It's Not IKEA

I think it was four years ago now, Carole and Larry gave me a cat tree they had which wasn't useful. The girls were, at first, intimidated by it, but Pilchard, in particular, grew fond of it. Then, one day, I was in my office and I heard a horrible crash in the living room. Racing there, I expected to find someone injured. Instead, I found two cowering cats and the top of the tower on the floor. Pilchard had tried to climb up onto that rung and the connection between it and the rung below, snapped.

It couldn't take the force of her jumping up onto the platform.

I couldn't see a way to fix it so I kept the top, as it had a dangle ball which was enticing, affixed to it.

This has served us well for some time.

Ironically, it's just the right height for me to lean on while sitting in my chair. It was close to the height of the table so a cat could walk across the table (in front of me, naturally), and take up a spot on the top of the tree; perfect height for ear scratches.

But, this year, it started getting wobbly. It looks sturdy, but when Pilchard would jump to the top shelf, the thing would wobble. Increasingly, I was worried she'd topple it and get injured. Flipping the thing over, I discovered this.

No wonder it was wobbly. I checked all my parts and bits and collected things and I had nothing to make this secure. I had been giving some thought to a new cat tree anyway. After a trip to the hardware store and coming home with a nut bolt combination which didn't work, I decided a new tree was in order. For the record, I was out 57 cents for the nut and bolt I bought. I've added them to the collection I maintain in the basement. You never know.

I ordered from Jet.com because I had a coupon. They bill themselves as an Amazon wanna-be. They don't have the huge inventory Amazon does, but their prices are reasonably competitive. I looked at my local pet store, as bringing it home same day is very appealing. But they didn't have the size I wanted for the price I could pay. Even with shipping, online was cheaper. So, I got one online.

It was a rather big box, since this is 28 inches tall, and there was assembly required.

Unlike the birdbath I assembled in May, all the companion pieces were in a bag I could clearly see.

Oh joy. Yet another hex key.

I should collect all of these just to see how many I have. They must be ridiculously easy to manufacture, since everything I've purchased which needs assembly, has one and doesn't assume you have the right size.

I sorted everything out and pulled out the instructions.

There's no "Step 1: Affix column A to slot A using the bolts marked 1." I had to figure out which column was A, B, C, and which platforms were D, E and F. The short column connectors were reasonably easy to discern from the bolts. Bolts were all the same size, thankfully. I dived in.

It assembled fairly easily.

The problem was, without a corresponding mark on the bottom platform, I got posts in the wrong place, which I didn't find out until I was ready to assemble the middle platform.

I had to disassemble what I'd completed and put the posts in the right places, which weren't completely clear. The hex screws did make taking the thing apart easier, I have to grant that. I have much more leverage to make sure they are screwed in tightly, so important to prevent posts from loosening with repeated jumping on by cats.

I liked this tree because of the sisal insert. An added benefit is the soft carpet on the levels. The posts are all covered with sisal.

This lone upright post holds a bed which is, realistically, too small for anyone to be comfortable for any length of time. Pilchard has started to use it when she sits next to me if I'm on the computer. The top level is the same height as the old tree, so it sits next to my chair and I rest my elbow on it when I'm gaming. It's the same height as the table so, when I'm paying bills, I use it for sorting.

I removed the ball from the old tree and stapled it to the top edge of this one. No one seems to care. I took the other tree out to the street, thinking someone might be willing to cannibalize it for parts for their cats. If no one took it, I'd just toss it in my garbage. I saw several people slow down to look at it, but they all moved on and I wound up tossing it.

Mija and Hamlet don't lie on this at all. Pilchard, on the other hand, is thrilled.

It had been up 24 hours and I came into the living room to see her climbing all over the thing and attacking the posts. She climbs the levels to sit beside me for scratches. I'm a touch disappointed the other two aren't interested, but Pilchard's use makes this a good buy. The stability is wonderful and, for me, the ease of assembly was a great plus. I feel we'll get quite a few years worth of use out of this.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Lighting Up

Back in 2005, a guy I knew was moving. He didn't want to take everything with him so he was parceling out some of his possessions to various friends. When he got to me, I took a floor lamp, one whose bulb reproduced natural light.

Over the years, I have gotten a lot of use out of it. It works so much better for lighting the room where the computer is. The overhead light often produced glare on the screen. This lamp didn't and could be moved, due to the flexible neck, to a position that was positive for interior lighting.

But, as with a lot of things, its time had reached an end. The base was the first to crack, around where the pole and the base met.

