After months of talking about buying a leather recliner, today I bought a fabric one. Mom has been watching ads and making inquiries for me, and this afternoon she called and said that a friend of ours, who works in a local thrift shop, had three of them that had been donated. They were $75 each, plus $25 for delivery, and we should go right now! Because they'd be gone by tomorrow.

So I took off work in the middle of the afternoon and we went to see them. The first one I sat in was a good color, but it had a loose handle and I was leery. (Oh, yes! I was leery!) The second one was more comfortable, with dark stripes and a few more positions that I could sit in.

The third chair looked the same as the second, except that it was a rocker as well as a recliner. But the third one was so badly frayed in spots that even I noticed, so I bought the second one. It's being delivered tomorrow.

The shop is called Sacks on the Square, and it describes itself as an "upscale resale" thrift shop. It's staffed by volunteers and it helps fund Memorial Hospice and Face to Face/Sonoma County AIDS Network.

As soon as we walked out of the store, Mom told me that I'd bought the chair out from under another man who came in just after we did. I saw this guy sitting off on one of the sofas and pouting as we walked out, but I hadn't noticed that he was nosing around my chair. I guess it's a good thing I left work and ran down there as soon as I heard about it. The Boss didn't check in with me all day, so I didn't miss anything while I was gone.

We went to see the Santa Rosa Players' production of "Once Upon a Mattress" tonight. The sparse but lively crowd was rewarded with a spirited performance of the musical show. It's a broad comedy that almost encourages over-the-top performances, and the actors came through. This was the Players' last show of the season, and one of their better efforts. It was fun.

We like to support local theater, and the Players are always and forever in financial trouble. That's probably why we cut them a little slack when it comes to thin voices and tinny musical accompaniment. A little energy makes up for a lot. And you have to love a show that makes you believe a lyric like "I'm in love with a girl named Fred."

I now have two operas under my belt. Watching, that is, not performing. I got Aida from Netflix today. I think I like Puccini better than Verdi, but maybe that's just because La Bohème is a more modern story than Aida. But what do I know? I've only seen the two operas, so my frame of reference is a bit narrow. If it weren't for subtitles, I wouldn't know what I was watching.

As far as I can tell, Aida is an Ethiopian princess who's taken into slavery in Egypt and falls in love with the same man (Radames) her mistress Amneris loves. Of the two women, he prefers Aida. Unfortunately, he's leading an army against Aida's father, so she's a little conflicted about which side she's supposed to be on.

Radames wins the battle and takes the father prisoner, but Aida convinces him to betray his country and run away with her. Unfortunately, Amneris uncovers the intrigue and blows the whistle. Radames is sentenced to be buried alive, and Aida joins him in his tomb. (I hope I didn't spoil it for anyone. I assume I'm the last person on earth to learn about any of this.)

From my limited experience, it appears that operas are about love and death. They're a lot like a telenovelas, except for the "buried alive" part. And all the loud singing.

There's other stuff going on, with priestesses and dancing slave girls. In fact, Aida seems to be about two-thirds opera and one-third ballet. I guess I really do need to take that mail-order course so I know what I'm talking about. Maybe I'll decide after I watch Verdi's Nabucco, which TiVo is recording for me on channel 9 Sunday.

Well, the U.S. soccer team really did itself proud today. It made it to the next round of the World Cup by losing embarrassingly to Poland, 3-1. We won by losing? Yes, because Korea upset Portugal, 1-0, you see. The U.S. has the Koreans to thank for a match against Mexico very early next Monday morning. (Actually, it starts about 11:30 Sunday night, California time, so I'll be up and watching. Today's game started at 4:30 am, so I TiVo'd it and watched later.)

Anyway, thanks, Korea. We don't deserve to be there, based on today's performance, but the U.S. and Mexican teams know each other pretty well, so it could turn out to be a good match.