WARNING: This is about as exciting as it gets. Sorry.
Today I had planned to go to IKEA and buy a new bed frame.
I had looked on-line at options and checked the potential for the item being at the Seattle store. There were either 1-2 or 6-10 in stock – depending on whether we got White stained oak or birch veneer. We already have some IKEA furniture, but I was not sure of the veneer.
I had looked at the expected size of the packages and determined the Prius was just a bit too STuBby. So the Corolla was cleared of kid seats, and the adult seats laid flat or forward as far as possible. (This also made a passenger impossible, so I was on my own.)
First omen: After driving about 7 miles I realized I did not have my wallet. Double back and then on the road again.
Second omen: Once in the store I continued to have trouble deciding if our existing furniture was White stained or Birch. I called Carl and had him describe the color (that I have been looking at every day for a long time). I decided Birch! (This was the one with 1-2 in stock per the computer.)
On to the hall of big boxes. This particular unit has three boxes, plus needs a brace and slats.
Good omen: There was one more Box 1 for the Birch Queen bed frame. There were several each of Box 2 and Box 3. The Box 3 I had to move off of the remaining Box 1 had a ripped corner, so I decided to choose a different box. I managed to muscle everything onto a cart. Box 1 was wider than the cart base, so I had to put it on edge.
Bad counting: I got to the checkout, and then discovered I had two Box 2s, and no Box 3. Instead of sending me back to go, they had a runner find and bring the Box 3 to exchange with my extra 2. (Nice.) The nice runner loaded Box 3 onto the cart. It was loooong, and stuck back into the area where you would naturally stand to push the cart, but I was happy for the bit of help and just left it there.
Trip to the Car: Wending my way out of the big building and towards the parking building was a bit more difficult than I expected. The big Box 3 was really annoying, but I still decided to just soldier on. Then as I passed through the area between buildings the wind picked up. Box 1 decided it was really a sail and the cart started sailing to the starboard side, just where there was an opening between the low concrete walls. I tried to rein in the rogue cart, but it was not until another woman grabbed the port-side cart handle that we were able to get it back into the walking path. (Nicer even.)
Packing the Car: The longest package was 81″ long. The car has about 84″. A little maneuvering and leveraging and balancing, and the car was finally packed with our new bed frame.
View from the trunk
Drive home: I attempted to re-enter the freeway by retracing my steps from the store. Unfortunately this was one of those areas where it just doesn’t work that way. So I just started heading in the direction I thought I should be going. Luckily there was not much traffic because I did not get back on the highway until I was at the third highway on my trip.
Unpacking the Car: Yeah for helpers. Carl was home and we were able to carry all pieces in easily.
Building the furniture: WAIT, not yet. No room for two beds in the room at once, so I will wait until the new mattress is a day away. Instead I went downstairs to rebuild a piece of furniture we can no longer use (with a BIRCH veneer).
BONUS: IKEA had some drawer slides that I can use to replace two that were bent several years ago. I will no longer have a drawer that sticks. Yeah.
For Sale!
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