Sleep at Night

Is having three mattresses in 20-22 years excessive? 

I really don't know how long they should hold up or what that average might be. It'd be nice to say we "wore it out" {wink wink}, but in reality the most activity it sees is sleep. 

In the past, we have bought locally. Not just a Cleveland-based store, but they actually make the mattresses here. 

Honestly, I don't know how one selects a mattress. You're in the store, for a limited amount of time. You sit on it for a minute or two and lay down it for even less time. How is that any indication of what you'll be using daily for a decade or so? 

I was ok with our mattresses, even when they started to go south. 710 had a harder time adapting. So, we just got our third - and we did it a bit differently.  On-line. 

Hell, I have a hard time buying clothes and shoes over the innertubes, but a bed?  This ain't Zappos - it's a lot harder to return.........................I assume.  And clearly, you can't try them out beforehand, though that never really worked for us when we did, so......what the fuck do I know? 

710 did the research and came up with WinkBed. I had only really heard of Purple or Lisa, but apparently there are a lot of companies that now make beds at expand like a tube of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls when you hit them on the counter.  The rolls.....not the bed. 

There are four kinds - soft to plus. We took the firm. And it still has a pillow-ish top, which you can kind of see in the image. 

My problem (well, if I only had one!) was to past-middle-aged men trying to lug a rolled up 125lb mattress up a light of stairs. The box was useless and ripped just getting it in the door. I kindly lamented to 710 that this wouldn't be an issue if we had gotten a house with a first floor main suite (you can't call them 'masters' anymore). 

We put in the new support, still using our existing frame, in a matter of minutes, and getting the bed out of it's seal and to expand took just a few more......and we're ready to go. 

Just laying down on it seems ok. The test will be last night (see, I'm writing this in advance).  Mind you, in my last time, I was a road warrior and slept in hundreds of hotels. I think I can sleep in most any bed, so it might be a few weeks before we have a determination. 

That said, 710 says that WinkBeds customer service, so far, has been A+.  And if we don't like it and choose to upgrade or switch, the cost would be just 50% of the new product price. 

I just don't think I'll be able to roll-up the one we have.  Actually, I know I won't. 

Song by: the Chicks

the Great Outdoors

I totally get that I'm cheap frugal. 

In my head, I have a feeling of what things should cost. Clearly that rarely jibes with reality.  And yet, I'm always seemingly shocked when faced with that reality. 

Maybe 'disappointed' is the word. 

Now that we've been in the house for almost two years, we decided it's time to purchase some outdoor furniture.  Yeah, we have a mish mash of stuff but nothing coordinated - and nothing say 'gay' more than coordinating furniture.  .....I've heard. 

We looked at some at some real stores.  OMFG.  In what world does the above chair warrant a $1,199 price tag?  (cushion is not included with that price.).  Chairs that rock are more. Some, much much more. And well, we want more than one of anything, you know, so both of us can sit.  More if we ever want company. 

....and then you gotta add in tables? Or side tables?  Sunbrellas? 

To add insult to injury - I'm guessing - that supply chain probably won't even let you get these for any price, at least in time for summer. 

We did check out stuff later at Lowes.  The selection sucked, and after trying the 'real' stuff, all they carried seemed cheaply made. 

We'll make another run at it this weekend, I suppose.  I'll just have to think of this as putting a downpayment on a new car, but get furniture in 10-12 weeks instead. 

Song by: Depeche Mode

Someone Keeps Moving My Chair

My friend Jon said this should be my Shopping with Blobby segment, but it seems so spot on, it's just too obvious. 

I'm a gay who is just not built for shopping. 

I hate it all, save maybe groceries - and even then, not always.  Clothes, shoes, cars, housewares are all just awful experiences most all of the time. 

The charm wears off after about 97 seconds. Due to that, I have ended up making poor choices in all those aforementioned categories. 

This is why when I find a pair of work pants I like, I just get 4-5 pairs in every colour and call it a day. I try on one pair and assume the others will fit. Ditto with shoes. 

It becomes problematic with automobiles, because, deep down, I kind of really like cars. I just hate the process SO much. This explains the four bad Mercedes years I had. I ended up HATING that car and it was mostly due to just finding a car and being done with it.  Expensive failure. 

Furniture shopping is..........well.......complicated. It's not like clothes or even a car. Harder to select. Harder to visualize how it will work. Harder to get rid of. 

In our first house we I made some quick decisions so we could "fill the house", which we would find out, sooner than later, were things that we didn't really want, like or actually fit. And I'm talking most of it. At this point, one of my nieces is the recipient of more than I care to admit - and some was just given away when we moved to this house.  

