my thrifty dad

When my parents purchased their place in Mesa it came fully furnished and move-in-ready. Including the patio furniture. Now the patio furniture works, but could use some love. The arm rests on these things are brittle from the Arizona sun, and most are cracked apart with lots of sharp edges. After my niece Sonna scraped her leg really badly on a cracked arm rest a case was made for new patio chairs. My mom was making the case and as she asked my dad to go and purchase new chairs, part of my arm rest crumbled under the weight of my elbow.

But by suppertime, Dad had found his thrifty fix. He bought matching towels at the dollar store and a ream of electrical tape and beamed as he told us he thought the chairs at least have another year in them. Maybe more.

And you know, they were comfy. Felt like a terrycloth towel wrapped in electrical tape, but they were comfy. And I have to believe there are no other patio chairs in the universe quite like the ones we enjoyed as we picnicked the rest of the week.