Still Turns Shoes Green, Too

I don't know what became of our landscaper. Back in December, we arranged for him to do some work in the yard to get it ready for a play structure we bought a year ago, which has been taking up space in large heavy boxes in our garage ever since. He took out some bushes, left behind some tools, and hasn't been seen since. Phone calls have gone unanswered, and his tools rusted where he left them in our yard.

So, figuring I need the exercise and could save a little money, last week I bought a lawnmower and mowed my own lawn for the first time since I have owned a house, for the first time since I was a teenager, probably. I got one of these, a Sunlawn LMM40, on sale for $40 off at the local McLendon's Hardware store. It's nothing at all like the heavy and useless things I remember from childhood. It's actually pretty easy to use, and it's about as environmentally friendly as it's possible for a lawnmower to get. I mowed the lawn twice, once in each direction, to catch all the grass that got pushed over, since it was a little long in spots. It looked mowed when I was done, so I guess that was what I was after. And best of all, I only have to mow two more times, and I've saved money over what I was paying the landscaper. I bought an electric weed whacker while I was at it, so really I'm going to have to mow and whack about four times to pay for it all, but what was I saying about exercise?

This weekend, I suggested to the Formidable Mrs. that she should try the mower, since I figure it's at least as good a workout as the treadmill at the gym, and she gamely gave it a go. Apparently all was well until she ran over a twig that got stuck. She gave her thumb a good half-inch gash trying to reach in to clear it, and of course immediately felt as bad for being dumb with a lawnmower as for being hurt and bleeding. Those blades are quite sharp, and now that they've tasted blood, who knows what trouble they might get into.

Did I mention that my contract is over and I'm "enjoying" some time off, taking care of various projects? Yeah. I'm starting in on the play structure now. So far I've unboxed everything (what an amazing amount of cardboard that was) and sorted out all the parts. Next up, assembly!