Summer. I'm not a big fan of summer. It's ok for the first few weeks, but now we're into the middle of it. The beginning of the worst of it. The heat. Humidity. Bugs. Incessant weeds and grass mowing. Ear shattering thunder storms. Torrential rains. And the ever present tornado warnings. No thank you; I've had enough. Let's move on to the next season. Fall. How I love Fall.
Anywho, so since we last visited, some housecleaning and yard work has been done. Unfortunately, it needs to be done again. We'll get to that. The hot, humid days have been upon us with a reprieve or 2 in between. That's a good thing.
All boxes that were packed up for the "big move" 2 years ago are now unpacked and most things have been put back in place. There are 2 boxes marked "Keepsakes"......things I definitely don't want to throw out, but don't want to be dusting off anymore either. Then there's 2 boxes marked "Donate"....which will go to one of the SecondHand stores here in town. One of these days.
Yesterday was a gray day, threatening rain all day (which didn't arrive till we got into bed last night), so I spent the day setting up a page on FB, supposing it to be a link to my Etsy store. Hoping to get things back in there for sale by the middle of September. Since it's all woolen apparel, I didn't see putting it in now, paying the fees and have it sit there. Am I wrong? Hmm.....How many people realize that, yes, there will be another winter; yes, there will be another Christmas shopping season. And it'll be here quicker than you can say "Bob's your uncle". So.....plan ahead.....shop now? I know there's such people out there....but I've never really been a stalwart. I do admire them immensely, though.
We've heard from granddaughter a few times now by FB messaging. We've got the webcam all set up, got Skype downloaded, ready to go. Just haven't worked out times we can video chat together. 9 hours difference over there. And she does spend a lot of free time chatting with her fiancé. That's quite understandable. Also, her work schedule is the afternoon shift....from 4 to midnight. We'll figure it out pretty soon, I'm sure.
Remember the new landscaping lawn mower that I bought for BH a couple of months ago? The one that made his eyes almost pop out of his head and me choke when we saw the price? Yeah....well Monday we had to take it back....to be serviced. I wanted to throw up. Right on the show room floor. In front of all the shiny, clean, brand-spanking-new mowers.
Yeah. It seems the engine revs started dying the last time he used it. Quite a noticeable change in the engine sound. BH checked it out on the "net"....called the service dept. Yep. Most likely needs a new air filter. No, no, you can't rinse out the one in there now. It's made of paper.....it'll disintegrate. A new one will be $5.00.
Now the price isn't bad. What's bad is he mows the grass every week, sometimes twice a week. Probably 2 acres at least. The mower is 2 months old. So through the season, we're probably looking at 3 or 4 filters. And for the original price of the mower....well.....you'd think they'd have a better, reusable filter, right? Ppffftttt.
So, not only that, but then I find out the pull cord is stripped of it's cloth covering, right down to the plastic wire core. How the hell did that happen??? Aaarrrggghhh. BH is not the most observant or careful person when it comes to .........anything, really. It was no surprise when he said he never saw the damage being done. (There's a very funny story of our visit to the DMV for renewing his driver's license and the required eye test....I'll tell you later. It's hysterical, trust me!)
Well, anyway....it's in the shop. "Can you give me a rough time estimate when it'll be done?" BH asks the service guy. "Well, we'll take a look and see what's wrong; probably have to order the parts; we'll get to it by the end of the week. You should have it back week after next". Are you friggin' kiddin' me????? A garage can put a new engine and transmission in your car in less time than that!! We're not talking a riding mower here; it's a push...ok.....self-propelled...woohoo.....mower!! Probably 'cause it's under warranty....yeah, that's it. Not making any money on it, so push it back to the end of the line.
Well, I'm exhausted now. Get a cup of coffee and see if that restarts my "engine" for the day. I'll be checking in again soon....unless the heat and humidity do me in.
crafting on: bunty mitts and wee hats
6 years ago
5 comments:
I don't mind the heat of summer, but the humidity literally takes my breath away.
Nothing lasts forever, but an expensive mower that only lasts two months must be maddening.
Exactly, Arleen.....on both counts. But I'm trying to keep my "cool" as best as I can. Hope you're having a great summer!
It has been such a cool, and low humid Summer here, this year, that even the Zucchini are taking over a week to grow to edible size. And that's saying something! Just last week, we dipped down into the upper 40's and for several days, never even managed to hit 70º. Of course, I'm up in the Endless Mountain range, and nowhere near the coast, and that might be a major contributing factor. :)
You know, when I had a self-propelled push mower, my neighbor did all the little repairs like replacing pull cords and air filters, for me. I always bought my mowers from Sears, and let me tell you, I never used more than 1 air filter in a Summer season. I might not be mowing 2 acres of lawn, but I am mowing at least 1½ acres. But, that was back a while, and it may be they made the lawn mowers better then. Wouldn't suprise me. Nowdays, I couldn't manage it, so I upgraded to the riding mower. LOL It's still a solid hour of being jumbled and heaved up and down and every which way. My property was never nicely "leveled" and it's quite the ride. A wonder I don't lose weight every time I mow, as by the time I'm finished, I'm thoroughly exhausted and done for the rest of the day. LOL
I think your mower salespeople are taking you for a ride! Sorry, but a week or more to replace a pull rope and air filter. Outrageous!
Oh Sandie....I wish we had your weather! A couple of days next week are predicted to be in the mid 70's...yay!!! Then back into the high 80's with the humidity, of course.
Yeah, the mower thing. Ugh! You're right....I don't think they make things to last any more....it's a "throw-away" society. What a shame. We used to buy the cheapy (ha!) $150 mowers...every couple of years we needed a new one. So upgrading to a better (more expensive!!) mower we thought was a better way to go. We'll see what happens after this initial repair. There's always a "lemon" in every batch. We seem to always get them!!
Our land, too, is a lot of hills and valleys; not level by any means. Which is one reason my hubby refuses to buy a rider. Says he'd never be able to cut the grass level and would have to use a push mower to get it all even. A perfectionist when it comes to the yard. We're also surrounded by trees and shrubs of every kind. So he says he'd have to use the push mower to get around those. Aaarrgghhh!!! My grandparents had a LOT of ground with the same attributes as ours....and they used a riding mower. And their property was beautiful!
Oh well. It keeps him out of my hair for hours....if not days. So I guess it can be a good thing! LOL !
Good luck with your veggies. I hope you have a very bountiful harvest! Hope the rest of your summer is going well for you.
As long as our home is air conditioned, bring the heat on! (Without it, the humidity does me in, too!)
Sorry about the mower~ They are not built to last....
Thanks for stopping in on my blog!
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