. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?

21. On which playing card is the card maker's
trademark?

22. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord
that adjusts the opening between the slats?

23. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What
2 symbols bear no digits?

24. How many curves are there in the standard paper
clip?

25. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?

__________________________________________________________

cuts like a knife ...

Despite summers spent in my grandmother’s kitchen, or perhaps because of them, my kitchen skills are eccentric to say the least. I can cook obscure meals such as Chinese stuffed rolls (from Sunset Magazine circa 1975) but I cannot chop vegetables without the process involving antiseptic and lots and lots of gauze.

Over the past few weeks, I have been making an effort to expand my cooking skills and for the most part I think the process has been going relatively smoothly. However, despite being able to now steam clams, I am still lacking some of those basic skills like cooking eggs, grilling meat, and yes – using knives. So, I am stepping up my efforts and enrolling in a cooking skills class for busy people who have this extra room in their house where they are currently storing takeout containers but in which they vaguely recall hearing that food can be prepared. (how’s that for a run-on-sentence?)

Wish me luck, I can’t wait for the course on the urban refrigerator – apparently you can make a meal from what is inside. Who knew?

he’s had a very rough term …

I found myself outside of a conversation regarding hurricane Katrina and the government’s response. “You see” said a co-worker “the president couldn’t do anything because the governor did not ask. She should have asked then the situation would have been different.”

Are you kidding me? Do people actually believe that the President of the United States of America does not have the authority to command troops without the consent of local government????? While I understand that there is protocol, and that there were discussions between the President and Governor – an emergency is an emergency!

The responding comment from another co-worker was “yea, the President has had a really rough term and none of it has been his fault.” PEOPLE!!!!! Did you see Brown’s resume, have you heard about Homeland Security, do you know where the reserve troops are???? Let me help you out, there ain’t nobody home!!!! Our troops are fighting a war with questionable support while we literally kill each other back here. I overheard a man in the Detroit Airport put it best when he asked “what are they going to do next, send in the boy scouts?”

So, I am sorry if the President had to cut short his five week vacation. I am sorry that he doesn’t bother himself with watching the news or reading the paper, and therefore did not understand the magnitude of the catastrophe which had struck. I am sorry that cronyism resulted in Brown being put in charge of FEMA. And, I am sorry that Katrina hit during a time in which our resources and intention toward domestic issues is at an all time low. But let’s be honest – the President has not had a very rough term – he is failing in his job and as anyone who has ever had a job knows – when you are not performing, it is a bad day at the office.

swaping the do-hickey

My computer and I had another "moment" today. She once again refused to power up despite my pleas, begging and downright groveling with promises of clean power and limited cookies.

Unfortunately, I had to call the "help desk" and they once again "helped" by tearing her inners out and replacing the do-hickey.

Hopefully our relationship will remain stable through this next trip.