Yes, we lived with some of it for 22 years before ridding ourselves of most of it. We still have three pieces that I'd still be ok with 86'ing. 

So this time: new house, new beginnings, new furniture. At least for the main floor - the living room and library specifically. And we've been here about 20 months, living with the space while making very very slow decisions. Covid has not helped matters at all. 

710 and I have had several failed attempts at shopping in the last year. With thousands of choices, oddly, there was little to nothing that felt right and to the point where we couldn't and didn't want to step one foot in yet another store. To complicate matters, of course, we don't always see eye-to-eye on style, size, colour, etc. 

Yet I've been pushing to make the move and start looking and making some decisions. It doesn't have to be all of them. 

There's been a lot of looking on-line. A lot of discussions. Through this, we narrowed down a number of items from a few different locations. Saturday, I made us get out - leave Shep at home - and go look in person, with targeted items, thus limiting our look time, and decrease our / my frustration level. Because, let's face it: if I'm frustrated, I'm gonna make 710 frustrated.  It's science. 

Stop 1 was for a choice of two sofas and to confirm we wanted to living room chairs. The chairs decision was agreed upon quickly. The sofa took some time. Now it wasn't just two - but one had two variations, plus the other option we were considering. I nixed the one variation quickly and we were back to two. Our initial choice was no longer the front runner, but it had a March delivery time (allegedly). Our new lead one was in July.  Ugh. Supply chain!

We eventually went with the newer lead, but between the time we sat in it to the time we ordered it - you know, 20 minutes - the delivery time is now in September! The chairs, sometime in May. Allegedly. 

While there, we also looked at window treatments and rugs and Blobby started to get fidgety because we still had one more stop. Between the two, we decided just to walk around, cool down and feel less fatigued. 

Stop 2 should have been fast. We decided on two chairs for the liberry. I thought we did. But then there were different leather choices. I was fine with the display. Apparently that was just me. Francis (well, that's what I named him) brought us a variety of samples and I had to compromise. But "Francis" was one of those cloying sales folks. He heard 710 use my name, to which he then used it frequently....and then to emphasize a point would touch my arm in the process...........in a pandemic. 

I totally get the repetition helps him remember and tries to make a connection with me, but it just felt weird to me. He mentioned his husband once and I whispered to 710, "how dare he thinks we're gay too!!". 

Listen, if I can't have fun during these excursions, you may as well just physically torture me. Though you never know - I might like that. 

We thought we'd be gone like 90 minutes.  Three hours later we were home.  Totally, mentally spent. 

These are not all we need, but it's all I could stand for now. It will come together eventually. With delays everywhere, maybe not until 2023, but.............it'll happen. 

I think. 

Song by: They Might Be Giants

Fright Lined Dining Room

We now have a grown up dining room.  14 years later.

When we moved to this house, we brought our present set with us. It served us well in the other place, but in the new one, it didn't quite fit in, yet we saw little reason to up and change it.

Tables themselves are no big deal. I mean, they are, but compared to what chairs cost?  Yeah, the table isn't the investment.  It's seating where you pay the big bucks.

As it turns out, there were both tables and chairs coming my way.  In the last year or so of my mother's life, she was having us kids chose things we might want. I really wanted very few things, but one were the chairs.

I had no use for 12 of them, but they really are a set. They were hand-carved by my great-grandmother's second husband.  I know! Divorce and remarriage in the late 1800s or early 1900s.  I also have a breakfront from him, via my grandmother. It was given to me like when I was 10. Every kid's dream present.

But with the chair, my mother insisted on the table. It's not that I didn't want it. It is that I didn't want to overreach, looking greedy or anything.

So last week, when we cleared out the house, we rented a truck and moved a big-ass heavy table (wayyyyyy heavier than I ever anticipated) and a dozen, substantial carved chairs.

Honestly, we just dumped everything at home, as we were wiped and just needed to get the truck back. But as of yesterday, while I worked (yes, on a Saturday), 710 did something he wasn't supposed to do alone:  get the new furniture into the house and reassembled.

It looks amazing.

Below is the 'before'......

Actually, I liked our old table. It doesn't quite make the leap to 'formal', but it is in excellent shape and we used it often. The chairs?  I could have lived with just about anything else. And look! We have a measly four chairs!  Oh the shame. 

The carpet we bought before Expo (the failed Homo Depot design store) as they went out of business. It was probably more impulse purchase than it should have been. 

Now, the after......

It looks amazing. Though we did not put in the additional leaf. We can add it for a party or something, but for most use, it is fine.

The wood colour is darker, but we swapped out the rug for one in my mother's dining room. Both items totally change the look of the room and both of us couldn't be more pleased. 

