Oh, we certainly know how to have fun in the Porter family. What could be as fun as riding all around Portland in a Uhaul truck?
A few weeks ago for our date night Dan and I drove all the way to the biggest Costco in the world (seriously) in Hillsboro, Oregon. We've been looking for a few furniture pieces - mainly kid's bedroom furniture. While there, I was really taken with a particular leather couch. I've looked at leather couches for at least ten years, but this one seemed to be just right. Not so soft that it would scratch easily, not too plasticky looking, comfortable yet tailored. We also found a nice TV cabinet for the bonus room and had an impetuous moment and decided to get both.
And yet, there we were 45 minutes from home, with only our van, which would definitely not be able to carry our new furniture purchases.
So we bought the furniture and Costco agreed to hold it for up to 24 hours. We strategized on the way home. The next day was exceedingly busy . . . starting with a 6 a.m. temple trip (Bailey and Tiffany were going), basketball (Dan and Joseph were going), musical theater class for Aubrey, some activity for Bailey (I've forgotten), and an assignment to clean the church. We accomplished most of those things in the morning and then ran down to the Uhaul store to rent a big enough truck. Joseph was pretty excited that there was a seatbelt for him, so he was able to join us for the adventure.
Buying big purchases in Oregon is generally a really good idea for us Washingtonians, as Oregon has no sales tax. However, any tax savings were entirely negated by the cost of the Uhaul (the initial rental was pretty cheap, but then we had to pay 90 cents a mile - and we had to drive way back to Hillsboro!) So, in the interest of maximizing the use of our truck rental, my accountant husband thought that we should visit more furniture stores in Portland to look for some other furniture pieces we need. He figured that the more pieces of furniture we found, the better deal the cost of the truck rental would be. Are you following that accountant's logic?
It was a brilliant plan. Except that furniture shopping for me is about as enjoyable as prying off my fingernails with a knife. It's probably mainly because I really don't like spending money. And furniture is a big expenditure and commitment, so I generally agonize over choosing something I can live with for at least a decade!
We had a list of a few things we have needed for a few years, but now were becoming urgent as we prepare to move everyone's rooms around (Aubrey will take over Brandon's room, Joseph will take over Aubrey's room). So I hesitantly agreed to the plan - we would sweep into the furniture stores in Hillsboro with our master plan and list and would emerge victorious, all with minimal emotional trauma.
So, we bounced and jostled in our Uhaul to Costco, where we loaded up our stuff. Then we followed our GPS to many more furniture stores in the area. Just imagine the look on the faces of the salespeople as we drove up in a huge Uhaul to look at furniture. They probably thought it was their lucky day . . . this family was going to buy out the store and load up their truck.
We really tried to buy something. We looked and looked, but my dislike for furniture shopping was incredibly compounded by the time pressure of the situation. We couldn't find what we were looking for, and even if we could I doubt that I could have made the decision (because all furniture decision making falls to me - Dan doesn't have any house decorating design sense whatsoever. It's true.) By the end of the day I was a nervous puddle, whimpering that I didn't even want any furniture - I just wanted to go home and eat chocolate.
Joseph had fun trying out this power-assisted chair at a furniture store. "Can we buy it, Mom? It's so cool!" Yep, Joseph. Maybe when I'm 90 and have lost all sense of pride and style.
So, we didn't buy anything else that day. But we did get the TV console and couch home. I can't say much about the console yet - it is still in its box until we reconfigure some things. But the couch is just wonderful. Exactly what I wanted! I'm proud of myself for discerning just the right balance of look and comfort for our personal style. I like it so much that Dan talked me into getting the matching love seat to replace a chair we had in the family room. This time we didn't rent a truck . . . . luckily the love seat fit just perfectly in the back of a friend's pickup!
Dan misses having Brandon around to help move furniture. Let's just say that all of the rest of us together can't hold up one end of a couch while Dan holds up the other. Somehow we got the furniture into the garage and house, but it required an emergency call to a friend's husband.
And that's how we have fun on a Saturday afternoon here in Vancouver.
