Saturday, January 18, 2014

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA . . .



Mike got up last Saturday and said in substance: We’re getting a new mattress – and one for the farm, too. I’m old enough that I can’t afford not to have the comfort that money can buy. Maybe it won’t make any difference, but I’m going to try.

It’s not in Mike’s nature to pamper himself – or anyone else – but he has some back pain – and some shoulder pain – and any given night will find one or the other of us -- or both of us – not resting well. And we were long overdue to replace it, especially given the back and shoulder issues.

So Monday we spent several hours mattress shopping. At the first business – a long-time establishment -- we were advised the mattresses were on the third floor.

“Do we do stairs? – both of you?” asked the associate. Was he kidding? How old – and / or infirm -- do we look? We did the stairs handily and he met us there. His focus was on mattresses manufactured by Northwest Bedding out of Spokane, and we tentatively selected one. Then I asked about the Tempur-pedics on the other side of the room.

“They aren’t for everyone,” the salesman said. “Some people really like them, but they just aren’t for everyone.” And when I hear a salesperson say that, I naturally draw the conclusion that he doesn’t think it’s right for me.

“How much are they?” I asked.
“Expensive!” he replied with some force.

And I wondered if he based his conclusion as to its appropriateness for us on our perceived age or on our perceived bank account.

As I wandered over to look at the Tempur-pedics, it was clear he had no interest in selling us one. He didn’t even try.

We shopped a couple of other places -- seems like every third store sells mattresses. As we left one store, the manager called after us: “What would it take to get you into a mattress today?” Clearly, he was more desperate to sell us a mattress than we were to buy one from him – and we were ready to buy. But – that first mattress was calling our name, and we decided to go for it. We bought two – one for town and one for the farm.
 
The “town” mattress was delivered this morning under my supervision because Mike and Ken had taken “the three girls” and gone hunting. Of course, we knew it was going to be high – much deeper than our old unit – but still, I was taken aback when I realized just how much of our headboard disappeared. I pretty much pride myself on my royal lineage, you know. I can feel the pea under the mattress, but I don’t know about this. And how about reading in bed? How will that work?

Amongst the advantages, I found the bed much easier to make at this height. And maybe I can use it for certain sewing projects. KW

5 comments:

Hallie said...

You could probably install the bed rails lower on the headboard and footboard and that would help considerably. Looks like you might need a ladder to get into bed!

Did your mattress come with a satisfaction guarantee? If so, are you waiting to have the farm mattress delivered to ensure that you really like the mattress?

DrJulieAnn said...

I agree with Hallie (she is a wise one, as you well know...) about lowering the side rails.

We ran into the same problem a few years back. For reading, we just steal each others' pillows...

Kathy said...

Hi Dr. J! So nice of you to stop by. Yes, Hallie is capable and wise -- and one of 2% with a natural gift for getting everything done.

Yes, I looked, and we could lower the side rails but would forfeit under bed storage. I'm going to live with it this way for a while and see what we think.

We put the mattress set for the farm on lay-away until spring with the thought that if we don't care for the one in town, we won't buy that one. We're using an old wrought iron bed frame there -- already well off the floor with no options.

Chris said...

Hmm, I know about those high beds. We bought a new mattress a few years ago and it is tall (and extremely heavy)! Fortunately, our bed, already tall on its own, also has a huge headboard.

I agree--making a tall bed is so much easier! But...you're shorter than I am, so I wondering how you get in bed? I kinda have to "spring" into ours, but I do the luxury of the height.

As to how to fix the headboard issue...

Kathy said...

We had a great night's sleep. I don't know if it was because of the anticipation of sleeping on a new mattress or if we just really did need that improvement. I noticed at once that the bed stayed warm. We'll live with this for a while before making a decision to alter it.