How Did We Honor America's Presidents, Past And Present? Why...By Buying Furniture, Of Course

 It wasn't the plan to go furniture shopping today--it just worked out that way. We had appointments south and we thought we'd check out some furniture on our way out of town. Turns out, we found a couch and chair we feel will work well in our front room so be bought it.

No, we didn't mean to honor America's presidents by purchasing furniture--it just worked out that way.

Growing up, I remember two competing furniture companies in our area vying for everyone's business. The years have strengthened one (RC Willey) and eliminated the other (Granite Furniture). Oh, and I remember the ads...if I were an alien visiting from another planet, I would think that Americans could not celebrate a holiday without visiting a furniture store to pick up a dining room set, a new mattress, a big screen TV (to watch the latest major sporting event...), or a major appliance. 

Personally, I've never thought about furniture much. In my childhood home, we had the same furniture for years, decades even. As long as it was comfortable, I didn't pay much attention. We had a large sofa system, a green and white thing we lovingly called the "Sofa System of Love," more for alliteration fun than a historical description of the couch. When I moved out in college, we unloaded the sofa system at the same time and moved it into the house where I lived. That couch had been in my mom's house from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. A good investment.

I have no idea how well our new couch and chair will last. Maybe decades, hopefully so. Who knows? It might someday be moved into one of our children's homes or basements. Of course, time will tell.

I'm All For Quality, But...I Don't Live In Their World

I saw the display and I did not just a double-take, but a triple take.

No way, I thought.

Maybe it's because I'm not used to shopping where the items are so expensive. Maybe it's because I'm not used to shopping in general. But when you see things items I'm used to seeing at 1/10th the cost, it takes me by surprise.

I'm no expert in marketing, but I understand some of the basics. Is a Porsche worth the cost of ten regular cars? Yes, there are things a Porsche can do that regular cars cannot--and no matter how many regular cars you have, you'll never match the performance of the Porsche. A brand-new Hyundai can't match the acceleration, the cornering, the top speed of the Porsche.

So, I can sort of understand a price difference between those two car makers.

But a toaster?

Can a $300 or $400 toaster out-perform a GE model costing $50?

And that's just a toaster. The display also had a blender costing $600, a $500 coffee maker, and a $600 cooker. 

It's easy for me to sit back and rip on Wolf for these appliances. I don't live in their world. There's a reason these things are priced as they are. It's because many people out there want them and are willing to pay for them. I'm actually glad they're out there. As with anything--even toasters--you have different levels of quality. There's low end, middle end, and top-of-the-line. And for those willing and capable of paying the price for these items, Wolf's made them for that very reason.

Thinking about it, I'd like to be included in that group. The question is, if I had the means, would I consider spending the money on them? Or would my decades-old frugality (i.e. cheapness...) stop me from pulling the trigger? Right now, I can't see myself doing it. 

I don't live in their world.

One Of Those Rare Times...You Can Look Directly At The Sun

Tonight we found ourselves in Layton, Utah, doing a little furniture shopping. There's a new store opening and it is huge. We got there late so we didn't have a lot of time to browse, and even though the numerous items inside the store were impressive, the best thing we saw was outside....

In the parking lot.

Well, not in the parking lot, but from the parking lot.

Because of numerous fires, our air, like many in the west, is thick with pollution. And because of this pollution, we're able to look directly at the sun. When we exited the store, a group of people had gathered in the parking lot and they all had their phones pointing them towards the western sky. As we cleared the building, we could see why--the sun was amazing! I snapped a picture, but it really doesn't do what we saw justice.

It's not often you can look at the sky unaided by protection for your eyes. I'd love it more, if not for the fact that the reason we could see the sun tonight in its state was due to massive destruction caused by fires. I guess it's the "silver lining" from a bad situation.

I'm sure our little group of shoppers/browsers weren't the only ones snapping pictures of the sun tonight. I'm sure, if I did a little searching, I could find many photos taken of tonight's sun--hopefully, of a better quality than mine. It was one of those things we all shared together.

Looking directly at the sun.