It was nice being with my sister and my niece for a couple of days. I found out that, indeed, I still can’t sleep with another person in the bed. I wake up constantly, aware of every arrhythmic breath, snort, and body movement. The covers move and not only am I exposed and awake, but I’m pissed. There is something about sleep disturbances that goes right to my reptile brain and prepares me for battle.

I began the day with Futon Hunt. Sleeping on the floor wasn’t really doing it for me anymore, so I headed for First Avenue and Spokane Street, where I’d seen Futon 1-2-3. It had been there for years, but of course when I finally get around to going there, it’s shut down. Okay, plan B. Go to the International district, where certainly there is some cheap, crowded Asian market that has futons. But, no.

Plan C is texting Google to see what comes up when I enter “Futons Seattle”. I get two places. One is in the U District, which to me means ‘probably cheap’ and the other is Soaring Heart Natural Bedding Company, which means ‘probably not cheap’. Cheap store, here I come.

They had only the most common ugly futon mattresses and their frames were more than I wanted to have or spend. I wanted simple, unadorned and natural if at all possible. Would I really have to go to Soaring Heart? Would I really have to give up my dream of cheap sleep?

Soaring Heart is a serene place. Muted lighting. Cotton and wool everywhere. Beautiful fabrics. I held my wallet close to me and found the sales guy. He had a braided beard and some really peaceful tattoos on vaguely Buddhist themes. After lying on several futons and checking how they responded to my big hips and my low back, I chose an 8-inch cotton futon and the Slumberbed platform. I had been waiting my whole life for the Slumberbed platform, without knowing it. It’s just a simple pine slatted platform, no arms, no overhangs, no projecting pieces. Simple. And it’s high enough that I can use the under space for storage of seldom-used things. Yay! And the best part? Cheaper than the other store, and much, much nicer.

I met the Sissy and the Niecy downtown. We shopped. I bought a sweater at the Market. We ate lovely raviolis and marveled at the wonders for sale at Fido, the dog store. Greta bought a kazoo at Lark in the Morning, the world instrument shop. I drooled over (but not on) the shawms and Erika took down a violin and gave it a few scrapes. She realized that, if she wants to play again, the fake nails have got to go. Or, she could become famous for her all-pizzicato style.

We ate cookies from Three Sisters Bakery and roamed the Market until it was clear we were all a little done with it. Mommy went back to Sephora and got some lovely things while Gretsky and I went back to Edmonds to get movies and snacks. The movie of the evening was Jumanji, and I found a used copy of Rent for four bucks. Popcorn and Gatorade for snacks. Hung out on the hotel’s wi-fi talking to Glen for a bit, then crashed.

Day three of exile was breakfast, followed by a drive to take Grettie home. The usual is to meet her dad at the top of Stevens Pass, which we did. However, we arrived at the top just as he was leaving Leavenworth, so we had about 45 minutes to kill. We did the puzzles in the puzzle book. We listened to the iPod until the battery got low. We took a walk to the potty across the street. We marveled at the places in the snow wall where people had peed right into the wall. (Surprising, how guys will let fly wherever. I’m totally jealous!) Avoiding the yellow snow, we tried to make snowballs but couldn’t because the snow was too dry. It was the kind of snow you might see once a season around here, instead of the popcorn and wet cement we usually get.

Drew (the brother-in-law) and Cody (the nephew) arrived and took Greta home. I headed down the pass again, quite smug in my Subaru. Got a burger at Zeke’s in Goldbar (that cheeseburger is an entire entry unto itself – since birth, I have had receptors specifically tuned to Zeke’s burgers) and made my way to the island. The ferry gods smiled and I waited only about 15 minutes for a boat.

First stop was the True Value, where my friend Kevin helped me find rubber gaskets that would fit my Coleman stove. I hoped that would fix the leak problem that caused the minor fire the first time I used my stove. Let’s just say that an exploding propane bottle would have significantly harshed my weekend, as well as probably burnt down my building.

Grocery store was a short trip, and yielded juice, a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli and a king-sized Cadbury Caramello. A girl has her priorities.

The gasket worked admirably and I fixed the stove. I love it when the cheapest and simplest repair is the one that works. It’s almost Zen.

The un-Zen part of my afternoon came when I hauled the futon and bed frame upstairs and found that there were no directions and no hardware included in the particular box I had purchased. Another trip to Seattle to pick those up. Argh, and I could have gone back to Soaring Heart, had I known.

But now I get to take friends over to town AND have dim sum that I didn’t get over the weekend. The trip will be utterly redeemed in the moment I put that first shrimp dumpling into my mouth. Mmmmmm.