I woke up at 9:30am this morning. That seems to be a typical time for me to wake up. It’s weird, because my mom always says I’m her clone (she calls me her “cloney”) and SHE tells me SHE wakes up at 9:30am! It’s just one more thing in a list of HUNDREDS of things that we have in common. We are so much alike.
So, I woke up and immediately started doing things around the apartment. Eric was still sleeping, but now I don’t have to lie there quietly, or turn on the TV really low, so I don’t wake him. I simply got up and went into the kitchen, answered emails, and then turned on the TV and watched THE VIEW.
At 11:00am, I went into the bedroom. Eric wasn’t really sleeping, but he wasn’t feeling well again (another headache/neckache), so he was still resting. He came out and was just laying around on the floor, not feeling very well, so I didn’t think I should bother him to come shopping with me.
I took a shower, got dressed and headed out. First, I went back to KEILS and found out they DO sell dish washing detergent, Windex, toilet paper and tissues. I had just missed the aisle, because it was behind the wine section (which I’m not used to seeing in a supermarket). I got all the items I had missed yesterday and then headed to the post office for stamps.
I got my stamps and then headed to Pacific Beach to go to another SALVATION ARMY THRIFT store. I was very disappointed with the one near the Swap Meet, but this one is really nice. They had a lot of different entertainment centers to choose from and I was able to find one that should fit our TV perfectly, which will go in the living room. I also found a white wood shoe rack (which looks like a quilt rack, but with a lot more white bars going across. The shoes sit on three shelves and it holds about 20 pairs.
The last purchase I made there was a rolling TV or microwave cart, which we will use in the master bedroom. We were going to buy a big TV for the living room and use the 27 inch in the master bedroom, but now we decided to use the 27 inch in the living room and buy a smaller 20 inch for the bedroom (it’s really all I need). The three items are in excellent condition (especially after Eric and I worked on them) and they cost just $109!
The people working at the Salvation Army were REALLY weird. First, I asked this young man for help. His name was Eric, and I told him that was my husband’s name. I told him I wanted to buy one of the entertainment centers, and wanted to know if it could be taken apart, because then I would have been able to fit it in the PT. He was standing in the middle of an aisle when I spoke to him, and he said he would let me know, by taking a look at it. He said to me, “You walk that way, and I’ll walk this way,” pointing for me to walk one way down the aisle, and he would walk the other way. I was SO confused. Did he not want to walk with me? Did he think he was taking a short-cut, and would beat me there, or did he want me to get there first, so I could show him which one? I still don’t know, but I did as he said.
I then asked him to help me with the TVs, as I wanted to make sure that the one I purchased would be "cable ready." I showed him the TV I was interested in, but some had remotes taped to the top and some didn't. I said, "Is this cable ready and does this one have a remote, or are they always taped to the top?" He said, "All I know about this TV is that it was donated by someone and it came into this Salvation Army Thrift Shop located at 4606 Mission Bay Drive, Pacific Beach, California." I could just stare. No words would come. I decided to wait until Eric was with me to buy the TV.
The woman at the register was another winner. First of all, she had the biggest helmet of hair I have ever seen in my life. I wish I could have taken a picture with my cell phone, but I guess that would be rude. Anyway, she had NO idea what she was doing and if there wasn’t another woman showing her what to do, every step of the way, I doubt anything would get done. I know she wasn’t new there, because she kept calling to people by name as if she knew them all her life, and was barking out orders to guys to pick something up or carry something out, but she was SO slow that there was a line of about 8 people ahead of me – at the Salvation Army!
I finally got out of there and a lovely man who was just shopping there helped me bring the two items I could put in the PT. I brought back all my purchases and Eric seemed to feel much better after taking an Excedrin Migraine. He had done a lot more organizing, and the living room was practically empty!
I went back out to go to the 99 cent store (which is about 2 blocks away), but first I called my friend, Susan, who had called while I was out. We talked for about a half hour. It was so great to talk to her, and catch up on everything. I really miss her, and all my friends back in NY.
After our call, I got a trash can for the bedroom and bathroom and an ironing board. I wanted to buy a kitchen trash can, too, but they didn’t have any. When I got home, Eric was cutting up more cardboard, after emptying out some more boxes.
He is SO creative, because he decided we were going to make furniture out of the boxes – both empty and full. First, he used two big empty boxes to make end tables to hold a pair of lamps on either side of the living room. Then, he lined up a bunch of full boxes, which were all the same size, along the wall in the dining room, which made a buffet. We also used three boxes (two small and one long, flat one) to make a coffee table. We covered all these pieces with fabric, so you can’t really tell what’s underneath!
One of the "end tables" Eric and I fashioned from cardboard boxes and fabric. I still want to hot glue the top piece to the base, so it looks nicer:
He also fashioned a desk for me, in the corner of the living room, using six big heavy boxes that contain his record collection, so they're really sturdy. He’s not planning on opening them, since he says he can just listen to his CDs. He put two stacked on either side of where my seat will go, and two in the front to form the shape of a desk. Tomorrow, he’s going to have a board cut to the right size to put on top of the six boxes and I’ll be all set to work at the computer while I’m in the living room with Eric, watching TV or listening to music!
Here's the other side, and you can see a little of Eric's massage chair, which is fully assembled and working hard again. There's nothing like it, except maybe a REAL massage!
It’s now midnight and we’ve been working since I got home at 6:00pm. We only stopped so I could make us a light dinner of KRAFT macaroni and cheese, plus a salad for me and a turkey/Swiss wrap for Eric. We also each had a WEIGHT WATCHERS Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich (2 points).
This picture came out a little blurry (sorry!). Can you tell there's three boxes underneath that tablecloth?
It was really fun, working together. Eric cut all the pieces of cardboard, and cut all the boxes down, and then we upholstered the boxes together with big pieces of fabric I had brought from NY (from the shop) and some packing tape. So, we have two end tables, a coffee table, a desk and a buffet, that cost nothing at all and they look really colorful and cute! As Eric said, “Who needs furniture?”
Tomorrow, we are going to see if we can get the entertainment center home ourselves (in the RV) or pay someone from the Salvation Army to do it for us. We’re also going to buy the smaller TV for the master bedroom. It doesn’t pay to buy a flat-screen TV (which we had planned to do), if we’re not sure whether or not we’re staying.
Another piece of furniture we’ll need is a couch, which I already found and will order tomorrow. It’s a simple sleeper sofa with no arms that folds down flat to form a full-size bed (for guests!). It’s a nice brown, which matches our carpet, and it won’t show dirt (I’m so practical!). The last piece of furniture we will need is a small dining room set or kitchen set, so we can eat at a table. I promise, when it’s all done, I will put lots of photographs on the blog. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these of the end tables and coffee table we made tonight!