Recycle and Re-Use

I like to think I'm a careful shopper, buying things that are well made and well priced. Sometimes an item comes up short, like the chocolate colored outdoor rug I bought about a year ago. Loved the way it looked, but noticed that everytime I swept, the fibers (with all the color!) were disappearing. After a year, there were strings showing. I am not an over-sweeper and I did not have the NYC Marathon come thru the yard. I waited too long to call customer service (of course, it was 3 days beyond the 1 year guarantee) but after seeing the pix I e-mailed, the company offered a 50% refund. That's a cool $100.00.  The pattern I ordered is no longer offered (coincidence??) though they assured me that "no one else" had called...

 I went out back to ponder and decided that I didn't want to rush into replacing the rug in the Fall, with winter coming...or to invest another $100.00 on top of the refund, in case the problem resurfaced.


I flipped the rug over and though it's beige rather than chocolate, the fibers are all very tight and it looks alright upside down. Problem solved for 2009, and I have $100 bucks for something else down the line.

Before

After & alright for now...