Home Depot. Home DEPOT! Don’t you just love that place? I do. I have the same amorous feelings for Canadian Tire. Perhaps it has something to do with happy childhood memories of wandering the aisles with my father, although in those days it was exclusively Canadian Tire and Beaver Lumber.
And so I can hardly deny the sense of excitement I feel when I cross the threshold at either of those stores, especially this time of year. There’s something about the smell of raw lumber, paint products, drywall compound and sweaty contractors. Spring is not just the season of renewal, it’s the season of rebuilding. Suddenly, everything around us requires a trip to Home Depot. Everything needs to be fixed up or polished to a shine. I will jump at the chance to go to Home Depot. Plus, there’s a Second Cup right outside the door. They’ve got my number, don’t they? Is there ANYTHING better than cruising the garden centre with a latte in your hand? I think not.
Last Saturday Mark and I went to Home Depot sans children, which was fortunate because as it turned out half of Ottawa decided to pay a visit to particular location as well. It was busy, and our children would have been crushed by the crowds.
We went a little crazy, as Canadians are wont to do when the good weather hits. I strong-armed Mark into buying a garbage can. I decided he’s been holding on to his broken down one-wheeled bin long enough. We bought some stick-in-the-ground solar lights for the back patio and some furniture stripper for a table I want to refinish. We wandered through everything except the roofing section.
We paused for a long time in flooring and carpets. And I saw it. IT. The area rug I have been looking for to replace the one we have in our dining room. Someone peeked into my inner consciousness and designed a rug based on what they saw. And then manufactured it, and sold it to Home Depot. And so it’s there. At Home Depot. One does not expect to see such an artful item at Home Depot.
And here it is, except the background colour wasn’t chocolate, it was charcoal.
My lord. You know the feeling you get when you see something you love, that “heart squeeze of want†(as Marla put it before)? I am feeling the squeeze. Is this not a fun carpet? And does it not include all my favourite colours I have mentioned in the past?
FYI – here’s info about the designer, Angela Adams.
*sigh*
So my dear husband, always the logical one in situations like this, said that we couldn’t afford this rug. It’s tax time you see. The logical sliver of my brain agreed, yes, it’s tax time. Uh huh. Yeah. Tax time. But at the same time that whole other illogical 98 per cent was shrieking: “YOU MUST BUY IT NOW BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS FOREVER†and “THAT’S WHAT CREDIT IS FOR!â€
Anyway. It was perfect. And it’s still there. And unless a few hundred dollars falls magically into my lap it will remain there.
Please friends, give me the strength to live without it! For now. ;)
