So, we finally got to go to Ikea this morning! We went to their Springvale store – it’s a big, big place out there! There’s not just Ikea, there’s Howards Storage, Nick Scali furniture, Harvey Norman, and so many other “Home Ware” places out there that I can’t remember what else! It’s completely mind-boggling! Julian took a different route to the one he usually takes out that way, and we got lost, so we had to pull over and program Brünhilda (the name we’ve given our satnav) to take us there! I never realised it was so big – and it has underground parking so I needn’t have worried that it might have been raining! (I learned a lot today! 😉 ) Anyway, we eventually got there, and then we had to get a map with which to find our way around! Yes, Ikea has little maps available in lots of handy and strategically placed “map trees” – but basically, you just follow the arrows painted on the floor, and sooner or later (usually later!) you’ll arrive at what you came to look at and/or buy. I suppose there’s good strategy in laying out their store like that – they have SO. BLOODY. MUCH. STUFF. that most people are bound to do a fair amount of impulse buying, both on their way to, and from, the original object(s) of their visit to Ikea. F’rinstance, we bought a small shower “squeegee” thingy and a nice, big front door mat on our way to, and back from, the lounge room storage furniture (read: bookcases, cupboards, and display cabinets!) I have no idea why, but I was under the impression that we were going to be looking for bookcases – the sort you put a lot of books in (on?… in!) and as a side issue, cupboards and shelves for the Den here, mainly for “display” purposes. You see, I have an awful lot of little knickknacks that people have given me over the years, and they’ve always lived somewhere on or around my desk – but we have nowhere to put them here… er… we didn’t have anywhere to put them here – now, we do! 🙂 These cupboard-shelves are quite schmick! They’re made from the same glossy white-painted wood as our table-desks (so they’ll fit right in!) When we looked at them, they had four of them bolted together to make one unit, but you can buy as many or as few of the units as you want, and either bolt them together, or stand them singly. You can also assemble them in any order you choose – the ones we saw had two columns of drawers at the bottom, followed by two shelves running the full width of the unit above the drawers, then two little cupboards, side by side, and finally there was a repeat of the two shelves below the cupboards. Together, the four units bolted together were exactly the right size to fit into our space here in the Den! (how lucky can you be, eh?! 😉 ) We were so taken by these snazzy little units that we bought an extra two of them – Julian’s been looking for some sort of a cupboard to put in the back hall, next to the shoe rack, so that he can keep some of his tools in the house, rather than out in the garage! The two units will mean that the shoe rack no longer fits there, but that’s OK, we can definitely use the shoe rack in the Walk In Wardrobe, and when we come in, we can put our shoes in one of the new unit’s cupboards! So we got two birds with one stone, so to speak 🙂 The other item we got today was a narrow-ish “occasional table” (I think that’s what they’re called!) It’s to go next to the chaise of the new lounge-suite, which is against a wall, and anyone sitting there has absolutely nowhere to put a cup of tea or coffee, or a plate, or a box of tissues, or whatever! We could have put one of our two side tables there, but that would have pushed the lounge-suite out too far into the rest of the room and there wouldn’t have been enough room for us to put our sideboard. So at the moment, that second side table is sitting sullenly at the foot of the chaise, which is totally useless to anyone sitting there (and where it also looks vaguely ridiculous) That side table will be coming into the Den here, next to Flipper’s sofa-bed, and will house a lamp, Flipper’s bowl of Pussy Biscuits, and Julian’s cup of tea or coffee if he’s sitting on the sofa-bed patting Flipper. But back to the little table we bought this morning… it, too, is made from that glossy white-painted wood, the same as the new cupboard units and our table-desks (no, we weren’t deliberately trying to match everything, we were just lucky!) The table is very “plain” (no ornamentation of any kind) stands just under desk height, and has one shelf right under its top. It should be exactly what we need. All of this stuff we bought today except, for the front door mat and the shower squeegee which we brought home ourselves, are being delivered tomorrow – before 2 o’clock, or so we’ve been told, and it had better be! (*glare!*) I have a hairdressing appointment over at Doncaster at three o’clock, and I’m also supposed to be having my next Warfarin blood test! I really hope they come early – I’d like to sneak into My Size and get another pair of slacks to wear on Saturday 
Something in a size “Extra Small” – these ones I’m wearing are “Small”, and they do fit me, after a fashion… (the elastic around the waist isn’t too loose, but the rest of the slacks is (are?) far too big!) I guess I’ll just have to wait and see… (*sigh*)
Weigh-in this morning. I really hate these wretched pills I have to take – even taking two anti-fluid pills instead of one isn’t making much of a difference – not only weight-wise, but my feet swell up like balloons, especially if I’ve been wearing shoes! 😦 However, I did go down one point today – from 76.4kg to 76.3kg. I did do my second Treadmilling last night, and I will tonight, too – but I think I might increase it to three times as day, and also try to set the speed just a teeny bit faster… I keep catching up to the treadmill! And again this morning, it was my arms that suffered most – they keep on cramping up on me 😦 I do try to relax them as much as possible, but they just don’t seem to like resting in the only places that I can put them without changing all the settings on the machine! Anyway, I shall persevere – walking for seven minutes is boring, but if it gets me fitter and thinner, I’ll set up my computer in front of the treadmill and walk all day! (no, not really 🙂 that was a joke, Joyce! And strangely enough, I quite enjoy it!)
I’m really quite trepidated about the arrival of all this furniture! It’s all flat-pack stuff, and Julian, bless his little heart and soul, wants to assemble it all himself! On his own! I think he’s being silly. Those units are not small – they’re actually quite tall, too (taller than him, anyway) Once a unit has been assembled, how is he going to stand it upright – without damaging it – on his own?! How is he going to move each unit into place, so that he can bolt them together, on his own? I told him, I think I’ll go out for the day – I couldn’t bear to watch (or listen to the temper tantrums when something doesn’t go right, or he cuts himself, as he invariably does!) I could catch a taxi over to my favourite eldest daughter’s place, and visit her for a change – I just don’t want to be here when he’s assembling everything! The trouble is, it’ll take him about a week to get them all done – there are six large cupboard units, and one “occasional table”. Actually, I don’t even want to think about it – I’m going to change the subject! Friday is going to be plenty busy – I just hope I get a chance to have my Warfarin blood test done! Life should be able to get back to normal again on Monday (something’s supposed to be happening on Monday, but once again, I can’t remember what it was/is! This “old-timer’s disease is a real nuisance!) Oh, and I forgot to tell you! (not that you should have needed to be told – you probably all noticed it when you started to read the blog, yes? 😉 ) I made a new header this morning – I didn’t have time to get stuck into Rift, so I had a fiddle around with the header – what do you all think? 🙂 Anyway, that’s about it from me again tonight – but there’ll be lots more tomorrow night, and lots of news and interesting tidbits for you all to catch up on! Find out if the flat-packs did arrive on time, and if I had enough time to not only have my blood test done, and go to the hairdresser, but if I was also able to get myself a new pair of slacks for Saturday! And, of course, you’ll want to know how my weight’s going… so stay tuned! Until then, however, do continue to bee good, remember that the true secret of getting ahead is getting started; don’t forget to look after yourselves, to keep warm, and to drive carefully… but most importantly, don’t forget to stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂
My Word! 