Fate and the Fountain

About two months ago, Kroger had a special on a simulated rock waterfall fountain. The the Kroger ad  listed the sale price as $59.95. The regular price was $119. The fountain looked something like this one:

Well, I'd always wanted a fountain, so I decided to get one when we went to Rocky Mount for Senior Citizen's Day (which would knock off another 5%). Unfortunately, they didn't have any in stock but Frank—the manager—said that the Westlake Kroger had one.

Later we went to Westlake, and sure enough they had one. Just one. And someone else had reserved it. A sign attached to the fountain said that the buyer would pick it up the next day. Oh, well—you can't win them all.

A few weeks later, I was shopping at the Westlake Kroger and noticed the fountain was still there. But it had a different note saying a different buyer would pick the fountain up the following Tuesday, which was several days away. Oh, well. . . .

I kept looking around for one, though. I saw the same one in a K-Mart ad in the paper—$79.95 on special. Um, no. Once I've seen something for sale for a certain price, I won't pay more than that price. $59.95 was as high as I would go.

I Googled the fountain and discovered the same model was for sale for various prices, all higher than I wanted to pay:

I figured that I just wasn't fated to be a fountain owner. At least not this year.

And then—last Thursday—we happened to be at Westlake, and we happened to go to Krogers. And, as fate would have it, we happened to see the fountain, with no sign on it. We went in and checked. The fountain—despite still having a $59.95 price tag on it—was available, we were told, for $69.95. The special sale was apparently over. Once I've seen something for a certain price. . . .

However, it never hurts to ask. 

They let me have the fountain for 5% off the $59.95 price. Since we'd been to the feed store earlier, we just happened to have the truck. Even though the fountain came in two halves, each weighed a lot and I'm not sure we could have fitted them in the back of the car. The size and weight of the fountain might be why the other folks had decided not to get it.

Doesn't it look nice on my front porch?

Here's how it looks from a little further back:

I think it looks pretty good with the wicker porch furniture that I bought at the Discovery Shop a few years ago ($100 for a settee and two chairs—all in pretty good condition).

And those two plants? Someone discarded them a few years ago. They didn't cost me a penny.

I love a bargain!

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