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?

Gone With The Wind ~ Tuesday 4

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we answer 4 questions each week and try to have some fun with them.

1.  Have you read the book or seen the movie Gone with the Wind and what did you think of it?

Yes, I've read Gone With the Wind but it was long ago. I also saw the movie before and after reading the book. I enjoyed both the book and the movie which is quite unusual because normally I find the book to be much better than the movie. In this case, the movie was fantastic.  Vivienne Leigh was one of my favourite actresses.  She was so beautiful and emotive in all her roles.

2. Which character was your favorite? If you didn't read it or see it. who is your favorite fictional character from a book or movie and why?

Scarlett, played by Vivienne Leigh was my favourite character in the movie. I probably wouldn't like her much if I met her in real life because she was spoiled and childish.  But I admired her character for rising to the occasion during the hardships of the war and learning how to survive.

3. Are you a fan of big epic films like Dr. Zhivago,  Gone with the Wind, etc.  If not what kind of films do you enjoy the most?

I love big epic films.  I googled "top epic films".  It turns out I've seen and enjoyed all of the ones on the list (Gladiator, Braveheart, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Dances with Wolves, The Bridge on the River Kwai & All Quiet on the Western Front). There was one film on the list called '300' which I didn't see it. In fact, I've never even heard of it. I also enjoyed Dr. Zhivago which is such a classic film.

4. The Ante Bellum era is indeed gone with the wind.  Is there an era in history that you are interested in or that you have a good deal of knowledge about? Perhaps there is an era you would like to learn more about?

Yes, I am very much interested in movies set during the during the time of the Roman Empire.  I think I've seen every movie that was ever released that was set during this era.  Most of them I saw as a youngster and a teenager;  movies like Ben Hur, Spartacus, Cleopatra, to name a few. I was especially interested in the lives of Christians and the hardships they endured during that time and how God helped them through the tough times. One of the more recent films I enjoyed about this era is Gladiator (2000).  Here is a famous clip from that film.

Thank you for visiting my blog and thank you to Annie for hosting Tuesday 4. I'm looking forward to reading your answers to the questions too!