Gotta love duct tape. I had to be careful when I moved the lamp for cleaning, but the taping kept the pole upright.

But then, the flexible tube cracked where it met the actual light.

This is simply the age of the plastic and the stress of attachment to the lamp head causing the cracking. I don't know how long he had the lamp before he gave it to me, but 8 years in my possession is a good long time.

I've replaced the bulb in this twice. It's made by Verilux, so I went to their web site to see if the floor lamp had also been purchased there. It had. Based on comparison shopping, buying from the manufacturer was $2 more expensive than buying from Overstock.com, plus I had a better warranty.

The lamp arrived last week. It wasn't explained that this is a "some assembly required" product, so, when the box arrived, I looked at the old lamp and then at the box and wondered how what I had fit into what was shipped. Ah, this is how.

The hardest part of assembly was getting all the pieces out of the box. The pole is attached to the base and the light head. While its construction is very sturdy, you are advised not to pick up the pole and let the base dangle. The base is weighted and you could break some of the cords running through the base. Once you get the pole snapped into the hole in the base, you use a screw to secure the connection. Then you snap the flexible neck into the top of the pole and secure that with a screw. The light bulb (included, huzzah) snaps into the head and the head has a deflector screen which my old lamp didn't have. That snaps into the head as well. Plug the whole thing in and, viola, I have a sturdy, brand new floor light in the office.

Clean up was a breeze. All the packaging is recyclable, assuming you can recycle plastic bags and cardboard. The cardboard is sturdy but it was easy for me to tear the boxes, both the product box and the shipping box, into the right size pieces to fit in the recycling can.

This product comes with my recommendation. If I get half as many years out of the new lamp as I got out of the old one, I'll be thrilled. The old one has been moved into the kitchen where I have lighting issues. I won't be moving it beyond side to side when I clean the floor so I don't have to worry about being electrocuted accidentally by the cracked tube on the neck. When the kitchen lighting issues are solved, the lamp can be tossed and the bulb saved as a spare. As I said, I've replaced the bulb twice. In neither case was it because the bulb had burned out. If you knock the lamp over onto the floor, the bulb will break. I have no idea how long the bulb is supposed to last.

I did have to wait to recycle the box, however.

Of all the places in the living room she could sit...

Beverage:  Berry flavored seltzer

Deb

And Now For Some Cooler Weather

Finally.

It took an hour and a half to scrub these down. I couldn't get that black spot on the smaller of the two chairs to come off although I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. I started with one of those sponges made for teflon pans. You know the ones. They have a sponge on one side and a fake steel wool scrubber on the other side. It did great to peel off the grime on the tall chair and off the table. But when it got to that black spot, nothing. I got a Brillo pad and tried that. It loosened the grit but the black stuff remains. It's like this grit/tar is fused with the atoms of the plastic chair. I also couldn't scrape it off with a knife or my fingernail. Okay, fine. Whatever it is, it's on there for good.

Mother nature had sort of washed them off about two weeks after I pulled them out of storage.

That rain got rid of the loose dirt but they still needed a thorough scrubbing. It was finally cool enough on Sunday to sit on the deck steps and scrub.

Now that the chairs and table are on the deck, I need some nice days to enjoy them or this is a suggestion for taking time off to be on the deck and enjoy them. Hmmmm.

I noticed on Sunday afternoon, after setting these on the deck, birds were perched them as they waited to hop into the birdbath. From the office window, it's now harder to see who is using the bath because the chair is in the way. No matter. I'm happy just to have the space filled again with the prospect of afternoons or evenings spent with my feet up on the table happily enjoying the out of doors.

Beverage:  Lapsang Souchong tea

Deb

Weekend Project

Well just "ewww". I fished the two deck chairs and the table out of the storage container last night. I haven't had them out in a couple years. It was much, too much, of a hassle to move everything to get these out and then put them back in.

But with the deck painted and flowers growing in pots and actually feeling better, I want to be outside now. That space is more inviting. I was going to fish these out last weekend but got involved in other things.

They are pretty dirty. Empty, dirt-filled flower pots sat on both of them. I found the chimney to start a fire, if I'm ever inclined to grill on my falling apart Weber grill. I found the brackets that go over the deck rails, if I had money to fill the pots that sit off the rails. I really need to recoil the hose and reorganize the contents of the container so it's easier to find things. That's not going to happen now.

The weekend's task is to scrub these off so they can be used. If Zeke comes around to mow the lawn while I'm home, I'll ask if he could power wash them. Otherwise, where did I put that scrub brush?

