Randoms

• Rhubarb is the best, isn't it? Here's my favorite - rhubarb "boiled down" to its essence (hee hee): Rhubarb Compote. Also check out the Minimalist's recipe for Rhubarb Orange Soup.
  
• For no particular reason, I'm always surprised when people make patterns from Vogue Knitting and doubly surprised when they turn out superbly. I've never made anything from there myself, but here's Jenna's completed vest, from last year's summer issue, that's quite charmant.
  
• File under creative uses of Flickr: The "Six Word Story" Group.
  
• Don't know about you, New Yorkers, but I'm too big a philistine to sort through all the stuff happening in the city for myself - in other words, I need filters. Filters like New York Brain Terrain.
  
• When when WHEN will Threadless reprint this shirt? WHEEEEEEEN?
  
• Some people like to make their dogs wear crocheted snowmen on their heads. And other hats, too. I would like to not feel sorry for this pooch, but I can't help it.
  
• We bought this. Well, really this, but it's exactly the same. To be topped with this and these... Maybe I went a little crazy with the mattress accoutrements, but is that really possible?

In the end the bed is super comfy, and we didn't want to mess around with testing latex toppers and such, and knew we weren't yet ready for a latex mattress (for no particular reason, I guess). We are both droolingly anticipating its delivery, which will be in about a week and a half. I think we got a great deal. The comparable mattress + box spring at Sleepy's was listed at almost $1300 before delivery - funny since you can buy the original, branded mattress from Westin for $1200 with shipping included. I had the guy talked down to $1000 before delivery and tax, but still, come ON. We paid $850 total (with mattress, box spring, shipping, white glove delivery, and tax) for the exact. same. mattress (from Sweet Dreams Mattress in North Carolina, incidentally, NOT Sleepy's, and no haggling was required). Plus the Sleepy's guy kept talking about the warranty like it was easy as pie to enforce, even though it's widely known that mattress warranties are practically meaningless. No surprise when you look at Sleepy's record at the Better Business Bureau. [BTW, check out the details of that lawsuit in NJ. Go NJ Consumer Affairs! They also went after Blockbuster for their misleading pseudo-Netflix program, you know, the one where there were "no late fees" but if you kept the movie for a week or so you had to BUY the DVD. Oh, and NY also sued them. A tangent: do you remember the show "Fight Back! With David Horowitz"? A classic.]. Anyway, thanks once again for your mattress advice, everyone!