Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat.
-Jean-Paul Sartre --French existentialist philosopher and writer, 1905-1980

Does it Fit?

Well good day all. I hope you all came out of our big storm safely. It was blowing like crazy down here. Little doggies ears were flapping in the wind. Boat was a rockin' all over the place. Birds trying to land on the roof were being blown off. So there was a lot of noise coming from above as the birds would land and try to hold on.
So where did our spring weather go? I am going to stop writing about how glorious it is when the sunshine decides to grace us with its presence. Every time I do, a big storm or cold weather rolls in.
Did you ever watch Laurel & Hardy? Well, you could have watched it live yesterday had you been down here. We bought our boat furnished and have always despised the futon in the salon. It never folded correctly after someone had slept on it. The mattress was full of peaks and valleys that made it uncomfortable to sit on. We have been looking to get a new sofa but just have not found the one we wanted. So, yesterday we were driving by a futon shop and decided to stop in and check out what they had in stock. We sat on this sofa and that sofa. The thick ones, the firm, soft, medium, micro fiber, leather, flat, folded, just about every way one could sample a sofa, we did it. That wasn't the funny part though. I'll get there shortly. We decided their prices were just too high for what they had to offer. There was one sofa though that we kept going back to. A black, modern, thick, leather, tufted, armless, convertible sofa. It was sharp, classy. But it was also $800.00 and we didn't want to spend that much for a sofa on our boat. So we thanked the salesman and headed out the door. As we did, we sat one more time on the black sofa. The salesman said, "You like that one?" I  looked at him and told him we didn't want to spend that much. He said, "We are moving the store so all of these sofas are on sale. I'll do $200.00 on that one." I said," $200.00? $200 off?" He told me "No. $200.00 total." We were so excited we told him to hold it and we would be back with a truck. So off we went, got the truck, back to the store and on our way home with our new, sharp, classy, modern sofa.
As we arrived at the marina, I received a phone call and had a family emergency and had to leave. Apparently a gentleman sitting in his car enjoying the view must have heard me a talking to my better half and offered to help carry the sofa down to the boat. I left.
I came home.
My other half had removed the nasty old futon and was getting ready to bring the new sofa down into the salon. RIGHT?!
Only, the sofa didn't fit. In our excitement of the sofa price, we didn't even think to take measurements. Just another tip when living aboard. You can't buy everything just because you like it. It has to fit through the small door openings. We know this now because we must have tried every position and angle to get that damn thing in here. The whole time we are doing this maneuvering he was cussing and swearing and banging around. Yelling at me because I couldn't lift and move the sofa the way he wanted me too. I started laughing, as I found this extremely comical which of course made him soooo mad, ...which in turn made me laugh even harder. This went on for nearly an hour just to never get the damn thing in the boat.
Now we are hot, and mad, well I wasn't mad, which made him mad, I was just hot and confused. At this point, the sharp, classy, modern couch that he loved so much in the store, was now, his nemesis.
I am sure anyone that could see us during this fiasco was getting a great laugh. I feel grateful that I can bring a little sunshine into the lives of those around us. I say this because I know what I would have been thinking had I been on the watching end.
Just so you know, we did get the sharp, classy, modern , leather sofa that he so loves, into the boat. He went back and did what should have been done to begin with, he measured the sofa. Then the starboard side windows. Whoa lah! Perfect fit. So, after approximately 2.5 hours, we had moved our lovely sofa into the salon. And it looks nice!
So, remember to always measure when you get anything bigger than a pillow.
And if any of youare looking for a sofa or futon, the Futon Factory in Lynnwood Wa., is having a great sale because the store is moving. We paid 200.00 for a sofa that had been advertised for 799.00
There were some other nice leather & micro fibre sofas for cheap cheap.

Have a great day all and BOAT ON!!!