The carpet matches our baseboards and window seats and the other carpet was busy, but so was the wallpaper, and it didn't work. Now it does.

Oddly enough, even though the carpet, chair and table were in my mother's dining room and now in ours, there is enough difference where it's familiar but doesn't look similar.

We are grateful to my mother for this gift. It's one of those things we will thing about her each and every time we use it.

btw...in the 'after' pic, you can see a glimpse of the breakfront of which I mentioned.



bad new?   One Sophie puke on that rug..........ugh.......I don't know it will be ruined, but....I won't be happy.




Song by: Arctic Monkeys

Sofa

My life isn't horribly exciting.  No big shock.

I loathe buying furniture. Oddly, it's not because of the cost - but the indecision on style, etc.

Still, it's come to a time where we need a new sofa.

I have zero idea how long a sofa is supposed to last. One of the ones we have now is 14 years old. It's had its time, right?

The other one we have - is pushing 20.  It's leather and not used daily. 710 hasn't been a fan, but I really like it.

We've looked here and there, but I kind of forced the issue last week. During a bitter cold day where the dog couldn't really go out - and with no movies left on the list to see - I got us out for the afternoon, and we hit 5-6 furniture stores.

It turns out, that is like museum fatigue to me.

The last two sofas we picked were seemingly good - and from a great reputation store, but I ended up disliking them. And they didn't quite hold up.  Yes, you think 14 years is long (and it is), but I've been moaning about it for a good four years.  I'm just too lazy to do a thing about it.

We ended up liking 2-3 of the two dozen we saw. Yesterday, I re-pushed, and again we went out and made a selection. Of course, as 710 was working with the clerk, I started having doubts, but then said "fuck it" and stuck with out original selection.

The sofa selected - a version of what you see - is perfecting serviceable. And reasonably priced. Enough so that if it doesn't work out or only lasts 3-4 years, it will be fine.

We debated (well, discussed), the chaise part. Shep would love it. But other than that, we saw no need. So it's a standard 76" sofa.

It arrives in 1-2 weeks. 

I think all will be happy.




Song by: Frank Zappa

the Big Chair

No, not that electric chair kind of thing.

We bought a chair almost four years ago - which was a substantial purchase. Chairs, leather or not, are not cheap. That is assuming one, or both of us, could agree upon.

I was looking at chairs after I hurt my back and couldn't find a comfortable one to rest my weary bag of bones.

Yet one would expect an expensive chair to hold up longer than say, two and a half years, right? I mean, the leather is fine, but the seat cushion collapsed overnight about 18 months ago. For six of those months, I just let my fat, hairy ass sink to the base of the chair and lived with it.

But for the last 12 months, I've avoided the chair completely unless we had guests over. I'd sit there so they wouldn't have to sit in that shame.

Finally, I did something about it. Not expecting, or wanting a thing, from the store, I called just asking where the best and most reliable place in Cleveland would they suggest I go to get a new foam insert - as that was the only real thing that went bad.

A quick look-up from them told me that the cushion was under warranty, and that they would order a new one right away. That, I was not expecting.

I would have sworn they told me the leather was covered but the innards were not. Maybe it's the opposite, or maybe I got wrong info or maybe the front desk of the store eff'd up. Either way, I not only got a new insert for the butt part of the chair, but for the back as well.

The old backing is just fine, but I"ll put the new one away for a day when that deflates.

Here's the sad sad cushion. It never sprang back. I swear I'm not that heavy. 

And here is the new and improved version. I'm almost afraid to sit on it. 

I'm assuming you can all guess what has happened to the old insert?



Song by:  Tears for Fears

Vacant Chair

710 got a new chair yesterday!  Yayyy!

Well, it got delivered yesterday, it was ordered a little bit ago.

We've been looking for a replacement chair for about 2-3 years.

He is not to fault for the the hold-up. I mean, there is a HUGE selection out there, but man there are a lot of crappy designs on the market - and of course, it has to feel right too. Our backs are not getting any younger ya know - we need support.

The chair you see above is our old one. I still love it, though time and sun through windows has faded the fabric, and our butts and cats - even without claws - has made it in dire need of reupholstering, it's lived a long an healthy life. I'm thinking it's like 15 years old now.

Sophie still likes it, as she shared it with 710 and makes it her own when no one is around. Even after being moved out of the sunroom, she gravitated right to it.

Sure, she went right to the new one too, to plant her butt next to 710 - some things never change.

Getting the new chair, and having my newer chair (2 years ago?) it just makes it harder to put off redoing this room.

