A while back, I wrote how I had tried and failed to purchase a patio set for my deck. I have thoroughly enjoyed having a nice vacuum cleaner. "My Bloody Valentine" in 3D sucked big time, but Jensen Ackles is always nice to look at so it's got that going for it!
I had a party about a month ago. There were a lot of people here and there wasn't much of a place to sit, but we managed. Well..we won't have to "manage" as much anymore!
I am now the proud owner of this very PLASTIC (i.e. NON-breakable!) patio set. Now, I know it's not such an awesome thing to some, but the way it came to be on my deck, well, that's what the saga is allllll about...pull up a plastic chair and listen..
Yesterday I got paid. You know how I feel about payday..love/hate...money/broke...same story. This payday was nothing different. I went to the local Family Dollar store to purchase the usual and sundry items we can't live without, toilet paper, cat food, anti-freeze (another saga there!). I was pretty much finished with my shopping and walking down the aisle to check out, and there it was! A box! A box with little round plastic, umbrella-ready tables! Right beside it was a box with umbrellas in it! And on top of them both...the magic words...30% OFF!
If I had been in a car, my tires would've screeched I stopped so fast! To make it short, (too late..lol) I walked out of the Dollar store after having spent a total of $25.20 for a table and an umbrella! I was ecstatic! No, I didn't have any chairs, but that was ok. I knew that eventually I would be able to get some.
So, this morning I was on my way to the store and I drove past a yard sale. Sitting in the yard was a stack of 4 resin chairs. They screamed my name as I drove by, and even though I didn't screech my tires, I turned around as quickly as I could and went back. When I asked the lady how much she wanted for them (after deciding in my head I would pay $20 for them all) she said $2.00. I said $2.00 each? She said no, $2.00 for all of them! I asked her to hang on to them and told her I would be back with the cash in a little while. As I was driving I happened to think of the $2.00 bill in my wallet. Now, I do need to tell you the story of the $2.00 bill...
I was once caught in straight line winds at the local gas station where my daughter worked. It was pretty scary. As the manager herded us all into the back room, there was this little old lady who was scared of the storm. Once it passed, I went and got us some coffee and just sat with her for a while. When we got ready to leave, she took out this $2.00 bill and said she had had it in her wallet for 9 years and it had brought her good luck and she gave it to me for helping her. In the past 3 years since I've had that bill, things have started looking up for me and my girl, and I had begun to think that it was time for someone else to have the bill. How much more perfect could it be to pay for a miraculous stack of chairs with a miraculous bill!
So I told the ladies at the yard sale the story of the patio furniture and the little old lady and they took the bill. I don't know what they will do with it, I hope they will have good luck and pay it forward. But that is how I came into possession of the 4 chairs. They are sturdy, and comfortable, dirty..lol..and they are awesome.
The only thing that was left was an umbrella stand. Coffee can and rocks is what I was thinking, but I went to Lowes anyway. They had ONE umbrella stand left. It was plastic. It was the same color as my table. It was $3.99. SOLD! Add to that one 50 pound bag of sand, (2.99) and Voila!
The patio set you see above. I love it! Total spent...around $35.00, not $350.00 like the glass one that would've broken by now, I am certain of it.
So now I can have a party with my head held high... I have finally found my Patty O'Furniture, and we are going to live happily ever after!
The moral of this Saga (including the first installment) is: When God closes a door, He opens a window. Amen!
