Measure of success

Since Noel made plans to take the kids to Nashville for several days, I've been making plans of what I wanted to get accomplished while they were gone. Number one on my list was setting up a computer in Archer's room for the kids to use. That would allow me to clean out the large computer desk in our room in preparation for getting rid of it. The idea there is to provide a clean slate -- an open area -- for me to build a storage and workspace for my various crafting activities. I've got my Ikea setup almost all picked out for that, with the only question being what tabletop I'll put under the window for fabric cutting, blocking and ironing, and what it will sit on top of (more storage, legs, or trestles of some kind).

And then I wanted to spend plenty of time indulging in the kinds of activities I pursue when I have free time -- knitting, crocheting, reading. I've certainly fulfilled that goal. Good progress has been made on a stalled project; I've whipped out a couple of little things that I was anxious to try. And I'm even giving some experiments a go (more on that if it pans out). I went to a movie, and I'm going to another tomorrow afternoon before the family gets home.

But one goal nags at me. The desk. The computer has been moved, set up, updated; I even found a new place and hookup for the rather large printer that used to take up space on that desktop (which involved moving an old TV and relocating a gaming system); and I've packed up (although only cursorily sorted through) all the stuff that used to live in that big desk -- two big Rubbermaid bins' worth.

Yet it's still there in our bedroom. The desk. I listed it on Freecycle on Thursday. Even though I've made mixed results getting people to bite on a number of items recently (some old backpacks and books, and a Pottery Barn shelf that unaccountably has survived three different people who said they wanted it but never showed up), I was sure that the desk would go fast. It's perfectly good; I even found some shelf pegs so that the movable shelving in it was restore to full functionality. It's big and well used and could definitely use a spray painting, but this desk is a catch.

Only two people responded to the post on Freecycle offering the desk. One is the same blessed person who has failed to show up for the Pottery Barn shelf for a week, and whom I am close to publicly denouncing on the mailing list as a deadbeat. I've e-mailed both of them multiple times over the course of yesterday and today, and so far no one has pulled up with a truck or van to take this thing out of my house.

I really want it gone before the family gets home. I want my blank canvas so I can start ordering furniture and building my modest little dream. This desk stands in the way. If it's still here tomorrow afternoon when Noel and the kids arrive from Nashville, I'm going to feel just a little bit like a failure. I had almost four days to find someone who wanted a free, functional piece of furniture (all wood, too, no particleboard, quality stuff), and I haven't been able to do it. And I'm starting to wonder what's up with my town when I can't give something like this -- and that blankety-blank shelf -- away.