The other thing I need to do is buy gray spray paint and repaint these two plaster animals I got about 10 years ago in Canada. They have seen better years but they are whimsical and I like whimsy. They just need a fresh coat of paint for more weather protection. That's a pig on the top and a chicken on the bottom. I get an expense check next week and I also want to paint the front steps. I think next weekend will be a painting weekend.

And three out of the 6 pots in which I planted seeds are doing well. I'm unsure if the other 3 will even sprout. I need to water them all tonight as we've gone almost a week without rain. Our next chance is next Monday. I should also rotate 2 of the pots as you can certainly tell these are set against the north side of the deck.

I'm not sure if I should try to replant, at this late date, those other pots or just let them be. Who knows what might happen if just left to their own devices. The biggest plants are the sunflowers. To the right is a mix and those small plants in front are asters. The white pot is supposed to be poppies and nicotania is in the pail at the bottom.

Once I add the chairs, the table and the statuary, this will be a comforting space to be in.

Beverage:  Raspberry Earl tea

Deb

A New Place to Sleep

She discovered she could get up here this morning. It's got to be close to heaven because it's the same size as her so she fits very nicely on the back. Plus, it's higher than the floor. I did drape the crocheted lap blanket Laurie made for me over the back after she got down. Not sure how that will affect her jumping up there. It's mainly aimed to keep the fur off the fabric. I'm going to wash the rest of the throws that were on the settee and then decide which one, if any, I'll put on the seat.

This is one happy cat.

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea

Deb

New Furniture

I got a new love seat last night. Pam and Don, dear friends, are getting new furniture for their family room. Pam asked if I might be interested in taking one of her love seats. I realized that the wicker settee is, easily, 10 years old, maybe close to 11. I don't remember if I bought it in the spring of 2000 or 2001. There's no way I'm going to afford new furniture now and the love seat they were offering was in exceptionally good condition.

Now to get it to my house. Fortunately, the back comes off.  I need to mention, these are recliners. Yes. Both sides recline. It's very solidly built, on a steel frame, and I wondered how we'd get it in the front door. No way were we taking it around back, lifting it over the kitchen sink and table, making the turn and finally putting it against the wall in the living room. When Pam showed me that the backs come off, well, getting it in the front door would be a piece of cake, other than we're all a bit older than we were before with bum legs and knees and backs. 

My settee has been a great addition to the house. I know we didn't tie it to the top of the Jeep so we must have used the station wagon Carole had for awhile to get it. I think it was from Pier 1. Seven different cats have slept on it. It's been sturdy enough to handle three high school kids. The original seat cushion suffered an accident and had to be tossed. My friend, Laurie, made the crochet blanket unaware that the colors she chose would match the living room perfectly. I had three lap throws folded and acting as a minor cushion. 

I moved it and swept. All the rugs and the ottoman were pushed over by the TV and I moved the settee to the basement. It might be nice on the deck but would it survive summer and winter, even if I covered it? Right now, I'm unsure what I will do with it. It's still got quite a bit of life in it. Had Pam and Don not decided to get new furniture (from JC Penney, no less), I'd be quite happy with this. 

As soon as I got the space cleared, it was claimed. 

Moving the love seat wasn't as problematic as it could have been. After taking off the backs, we put the seat on a canvas painter's cloth and dragged/shoved it to the garage door. Then we stood it on end and gently "walked" it to the back of Pam and Don's van. We tipped it onto a blanket and then lifted, dragged and shoved it into the back of the van. 

Once we got to my house, it was pulled from the van onto a dolly. That was pulled up to the front steps and we lifted it up the four steps to the top. That was the hardest part. Pam and I are not working with the best of knees. It was a bit heavy. 

At the top of the steps, it was put back onto the blanket, lifted over the threshold and dragged into the proper place in the house. Mija and Pilchard know Pam's voice. She walked over to Pilchard, who was sitting on her usual container in the living room and said, "Hello." Pilchard responded back at her. Mija watched from the hallway not quite sure why both of us were in the house at the same time. When we dragged the love seat into the living room, Pilchard took off. Pam was a bit worried that one of them was out but Pilchard was in the office and Mija was in the closet in my bedroom. 

It fits nicely in the spot formerly occupied by the settee. The color compliments my living room decor very nicely. Yes, I have used it and reclined to finish reading the book I was working on. I'll probably find that's it's also a good place for a nap. 

Pilchard agrees. She claimed it about 2 hours after getting used to it being here. Pam and Don have a dog and although Kasey isn't allowed on the furniture, her scent has to be somewhere on the settee. It is, however, now a part of our life.

