I never had the opportunity to post a creative blog yesterday because I was packing and traveling to Arkansas for a wedding. So, consider this my post for yesterday, Saturday, June 12th. I am writing this from the lobby of the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
I know my Saturday is getting off to an ideal start when a great friend picks me up at 7AM to take me GARAGING (as in to attend a Garage Sale) AND brings me a baggy of sweet cantaloupe and cherries.
According to dictionary.com, GARAGING means to put or store in a garage. But in my vernacular (dictionary.com Word of the Day June 13th), it means to go in search of purchasing items that others have put in a Garage Sale.
Yarding (as in to attend a Yard Sale) just doesn’t roll off the tongue the way GARAGING (guh-rah-zhing) does. Go on, pronounce GARAGING. Rather nice, don’t you think? It sounds exotic and a bit French. Besides yarding is not recognized by my Microsoft Word spell check…but GARAGING is. Go figure? And yarding conjures up images of weeding, raking, mowing, and sweating. Where GARAGING brings to mind shopping, socializing, and spending very little cash on a car, or in this case, a Suburban, full of goodies!
Linda, my partner in crime, hit the road with the Ruston Daily Leader’s Thursday’s paper in hand. You’ve got to love the RDL’s Thursday edition which includes a general map and short description of where each of the local Garage Sales are located and some of the items for sale. The 50¢ investment is well worth it. Key words in the descriptions generated by the Garage Salors, that are most attractive to the Garage Salees, include Moving Sale, Multi-Family, Too Much to List, and the most attractive word “HUGE”.
Our best deals for the day include Linda’s purchase of 3 solid wood dinette chairs for $10 and my best being a wooden wine box (from Ecuador) filled with 6 gold rimmed seeded glass chargers with 2 matching serving plates and 6 Lenox amber (my favorite glass color) water goblets all for SIX BUCKS!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
How to set up a BLOG and Other Things That Make You Want to Pull Your Hair Out.
I just spent approximately 12 hours trying to set up this BLOG!
Minutes after I added AdSense…everything went SOUTH.
My computer has been running TERRIBLY slow so recently, in order to clean up my laptop, I put ALL my photography (and I had an insane amount) and most of my documents on my USB. This did not help.
So, after setting up this BLOG with AdSense, I tried to access it and I got the dreaded block box telling me I still had some work to do.
This little “suggestion” got me started on creating my NEW AND IMPROVED laptop and if nothing else came from the hours I spent deleting and downloading… . (I needed an extra dot there) I did end up switching my search engine to Firefox and VOILA, I’m back in business!
So, I guess you can say my CREATIVE DAZE today incorporated technology and I suppose that means I used the “other side of my brain”, and therefore…I am a better person! HA!
At least I can use my creativity to customize my homepage!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Tweaking the Teak and Other Challenges of Patio Furniture
I ordered several pieces of patio (in this case “deck”) furniture in early May from One Way Furniture. I chose the 5 piece Milano Outdoor Living Set that included a bench, two chairs, coffee table and side table plus ordered two more chairs and a dining table that matched. It was just what I had in mind for our deck and I was pleased to find all the pieces I wanted in one place and the price.
It took about a month to receive the set and, of course, there was some assembly required.
Three of the eight boxes had suffered some dings in transit so the driver (a friendly guy with R+L Carriers) and I opened these boxes to check for damage. The teak furniture pieces (actually it is eucalyptus but this set came up in my search for TEAK OUTDOOR FURNITURE) were undamaged however the hardware package was missing from a table.
The individually boxed furniture pieces averaged five partially assembled pieces, a package of hardware (the exact number of 3” bolts you need for assembly with no extras), a tiny pillow of white glue, an Allen Wrench, a sheet of care suggestions plus a single sheet of simply drawn and void of text instructions. I believed my two sons (12 and 17) and I could assemble all 8 pieces together in about an hour. HA!
Just a little bit about me. I am capable of following directions. I have three college degrees, am a whiz with LEGO sets (and if that doesn’t give me credibility…I can’t imagine what would!) as well as, among other things, I am an artist, creative in multiple medias, and a pretty fair carpenter.
First of all, the shoddy hardware included with the furniture was inferior and very frustrating. After suffering the difficulty of using the provided Allen Wrench on the first few bolts, I switched to a DeWalt power drill with a hexagon bit.
This is when I discovered the holes in the furniture pieces were not long enough for the screws. This is when I had to get another DeWALT drill to drill the holes approximately ¼ inch deeper.
When I opened the second pillow of dried up glue, I opted for Loctite Wood Worx.
Even with setting the drill on low, I managed to strip the head of several inferior screws.
Some where between walking out to our shop to collect glue, drills, bits, switching out spent batteries, and getting a damp cloth, finding a block of wood and a vice-grip to remove the stripped bolts, minutes of my one hour “goal” ebbed away.
After two trips to Lowes and a local hardware store not being able to find the same type of bolts and eventually going back to find replacement bolts, a combination of three hours assembly time, aching forearms, carpal tunnel syndrome pain, a few tears, not to mention the swear words plus the loss of my religion and the sad thought that when I die I may end up in Hell spending eternity assembling patio furniture, the set DID come out looking great. I still need to find cushions (although it is rather comfy without), get some of those nail on floor/furniture protectors (just because I want some) do some light sanding, and buy some sealer for outdoor teak furniture.
The set was indeed a challenge to assemble; however, it is great for our space, I would order the furniture all over again. Except next time…I’d make my husband assemble it and I’ll go get a manicure.
Thank you for reading and please pray for my soul!
It took about a month to receive the set and, of course, there was some assembly required.
Three of the eight boxes had suffered some dings in transit so the driver (a friendly guy with R+L Carriers) and I opened these boxes to check for damage. The teak furniture pieces (actually it is eucalyptus but this set came up in my search for TEAK OUTDOOR FURNITURE) were undamaged however the hardware package was missing from a table.
The individually boxed furniture pieces averaged five partially assembled pieces, a package of hardware (the exact number of 3” bolts you need for assembly with no extras), a tiny pillow of white glue, an Allen Wrench, a sheet of care suggestions plus a single sheet of simply drawn and void of text instructions. I believed my two sons (12 and 17) and I could assemble all 8 pieces together in about an hour. HA!
First of all, the shoddy hardware included with the furniture was inferior and very frustrating. After suffering the difficulty of using the provided Allen Wrench on the first few bolts, I switched to a DeWalt power drill with a hexagon bit.
This is when I discovered the holes in the furniture pieces were not long enough for the screws. This is when I had to get another DeWALT drill to drill the holes approximately ¼ inch deeper.
When I opened the second pillow of dried up glue, I opted for Loctite Wood Worx.
Even with setting the drill on low, I managed to strip the head of several inferior screws.
Some where between walking out to our shop to collect glue, drills, bits, switching out spent batteries, and getting a damp cloth, finding a block of wood and a vice-grip to remove the stripped bolts, minutes of my one hour “goal” ebbed away.
After two trips to Lowes and a local hardware store not being able to find the same type of bolts and eventually going back to find replacement bolts, a combination of three hours assembly time, aching forearms, carpal tunnel syndrome pain, a few tears, not to mention the swear words plus the loss of my religion and the sad thought that when I die I may end up in Hell spending eternity assembling patio furniture, the set DID come out looking great. I still need to find cushions (although it is rather comfy without), get some of those nail on floor/furniture protectors (just because I want some) do some light sanding, and buy some sealer for outdoor teak furniture.
The set was indeed a challenge to assemble; however, it is great for our space, I would order the furniture all over again. Except next time…I’d make my husband assemble it and I’ll go get a manicure.
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