Lowe's and Lights
Morgan and I, though somewhat reluctantly, agreed to knock out a mid-week errand since he'll be gone this weekend on a work trip and I have parent-teacher conferences two evenings next week. We decided to be proactive and head to Lowe's to pick up some light fixtures for the garage. We were armed only with the bit of wisdom our electrician imparted: make sure you get the LED kind.
I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of visiting Lowe's or any such home improvement store, but I get clammy just walking through the automatic doors. Their swish is an indistinct whisper reminding me of my ignorance of all things related to home improvement.
Don't get me wrong. I love my home. I just find myself overwhelmed when I walk into one of those stores. First of all, it takes me the better part of 20 minutes just to find the aisle I'm looking for. Then it takes no less than 40 minutes to scour brands and barcodes carefully reading boxes detailing what is included (occasionally leaning on Google for translations I can actually understand).
So, anyway, there we stood squinting up at a blindingly bright display of assorted shop lights. I shifted from foot to foot and my scowl deepened as I fought the urge to raise my hand to my forehead and shield my eyes. We almost mistakenly picked up a pull chain light fixture, which you plugged in rather than hardwired. Heaven help us. It was all so complex with lumens and measurements and watts. Oh my.
It all came down to this, we didn't want to conduct brain surgery in our garage, just light it up enough to locate our camping stove the night before a trip. I mean, how does any reasonably intelligent person discern whether a 24 inch light strip or 48 inch light strip is required to brighten those dark corners and low shelves in a two-car garage?
When Morgan and I find ourselves in such perplexing situations, we look lovingly into each other's eyes, shrug our shoulders, and split the difference. And our strategy applies to most anything...we settle on the upper-middle priced brand. We figure it isn't the cheapest nor the most expensive. It's the Goldilocks theory that lands us just a bit right of the middle. What's more is that it usually works out. And with that, Morgan slipped two long, slender boxes off the shelf and hoisted them over his shoulder.
I'll be slicing again in about two weeks when the electrician makes it over. I'm sure we're missing something profound like the light switch we were supposed to buy to turn on said lights (duh), but you'll just have to wait for it.
I feel your pain, no I mean I REALLY feel your pain! We spent no less than 2 hours at Lowe’s (2 different trips) attempting to buy pull out shelves for our kitchen cabinets. And guess what?! Two out of three fit—- back to Lowe’s!
ReplyDeleteWe remodeled almost our entire house last year. I don't want to make another house decision for 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI understand too, but I have to say, I love going to any home improvement store, but my husband and sister are very handy! I am the Bob Villa of the group- I hand my Norm Abrams' the tools and occasionally read the directions. I have no idea what we need or what 1/2 the stuff means, but it sure is fun going down those aisles.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you...Lowe's is akin to torture for me. I feel so...inadequate when I go there. Luckily, I married a pretty handy guy who seems to know what he's doing!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of Lowe's- so many possibilities! We sometimes take family trips (my poor kids) there just to get new ideas.
ReplyDelete