A dreadful trip but we got bargains

Today we went to Ikea to pick up some materials for our next projects.  We've lived in this house for 7 years, and in that time I haven't had a full-length mirror.  Fortunately, I rarely dress up so it hasn't been much of a problem but it would be nice to have!  You might be asking why I didn't just go out and get one and the answer is that C is 6'4" and most regular-sized mirrors are not big enough for him to use unless he is so far away that you can't see yourself well.  Add to that that I'm 5'3" so it is hard to position a mirror in a way that we can both see our entire bodies. 

We also wanted to get a cabinet door from their kitchen section to cover the wiring access opening in the hallway.  There was originally a heater under the house with vents (the only 2 in the entire house) in the hallway.  We removed the whole thing since it no longer worked and was 50+ years old and replaced it with a modern, fuel efficient natural gas heater which is in our attic.  The old heater had a flue to vent the gasses out of an opening in the roof, and fortuitously the flue was placed in the center of the house where we could use it to run wiring.  All the wiring in the house (phone, internet, cable, speaker, etc) runs through this flue and connects on a central board and then goes out where it is needed. 

We had an opening put in the drywall so we could access the wiring and it still sits open (about 1.5' by 2.5') in our hallway.  To keep the heat in and critters out, we have it stuffed with towels right now - classy, I know :). 

One our way to Ikea, there was terrible traffic in the opposite direction for tens of miles.  We debated most of the way there whether we should cancel our trip and return home on surface streets (the freeway was at a standstill for miles).  We decided to go because we figured it would be several hours before we were trying to get home and the freeway had a good chance of being reopened.  We'd also be returning later in the day which meant the morning rush hour had more of a chance to subside. 

We got there and since I've been there at least 50 times in the course of our remodel, I know the hidden shortcuts.  We got right to the kitchen department first.  We found only one door we both liked and that met our needs.  When we went to buy it, the sales rep told us it was no longer made and that the only one available was the floor model.  In a rare stroke of luck for a house project, the floor model was the size we needed.  We took it and the hinges, and together they would have been $51 and we only paid $10!

We also found a huge mirror for $130.  The only mirrors of comparable size I found were priced in the $500 range - seriously!  We ended up buying a floor model in the "as-is" section for $80.  Score! 

We made it back fine, but the Prius almost wasn't up to the job!  We've hauled so much in that car that I'm always surprised when something doesn't fit.  We had no box for the mirror, which is good because we would have had to unbox it anyway.  The only way to fit it in the car was to move both front seats all the way up, and remove a canvas dog barrier for a fraction of an extra inch.  I had to drive because C could barely fit in the car.  Even I was cramped!  Fortunately, the traffic had cleared and it was a normal ride home. 

Our next few projects are getting these two items installed. 

An unusual home improvement project this week

This week's home improvement project came about because C has been having some pain because his desk set up is so bad.  We've had folding tables in the office for the last 6 years, and just haven't gotten to fix up that room yet.  They are really bad for him to work on and spending all those hours at the desk was injuring him. 

On Wednesday, we did an arduous shopping trip to one main furniture store and then hit 6 others in the area to find an adjustable-height, sit/stand desk.  We found what we needed and decided to pay to have it delivered and assembled which turned out to be a great idea.  It was really heavy and took a long time to put together.  The delivery guy earned his money and we were happy.  The short story is that the desk was set up and ready to use that day.  It's been working out great, and I'm excited to upgrade to one as soon as we can make some changes in our work spaces.  Right now, I work off the kitchen table and we don't have any other space for a new desk for me so it will have to wait until we do some big changes like adding space or building a new garage with space on top of it. 

Here is a shot of his new desk.  It's motorized and moves up and down with the push of a button.