My cheapest furniture buy was a $150 rocker recliner from our grocery store (the freezer section, really, they had them on top of the freezers). It served it's purpose lasting through the rocking years of the kids, but I wouldn't call it a quality piece.

Perkins, that's the best. story. ever!

I'm eating some butter toffee coated almonds I got at the coop and they are definitely made of NOM!

is that before I can buy anything I need to get rid of two large couches

Brenda, have you thought about Freecycle? They have lists all over the Chicago area. The best part is that it's the recipient's problem how to get it out of your place. (I had a better post, but I went to correct the HTML, and managed to delete half the damned post)

What am I doing this weekend? BEGINNING A WEEK OF VACATION!

I'm not going anywhere, but it's a week of not doing work. However, I have to get my car inspected and put in my name, so joy.

I never get a flu shot. Does that make me a bad person, or bad citizen or something?

I am looking at paint colors online. In coming to terms with moving, I know I need to do some things to my place to make it more sellable and to get the most $$, painting is one of the things I think I should do and I'd rather do it where I get some enjoyment out of it. Guess I should talk to the painter guy downstairs pretty soon.

At soem point I should do some real work today, but I am tempted to just look at house listings. too early!

I never get a flu shot. Does that make me a bad person, or bad citizen or something?

Nah. You're not in any high-risk groups, and you don't do work that involves contact with gasquillions of strangers. In a lot of places, you wouldn't even be able to get it, because the available supplies are only enough to cover kids/pregnant women/health care workers/immunosuppressed/group xyz that needs it more than others do anyway.

This flu spreads like WHOA, and it's really, really fucking everywhere already -- controlling the spread as much as they can is the really big thing, from what I understand. But in your position, it's not a crazy choice not to.

Word on the street is that the seasonal flu shot is pretty much pointless this year anyway, since the VAST majority of cases being seen are H1N1, which had the good sense to attack before that vaccine had been distributed.

We still have no idea when the H1N1 vaccine will be available in our pediatrician's office - nobody seems to have it yet.

Last year was the first year I ever got a flu shot - and it was mostly because I happened to be in the building when they were giving them out.

A friend in Las Vegas was able to get an H1N1 vaccine for her son (who has a heart condition that puts him at the top of the list) but only after spending 3 hours in a line that she could have lived without. She was especially pissed because, apparently, when first responders were scheduled to get their shots, only 300 showed up.