What a busy weekend! How many times have you said, "Remember when we..." or do you recall that time when ....? In the book for the Women Who Read Club's July meeting, the author provided just the right turn of phrase to describe that experience. In his book, Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann reflected on a shared family experience from his childhood, "I can still after all these years sit in the museum of those afternoons." The phrase rang true as the sights, sounds, people and discussions of the weekend created a kaleidoscope of images. Each represented a small part of the the memories of this new journey.
Artifact 1 - How easy it is to fret over things. After weeks of looking and plotting, considering ideas and rejecting them as impractical, too expensive, or just not right, reality said my furniture shopping would be at IKEA. The new decor would be bright or white or subdued. The sofa would be green or white or tan or plaid. It would be a love seat or a sectional or include a chaise. The style would be country, cottage, traditional, transitional or eclectic. With the IKEA run planned for Saturday, I awoke at 6:00 AM, not at all sure what I was going to choose, but convinced that something had to happen. After all, the rebate on sofas ended that day.
Artifact 2 - Driving down the road with Beth and Katie, I managed the 35-40 minute trip without incident. At one point I counted the lanes, seven in each direction, but people were sharing nicely. After meatballs, the quest began. The green would be too hard to match, the white too stark. The off-white looked dirty: the dark colors were not in consideration. The caramel color appeared to be the default choice until we saw a new cover, one that looked and felt more like sofa upholstery. The neutral tones would serve as a great base for seasonal pillows and not fight with any other colors I might choose. Beth lobbied successfully for the chaise sofa, arguing that while it took a significant amount of wall space, that would in essence be my recliner. We added a chair with a pattern consistent with a sort of cottage/transitional theme, and we were off to entertainment centers.
Artifact 3 - The deliberations on the style of the entertainment center brought us to the definite choice before we arrived at the showroom. My early morning ruminations prodded me to consider whether I really wanted in the white color which was the original plan. "Too much white with the table and chairs also being white," I thought. Standing by the display, Beth cleared her throat and said, "Um, I was just thinking, I mean it's just an idea, but have you thought that maybe the white would be too much? The black with a black TV would just look classier." I smiled and said that I had pretty much decided I liked the dark better myself. Ah, great minds.
Artifact 4 - The dining table and chairs presented no problem; simply walk up and ask the person to include those on the list of items for the Pick and Deliver. Only two tables remained in the warehouse, so she entered it and we charged downstairs for a quick check out to insure we got one of those two tables. Rushing through IKEA on a Saturday afternoon was something of an oxymoron. The lines at the registers reminded me of a Disney cue. Of course, we got into the line with people who were having problems, and we were no exception. Apparently the new computer system confused our kind helpers at each stop, and some items were "pick and deliver", some were "cash and carry', and others were "you pick and we deliver". 25 minutes later, everything except the dining room chairs, which did not find their way onto any list, was together on the correct list, and I purchased all of it in 30 seconds. Getting the rebate gift card and arranging for the Sunday delivery proved easy by Saturday and IKEA standards. Beth and Katie found the chairs and I used my rebates toward the price, and we were on our way. the last task of the day loomed ahead - creating space for it all.
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