Ah, sweet spring (and a project preview of sorts)!

So we have nearly perfect spring weather here in South Jersey. The sun is bright, the air is breezy and it's still slightly chilly so we can be comfortable without having to be half naked (and UGLY).

The days are longer, the windows are open and a feeling of relaxation is slowly descending on us all.

Even Joe.

There is a mockingbird that seems to like the hydrangea bush just outside the kitchen door. We heard loud chirping this morning and Man-Cub (who has a developing interest in birding) cocked his head to the side (very birdlike) and said, "Oh, that's a tufted titmouse...no...a purple martin...or...blue jay?" We looked outside and saw the clever mimic sitting in the bare stalks of the hydrangea, singing its heart out. He flew away, but moments later was back again, resuming its song. He keeps flying off but returning to the same bush and his singing is making my day!

As for the project, it's been little over a year since we've had one and The Viking has been getting antsy. And now the perfect opportunity has presented itself. Because of The Viking's back problems (3 herniated discs) we recently purchased a Sleep Number bed. Friends had recommended it and we decided to give it a go because Papa Bear was complaining that the bed was too soft while Mama Bear was horrified at the idea of having to sleep on a harder one!

The kind Sleep Number people give you 30 days to sleep on the bed to see if you want to keep it. I used to think this was very generous of them, but now I see that it is just good business. During the first two weeks of sleeping on that bed, I thought I was going to go on a murderous rampage. First is was too hard, then it was too soft! I wasn't sleeping! I was tossing and turning, then hobbling around like an old woman from hip and shoulder pain! The Viking wasn't liking it either.

This was all complicated by the ironic fact that the model we were trying, being the bare-bones, no-fills, el cheapo deluxe model, has no numbers on it anywhere. It is the very rare Numberless Sleep Number bed. You kind of have to imagine what your sleep number is. That was, of course, irritating.

But we got used to it. We decided to keep our memory foam topper and each managed to find our perfect mattress firmness. Of course, the noise from the pump is about as loud as a plane landing on the roof and thus extremely terrifying when used in the middle of the night, but it has proved to be worth it. We are both sleeping comfortably in the same bed again (The Viking had taken to sleeping on the love seat of all places and I just wasn't liking that at all).

Aaaaanyway, because we have the new bed, we need a new bed frame. Our old one was made for a box spring and, okay, was held up primarily by cinder blocks. We're just that trashy. The new one needs a platform-type frame. So The Viking is going to make one!

And that leaves us with an extra Queen-size box spring and mattress which we've decided to move into Redheaded Snippet's room. She has a lumpy, old double bed in there now and as she's been asking us for a new mattress and we occasionally use her room as a guest room, it just makes sense. And that will throw off the rest of the furnishings in her room just enough to make for a good, but not overwhelming or expensive, project.

We're trying to find the most frugal way to do this. In other words, without having to buy two totally new (overpriced) beds. Redheaded Snippet has her heart set on a wrought iron bed, but she may just have to deal. So we're researching our options as far as getting a conversion kit, attaching the current double headboard to a new metal Queen frame, finding a great deal on a headboard somewhere (craigslist, ebay, freecycle, yard sales, etc), or even The Viking making everything himself (except for the wrought iron, obviously).

The madness is scheduled to begin this weekend. Stay tuned...