Almost There...

Heleen and I managed to wrestle her boyfriend's Monster Truck (diesel, 4-wheel drive, stick shift) down to Atlanta and back--leaving at 5:30 am and getting back to town around 9 pm. In between, we walked about 20 miles through IKEA, loaded 4 push-pallets with 14 boxes of shelving units (about 67 pounds per box), 15 lighting fixtures and bulbs, display hooks, racks, miscellaneous items like toilet brushes, watering can, S-hooks, and what has become known as "the big-ass clock."

Heleen fell in love with the largest clock on the planet--about 20" in diameter, analog, with numbers about 6" high. I told her it belonged in a lecture hall seating about 4oo people (where every cabbage-head student could watch it from 200 yards away), and I'd be waiting for the bell to ring everytime I looked at it. She was not deterred. She wanted that clock!

I was completely blown away by the lighting department. You have to understand that while I love having light, I despise most lighting fixtures. They are ALL ugly. They cost too much. IKEA's selection was a revelation. I loved almost every one I saw, (and the incredibly low prices!) and the hard part was deciding just how high we wanted our electric bill to go. We bought pole lamps, clamp-on spotlights, table lamps, giant suspended paper-shaded lanterns, and one surprise stunner we are saving for MaryAnn on opening day--it's about the size of the moon, and is covered in paper flowers. (Well, MaryAnn said I needed to get in touch with my whimsical side). It's my justification. Heleen and I are going to put it together this weekend, while M is out of town, attending the Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince concert in Greensboro, NC.

And then, there's the YARN! Boxes and boxes of color and texture. We ooh and ahh over every discovery. Then we buckle down and get it listed into the POS computer (that's "Point of Sale" for those of you who thought I was swearing).

It took two days to assemble all the gorgeous white cubicle shelving. Now, we're shoving the finished units around, trying to arrange them in a pleasing and organized manner. Heleen is busily sewing our partition fabric "walls," and I am shampooing rugs and furniture. I donated our original couch from the Vallejo house. I have good memories of that sofa--Bill slept on it with his legs hanging over the sides, we'd prop infant Alex up in the corner so Juli could play with her baby brother)--our first furniture purchase 27 years ago. It belongs in the yarn shop instead of the basement for another 27 years!

One week to go. Whatever will be, will be...