I defeated the tall grass in my new lawn, but not without casualties...

First I had to go across town so I could buy a used one from Craigslist.  It worked fine there, so I took it home--where it refused to start.  I fiddled with it for a good twenty minutes before I figured out the cable for the dead man grip was too loose, and obviously the seller had prestaged it to start with the actuator manually bumped open.  Of course I figured this out AFTER I had already given myself a blister from trying to start it so many times.

So I manually bumped the actuator open and lo, it started, and I mowed.

Some.  Because the safety thing shook itself closed and the mower cut off after about half the front yard.  When I reached to push it back into position for re-starting it, I quite naturally burned my finger on the OHMYGODSCORCHINGHOT piece of metal dammit-thing.  Blister #2. 

Then I figured out a way to adjust it permanently that doesn't impede the safety cut off feature. (Go Me!) and kept right on mowing.  (Intrepid, aren't I?)  Kept right on mowing until the mower ran over this seekrit hidden pipe cover cleverly hidden in the tall grass.  (Unlike the other one in the yard which is in a small clearing so as to make it visible.)  The mower promptly makes a Popping-Screeching noise and a whiff of blue smoke escaped as the machine turned itself off. I was immediately worried about cracked engine stuff from the blue smoke, but it seemed to be fine for restarting...once I spent about fifteen more minutes straightening out the body of the lawnmower with a pair of pliers so it wouldn't impede the blade. 

OK, so finally ready to go back and FINISH the front yard, which should have only taken 20 minutes, tops, and has now taken over an hour.  Amazingly, I get that done. Then go to the rolling hill of my back yard... Where something in the angle makes the mower blade start hitting the body again.  More fixing.  And then something else (gremlins disturbed from their rest in the rusty pipe I hit?) makes the safety fix I had rigged, become, well, unfixed.  

Ugh.  So at least now the yard is finished.  I lost just about every battle, yet the war itself is mine!

After all that frustration, I saw that my kids had called (here's where we segue into the part that makes me feel all better about the afternoon....) I called them back and let me say, getting them to talk for any period of time on the phone is tough.  They are just at that age.  But a tiny miracle happened today, perhaps instant karmic reconciliation for World War Lawn.   My oldest (10) and I ended up talking for a very long time, probably a half hour.  Pretty good when Dad has to fight for five minutes in a row on the phone.)  And what, pray tell is it that would prompt my reticent eldest girl to be so chatty for so long? 

The Zelda game on the Wii.  :)

Hey, I'll take it.