Serendipity

We're trying to do some spring cleaning, and last night I mentioned to Mike that we needed more bookshelves. (I am aware that another option would be to have fewer books, but there weren't that many I was ready to part with! And after all, as an academic, having lots of books around is practically required.)

Mike suggested that we should just get another shelf from IKEA to match the ones we already have in the office. That would be fine, except that we don't live near an IKEA anymore -- though a new one just opened in Charlotte, about two hours away. And as I recall, IKEA charges an outrageous amount for shipping.

But then today I looked at the Craigslist furniture listings, and guess what -- the first bookshelf listing that I clicked on was for two shelves in almost-new condition that were exactly the same as the ones we have. What are the odds of that??? So we emailed the seller right away and ended up getting both of them for about a third the price that one of them would have cost new (and that's not even counting any shipping). Woo-hoo!!