My problems with curtains

I am having a problem finding a couple of valances the right color.

Yesterday I bought curtains at Walmart for one window, figuring I might use it in the computer room.

When I draped the curtains across my new couch, though, it was a darned good match.

The trouble is, we don't want curtains over the living room windows. One thing we absolutely love about our trailer house is how light-and-bright it is, which is something you cannot say about the old house. So a valance at the top works great, along with the blinds.

However, there were no valances in this pattern and color at Walmart.

And the blue ones just will not do. I can put up with our two old blue Lazy-boys, but those valances are totally out of place. Sorry about how dark the picture looks: Since I was aiming at the window, the flash wouldn't activate.

This wall hanging doesn't work so well over the new couch, either. It's very special to me, because a wonderful blogger friend in Maine made it at my request. I think it'll look just fine if I put some distance between it and the couch.

So I'll put that clock somewhere else and put the hanging above this blue chair.




And this picture, which has been on the kitchen wall, will go above the couch.

Now if only I can find the proper valances for those two windows.

Oh, thanks to all of you who voted for my picture at Five Minutes For Mom. I'm falling behind pretty fast now, but it was surely fun trying! Honestly, I expected someone to overtake me on this last day; I've had enough Ebay experience to know that's the smart way to play. Consider this my concession speech. I'll give credit where credit is due tomorrow.

Great day yesterday, but costly

Cliff took a vacation day yesterday, since the forecast was for near-seventy temperatures and the wind wasn't going to be hurricane-force: In other words, it was a great day for a motorcycle ride.

I printed off those Quiznos coupons for a free sandwich: One for me, one for Cliff. They put your name on your coupon, and you have to show I.D. That's to prevent one person from printing off multiple coupons and eating free for a month.

Then we were on our way.

We first went south to pick up the old laptop, which the computer-geekie guy fixed so it would quit freezing every time I tried to run the antivirus. We came back home to use the facilities and leave the laptop, then headed east; there's a furniture store we've often patronized eight miles from here, and we were in the market for a new Lazy-Boy recliner for Cliff. He's never been comfortable with his old worn-out one; says it's too big. We browsed, Cliff tried out various ones and found the one he wanted; we also admired and tried out some Lazy-Boy couches, but our old couch was just fine; checked out box springs and mattresses. Told the guy we'd probably be back in a day or two.

By this time it was noon, and we chose a back way to Blue Springs so we could eat our free lunch. There was no problem finding the Quiznos. Now normally, when Cliff and I eat out, we ask for water as our drink, simply because soda can add an appreciable sum to the tab. But we agreed that would be a low-down, cheapskate thing to do, since the meal was free otherwise. We ordered a small drink, and our free meal became a three-dollar meal. No biggie. We're pretty sure we prefer Subway sandwiches, though, now that we've tried Quiznos.

"Since we're in Blue Springs anyhow," I suggested, "let's see what kind of prices Brown's Furniture has on Lazyboys."

Cliff agreed that was a great idea, so after we'd stopped at McDonald's for dessert (ice cream cones) and coffee, which doubled the cost of our free lunch, we browsed through more furniture. The chairs and couches there were twenty per cent cheaper than those we'd seen at the other store. We bought a Lazy-Boy couch along with the recliner, because we haven't had enough comfortable places for people to sit when we have company. The price of a free lunch just skyrocketed.

We rode home, exchanged the motorcycle for the car and a trailer, and went to get our purchases. Cliff called our daughter to offer her our perfectly good seven-year-old hide-a-bed couch, called a couple of muscular neighbor boys to help move furniture in and out, and I'm now stuck with the problem of matching curtains and pictures to our new furniture. Who knows how much that will cost?

Thanks, Meesha, for the Quiznos tip. You've cost us a cotton-picking fortune.