You would think that buying a set of patio furniture should be a simple matter. In my case, you'd be wrong. It started out all right. I was browsing through a few newspaper flyers, when I came across the table and chair set that I decided to buy. So I made the 40 minute trip, out to the nearest Home Depot, in order to pick it up. As I was driving onto the store's parking lot, it suddenly occurred to me that even if I did intend to buy the set, there was no way that it was going to fit into my car to take home with me and the whole episode was all for nothing. So a few days later, I tried again. I borrowed a pickup truck and drove back out to Home Depot. About that time, I thought that perhaps before I make my purchase, I should have a quick look at Wal-Mart to see what was available there. Sure enough, I found a set that I liked better than the one at Home Depot. But once again, it was all for nothing, because Wal-Mart was about to close for the evening and I simply ran out of time. (I mistakenly thought they were open for one more hour.) Strike two. Then two days later, I was again able to borrow a pickup truck and take another trip to Wal-Mart. This time I knew exactly what I wanted. I arrived in plenty of time so the store wasn't about to close. Only one problem... they were sold out. No big deal. I kept my cool. I just thought I'd drive to another Wal-Mart location, about ten minutes away. They were sold out too. (Now I was starting to lose my cool.) The clerk offered to phone all of the other Wal-Mart locations in the city. The first one she tried was sold out, but we struck gold on the next call. The location clear across the city happened to have four sets left in stock. Off I went in search of the holy grail, uh... I mean "patio furniture set." Thirty minutes later, I finally did it. An entire week after my quest began, I had my patio set. I was even able to get it all set it up that same evening, and have a pizza party with my sister who helped me keep my cool throught this ordeal. (Thanks sis!) Now, I'm ready for summer. Bring it on!