134 Days Until the Start of Summer

Dear Friends and Family,

I know I just went on a rampage about how cold it is outside. But, Mr. mouse and I are already thinking ahead to the fun times we'll have on the roof this summer. It's tough to remember, in the dead of winter, why the commute is worth it... We haven't been eating out a lot in the neighborhood and I've been booked on the weekends - preparing for the party and visiting with friends. But, once summer comes around, we've got the deck. And, I can't wait!

Remember when Mr. mouse was on the purchasing rampage for deck furniture? If not, here's the post. I'm not sure I ever posted them all on the blog:

• love seat
• two chairs
• coffee table
• dining table
• four dining chairs
• ottoman
• hammock
• two recliners
• double wide chaise
• shade screen

Mr. mouse drove out to Ohio to pick up all of the furniture with the exception of the screen and the dining table. Those were coming from another auction place in Ohio - fifteen minutes from where Mr. mouse had to do the pick-up. But, those two auctions were clearly labeled for delivery only. In fact, they had a nice nasty-gram essentially saying "don't even think about asking for a pick up option, okay?"

So, we didn't ask. And, we waited. The screen came via UPS. And, the table... Well, let's just say 90 days later they wrote us and said, oops, it's too big to deliver. It's a pick-up only item. When do you want to come get it? I blew a gasket. I toyed with driving out a second time, but, eventually just took the refund. Figured there were bigger things in life to worry about than matching deck furniture. Still, it sucked.

Well, we were at Bed, Bath and Beyond on Sunday looking for a salad spinner since we had a gift card from awhile ago. And, tucked in the corner, on the way out, marked some crazy percent off, was... a table that looked, from the picture on the box, like it might work. And, when we unpacked it to fit it into the car, it got even better. I think it might be from the same manufacturer... The mounting mechanism hardware is identical. What are the chances? Even if it's not the same, it's close enough to the same to make me very happy. Yeah!

We'll see how close a match it is when we assemble it. Right now, it's too cold to be outside assembling furniture.


Cheers!
mouse