"We Three"

"We Three"

Friday, April 27, 2012

It's not easy being me. Sigh...

I inherited a lawn mower from my roommate when she moved out 7 years ago.  It was not a bad lawn mower.  It worked, when I could get it started, which I will admit was a kind of a crap shoot.  Usually, it would cough and balk, I would walk away, and when we were both calmed down, it would start right up.  The bag was a bit of a hassle, always getting caught in the starter cord, and really heavy, to boot.  But we struggled along, me and my lawn mower.  That's it in the center there.  The one with the pull cord dangling by a thread.  That is fixable.  Yay.  Trouble is, it would cost me over $100 to have them come, pick it up, repair it, and bring it back.  Sucker does not fit in my Focus.  Now, on the far left is my first solution to this problem, a big honking Honda I bought from a friend, who just didn't like the gasoline model, preferred electric, and didn't have the big yard any more.  Starts right up, she said.  Uh huh.  I tried, my neighbor tried, I went online and looked in the manual, tried again.  Nothing.  Zipididoodah.  So she gave me back the check, and will pick up said mower soon.  And there, on the far right, is my new baby.  I waltzed into Sears today and bought it.  It came in a manageable carton.  They put it in the back seat of the Focus, and that saved me $75 right off the bat.  And then I got it home.  Now, getting it OUT of the backseat was a bit of a process.  At one point, I couldn't get it out OR in.  Finally, I got behind it and shoved with all my might.  It popped right out.  Good.  Hard part is over, right?  Uh huh.  Did I mention that I am really bad at mechanical things?  Well, I am.  And the instructions acted like I knew what a wingnut or a T-bolt were.  Had a couple of moments where I thought about swearing, and then, suddenly, it all dropped into place, and I got it together.  Amazing.  I took a break, had an artichoke, read the manual.  Then I went out and mowed the front lawn.  Just like that.  So happy that there is no dust spraying up my nose any more.  So happy that the grass catcher is really easy to remove and replace.  So happy it is all red and sparkly.  All this is worth $220.  The real test comes tomorrow, when we begin working on the recently tamed backyard.  Will have to adjust the height of the blade for that.  Should only take a half hour or so to figure that out.  Have lawn mower, will mow for food.

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