Necessity is the mother of invention.
My maternal grandfather (Opa) was a natural when it came to invention. Often the inventions came from a need and though he never pursued a higher education, I have no doubt that he would have been an engineer of some sort with great success. My mother’s friend Mike, who recently helped her clean out the shed on the family property took great delight in stumbling on many of these inventions. Of course he had to work backwards to find the problem said invention was to solve but it was a great way for Mike to get to know Opa and for my mom to remember her father fondly.
As I sit here and think that all of my positive attributes came from somewhere, I’d like to think that my inventiveness came from him.
Problem: My dear sweet pug who likes to perch from the highest of heights on the back of the couch cushions is no longer a puppy. All 18.2 lbs of him has been breaking down the cushions, once tall and firm are now bowed and distended. No only does this make the couch look dumpy, but he’s a sad, sad pug when he can’t rest his head on the back of the couch and gaze out the window.
I thought for awhile on this trying to come up with a solution that would provide support but not sacrifice comfort. Often my best thinking is done in the shower and this proved true once again this weekend. Back when I owned a car, I had purchased a set of towing straps in the event it broke down and needed to be towed home. As I no longer own a vehicle, the unused straps had been relegate to my ‘car tub’ in the basement. They say the wind of one door closing opens another…
Solution:
Results:
Happy pug, no long-term damage to the couch and the thought that somewhere out there Opa is smiling.