I have had a white wicker armoire for several years. It has five drawers down the left side, one large drawer across the bottom, and a large shelved area behind the mirror. The drawers glide more smoothly than any I've ever encountered. The armoire holds an amazing amount of stuff. Most of all, I have a thing for white wicker and it just melts me to look at it. But the new bedroom furniture is dark wood and the armoire did not go. It was relegated to the closet (remember, my closet used to be a small room.) The closet door opened into the armoire and the whole setup was very unsatisfactory. So I was shopping for something that would meet my needs that also melted my heart. Fortunately, I ran into a sympathetic saleswoman who listened to my story and said "Why don't you spray paint the armoire?" Forehead slapping moment. It had never entered my head that I could paint the thing.

The armoire is now dark brown. It still has the best drawers ever and holds lots of stuff. It isn't ugly, it just isn't beautiful anymore. But it does go with the rest of the furniture, and painting it saved me a LOT of money, compared to having to buy a new dresser.

I've been doing a lot of framing and hanging of pictures. Next up is getting the built-in aquarium actually built in. I've had the guy out to measure; he gave me a bid, but he didn't grasp what I wanted. I think he understands now and is supposed to give me another bid. I think I am afraid to see the next one.

There are still a few things left undone or that need to be redone from the remodeling -- a couple of holes in the sheetrock where they got access to the bathtub plumbing, a yellow stain that I think is grease which has appeared on the kitchen ceiling since they supposedly routed the stove vent to the outside. The builder is always nice, always sincere, always apologetic, but nothing ever happens. So Monday morning I took pictures of the problems and drove down to their office, where I found the builder's wife. I told her that I'm so happy with my house that I plan to have an open house for the whole neighborhood, but I really don't want people seeing holes in the walls and grease stains and thinking that is the quality of their work. I got one visit and three phone calls that afternoon --- but still no work. Once the aquarium is done, I will be ready to have my open house, and if the builder's reputation gets damaged in the process, it's not my fault.

I am so tired of chasing people to do what they are supposed to do. It's not just the builder, it's some stuff with my company, it's stuff with my customers. One guy called me last week and asked if I would fill out data sheets for him, something normally done by engineering but I knew they wouldn't touch it until it became an order and he said they wouldn't place the order until they had the data sheets. So I said fine, I'll do it for you, send it over right now. That was Thursday afternoon. I called and I emailed on Friday and on Tuesday, reminding him to send me the information. This morning I had to leave very early and didn't get home until after 6:00. When I turned on my computer, there was the information, along with a note that he "had" to have the data sheets back today.

The best advice I heard today was this: instead of being frustrated by airport security lines, just be grateful that the Shoe Bomber didn't try to light his underwear!