The riding mower broke yesterday, so I had to survey the damage, and figure out what happened. This is what happened.
The repair was a $50 idler pulley, more sweat than I like, and about an hour of pulling wrenches. It should have been a lesser amount of time, but the learning curve demanded more time. I live and I learn. I'll change the pulley in about two years just to make sure this doesn't happen again. Hopefully it doesn't.
I was perusing my blog, made some mental calculations, and realized I missed my blogoversary by 5 days. I'm guessing it's best, since it's the 13th anniversary, which has been an unlucky number since Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper.
For those that visited, have visited, are bots, heard about me, but really didn't have the time to visit, really don't care and are washing their car, I'm glad you came....or didn't.
I was perusing a news site, and found an article explaining how people coped during the Great Depression. It showed how the ten things listed could help those in today's economy. It was amazing. All the things my family did while I was being raised were detailed. Of course, my grandparents, and parents, lived through that time, and the items detailed were just part of their every day life. They grew some of their own food. Mended clothes. Canned things from their garden and fruit trees. Had meals that stretched meat, such as beans and spaghetti. Didn't waste what they had. Were frugal with purchases and hunted for bargains. Otherwise, things that make sense to me, but many today wouldn't have a clue.
I don't know about all people, but just having an article like that should alert everyone how the economy sucks. Those days should be gone forever, yet here we are - almost 100 years later - facing them again.
Local news can be enlightening. One report has a woman running from police, after a road-rage incident with a gun. She was eventually stopped with spike strips, and the police found meth, a pipe, and a loaded .22, which she earlier pointed at another driver, which led to the chase.
In another unrelated story, another women, after being stopped for questioning about a fraud complaint, took off in her car, led police on a long chase, and was stopped with spike strips. Since two states were involved with her criminal activities, she will probably have some explaining to multiple judge.
Meanwhile, the city where I was raised is having a problem picking up the trash the citizens pay dearly to have done. From the photos, it's not the household trash, but the old appliances, furniture, big items, and other things that rats love to nest inside. Efforts to contact those in charge by the local media are ignored.
They finally caught the wienie-wagger that was seen at the local university. His picture is shown for all to see and remember. They showed his face. I wonder if they made him drop his pants for a line-up.
The usual number of car wrecks are noted. Usually, the article states witnesses reported the driver driving too fast, or recklessly. I've worked on highways. The number of really bad drivers would make most people want to stay home, and I'm a little surprised about the low number of serious car wrecks.
Too many restaurants giving up is a clear indication the rosy reports of the economy are crap. That, and from my experience of buying a $4 dollar meal for $20 at Sonic, more will follow.
There's plenty of other interesting reports, but I have a feeling I could look at the local news for just about anywhere in the United States and find similar stories. Maybe it's a sign of the times. I hope in a few years I can look back and laugh.
It rained over the last week. It wasn't torrential, but every day was around an inch of rain, and the final tally was over five inches. The ground is saturated, and puddles are standing where I've never seen puddles last more than a few hours. We did manage to cut some grass in the high spots, but the rest will need days of drying.
The humidity will be high for the next few days. That, and the mosquitoes are already finding enough stagnating water to breed prolifically. Evenings outside will be on the "no" list, and mornings will require the sun to burn off the dew before venturing out in the yard. Unlike last Summer, where the pond dropped five feet, this year has had plenty of rain in July, which is normally a dry month. How August pans out is to be seen, but I have a feeling the first cold front will be welcome; especially if it brings some cool, dry, windy days to dry everything.