While I went with 710 to look at chairs, I can't say I really looked at the successful candidate itself. Of course I cared, but I cared more that he liked whatever he was getting. It's more modern than I remember seeing, but I can't say I was paying that much attention.

I got to sit in it and it's nice. Lots of support, which I like. But it's not my chair.....except when he travels. You see, Sophie won't sit next to me in my chair, but she'll sit next to me in his.



Song by: Steve Winwood

Red Carpet Massacre

As we get closer to finishing our reno, we went out for the fourth or fifth time to look for some kind of flooring for the bedroom.

First it was wall-to-wall carpet and we kind of agreed on the same sample and colour - which never happens.  It was a bit pricey, but you know, I'm cheap, so they're all pricey.

Of course, then we pulled up the old crap and found decent floors of hardwood and had them redone.  They look pretty, but you know in non-summer months, it'd be a wee bit nippy (or a knee bit whippy - to my Poplar friends) on the piggies that go wee-wee-wee, all the way to the bathroom.

And it's a big room, so it'd be echo-y if there weren't some kind of woven fabric on the ground.

So the wall-2-wall we found could be smaller and bound so it's like an area rug. Later we opted against it as it is too monochromatic for anything but wall-2-wall.

But looking for area rugs is like looking for tile.....a possible one way ticket to Divorceville.

Actually, 710 and I got along fine, except that I like oogled Nate, the key-uuuuuute carpet guy. He was moving to fast for me to get a great shot of.

It ended up being champagne tastes and the beer budget thing. I mean $399 for the below beauty seems overpriced by about $401.  ...and yeah, it was the cheapest in the store  ..........by about $3000 !!!!!  WTF.

Or we could have gone another - yet equally as ugly of a - route.

Sure, it's 'shagariffic' but is it "me"?   It is not.   It is not.   But I'd hope it's not anyone.

We left this store with nothing but a hope Nate would call with something from the warehouse that was a close-out (he did - he's bringing it over today to see how it looks.  I'm not spending a seemingly ton of money on something we might hate - and hey, he offered).

But when we left that store on Saturday, we went to another one. If the last store had "high" prices - this store were out of this world.  Beautiful carpets, but like anything of beauty, you pay a price.  We left empty-handed and felt a bit pressured by the owner.

Here is hoping the rug Nate brings today will work. He'll leave it for a few days then will have to come pick it up.  Even if we want it, it's not the size - just a sample. I swear it's not a ploy to get him into the bedroom.  The empty empty bedroom.

I'm trying not to make a rash, or expensive, decision, just so we can finish this project.  ....and I really want it to be over.  Not enough to get shagariffic carpet at $8.99 per square foot......or square mile.



Song by: Duran Duran

The Big Chair

First off, don't think I don't know what this blog has become: a gripe session regarding my back.

But as they say, 'write what you know', and right now, this is all I'm knowin'. It was the same thing of multiple gym posts and travel posts as I go through those stages of my life. So bear with me - hopefully it won't last long - or forever.

To address Arnie's comment yesterday - yes, not doing all the things I want to do at the gym will drive me a little batty. I need to focus on the things I can do and not become complacent when my on-hold routines can be started. It's so easy to let that stuff go and not pick it up again.

To address Jon's comment about not being a compliant patient - ha! I will do PT, I know I will. I don't know when I'll start. I really would like a program that is addressing the cause of my pain though. But since Saturday I had little spasms here and there, I don't think I can not do it.

But now for a somewhat related, but totally separate post.

We've been in search mode for new chairs for our sunroom. Mind you - this has been a lackadaisical search for the last three years or so. Our current chairs are a bit worn and are a bit too cushy.

Here's the related part: with my back I need more support and less cush. And in the last few weeks, we've increased the expediency of this search.

And you know what? Finding a functional chair that looks half decent (not even fully decent) is that whole needle / haystack scenario.

But as of yesterday, I think we might have found one of them. Since we're not wedded to matching chairs, this one might just be mine. (and yes, the room within the store was actually called Hide N Seat. And no, they didn't have any recliners in that room, which was my assumption.)

I really don't know how to pick a chair in the first place. I fear that it feels great in the showroom but two weeks into having it that it's not all that.

Not only that, while I like the look of this chair, apparently there are almost 100 different kinds of leather and 40 kinds of apparel tacks (is that the right phrase?) you can pick from.

Seriously? I could never do that. I could never order something like this without seeing it. So if I get this chair, it will be just like the floor model.

And why the 'if'? Cost.

My g-d, these things are expensive. And of course, this is the most expensive chair I've seen. Is it worth it? I mean - it looks like it will last a lifetime, but still!

Denton's going to have to really talk me into this.


Song by: Tears for Fears