A few posts ago, I bemoaned the fact that quality assurance seems to have fallen by the wayside in today's world.  A case in point was our new furniture - BOTH sofa & loveseat had lumps in the arms.  I mean, HARD lumps, too, not something that will wear away over time.  Stick-em-up LUMPS.  Each sofa had one lump in the right arm - why do you suppose that could be?  And remember, how hard it was to get someone to come out? Remember, we had an appointment and the dude just didn't show up, and when I called the store (at 11:30!!) they told me the inspector was supposed to report to the store at 10, but he called in at 11 & said he wasn't coming?  So, at 11:30, they start calling customers (or so they say)...yeah, sounded like a crock, to me too.

Sooooo, since we were gonna be gone in a couple of days, they needed to get someone out there.   Pronto.   Eventually, they did, and it was only a truck and a driver.  And he agreed, in fact, he FOUND the 2nd lump!  Yet, he couldn't pick anything up, since he was alone.  Remember - this store is a good TWO HOURS from our house, and this is all on their dime!  I guess it's DOLLAR, since the price of diesel is once again skyrocketing!  Probably due to excessive demand, go figure!  Think inefficiency has anything to do with it?  I digress!

So, OK, we have a truck, a driver, and 2 lumps.  What's a girl to do?  We arrange for pickup of one sofa.  Don't ask me why they cannot pick up BOTH sofas, they just can't - it's not their policy.  I know, I'm about ready to stuff a sock my own self.  So, now we're at the house, at our appointed time in DECEMBER, and I am calling to confirm they are gonna pick up one sofa on Friday morning, BEFORE 11 am.  Why, oh, why should I be surprised when the lady (to whom I spoke in November) seems to have NO FR$$$$$$G IDEA what I'm talking about!

Yup, you read that right.  For some reason, she is having a hard time figuring out why I'm calling (are you picking up your sofas here at the Corpus Christi store? uh, NO.) and she needs to check something with the warehouse manager.  Oh, but would it be ok if they picked up both sofas at once?  Heeeellllllloooooooo, yes, that's what I'd requested in the first place, but was told that was against store policy.  An hour later, and I'm still waiting for a call back.  Something tells me I'm not gonna be overly thrilled with the conversation that will undoubtedly ensue.

On to brighter topics!  The house is still beautiful, our neighbor has done a FINE job of keeping the grass in check (except, he still declines the opportunities to weed all the flower beds...dunno why...he did a beautiful job on his own), no paint fairies have been here, so we still have patches (sample colors) on the dining room walls and the bathroom is no more painted than before, once we figured out we had a crimp in the fill hose for the washer (causing an LF error, which means too Long to Fill, btw), the washer and dryer work GREAT(and FREE, ok, almost free!!), the puppy still loooooves bounding around the back yard, getting muddy feet & chasing the doggies next door, and it's kinda nice to be "home."  Traffic around here is MUCH better than in the valley, a lot less of it, and the drivers aren't nearly so crazy!  And I even went out to Hobby Lobby by myself, and didn't get carjacked!  Or assaulted.  Crazy things happening down there in that there valley, lemme tell ya.

Last night after dinner we drove around our neighborhood, then went up to Cuero, a little town about 20 miles north of us, to view the Christmas lights display.  (Hint:  click the words "Christmas lights" in the previous sentence to go to the slide show and see what we saw).  Oh, gosh, it was such a sight to see.  Some of the displays were animated, like we had in Clemmons, but one big difference - it was FREE to the public, and each piece was sponsored by a family, group or individual.  Of course, donations were accepted at the end of the tour, and of course, we contributed, but it wasn't like Clemmons, where they were trying to finance the whole county operations from this one park event.  Plus, I bet there were fewer crooks hands in the pot!

Well, I spent yesterday at Hobby Lobby & Hancock's, and I guess I just got my appetite whetted, 'cuz I'm itchin' to go back for some more stuff!  What can I say - some people drink, some smoke, some do crack.  I guess we all have our vices.  Besides, if I stay here, Dick's gonna make me clean the bathrooms!  You'd leave, too, wouldn't you, given that choice??

Y'all be good, stay warm & dry!  Much love & holiday cheer!