Flowers are popping out all over, and the spring color show here at the Lovestead received a lovely boost yesterday when a pair of gorgeous deck baskets went up.
I could hardly wait for the big day to come when those baskets, purchased through a 4-H fundraiser, were ready to pick up.
Turned out a bit more difficult than expected, though, as my friend Kari had 200 baskets on the floor of her shop.
As one who gets uptight in the "hurry-up and make up your mind" buffet lines, I experienced a similar anxiety while looking over that huge spread of flowers with an array of colors and varieties.
Calm down. Calm down, I thought to myself. You can do it. It took some time, and I allowed myself to be distracted while visiting with Kari and other basket buyers.
Eventually, though, I found a pair for my deck and for my friends, Kathy and Christa. I'm hoping they like the choices, delivered to their homes.
The front-yard floral scene will only get better now at transplanted geraniums begin to grow and bloom.
It's a colorful, sometimes fragrant and lovely time for walking around the yard.
Speaking of which, another story of frustration resolved itself yesterday, thanks to Tony the lawnmower wizard.
I've mentioned before, probably several times, the demise of yard equipment, and until Friday afternoon, I thought the worst was over in that department.
But no. The same lawnmower Tony had maintained two weeks ago rounded a bend on the easement along our road and stopped dead in its tracks. Well, the mower wasn't dead, but it's wheels would not turn or move.
Nothing like a big orange mower sitting right next to the road for the weekend, and, of course, I was home alone with the equipment. Bill had gone to Coeur d'Alene and Spokane for the day.
I looked over the mower and could not find any visible reason for it to come to such an abrupt halt and refuse to move.
I called Tony. He didn't answer. This must be when he's having his surgery, I thought.
So, I called Bill, who was at Costco, the same Bill who listened to my rants a few weeks ago, went to town and bought me a new back-up riding mower.
Bill was not impressed that yet another lawnmower disaster had occurred. Neither of us were impressed with the thought of that mower sitting out there next to the road for who knows how many days.
When we got into specifics of what to do next, he said to see if I could push the mower. If the wheels moved, then it would be okay to tow it.
I did all the above. Wheels moved. I hooked the mower up to the 4-wheeler and slowly towed it to the shop.
When I went back to the house, Tony had called. Yes, he had been off work for surgery to remove a metal plate from the same leg he broke a couple of years ago. That was the leg he was dragging when he first brought that lawnmower to the place.
He dragged it really fast right after showing me how to get a zero drive mower to go forward. Tony hadn't quite stepped out of the way when the mower lurched forward, but his reactions were fast and we avoided need for more surgery that day.
Well, on Friday, he said he would come on Monday and see what was wrong. So, last night when he called and said he was coming, my mood was dark, as it had been ever since Friday when the damn mower stopped working.
What HAD I done this time, and HOW MUCH was it gonna cost?
Earlier in the evening, I had figured out why a set of clippers in the barn hadn't been working. Feeling good about that little victory, I told Bill that at least something went right after this season of daily equipment failures.
A small segment of my depressed state harbored slim hope that maybe, just maybe, I'd be on a roll and that the lawnmower would not cost $$$$$ to fix.
Well, the story has a happy ending. Tony found that a bolt which needed to be tightened to affect tension on the belt was the simple cause of such a major problem. He tightened it, and "Voila!" the mower moved.
Tony even got a hug last night cuz he did not charge me anything. He also drove off with our dead Craftsman mower which he'll use for parts.
This morning after TWO ITEMS DECIDED TO WORK WITHOUT COSTING A FORTUNE, the flowers smell sweeter than usual, and I can once again happily mow my lawn, for a while anyway, without a guilt trip.
Before I mow lawn, however, I'll be heading to our polling place and doing my civic duty as we vote for candidates OR against them in our Idaho State Primary.
With the primary deciding the final outcome of some key local offices, voting today is extremely important, so locals, pass the word and get folks to the polls.
And, do take some time to smell and admire the flowers. They're mighty pretty.
Happy Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment