Wednesday

We did have a brief (all too brief, in my opinion) shower today around 10:00 AM. So, when I got home, I dragged the hose and sprinkler out and watered the front lawn (tree garden side) all the way back to the trailer/sailboat slab.

I came back inside after setting out the original sprinkler (the variable, but strong winds are not helping in the sprinkler placement, BTW) and changed clothes into my T-shirt and shorts. Just then, the door bell rang! I looked out and saw Shrek on my porch! Please note: I am NOT making fun of him, just trying for an accurate description. So, I went outside and chatted with him. He was an oversized, bald headed, metally-challenged teenager who immediately handed me a laminated card, describing the organization he was selling for. His presentation suffered a bit from his hair lip, but I gathered his group was trying to raise funds for a trip to Cedar Point by selling candy. With real regret, I told him I lived alone and was diabetic and couldn't use any candy, but did he have anything else I could buy? Fortunately, he had some flavored teas from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) so I bought a wooden box with 25 tea bags in it and embossed with the Ceylon seal of quality (the Sri Lanka lion) of lemon tea for $8.00 US. God bless, guys, and hope Cedar Point rocks for you!

I decided some time earlier today that my shoulders and arm muscles hurt enough that I was not going to do any raking tonight. So, while continually moving the sprinkler and setting the stove timer, I went out into the garage.

One of the things that caught my attention with the lawn tractor is that it uses mulching blades, but still has a discharge chute. My walking mower had mulching blades, but the discharge chute was blocked off. So, why isn't this? So, I checked the Troy-Bilt website and found they originally offered a kit for my mower with mulching blades (which I had on originally and just re-purchased) and a discharge "plug" for the mower deck. But, when I looked into it, I found they no longer sold them! They did, however offer, though a third party, a "universal" plug for $65.00! When I was building the armored Lincoln Town cars, I had 20 fabricators who could have made this up in 15 minutes!

Brief interlude: The whole "discharge" thing reminds me of a comedian's (Jeff Foxworthy - you know, "You might be a redneck, if...") bit I have always laughed at. His premise was there are just a lot of things a man doesn't need or want to know. For example, ladies, please just use the words: Female problems. The only context we men want to hear about "discharge" is Military, and please make damn sure it's an honorable one!

So, I went up into the attic and cut up a box to get a good-sized piece of cardboard. I went out and removed the discharge chute (see photos) and carefully cut and fitted it to the mower deck. So, now, I have a template for a piece of metal I'll buy and rework. This is in spite of my friend's B___'s suggestion that I cut up a milk jug and duct tape the piece to the deck. My God, man, have you no shame?

At 8:20 PM the watering was done. I have to eat fast as I have blood getting drawn in the morning and can't eat or drink after 9:00 PM. So, I warmed up two chicken thighs and made wild rice as the side dish. Still tasted great. I started watching TV, waiting for 10:00 PM and Top Chef, but fell asleep waiting. I woke up at 2:00 AM, shut everything off and went to bed.