It was a quiet day in the office today.  I suspect that some of it was because Michigan State lost last night in the tournaments.  And, some of it was because people were taking a long weekend.  But, more than likely, it was because people were hungover from St. Patricks Day.  😉

Since the government is going to eliminate incandescent in 2012(?), I began to wonder what to do when that happens.  While I can always replace the standard light bulb with a CFL, that shouldn’t be an issue.  But, it is the non-standard bulbs that will be hard to replace.

I had though about stocking up on the odd sized ones but how  many years worth will I need?  I guess I can always buy them in Canada, eh.

It is always handy to have a sales clerk particularly when you don’t know what you need to purchase.  So, I was pleased to have one with me at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  When I told her that I needed new linens, she said “right this way”.  Great!

The first question she asked was if I needed a Duvet cover.  Now, I had never heard of Duvet before and thought she had said Bidet.  So, I told her no, I didn’t have one of those.

She smiled and told me that a Duvet was a covering on the out side of the bed.  I said, Oh you mean a bed spread.  She smiled politely and a said that they are not called bed spreads any more.  They are now called Duvets.  What ever.

Now, as near as I can tell, Duvets are not sold separately, they are sold in sets.  The basic set is a Duvet and two pillow covers or “shams”.  The deluxe set also includes a bed skirt and an assortment of pillows of various sizes.

The pillows are not really used for sleeping.  They are just there to give the bed a look of comfort.

When ever I see a bunch of pillows on a bed, I always envision a bunch of beautiful women dressed in silk, lounging on the pillows.  I think that is the idea.  The husband gets distracted with the vision while the woman buys the deluxe package.

I opted for the basic package.  I do not want a bed skirt and I certainly don’t need decorative pillows on my bed.  Oh, I really don’t need the shams either but I get them regardless.  Oh well, at least they are easy to store.

When it comes to buying linens, there are numerous stores to choose from.  But, I decided to start with Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I did so partly because I like the store and their selection and partly because I had a bunch of coupons for 20% off.  And, given the price of linens, that 20% would come in handy.  So, with coupons in hand, I headed out for the store.

When I arrived at Bed Bath and Beyond, I knew where the linens were located and headed there.  But, on my way, I got distracted by the large wind chimes that were on display and started playing with them.

It wasn’t long before a clerk showed up and asked if I needed assistance.  This surprised me as I have never had a clerk ask me if I needed assistance.  I guess they were annoyed with the sound of the wind chimes.  I will file that away for future visits.  😉 

Since my new bed is wider and shorter than my old bed, my linens won’t fit.  So, I needed to go shopping for new linens.

Linen shopping is something that I had never done before, so there was a real learning curve.  Thread counts, Egyptian cotton and Percale were all new terms for me so I needed to take it slow.

I knew that high thread counts were good.  But I also knew that I didn’t want Satin.  While I love the feel of Satin, I hate having to fight to hang on to my pillow when I sleep.  So, I need something between Muslin and Satin.

Ten years ago, I would have been happy just to find sheets in a color that I liked in the size that I needed.  I am afraid that my life has now taken a twist towards the boring.

When I purchased my new bed set, I went from a California King mattress to a conventional King mattress.  Plus, I went from a water bed to a some what traditional mattress.  At least, traditional in the sense that there was no water involved in the sleep process.

Now, I hate the terms “conventional” or “traditional” because I am not a conventional, traditional kind of guy.  I am more of a “California” kind of guy.  But, that was not an option so, conventional it was.  Besides, I really liked the modern styling of the bed set.

So, I guess it is time to move out of the 60s.  Beside, my bell bottoms are a little tight these days.

The local news station is running a special on why you should not post pictures on the internet.  If you do, you are putting yourself in danger.

The news station claims that if you post pictures of your trip, some criminal types might see them and then know that you are not at home.  Then they will go to your house and rob you.

While I understand the concern, I don’t think that it is any more dangerous than many of the other things that we post.  Plus, this presumes that they already know where you live and like reading your facebook page.

The News also say that if you post pictures of your house, criminals will figure out where you live and victimize you.  I suppose that after the criminals get tired of driving around with the picture while looking for your house, they will just look you up in the phone book.

But, the news business is all about making money.  So, the more viewers that they get, the more money that they make.  And, all of the people that they have scared with their stories will eventually recover.

I have noticed that all of our conference rooms at work now have little glass bottles with sticks in them. They deliver scents to the rooms.

I am not sure if they are there just to make the room smell better or if they are there to ward off evil spirits.  After all, they do have that Wicca look to them.

At home, I have little electric odor dispensers.  They are suppose to keep the kitties calm and happy.  Maybe that is what the bottles are about.  I wonder.

Art Van, a regional furniture store chain, is advertising a mattress sale on TV.  They boldly proclaim that all mattress are 50% off or more.

Now, I just happen to be in the market for a new bed and mattress so I was very interested in the sale.  And, having been in the store the week before shopping for a bed and mattress, I thought that maybe now would be the time to buy.

During my previous visits to the store, I was told that the Tempur Pedic mattresses are never on sale.  But, I was interested in the Tempur Pedic mattresses, so I kept watching the TV ads over and over again.  And, yes indeed, “All Mattress are 50% off or more.” So, I decided to check their web site.

Now, the Art Van website proclaimed in bold letters “All mattress are 50%** off or more!”.  Well, I noticed the “**” at the end of the 50%.  So, I scrolled down to the fine print at the bottom which said that Tempur Pedic mattresses were not included in the sale.

So, I guess that “ALL” is synonymous with “most”.

What ever.

The other day, I was shopping online for new bedroom furniture.  And, in an effort to showcase their furniture, these online sites all had pictures of their wares displayed in a bedroom setting.  But, one site in particular caught my attention.

Prominent in the picture was the bed with two night stands, a chest of drawers, a dresser and a wall mirror.  Of course to high light the furniture, there was a selection of pictures on the wall, some earth ware on top of the chest of drawers and a motorcycle in the corner.  That’s right, there was a crotch rocket in the corner of the bedroom.

Now, I don’t know if the motorcycle was there to distract men from the price of the furniture or if it was some ones idea of a joke.  I wonder if the store also sells motorcycles?