A Long Awaited Gift to Myself

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

I'm sharing happy news today. I finally took the plunge and bought a storage sofa with reversible chaise. I hadn't arranged for assembly prior to delivery but when the delivery men arrived I realized I didn't want to have to deal with all the packaging and set up myself or wait for DH to be available because he has such long days as it is. So I asked the delivery men whether they had an assembly service.  They did and they were willing to do it on the spot. Of course I had to pay them for the work and they were good enough to give me a discount. 

The two gentlemen were efficient and moved my old sofa and chair to another area.  They didn't have a haul away service for sofas.  They tried very hard to assemble the new sofa but had difficulty putting both of the arms of the sofa onto the body of the sofa.  After numerous attempts they asked if I would contact the furniture store and let them know the issue and I agreed.

The sofa minus one arm

I called the store and they tried helping me over the phone. When that didn't work they arranged for a technician to attend and deal with it. The technician arrived promptly at the appointed time on Monday and while he worked I learned the trick to how the arm is supposed to be attached. I don't know why the assembly men didn't know that.  They were trying to attach it in the complete opposite way though I have to say their way was the more intuitive way and I would have done the same not knowing any better.  I wasn't provided with any assembly instructions so I'm not sure if they were disposed of along with the packaging.  But now I know what to do if I ever need to take the sofa apart and put it back together again. I already know I'd need help with that because the pieces are too heavy for me to do it alone. My DH is very strong so he could do it and I could help him if needed.  I made sure to tell him the 'secret' to assembly when he arrived home later that day.

The storage part of the sofa is in the chaise as most of you will already know.  I wasted no time in filling it with things that were occupying floor space.  I'll be getting rid of most of the stored items eventually.  I'll no longer need the excess cushions and numerous reusable bags. After I deal with these things  I'll be keeping bedding in the chaise. The sofa pulls out to make a double bed which is one of the incentives in purchasing the sofa. I'm expecting company this summer and so I'm so pleased that I now have a more comfortable space for my cousin to sleep instead of on an air mattress.  I'm also pleased with the price and the multi-year warranty I purchased.  These days it seems like so many little things can go wrong with new items and it can cost a lot to have someone attend to deal with it. The sofa itself is quite comfortable.  

I call the sofa a gift to myself  because my DH didn't think we needed a new sofa. He liked the leather sofa we had. I did too but it had lost its comfort level and really needed to be restuffed or filled.  We'd been propping ourselves up on other cushions. So it was either repair the sofa which I was planning to do, or get a new one.  Since we need a space for occasional guests to sleep and a place to store blankets  I concluded that a new sofa was needed. The hardest part for me is just to decide what I really want or need then to find a good quality item at an affordable price.  The extra tariffs that have been imposed by the US Administration and those that have yet to be imposed, will have a direct impact on pricing of many goods and commodities.  So it's a good time to act on big purchases if you have the need and the means. In fact, I may be purchasing another large item in the not too distant future once I make a space for it to be assembled.

What about you dear reader? Do you have a storage sofa? If so, are you happy with the purchase?

Assembling a Small Gift

I meet my friend for brunch today and before she leaves I wanted to give her a small parting gift.

It has always been more meaningful for me to give handmade gifts whenever possible and I think a wash cloth would make the perfect gift.  It is small enough that it won't take up much room  amongst the many things my friend has to move to her new temporary home out of town. It is also practical and she is a very practical person.

First I have selected a white knitted dishcloth with specks of light green and teal blue accent colours.

This is a close up view of the cloth.  I quite like this yarn and I should have bought more skeins of it but I only bought one.

 I added a nice smelling box of Dove soap.  This one is a green colour with a fresh scent.

 For ribbon I used a contrasting and complementary teal blue yarn to wrap the face cloth around the soap.

I hope she likes it.

Though I often don't give gifts anymore, from time to time I do like to remember someone with a gift. Thank goodness our Heavenly Father is not as inconsistent as I am when it comes to giving gifts and remembering us.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Update:

My friend loved the gift. She shrieked with glee when she realized it was a washcloth and said she has been using only slivers of soap the last few days so the gift is handy right at this moment.  It gladdened my heart to know it was something she can use right now and that it is helpful to her.

Gift to Self

I've been eagerly awaiting my Christmas gift to myself; a pair of earrings from the talented Jillian at The Noisy Plume. The earrings arrived in yesterday's mail, wonderfully packaged and with a nice little surprise of Zen tea inside.


Today I am feeling tired after non-stop cleaning and organizing for the past two days. I can only do a little bit and then I must rest and so what should take a short while stretches into a long period of time. I haven't even had a shower yet but I wanted to show off my earrings (made of green quartz) and say a big "thank you" to Jillian for the thoughtful touches with the parcel.


Receiving my parcel, wrapped up all nice and pretty & with such attention to detail, really made my day.

The Gift

In the chill of the evening I stopped off at my doctor's office to pay a small bill. A task that has been lingering in the background for some time. I thought it was good to stop and pay the bill while I was in the neighbourhood, rather than mail a cheque. At last, I can strike this errand off of the "to do" list.

Outside the office I met up with two trees, one more barren then the other. I take delight in how the tree with bare branches nonetheless looks like it is dressed for an evening out. The moon is in another direction but the street lamp's glowing ember shines through the naked branches, as if to say, "I will give you warmth and light tonight." How romantic!

The other tree is still clothed in leaves; arrayed in all her golden splendour. She stands firm against the rough winds and sleeting rain of the past few months, defiant in giving up her leaves for another season. I admire her strength.

And me? I stand at my doctor's office ready to depart and head into the night. So happy for the gift of a royal purple scarf. Hand made by God's poetic hand maiden, Destiny Diadem. Even her name is poetic. She unexpectedly gifted me with this lovely and long scarf and it was utterly PERFECT for the night. A delightful surprise.

A Wonderful Gift

Have you ever experienced a time or two when you felt that someone really, really listened to what you were saying? Wasn't it a wonderful feeling?

I saw this sign on one of my walks and I thought it was a great representation of a wonderful and free gift you could offer to a child, a senior, a friend, a loved one.

God bless xoxox