Lines in the Water

One of the things I genuinely miss about my childhood home is the ability to be off-shore on excellent fishing grounds within 30 minutes of leaving my front door, and 15 of those were spent paddling away from Spring Bay beach into the tail end of the Georgia Strait.

I’m somewhat shocked to realize it was 20 years ago that my dad and I bought our 20$ tickets for the big Victoria Rotary Club’s Annual South Island Fishing Derby for the fourth consecutive year. The years previous, you could almost sense the derision from the power-boat anglers with downriggers, sonar scanners and multiple lines in the water as they puttered past our lowly canoe while we strip-cast or jigged buzz-bombs or stingzildas.

While we always boated fish, we could never match the weight of the lunkers the trollers would pull in and accordingly were nowhere near the leader board. This was of little matter to us, as it was all about another day on the water, raising money for charity and hoping just hoping for the seemingly impossible “big one.” Another day of casting my line over and over yet going home with nothing more than a well-defined farmer’s tan.

There’s always a chance.

It was late afternoon, near 4pm I would guess, and if my memory serves me correctly I had stuffed my rod for the day and was munching on a PB&J sandwich while pops carried on. I didn’t see the hit or his rod arch violently in the span of a second, but his “Whoa oh oh!!” turned my head around in time to hear the reel drag begin to scream with that high-pitched “zzzzzz!” every fishermen loves to hear. This was no skip-jack or seasonal pink..

It took a good 20-25 minutes to get the big spring into the canoe, during which time dad frantically and sometimes expletively yelled instructions at me to paddle the boat to more favorable play angles as the chinook recklessly raced around the depths. Naturally, I had to net it and my 13-year old arms had one heck of a time heaving it out of the sea. The feeling of elation on our faces would have been priceless to catch on film.

Weighing in at 30 point-something pounds, our haul was good enough to take home third place in the derby and a $300 gift voucher from Island Line & Tackle.

I loved how he held it up extra long so the hot-shot power boaters could get a long look at it.

That’s the beauty of fishing to know they’re there and no matter how technically proficient you are, sometimes it’s all luck and right place, right time. All it takes is the initiative to get out there and a line in the water.

Similarly, if you’re one of the hundreds of people who’ve taken advantage of the exceptional deals to be had on home furnishings and products at Cymax Stores recently, you can put a “line in the water” yourself by submitting an online review of your purchase on any product page at http://www.cymax.com. With no risk of the aforementioned farmer’s tan, seagull bombs or annoying dogfish, you can know that you have a chance of pulling in a $1000 PRIZE FOR ANY PRODUCT REVIEW SUBMITTED TO CYMAX! While it will be difficult to suspend it by the gills for a dockside-victory photo, you won’t need to gut, fillet and wash this nice cash bonus generously offered by Cymax as token of their appreciation for your customer feedback.

Feel free to rave, or not, about the space-friendly design and easy assembly of your South Shore Back Bay Chocolate Platform Bed and how it’s the perfect match for your room. While you’re at it, take a moment to think how wise you’re being in taking only a few minutes of your time that could, if the big one swims your way, land you a cool grand.

Espouse the value of your Home Star Mission Hills Bench Table as a fitting addition to your foyer, how you can’t beat the combination of price, appearance and function, and how it’s the ideal spot to sit and shed your hip-waders after a day combing the lake.

Go on at length how your Tecno Seating Executive Hi-Back Massage Chair makes going to work on Monday all the more bearable after portaging from one land-locked lake to the next over the weekend, and how you’re thrilled how quickly it was received after placing your order.

Put your line in the water at cymaxstores.com somebody’s gonna land the big fish!

Didn't they teach you Home Ergonomics in school?

Most of us who make the daily trek to the office are aware of ergonomic office furniture that will help get us through the day comfortably and safely. But what about the furniture in your home? It might look and feel comfy to sit and relax on, but is it being kind to your back?

Making a home ergonomic may sound complicated (and expensive) but it doesn't have to be. Ergonomics is simply how we use furniture, tools and equipment in relation to our immediate environment in a way that reduces physical discomfort and the risk of injury. A soft sofa or a fluffy, oversized chair may appear to be comfortable and inviting. However, if it encourages you to slouch, it can have a lasting, negative effect on your body, especially your back. You can ensure that your living room and dining room are ergonomic by following a few basic principles.

When shopping for a couch, look for one that allows you to sit at ease, with feet flat on the ground, thighs parallel to the floor, head centered over the shoulders and back fully supported. This would also apply to any type of chair you are considering purchasing, including dining room chairs, side chairs, arms chairs and recliners. When choosing the perfect recliner, make sure that when sitting upright, your lower spine is fully supported by the backrest and that it cradles your shoulders and neck. If you do find a recliner that you just must have, but it isn't an ideal fit, you can select one with a matching ottoman. This will take the pressure off the backs of your legs, one of the first places to experience discomfort when not sitting properly.

