IT'S WICKED HOT OUTSIDE....

Too hot to do anything.

Except, apparently to go out and buy a new sofa for the basement.

I rarely go to the basement. Mainly because it is usually inhabited by teenagers. Not that I have anything against teenagers. It's just that, well, I totally get that I'm not wanted down there when they are. So, except for the occasional movie night with The Don, I do not go to the basement. Unless it's to hide out in my craft room, but that hasn't happened in a while either.

So when I go to the basement I usually look around in stunned silence and say something like
"Good Lord, we are PIGS." And my eye starts to twitch.

Especially when I am cleaning the bathroom down there. Because as I am scrubbing that toilet, I am usually mumbling to myself "Why? Why, for the love of Pete, did we think we needed a 4th bathroom?"

But now that The Smart One has taken over that bathroom (because he's "sick of his sister's junk" in the one they shared) I have adopted a new clean bathroom policy. When I announced this policy to the kids and said "Your bathrooms have to be cleaned BY YOU from top to bottom every Saturday by noon. Everything. Tub. Toilet. Sinks. Floors. Garbage cans. I will be checking them. I will be very picky," The Smart One said "NOOON?! Why do we have to get up so early on a Saturday.?"

Lord help me.

I am afraid,though, that they know it is an empty threat, because they probably know I will forget. So please, all of you help me out; send me a reminder on Saturday to check my kids' bathrooms.

Anyway, back to the sofa. A few weeks ago, I was lying on the basement sofa in full slug mode, flipping channels when I noticed a few holes in the upholstery. Hmmmm. This is not good. The Don and I had agreed that this sofa was perfectly good enough to last us until we were rid of the teenagers....I mean until we sadly said goodbye to our precious offspring when they left for college. But, holes! This really bothered me. So I decided I'd bring it up to the Don and see what his reaction was to maybe, perhaps, you know, if we found a really good deal....buying a new (cheap) sofa.

So I said "Look at these holes, maybe we oughta go ahead and replace this. Those holes are only going to get bigger." And he said "Yeah, I noticed some springs poking me the other night too. You can go pick something out whenever you're ready."

Wait, what? Apparently, pointy metal spikes poking him in his hiney, are enough to spur The Don into a major purchase.

So, just like that, we decided to get a new basement sofa. With two conditions: 1) I stay within budget (uh, of course I will) and 2) The Don does not have to come with me to pick it out. That is the phase of life we are in. We decide we need furniture for whatever room. We agree on a budget. I pick out whatever I want and The Don never has to darken the door of a furniture store. It's a win/win situation.

The first sofa I had my eye on had a whitish background, which was probably not a good idea for a basement sofa that would encounter lots of teenagers. Although, judging from the looks of our basement carpet, all of the spills appear to hit only the floor, and never the furniture. The old sofa may be holey and poky, but it actually looks pretty clean.

So today I trudged out in the wicked heat and picked out a sofa. It will be delivered Tuesday. And I am happy.

Now, to talk The Don into that hutch I saw for the kitchen.....