Whisper or Shout

January 31st, 2009 by Romelda

For over two weeks this month I have been trying to get some customer service from furniture SuperStore, The Brick. Back in September we were shopping for a headboard for our kingsize bed. We told the sales guy we had a metal frame, and did NOT want rails and a footboard….just the headboard. He showed us several models that came in king, and assured us that they didn’t require the rails and footboard.

 This is where I take it at face value that the sales guy would know what the hell he was talking about and trying to sell us – after all he is the only sales guys working on “Sleep Street” (they have the store all laid out like a neighbourhood with aisles being named for streets complete with a life-sized replica of a GreenPark Home all decked out right in the middle of the store). Note to self: don’t assume sales guy knows what he is talking about. I should have listened to my gut instinct when those pesky “red flags” came up for me – like when he had trouble finding the actual SKU numbers in the online database…well in fact he had trouble even logging on. Once he confirmed that the one we chose did come in King, I explained to him that because our insurance company was likely replacing two recliners we had purchased originally from The Brick, we would want to have the headboard delivered at the same time as the chairs. So, I agreed to put a deposit of $50 on the headboard using my debit card so they could hold the headboard – red flag number two came when we had to go to no fewer than five computer terminals to use a debit machine, as for some reason NONE of them worked – I believe it was operator malfunction. Then he had to print out the invoice, and yes, red flag number three came and slapped me across the face when he had to go to yet another terminal to get the damn thing to print the invoice. This whole process took over an hour. An hour for 50 bucks…sheesh.

So, in the end, the chairs were delivered right from The Brick to us and we had to have the headboard delivered just this month separately. The delivery guys arrived and took the headboard out of its packaging and I notice immediately that the feet of the headboard have only slat grooves for attaching rails and NOT holes for bolts. I am emphatic with the delivery guy stating that I think they have delivered the wrong headboard as the one we bought was able to attach to the metal frame of the bed, not for rails. The delivery guy shoots up a massive red flag for me…he says (in a middle european accent I can’t quite place) “it is right one – you drill holes for the bolts yourself.” Did I hear him correctly? I drill the holes myself? I ask him again “are you absolutely positive that it will fit the bedframe?” Again he assures me, yes. I say to him “because I don’t want to put a frame together and go to attach a headboard and find out it doesn’t fit, and have to deal with returning it now that the packaging is off and wrecked etc.” See, the fact I even thought about having to return it was my instinct screaming at me….“don’t do it, don’t accept the delivery. No one has to drill their own holes to attach a headboard, that’s ridiculous!” 

But I didn’t listen to the screaming. I liked the headboard enough and was reassured about three times by the delivery guy it would be fine, all the time rationalizing in my head that surely headboards are a universal size, and whether it was for rails or not, it would be a common size. You can see where this is going, can’t you? … Well, I am here to tell you that no, headboards are not a universal size. We go to put the headboard up to measure for the holes, and well damnit “I TOLD YOU SO!” screamed my gut instinct, right in my face, then it stuck out its tongue! About 2 inches too wide the headboard was. There was no way in hell it was going to fit. Piss me right off! I hate when I am right and don’t listen to myself! Read the rest of this entry »

January 30th, 2009 by Romelda

 It wasn’t completely my idea. To make the baked potato soup in the first place. Heather and I used to go downtown sometimes to the Armadillo on Front St., which we recently found out is no longer the Armadillo. They used to serve “High Country Baked Potato Soup” which was killer. We’d often go there just for the soup. Warm creamy goodness as they say. 

 So the other day in the wind and the blustery weather and the snow – it felt like a warm-me-up kind of day, menu-wise. If I had my way I’d have made homemade chili. It was that kind of cold out there. But since Heather doesn’t do “legumes” she suggested a Baked Potato Soup. I went hunting online for something, as it isn’t a regular recipe in my culinary repertoire. I found one that actually sounded similar to what we might have gotten at the Armadillo. So we figured, what’s not to love: bacon, potatoes, cheese, milk…all sounded good to us.

So I gave it  a whirl, and tweeked it slightly. It is super-simple as recipes go, and maybe took 20 minutes start to finish to make (having already pre-baked the potatoes). We gave some to our friends down the hall because it made about 8 cups, and they called back to rave about it. So I guess you could say it was a hit. Sharing things that bring comfort and warmth is a good thing – so I share the recipe here. Read the rest of this entry »

January 17th, 2009 by Romelda

This video tutorial post is to show users how to create custom brushes using Photoshop. Custom brushes are a great way to add style and unique quality to design.
I hope it helps with any photoshop project you might be working on.

If you have a medium display (like 19″-21″) you can use this version of the Tutorial in Medium Resolution: click here

If you have a large display (like 24″ wide) you can use this version of the Tutorial in Hi Resolution: click here.