More furniture

Was up until 1am last night getting furniture…a queen-sized futon in a mahogany frame and a cherry bookcase. I’m quite proud of getting the cherry bookcase–ten other people wanted it, but I was the one who acted fastest, and I got it! It’s particleboard, but it’s got a nice cherry veneer on it, and it goes very well in the living-room.

The queen-size futon was a pain to move in–we had to take apart the frame to get it through the door–but we got it in eventually. I think it’s a little too big for the room, but after all the fuss and bother of getting it through the door–well, it’s staying. It currently has a green futon cover, but that has got to go. I have been thinking about what to replace it with.

I now have virtually all the furniture for my living room/dining room, and am pretty happy with the end result. I’ve started taking out my treasures from SE Asia and figuring out which of them work harmoniously together and which do not…I am going to hang the gorgeous silk rug from India up over the futon, and will hang the silver-and-pastel tapestry I bought in Laos on the wall, along with the intricate, naturally-dyed purple-and-silver runner from Laos. The overall result should be gorgeous–dark cherry floor, dark cherry furniture (traditional/formal looking), a variety of natural colors in the wall hangings. I think I’m going to make the futon solid beige/cream in a nice upholstery fabric (possibly a subtle brocade)–I want the eye to be drawn to the treasures and not the futon, so keep it understated. I’m really enjoying home decorating.

The bedroom, on the other hand, is full of fairly cheap furniture from IKEA. Someday I’ll get around to upgrading it, but it’s definitely a “working room” and not a display one.

Exhausted today (didn’t get enough sleep last night), but still need to make it to the gym to train. (All this training and unpacking stuff is a real pain.) Tomorrow I’m doing a 2 hour ride, Sunday I’ll do a 52-mile ride, which should take a little over 4 hours. Next weekend is the Cinderella Century! a 66-mile (100km) ride with lots of fabulous costumes. I plan to wear an off-the-shoulder, very low- and high-cut Little Red Dress over my cycling shorts–good way to find out whether the outfit will work for ALC.

Work-wise, I’m finally getting my teeth into the meat of corporate politics. I hate to admit it, but I love the stuff–it’s interesting to see how the chessboard is laid out and figure out the right ways of getting what you want to get done done. It’s kind of fun pushing for organizational change.