in which I got a lot for a little...
Nov. 22nd, 2009 07:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bluecastleWriting an LJ post is no-where on my list of things to do... but it's not like I ever actually pay much attention to those lists anyway.
Busy weekend, and as usual I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow morning... although since the students are all gone for Fall break, and it's only a three day work week I guess I can't work the sympathy angle too hard!
Yesterday was mostly taken up by five hours of standing outside "attending sale."
In the never-ending, always uncomfortable "so what do you want "Santa" to bring you for Christmas" discussions with my parents I suggested that perhaps we could go to the second-hand resale place (run by the prison outreach program) and pick up a new old couch as mine had seen better days even before the cat decided this big thing made a great scratching post. I bought the sofa at least six (maybe eight) years ago from a friend who was getting a divorce and selling off the marital assets CHEAP. It had seen it's day ... but I didn't want anything brand new, or terribly expensive because a) my parents do enough for me w/o spending a lot of money on presents and b) the cat's probably just going to scratch it anyway, so...
So, to make a short story long (my specialty I think) when my mother read that there was going to be an estate auction at a house around the corner from them which included two sofas ... a plan was born in her twisty brain.
As a consquence I was out of bed way too early for a Saturday and we stood outside for four hours waiting for them to sell the furniture.
Sales are interesting things. There are people who attend auctions like this for entertainment. I see why, I suppose, but not exactly my type of fun. Although there were wonderful bargains to be had. I felt sorry for the son who was having this sale to auction off not only the contents of his parent's house, but the house itself. Given that things were going for so little, it has got to be disheartening to see everything your parents worked for all their lives reduced to a bunch of one dollar odd lot boxes.
But, all this ended up working distinctly in my favor when they finally got to the furniture and we were able to pick up a sleeper sofa for $12.50 (yes... twelve dollars and fifty cents) and a double bed frame, box spring, mattress, and the bedding that was on it, for $5.00.
I was sort of idly looking for a single bed to put in the guest room I'm redoing... but hadn't found one yet, so although I now have to rethink my floor plan, I have a double bed for the guest room.
For a total investment of $17.50 (which the parents paid for as early Christmas presents) my house now sleeps six! Once I get the room painted and the parentally donated carpet laid, the welcome mat is open here in Central Pennsylvania! :0)
Of course, all of this involved a lot of heavy lifting (sofa beds are bitching heavy) that my soon to be 73 year old father shouldn't be doing, but we got the old sofa out this morning and the new one installed in the living room. There's a bit of a 'musty old people's empty house' pong about the couch, but it'll air out pretty quick.
Between the cold, and the lifting, followed by a rehearsal later Saturday afternoon which included a lot of falling down (on purpose) I came home exhausted and ate most of a pizza and had acouple four rum and cokes. So I slept well last night! LOL.
Haven't gotten anything further written on my Reel_TW fic which I want to finish this week. I can stay up late a lot this week, tho, so that's something.
Off to do some dishes or something vaugely productive like that!!
Busy weekend, and as usual I'm not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow morning... although since the students are all gone for Fall break, and it's only a three day work week I guess I can't work the sympathy angle too hard!
Yesterday was mostly taken up by five hours of standing outside "attending sale."
In the never-ending, always uncomfortable "so what do you want "Santa" to bring you for Christmas" discussions with my parents I suggested that perhaps we could go to the second-hand resale place (run by the prison outreach program) and pick up a new old couch as mine had seen better days even before the cat decided this big thing made a great scratching post. I bought the sofa at least six (maybe eight) years ago from a friend who was getting a divorce and selling off the marital assets CHEAP. It had seen it's day ... but I didn't want anything brand new, or terribly expensive because a) my parents do enough for me w/o spending a lot of money on presents and b) the cat's probably just going to scratch it anyway, so...
So, to make a short story long (my specialty I think) when my mother read that there was going to be an estate auction at a house around the corner from them which included two sofas ... a plan was born in her twisty brain.
As a consquence I was out of bed way too early for a Saturday and we stood outside for four hours waiting for them to sell the furniture.
Sales are interesting things. There are people who attend auctions like this for entertainment. I see why, I suppose, but not exactly my type of fun. Although there were wonderful bargains to be had. I felt sorry for the son who was having this sale to auction off not only the contents of his parent's house, but the house itself. Given that things were going for so little, it has got to be disheartening to see everything your parents worked for all their lives reduced to a bunch of one dollar odd lot boxes.
But, all this ended up working distinctly in my favor when they finally got to the furniture and we were able to pick up a sleeper sofa for $12.50 (yes... twelve dollars and fifty cents) and a double bed frame, box spring, mattress, and the bedding that was on it, for $5.00.
I was sort of idly looking for a single bed to put in the guest room I'm redoing... but hadn't found one yet, so although I now have to rethink my floor plan, I have a double bed for the guest room.
For a total investment of $17.50 (which the parents paid for as early Christmas presents) my house now sleeps six! Once I get the room painted and the parentally donated carpet laid, the welcome mat is open here in Central Pennsylvania! :0)
Of course, all of this involved a lot of heavy lifting (sofa beds are bitching heavy) that my soon to be 73 year old father shouldn't be doing, but we got the old sofa out this morning and the new one installed in the living room. There's a bit of a 'musty old people's empty house' pong about the couch, but it'll air out pretty quick.
Between the cold, and the lifting, followed by a rehearsal later Saturday afternoon which included a lot of falling down (on purpose) I came home exhausted and ate most of a pizza and had a
Haven't gotten anything further written on my Reel_TW fic which I want to finish this week. I can stay up late a lot this week, tho, so that's something.
Off to do some dishes or something vaugely productive like that!!
