Thursday November 7th 2024

In last Sunday’s blog entry I wrote about my intent to visit furniture stores to shop for a sofa and a recliner. That activity didn’t go completely to plan. The furniture store I went to was a disappointment. All they had on display were big sectional sofas. If I got one of those, there would be no room for people in my living room. When I inquired about smaller, simple sofas, they showed me to a kiosk area with a terminal and web browser. In other words “shop on line”. Their focus on the big sectionals was consistent with what I’d seen at Big Lots, so based on my small sample size I went back to online shopping for my sofa.

Shopping online for a sofa was productive. I found the same products on multiple websites. I depended on the specifications to get the size, and the pictures to get an idea about the overall look and color. More important, the reviews gave me an idea about issues and how easy it was to assemble. I finally found a sofa that struck my fancy on Amazon. It was the same model I saw on another website, but for almost one hundred dollars less.

I also bought an area rug from Amazon to offset all the gray that I was putting the room. From the pictures, I was expecting to receive a rolled up carpet 5×7 feet in size. I was surprised to receive the rug in a small box about a foot by fifteen inches and four inches deep. The rug was thinner than I expected, but seems to work fine over the carpet in the living room.

The sofa arrived today via UPS. I was prepared to bring the sofa in piece by piece, but the driver helped me get the large one hundred plus pound box into the living room. The next half hour or so was spent putting the ten pieces together. I had to prop a couple of pieces up to get them connected, but I didn’t need any help. The Amazon assembly service wasn’t necessary.

I still intend to buy a recliner to sit in facing the TV. A local store with delivery service continues to be the plan. The logistics of getting the recliner into the room and assembled are likely to be more complicated than the sofa. It doesn’t seem like a good solo job. Most recliners seem to be heavier and perhaps wider than the sofa.

The living room also needs an end table or two as well as some wall art. The sofa is centered under a set of picture hooks. I’m reviewing some of the pictures I have from the Rambling Road Trip for something suitable for framing. I also intend to build an end table and possibly the lamp to go on it. Slowly the furnishing of my base camp is coming together.

While the furniture arrival today was the big event of the week, I did make a visit to Disney’s EPCOT for a Fish and Chips dinner on Tuesday night. The park seemed so different after the return to Standard Time. Even though I’ve been there at night many times, the first arrival near dark this year took a little getting acclimated. In addition to supper, I got in some exercise walking around the World Showcase and road a couple of rides. They are getting the Living with the Land ride ready for the holidays. Many of the trees and plants had Christmas lights installed. They haven’t been turned on yet. The Festival of the Holidays at EPCOT begins the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas celebrations at the other three theme parks are already underway. Friday night is the first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. I may visit Magic Kingdom during the afternoon and early evening to see the decorations, but won’t be staying for the separate admission after hours party.