March 4, 2020

Isn’t there some sort of a saying that maintains that the project of room remodeling is a case of the never-ending story? I ask, not for a friend, but because that seems to be the path that we’re on at the moment.

As you may recall, we began before Christmas, with David deciding the time had come to re-do the living room. Since this was something I’d been wanting for quite a while, I didn’t grumble about not being able to erect our Christmas tree this year; instead, I did all that I could to help.

This mostly consisted of my staying out of his way. He was pleased with my contribution and called it “no small thing”. Yes, I know a backhanded compliment when I hear one.

David did a wonderful job on the walls, finally covering the huge hole that, were it still there would be right above my mother’s china cabinet. But it is gone, not even a hint of it remaining. The walls look quite amazing. He had a little trouble with the laminate and took…. measures to ensure that the flooring, in the end, stayed down. That’s all I’m going to say about the flooring. It does look good.

I was daring and ordered burgundy drapes, that were advertised as blackout/thermal drapes. I imagined they’d make the room “pop”. Now, my skills in the visual arts are not really a thing at all. Those who know me best know I do not have an artistic “eye”. But those drapes work, so score one for me! Then the new furniture arrived, and finally, the new area rug and the artwork (a painting on wrapped canvas to hang on that big bare wall above the Television), and then the room was done. Right?

Well, not exactly. Our daughter brought down her deacon’s bench, because I was grumbling about the pillows and blankets we were using at night just layin’ around in the day time, making my living room resemble a flop house. The bench worked! Now, except when we’re using them, they’re out of sight. Perfect. Now the room was done.

Um…no. My husband pointed out that there are two chunks of bare wall on either side of our new sofa. And do you know what would look good on those walls, he asked? Maybe some matching art work, but tall and narrow, as opposed to narrow and long. Two pieces in the same style, and hues as the one we have? I went looking on the same site from where we purchased the artwork already on the wall. I did, in fact find two more, and the three, together, in a particular sequence would tell a story. So they, too, have been ordered, and now, we wait for it all to be complete. And before those two new paintings get here, I’m heading out this week to find some decorative pillows that we can use instead of bed-type pillows. And while we’re on that topic, maybe some throw blankets that match, too.

One more thing I’d like to share with you, because the clean up is a part of the job too. Remember how our new reclining sofa was to be delivered, and how the delivery people would not take our old one away but would, if the pieces were wrapped in mattress bags, take them to the curb? And remember, too, that I contacted the county and arranged for them to remove these no longer usable (Goodwill turned them down because we have pets) pieces?

Well, we’ve had an interesting experience with our local government in that regard, let me tell you! It used to be that, twice a year, there would be a special day designated where you could put out irregular or large items. When those “spring pick-up” and “fall pick-up” days happened, so did the miracle of recycling. Folks would drive around and help themselves to items others didn’t want. It was like a giant garage sale where everything was free! Our greatest acquisition in those days was a wicker and cherry-wood rocking chair that only needed to have the screws in the bottom of the rockers tightened. I loved that chair, and we enjoyed it for more than two decades before it finally died.

They don’t have those special days anymore. Instead, as a specific service, one may call the appropriate office at county headquarters and arrange for a separate pick-up. For the price of 25 dollars each time, twice a year you can put out up to 5 large items.

That was background. Now, as I said, the delivery men took out our items and put them beside where our garbage gets put out each week, as we were told the large items had to be.

Collection day came and went, and those pieces remained. I called the county office and asked why. The call came back: because the items were frozen to the ground. It had snowed the night before, so David went out to check—this would have been about twenty minutes after rest of the garbage had been collected.

Not only were those pieces not stuck, there were no footprints indicating that anyone had tried to move them. So, the day before the next week’s collection, we ensured that nothing was stuck and, once more…no pick-up of those three large items. I immediately called and asked why. The return call stated that there was only one truck on our route today and they would get those items last. Yeah, that didn’t happen, either. I got a second call that the supervisor went out and inspected and told us that the items were on the side street, not in front of the house. Well, the side street is from where out garbage items are always collected (at the end of our driveway). Also, the supervisor thought that the items being on a bit of a hill, represented a health and safety risk to his men.

Fair enough, and by enough, I really mean enough. So on Monday evening, my husband went out and rolled those damned pieces down to the sidewalk, and left them there, on the corner, on the sidewalk, clustered around the stop sign.

So finally yesterday, the third time was the charm, as they say, and those items were collected.

You need to know I only watched long enough to see them lift the first item into the back of the truck. Those pieces of furniture never did anything to anyone and did not deserve such a fate as they received. But such is life.

Once I knew they were definitely taking those pieces, I turned away. I didn’t have it in me to witness the murder as the great garbage truck crushed the poor, disrespected bodies of loyal furniture that had previously been a huge part of our lives.

The comfy furniture is dead. Long live the new comfy furniture.

Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury