Snatching bliss from the gates of hell
Monday, January 14, 2008 at 02:50PM 
Dried flower and petal • click to embiggenOver the weekend I was in New Jersey for a family member's 60th birthday soiree. The trip was multi-tasker - the party, college girl's return to school, and a trip to IKEA for cabinets and cupboards for my new office.
Because of Sunday Blue Laws in the county in which we were visiting, the closest IKEA was closed so we had to venture south to Elizabeth, NJ to another IKEA. The store was located right across the Jersey Turnpike from the Newark airport in the heart of an industrial wasteland second to none. As we were approaching the area on the turnpike, the wife blurted out that "when I was kid, this was all burning dumps." IMO, even though there are no more 'burning dumps', the area isn't any more attractive than it was then.
Nevertheless, right there in gates of hell, I found true bliss and contentment. Much to my utter delight, IKEA has a bin full of the holy grail - square picture frames. You have no idea how hard it is to find ready-made square picture frames. And, they were just the right size to boot - 22"×22" in a simple black wood frame (with glass, matte and backing) or 20"×20" clip frames (with glass and backing).
The prices could not have been better - $19.95 for the wood frame and only $5.95 for the 'clip' frame. I loaded up on the 'clip' frames, which is my preference for presenting photographs. I find traditional framing and matting to be a bit too distracting for my taste.
The only problem that I encountered was the fact that the car was jammed to the roof with cabinetry so I was limited to the number of 'clip' frames I could buy. That being the case, I am actually looking forward to my next trip to the NJ wasteland.