If, when using your sofa, you are in the habit of lying down, ensure that your back, neck and shoulders are being properly cushioned. Before purchasing end tables, take into account whether or not your couch has arms. If it does, are the arms high or low? If they are high, you will want end tables of a comparable height, so that you can easily place items on the end table without having to twist uncomfortably. The same goes for coffee tables: they should stand at a height in conjunction to the couch's seating area when you are sitting, so that you can easily reach anything on the coffee table without effort or strain. This will also apply to an accent table being bought specifically to stand beside an armchair; you want the table to be high enough or the arms to low enough to avoid having to overreach when putting something down on the table top.

In the dining room, similar ergonomic principles can make mealtimes more comfortable and enjoyable. Dining chairs should be bought with the dining table in mind. The seat height of the chair should be anywhere from 10 to 12 inches below the dining table edge. For example, if the height of your dining table is 30 inches, the seat height of your dining chairs should range from 18 to 20 inches high, depending on the size and height of the person sitting in the chair on a regular basis.

Before purchasing a dining room table, take into account how many people will be using it and then buy one that will be large enough to easily accommodate everyone. A person generally needs a minimum of 24 inches of personal space to feel comfortable, but an additional 6 inches will provide extra elbow room. Allotting the maximum amount of personal space will also facilitate each person's ability to reach for things effortlessly, reducing the risk of muscle strain.

At Cymax Stores, customers can choose from a wide range of reliable furniture manufacturers for a comfortable and personalized online shopping experience. Taking time to choose ergonomic furniture for your living room and dining room will be worth it when you come home after a busy day to the perfect place to relax and unwind.

Shed Some Light

As we move past the formative stages of the 21^st century, it is clear that conservation and the related ecological concerns have very much earned one of the top spots on the human agenda for both the immediate and more long-term future. Scientists, researchers and all manner of findings have stated emphatically that we cannot continue established patterns of consumption and expect the same level of environmental resiliency on this planet. The 3 Rs – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle – should be a globally embraced family value soon if not already so.

I was fortunate to have a mother that was on the conservation wagon long before the situation was as critical as it is now, and accordingly I’m well-trained in that regard. Most specifically, I remember “Did you turn off the lights?” being a common inquiry after I had emerged from the basement. At the time it seemed insignificant to me, but I’m thankful for her rigidity now.

First and foremost, incandescent light bulbs need to be phased out ASAP. Only 10% of the energy drawn by these massively-inefficient bulbs is turned into light, with the remaining 90% dissipating as heat. Compact fluorescent bulbs, most commonly seen as the dual u-loop or spiral-coil bulbs, use 75% less energy than the aforementioned lighting dinosaurs and last up to 4 times longer based on average use rates.

Both home and office are, on average, considerably gluttonous when it comes to electricity consumption. Often times, especially with family, it may be difficult to cut-back as much as you’d like overall in the home, but the office is one place where you can curtail energy-consumption more effectively. For those who wish to be accountable as such, replacing existing task lamps with any of the impressive selection offered at cymax.com is an excellent place to start. The value and versatility of a Lite Source clip-on Lite can take on a go-green element as well when fitted with one of the aforementioned fluorescent bulbs, and as always the appeal of online shopping is the ability to re-furbish your home or office without having to leave it. For more stationary lighting needs, Ledu desk lamps are a practical hybrid of function and style, easily adjusted to suit the task and personal space preferences and similarly compatible with these vastly more efficient fluorescent bulbs.

The efforts of pop culture artists like Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews, among a host of others, have made most welcome efforts to incorporate being environmentally-responsible into the realm of being “cool.” Johnson, in fact, recorded his entire new album, Sleep through the Static, entirely with the use of solar-derived power and Matthews is well know for his line of BAMA RAGS hemp clothing and personal goods.

Whether artists such as these two falls into what you consider cool or not, style is important to everyone and, getting back to task lighting, some of you with more decor discerning tastes will be pleased to peruse the selection of more expressive Adesso Desk Lamps at cymaxstores.com. Stylish and functional, these quality-constructed lamps are built to last and are also part of the trend in shunning the use of incandescent bulbs.

Turning off lights when not needed for use is an easy habit we all need to develop fervently and parents are encouraged to take positive-reinforcement steps to ingrain this behaviour in their children from a young age. Further, individuals of all ages are encourage to focus on need-specific area lighting, rather than lighting an entire room to, for example, read a book in bed.