 

Notice the black fur on the seat. I need to decide what throw I'm going to put over this to sort of contain the fur. This is a stamp of approval. 

Beverage:  7UP

Deb

Jessie and Deb go to IKEA

Subtitled: FIELD TRIP!!

There it is, IKEA in suburban Schaumburg, Illinois. For the few readers who might not know, IKEA is a Swedish company, started right after WWII by a guy who tried to put a chair into his car and couldn't because of the legs. Don't believe me? Check out this blog post. It's one of Jessie's favorite stores. I'm okay with it. I find some of their furniture to be cheap in construction, but there is no doubt that it is transportable. Plus, as you can see from where we had to walk to get to the store, and no, I didn't make Jess drive to the far reaches of the parking lot just so I could get a photo; this is where we parked. IKEA is popular. The easily transportable concept means that college students or others who have to rely on public transportation can come to IKEA and get a table and chairs and carry it home on the bus.

Jessie was looking at all kinds of things. She needed a chest of drawers. She needed a new computer desk. She wants a slim table for her front hallway on which to drop mail, keys, her purse, the contents of her pockets when she gets home. We hadn't spent time together in ages so I just wanted to go along to chat. But I would like a new chair for my home office...

I got to meet Momo, her new kitten. It's been 12 years since I played with a kitten. They have a lot of energy. Betsy would not be amused. I won't get Betsy a kitten. It was hot, too. It got up to 93 last Sunday. My Jeep has air conditioning, really, it does. See the photo below. But Jess was not amused by my AC and said, "We are NOT taking your car" so we went in her car.

IKEA is three floors of schtuff (the technical term). You take escalators to the top floor and work your way down. We looked at dressers. We looked at computer desks. We looked at tables. She needed place mats. Oh look! Spoons! For some reason, I'm losing my teaspoons. I bought a package of 6 teaspoons for $4.95. They aren't the greatest and I'll be putting teaspoons on my Christmas list, but they are okay. (Not iced tea spoons with the long handles, regular teaspoons and I'd like a package of 6 or 8 please and thank you.)

We wandered about and Jessie got a thingee (again, technical term) that tilts your lap top up to help keep it cool. And then we found the office chairs. I almost got the one

I'm sitting in here. This one was leather and had arms. It was $50. Actually, it was that fake leather. Then I sat in this one.

It was a hard choice. The left one does not have arms. But the chair I currently use does not have arms. The armless chair was $79.99. The fake leather is $30 cheaper. The fake leather came in white and black. The armless comes only in black. The armless has a taller back and that back fabric is mesh so it will breathe. The leather will be sticky in the summer. The armless chair's seat is covered in fabric which can be removed to wash. If I wanted arms, I could get arms for another $20. Both were very comfortable and could be raised to the height I need to keep my feet more or less flat on the floor, which is where your office chair should be for good posture. It was hard to choose because I don't have a lot of money, but I went with the armless chair.

After making that very important decision, we headed to the cafe to have lunch. Yes, IKEA has a cafe serving a limited amount of food. I got a turkey and swiss cheese flatbread wrap and chocolate cake. Jessie got their "mashed potatoes to die for" and chocolate cake.

Jessie decided to buy a small circular table to go on the patio to her apartment. After eating, it was time to get our purchases. You go down to the first floor and wander about this massive warehouse looking for the aisle number and bin number where your item is stored. We found my chair and found her table and went to check out. They have self-service check outs which do make things faster although, if you're paying by credit card, it was a bit confusing.

Now comes the really hard part, getting it to the car. There is a loading dock area but it's always full with cars waiting. My chair wasn't that heavy so I picked it up and we walked to the car. RAWR! I can carry this.

Now we have to get it in the car. But that's the beauty, if you will, of IKEA furniture. It's supposed to fit in pretty much any conveyance you can bring to their store. Now, granted, if you're coming by bus and there are busses that have IKEA on their route, you can't take home a table top the size Jessie wants for her new desk. You could very easily carry this chair on the bus with you.

See? It fit. My chair side ways with Jessie's new table on top. We were airing out the car, as much as you can when it's 93 with a very hot wind blowing from the south. We hopped in the car and drove back to Jessie's apartment. I had to leave right away as I had promised Carole I'd be home to play Dungeons and Dragons with her and the group. I did wind up being 15 minutes late because I had to get gas.

Currently, the chair sits, still in its box, in my kitchen. I will assemble it this weekend. Yes, that is a blog post.

This is the long post I promised, complete with photos. It was a fun time. Now where did I put the screwdriver?

Beverage: Blackberry tea

Deb