Mirror, Mirror

One of the things I missed from having my meditation room downstairs was the large mirror. So I finally moved it upstairs. This was mildly complicated, as it was built into a sort of bench thing. I found it at a garage sale right after I bought my house, and the guy said that he got it when Wal-Mart was redoing its shoe department. It was an old bench/mirror combo from them. However, I didn't want the bench upstairs: just the mirror.

Extracting it from the bench proved easier than expected. There were plastic covers that I assumed covered screws. They did. The mirror was just sitting on the bench with a frame screwed around it (and a sturdy backboard behind it). It's rather heavy, at approximately 28" x 54" x 3/8". I tried putting it up lengthwise with just two supports, both screwed into studs. The ominous creaking suggested this put too much pressure on the glass, so I hurriedly pulled the mirror out again and put a third support in between. No ominous creaks this time. At a guess, the mirror weighs at least 20 pounds. Might be closer to 30. Anyway, after putting the mirror into the bottom slots, it occurred to me that it was going to be difficult to get the top supports in, since until at least one was in, I had to keep one hand on the mirror to keep it from tipping over. But I managed. So I now have a mirror to check postures in both yoga and taiji. :^)

A connected tidbit: I cannot find my old studfinder. So last night I went over to Fred Meyer to get a new one. Got it home. Put in the battery. It was a wallfinder, not a studfinder. When it was within a quarter inch or so of the wall, it beeped. Continuously. Until I pulled it away from the wall again. So this morning I took it back and got a refund. I might have just exchanged it, except that this was the last one they'd had. So I got a different brand from Home Depot, and it works fine. It's mildly temperamental on textured walls, but it works.

Not connected, unless icy roads count as mirrors, but earlier this week I decided to drive up to the Gibson Jack trailhead. I was curious whether (a) the road was open; (b) the road was drivable; (c) the trail was hikeable. The answers were "yes", "sort of" and "with metal cleats." Past the second cattleguard, the road was pure ice. Uphill. I wasn't sure Jean Luc was going to make it all the way up; I heard one tire spinning most of the way. I've got studded tires, but not chains or a 4WD, and both would have been useful. The trail looked about the same as the road. If it were mostly flat, I'd call it doable. Since it's mostly slopes, I wouldn't recommend it without, as I said, metal cleats. So I probably won't try going up there again until things start to really thaw out.

ADDENDUM: One more newsworthy item, connected to mirrors only if well-polished. I have a new refrigerator coming. My mom's refrigerator was running backwards (refrigerator was freezing things; freezer wasn't) so she decided to replace it. She's also been wanting a storage freezer for her basement, and a ceramic top stove. Well, putting three or more appliances on her Sears card got her a 20% discount, and I found a refrigerator I liked. The one I have came with the house. No major problems, but I've always wanted one with a bottom-freezer. There was one that was a decent price before the discount, and an awesome price after. The one minor hitch is that, for it all to get the 20% discount, it has to be delivered to a single address. So everything is being delivered to my mom's house tomorrow. We weren't sure that just me and Dad could shift the new one into my house (assuming he'd be willing to help), but that problem solved itself. The Wesley House (Methodist group) on ISU's campus was in need of a new stove and refrigerator. So they're getting Mom's old stove and my old refrigerator, and in return, they'll help bring in my new one. Sunday afternoon is the plan. Aaaaand I'll need to clear out the living room before then. Christmas stuff is down, just not put away yet.