*Click!*

A Garden of Garden Furniture and other Curiosities

A bear-hugger, a mile-a-minute talker and a make-the-most-out-of-each-minute crammer, my Aunty Marjorie has always been larger than life. She lives in an apartment now, her small balcony, crowded with pots, garden elves, the odd gnome and weirdly-shaped hanging planters, only a pale shadow of the garden she nurtured with her imagination when she lived in the house she shared for many years with my uncle.

I always liked going to visit Aunty Marjorie and Uncle Allen. Due to some quirky city ordinance, their house sat on a city lot that was actually the size of two ordinary houses on the same street where they lived. As a child, even as a young adult, my aunt’s backyard seemed like a magical place to me, not part of the city at all; a mysterious kingdom all its own, where supernatural adventures were the norm and not the exception. I enjoyed going over to their place, because every time we went, there always seemed to be some new treasure to discover.

To my father, who took a more formal approach to landscaping, Aunty Marjorie’s backyard was a chaotic jumble of oddities. Sure, she had the typical planter made out of an abandoned, rusting outdoor grill and a couple of interesting fern-like plants growing out of a discarded pair of Uncle Allen’s fishing boots. But mostly her yard, at least to me, seemed to grow things other than flora, although there actually was a plethora of colorful plants.

The yard directly behind the house was pretty tame, but when I turned the corner into the “extra” lot, I was never sure what I would find. The gazebo was a Renaissance creation of columns and classic metalwork scrolls, enhanced by trailing vines. In summer, when the vines were flowering, it was the perfect fortress in which to hide from my cousins.

The path beneath the rustic arbor wound its way through a small grove of trees until it arrived at a small pond, complete with lily pads and a few goldfish. The onion dome trellis made the climbing roses it supported look as though they were growing beneath the roof of a miniature Russian palace. One day as I was walking around the property, I came upon this huge butterfly who told me she had flown to Aunty Marjorie’s garden from a mythical island in another galaxy yet to be discovered. Actually, it turned out to be the folding stool, in the shape of a butterfly, that my aunt used to sit on when weeding her flower beds, but had forgotten, on that particular day, to bring inside. And speaking of butterflies, near one of the beds, there was a charming wicker garden bench in the shape of a butterfly. And of course, the matching table and chairs could be found on the flagstone area in the front yard.

I could also find more conventional items in my aunt’s garden, like the garden swing my cousins and I would fight to sit in. Or the planters that really looked like planters that Aunty Marjorie would pick up on her travels to stores and garage sales.

I wonder what would happen if I told her about all the outdoor furniture and accessories you could get online at Cymax Stores? Hmmmmm…better not. Things might start falling off the balcony.

Wherever They May Have Roamed: If Boxes or Plush Beavers Could Talk

Two years back, I waited patiently for several boxes of personal items that out of necessity trailed me back to Canada by sea over the course of two months. Eventually, they arrived and I quickly opened them to see whether or not the long voyage had taken any toll on my stuff.

I was greeted by an old friend as I tore open the box. Thumper, a drumstick and snare drum wielding Beaver that was given to me in my early teens, is the sole doll I’ve ever had any affinity for and the only one I’ve held on to. Hawaiian Garfield and his straw hat and lei fell by the wayside somewhere. The entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle collection I amassed at the fair with my exceptional proficiency at Whack-a-Mole was bequeathed to my cousin a long time ago. I’ll keep Thumper until the seams retain his Styrofoam innards no longer.

I don’t remember the hectic last days in Seoul when I was packing up everything I deemed to be non-essential upon my immediate return, but Thumper must’ve been one of the last cuts as he was right at the top of the box. I half thought to myself What did you see on the high seas, old friend? He responded with Bubble wrap you fool.

So I moved to the cardboard box that looked understandably more haggard than when I had seen it last in the Gapo-dong post office, but realized its memories would have been only slightly better. Maybe something like a to-the-death duel in the darkness between two unfortunate insects that made a fateful decision at the pier that day, but likely it would have nothing more.

I guess it’s only the sea containers themselves that would tell tales of bow-surfing dolphins, amazing sunsets and exotic ports of call. Fortunately, the speed with which home shopping can see your purchase cross town or continent means it won’t have the same time to amass tales as those that make global jumps. However, an increasingly smaller world does come at a price when it comes to bringing these items to your door; that was, until now.

Until July 15th, Cymax Stores is offering free shipping on all purchases and accordingly there’s no better time to make the decision to purchase one of the thousands of top-quality and competitively priced items offered at cymaxstores.com. When that much-anticipated package arrives at your door, maybe you’ll be inclined to wonder what fortunes or misfortunes it has endured on its way.

