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Archive for May, 2010

Facing Mortality, Wow.....

May 10th, 2010 at 01:48 am

Somewhere along the line of your life, you get to the "tipping point." That point at which you realize, that some major purchase you are contemplating, may very well outlive you! Ours is the lawnmower. We bought a lawnmower this past week. A brand new riding lawnmower. The first new riding mower that we have ever owned! Our married life has consisted of a series of used (mostly VERY used) riding and push mowers, sometimes both, sometimes singly. All of them were given to us by various family members and friends, most were headed to the curb before we got them. Luckily I have a very handy Hubby and Father, who managed to keep them going with a variety of fixes and prayers. (does anybody even know what baling wire is anymore?) But we had hit the end. The riding mower we were using is almost... as old as I am (there is a FEW years difference)... and while the engine got rebuilt last Summer, the deck is trashed. Chunks are falling off as you cross the yard. They don't make replacement parts anymore (it's so old) etc. etc. We actually started out looking for a good used mower, but as we visited a few likely prospects, I began to imagine a world where you didn't have to know the secret formula to get the mower to run. One that doesn't use a quart of oil during each weeks mowing, one that you don't have to hook the battery charger to for an hour before you start, one that you don't have to hang on to the hydrostat lever because it will suddenly run away with you, you know, one that you don't have to dance under a full moon and chant to the lawn Gods... sorry, I got a little carried away there, but you get the idea. That thought was suddenly sounding pretty good to me, and as we talked about it, I realized, if a new mower lasts as long as the one we are using now, we will be too old to mow lawns anymore, and won't ever (hopefully) have to get another one! Being the main lawn mowing person in the family, this was something I could really get behind! So, after a little more shopping, and some dickering with the local dealer (those guys at Sears etc. can't dicker) we came home with a lovely new Cub Cadet mower! I love it already. (if self love is narcissism, I wonder what lawnmower love is?) If we take care of it, (we will), that will be the last mower we will ever have to buy.... now I feel old!!!

I Got What For Mothers Day???

May 3rd, 2010 at 12:46 am

I just stumbled across a blog that commented on the strange thing this lady got once for Mothers Day. Actually, I thought it was great! Her family rented a roto-tiller and tilled her garden for her. I would have loved that! I have received some lovely things, flowers, dinners out, but I must confess that the more unusual items were probably my favorites. This year, for example, I got exactly what I asked for, a brand new shop vac! The old one has been spewing the dirt right back out the top for over a year, so you only dared use it outside. In fact, the old shop vac was my birthday present quite a few years ago. I even went to the store with dear Hubby, and picked out what I wanted. He does listen to me sometimes! Some other requests I have made over the years... a cordless drill! When I want to make holes, I don't want to drag extension cords around! Having the dogs nails clipped! We had a dog once, an extremely hairy dog, who hated to have her nails clipped, and of course, they grew very fast! After wrestling with her for longer than I want to remember, he took her in to the vet, THREE minutes and $10 later, it was one of those smack your forehead moments! Why had I been fussing with her for so long!?!? Then there were a couple of mmmhmmm kind of presents. I got a battery charger once, so I could charge the battery on the lawnmower, the lawnmower that I had been bugging him to buy a NEW battery for all Summer....I never could figure that one out, why not a new battery instead of charging the old worn out one??? I have no idea!!! How about the present that I almost got... we went to an auction one time, and there was a box of glassware that I wanted, and bid on, and won, so we are loading up afterwards, and I'm telling him about the cute green glass swan shaped dish, how cheap it was, what a great bargain, etc. etc. so we stopped at his parents house on the way home, and what does he take out of the box and give to his Mother?! The swan dish. (dumbfounded silence here) I said nothing, my MIL was the sweetest lady in the world, but duh???? And the only real eye roller I can think of.....A pellet gun.....yup.....I looked at it in the box, and I haven't seen it since. Haven't really missed it either. I think there was a profound lack of motivation that year. The KIDS even remind him of that one once in a while, I just smile and say...nothing...I'm not completely silly, a little guilt can be a valuable thing sometimes.