The Wrong Chair

Almost since we've moved to England, Dave has wanted a La-Z-Boy recliner. He had one in the states that he loved, but it was too worn out to move here, and although we bought a recliner when we first arrived it was a sorry approximation of the real thing.

The need has become particularly acute because the loveseat where Dave sits every night is falling apart. There's basically no support below the cushion. Dave is so tall that it doesn't make a difference for him, but Gary, Dave's brother-in-law, sat in Dave's "spot" during his visit and disappeared into the loveseat like Lily Tomlin playing Edith Ann.

You may remember that Dave's 50th birthday was in June. So I decided to order him a La-Z-Boy, specially made. We got it from a furniture company in Peterborough, and before I ordered it I had Dave choose what he wanted -- the type of chair and the color. I placed the order online at the end of May. And we waited. And waited.

Finally, this week, I was notified that the chair was ready for delivery. Dave joyously anticipated putting his feet up as he had in his old recliner. The van pulled up yesterday morning, the delivery guys hoisted the chair into place in our living room, and Dave sat down -- and he was unable to recline. There was no reclining handle, no mechanism that we could find. The footrest seemed welded to the body of the chair.

I got on the phone to the company and learned with horror that we had ordered a standard armchair, not a reclining armchair. I looked at the information Dave sent me, and yes, that's what he accidentally specified, and I didn't catch the problem. I guess we both thought all La-Z-Boys were recliners. Hence the name, right?

Well, no.

Fortunately, the furniture company is working with us, and we're going to exchange the chair. We have to pay a little more -- the recliners are slightly more expensive -- and we also have to pay another delivery fee, as well as a fee to have the incorrect one collected next week and taken away. Worst of all, we have to wait another 15 weeks for the recliner to be ready.

This is the longest, most drawn-out birthday Dave has ever had -- not in a good way!

Jenny-O asked to see a close-up of our embroidery from Vietnam, which you all saw in a photo of our front hallway a few days ago. We liked it because we saw many scenes like this while traveling through the country -- right down to the pink lotuses in the paddies and the workers with their conical hats. We bought it in a shop where women were gathered working on various pieces of embroidery -- I assume one of them made it, but who knows. Anyway, it's a nice souvenir linked to specific memories we have of the country.

(Top photo: A charity shop in Cricklewood. I showed you a close-up photo of its window in the post linked above.)