Maybe your Linon Santa Fe TV / VCR cabinet will somehow exude tales of stowaway squirrels that made a made dash for freedom only to perish of heat stroke at a truck stop in Barstow. One caught a ride with two agitated fellows in a cream El Dorado convertible heading west to Vegas, only to wilt away at the end of an ether binge in the back of a Great White Whale.

Perhaps as the one of the kids nods off on an X-Rocker Bean Bag Chair he or she will be led to dream of the appreciation of being the only one to escape unscathed from a highway roll-over or embankment slide that left the other passengers as write-offs.

Similarly, as you take a seat in your new Stanley 4 Seasons Computer Chair you may find it strange as you can’t help but think of a Waterboy-esque (R.I.P. Bob Ackles Go LIONS!) story where the floor model made it to the big time.

Online shopping is a breeze at Cymax, and considering you’re almost sure to find something to your liking, there’s no better time than right now to order it and see what stories it has from the road or elsewhere.

New Puppy...New Furniture?

About six months ago a friend of mine got a new puppy. My husband and I went to visit them not long after. The men took off and went to do what ever it is that men do. Gail and I went to sit in the living room and visit. The cute little puppy 'Brownie' followed us in. While sitting there I noticed that her coffee table had what looked like gnaw marks on it. The next thing I knew, there was Brownie chewing on the table like it was her very own chew toy. Gail told her to stop and found her bone.

Gail told me that getting Brownie to stop chewing on all of the wood furniture was driving her crazy. I suggested that she look into getting some metal furniture. When Gail looked at me funny I assured her that I was very serious. Metal furniture has come a long way. I asked her if she had ever looked at the Cymax website for furniture. She shook her head no. We went over to the computer and pulled up the Cymax web site.

I showed her that all she had to do was type in coffee table and she would get a nice choice to scroll through. She really liked the Bass Theatrical Collage Coffee Table. Even more so when she noticed the matching end tables. I pointed out that they looked pretty puppy proof to me. We continued going through the web site, chatting and laughing the whole time while we decorated our own and all of our friend's homes. When our husbands came back they thought we had lost our minds. They couldn't see what was so funny about a furniture web site.

My husband and I said good night and went home. Gail phoned me a few days later. John (her husband) hadn't really liked the Theatrical Collage Coffee Table. They went back to the web site and found furniture for the living room that they both could agree on.

A month later my husband and I went over to visit with Gail and John. Gail had told me that they redid the entire living room. I couldn't believe how great it looked. They bought the Diamond Sofa Paramount Leather Sofas in Beige and the Bass Real Art Table in Champagne Chrome. It made their living room look wonderful. Of course, now Gail wants to redo the rest of the house. When we were on our way home,my husband told me that I couldn't get a puppy because we could not afford all new furniture just now.

A to Z

As another year passes into the books for our country and our southern neighbor readies to do so in two days time, Cymax would like to remind federal and less-swamped bookkeepers alike of the peace of mind afforded by keeping records in an orderly and equally stylish manner.

Surely filing is one office capacity where the suit-n-tie guy can envy the suburban rental shop clerk. Must be nice to give it little more thought than impaling way-bills on a paper skewer before rubber banding a lengths’ worth and dropping the stack randomly into a nearby drawer. For most, the need for a legitimate paper trail means a specific fixture must be within short reach of the desk, and the days of the grey-metal box file’s uniformity have long since past.

Even as recently as my teenage years, when I thought of a large office I had a conception something along the lines of the drab stretches of the Washington Post Office in All the President’s Men; an endless horizon of copycat cubicles, monstrous typewriters and the odd furnace-sized computer mainframe. Out of the public school fishbowl and into the real world, I naturally realized modern offices aren’t nearly as wholly sterile.

So now whether you’re as much a vanguard as Woodward or Bernstein or a more humble corporate peon, there is every reason to expand your filing capacities at the office without ever leaving it by means of online shopping at cymaxstores.com. With over 500 filing storage products, you’re nearly assured of finding a way to make the token daily bend-over-and-pull a little more pleasing.

A Bush Lateral File might be a well-received choice, combining more sleek and modern design with a variety of hardwood cabinets, charismatic design themes and notably competitive pricing. Kathy Ireland Lateral File Cabinets possess the same visual-character appeal as a means of furthering the warmth and personality of the space in which you likely spend a large portion of the week. For the price, a Bestar Pedestal file can’t be beat and the versatility to vertically mount the unit may expand its practical and value appeal. A HON Lateral File is a safe bet for those who are looking to fall somewhere in between the aforementioned 1976 reference and something more modern, with hybrid takes on filing cabinets incorporating that simple practicality with subtle design facelifts.

Happy 141^st Canada and similar birthday wishes to our American friends as their Independence Day approaches.