Sunday, April 4, 2010

Is 90∘Normal For April 6th?

Well, if you live in Arizona it might be, but not in Virginia. After a very cold and miserable winter, we seem to have come full circle. Its been in the upper 70's and 80's for the last week, and it's supposed to get up to 90∘this Tuesday. Normal highs for this time of year are 65∘. We never had a normal lead into spring. It went from cold to warm almost overnight. The upside is, it's perfect weather for the shorts, pretty tops and sandals that make a girl feel girly. The downside is that it brings out the wasps and yellow jackets, that love to find their way into the house. I have had to resort to chemical warfare against two of those winged beasts already this spring. There is nothing more disconcerting, not mention painful, than coming out of a shower, reaching for a towel, and receiving the searing hot stinger of wasp in a finger.

Another monster that appears every spring, is the beast below.

My neighbor bought a gasoline powered, back pack leaf blower a few years ago, and it has become her undying obsession. Usually no later that 10:00AM, she has the machine from hell strapped to her back, and she spends the better part of the daylight hours, fighting a losing battle against nature. The wind and all of the trees we have around here, ensure that her a daily battle is one that she can never hope to win, but she is either a trouper, or a mad woman. She never gives up. Unfortunately, there isn't a single room in my house where I can go, to escape the noise of the obnoxious thing, and its constant starting, stopping, and starting again. It is not unusual to have to suffer this indignity from 9:00AM, until sundown, weather permitting. There have been times when I wanted to to confront her, and do something very unholy with her wretched machine, but realizing that wouldn't be very ladylike, I have manged to restrain myself........but soon I will have Sophie's chainsaw, and with all of the lumber on my property that needs trimming, it will be time for payback!

Melissa (feeling a bit wicked tonight)

7 comments:

Stace said...

You really take your household tools seriously in Virginia don't you?

Reminds me of Tim Allen yelling more power when comapring with what most people have over here :)

Stace

Véro B said...

Oh man, I don't envy you having a neighbour like that. All leaf blowers suck (a contradiction, I know), but gasoline-powered ones are the worst. A little sugar in the gas tank, maybe? :)

BTW, if you want the degree sign, it's ampersand-deg-semicolon, like this (if it works): 90°F. Lucky you!

Melissa said...

Thanks for the tip, Véronique! I have been using the Special Characters menu under edit on my I-Mac, whenever I needed to insert a degree sign, but when I use that method, it always adds a space behind the degree sign.

I just tried your tip, but I can't seem to get it to work. I must be doing something wrong.

M

Véro B said...

OK, let's see if I can truly spell it out: ° There are several HTML characters like that, like ™ (™).

Melissa said...

Yes! It worked! The temperature here now is 75°! Thanks!

Melissa XX

Keri Renault said...

Leaf blowers are the bane of the Mid-Atlantic. I hate the damn things. They're so nasty loud they can wake the dead. But their exhaust is the real killer.

Seems folks here haven't heard of the eco-friendly yard rake:)

Reading of your hearty yard exploits reinforces how happy I am to be rid of our 3 acres in Wisconsin. It was beautiful, but tending to yardwork was a never-ending chore.

Happy Days,

Keri

Calie said...

Rather than repeat, my comments are what Keri, Veronique, and Stace said.

Calie xxx