Here's something you don't see on a pile of rubbish every day. I came across this mer-creature while heading out for my long walk on the Capital Ring last week. She was a bit battered, with a hole in the side of her head and some chips and scratches -- she looks like she's wooden but I believe she's actually made of plastic. Anyway, I couldn't take her with me, so I left her there. She was getting lots of attention from passers-by, so I'm confident someone rescued her.
Yesterday was very productive. I finished the book I'd been reading, I sorted out accommodation for an upcoming trip to Scotland that Dave and I are planning, and I cleaned the house top to bottom. I took all our bedding to the laundromat because I got a distinct whiff of dog when I shifted the blankets on Sunday night. And then I bathed the dog herself.
So we're all spic-and-span here at Shadows & Light, at least for the time being.
Dave is trying to sort out what to do about our lawn mower. While I was gone last week he mowed the grass, and in doing so he ran over the power cord for the mower. (It's electric.) Of course that cut the cord -- in two places, in fact -- so now we need to get the cord repaired or replaced. I was just glad he didn't get electrocuted, but he said he didn't even feel it -- and fortunately he was right at the end of the mowing job so our grass still looks uniform. Yesterday he contacted a place that apparently will send a technician to us. That's ideal, so we won't have to schlep a lawn mower across London with no car.
And yes, Dave's birthday passed on June 22 while I was in Germany. I felt kind of bad about that, but he wasn't concerned. I gave him his present -- a pair of noise-cancelling headphones -- before I left, and then bought him these nifty wind chimes in Germany. Aren't they great? The discs are copper, but they remind me of those chimes made of round seashells that I used to see in every gift shop in Florida when I was a kid. They even sound a bit like those -- a little chimey, a little clattery.
Today I need to file some receipts at school to get reimbursed for parts of my trip. Paperwork!
Ye gods...you are lucky you didn't come home to find Dave dead on the lawn!! I assume that you have a " circuit breaker" installed? If not you def. need one !!
ReplyDeleteIt is easy enough to fix a severed lawnmower cord with electric connectors, a screwdriver and insulating tape. Dave needs to be more "mindful" in future - the silly man!
ReplyDeleteP.S. As the mermaid had a hole in her head, I wonder if it was a brain tumour that killed her.
I would have had that mermaid like a shot. You do get some great rubbish thrown out in your area.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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You're going to Scotland! I am very much looking forward to your report.
ReplyDeleteOur electric mower has a bright orange cord, so it (as they say in Bull Durham) "announces itself with authority". No chance of overlooking it in the grass.
Wow! My Comment got through! For the past week I've had to fill out a check list to prove I'm not a bot, including those grids where you ave to click on all the squares that have stairs, or buses, or traffic lights in them, and then I had to give my Goggle ID (which I don't think I have) so, no surprise, I have not passed. But today I got in! The internet is a whimsical thing.
ReplyDeleteLast year Mr. Moon, while using a power hedge trimmer, literally cut the cord to our Dish network. Life hasn't been the same since. I've never understood how anyone could keep from cutting the power cord on a lawn mower. Poor Dave!
ReplyDeleteI like the birthday present you got him. And they still have plenty of those clattery wind chimes.
Scotland? How marvelous! I can't wait to hear about it!
Happy belated birthday Dave! I like that mermaid a lot.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been hard not to take that mermaid home. A little repair and she'd be her beautiful self. Good thing Dave didn't get hurt cutting that cord. Happy birthday wishes to him from the beautiful but shaky north coast!
ReplyDeletethe mermaid is eye catching. I've never seen one that.
ReplyDeleteI love those wind chimes. They look great. Good news about the technician who will come to the house. I can't even imagine having to cross London with a lawn mower in tow.
ReplyDeleteGreat wind chimes and that mermaid would be a fine addition to your garden.
ReplyDeleteWind chimes were really popular here in the eighties and nineties and now I can't remember the last time I saw (or heard) any. That is a handsome set indeed. Birthday best wishes to Dave.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had half your energy. I could clean, or I could bathe a dog, or I could change a bed, but not all in one day :)
I so want that mermaid....go back GO BACK !!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFrances: When Dave texted me about it, he said, "I almost killed myself today." But honestly I don't think he was in any danger. Not only do we have circuit breakers, but aren't these machines grounded or something?
ReplyDeleteYP: Yeah, we considered that, but the mower needs some additional maintenance (like sharpening) so we're just going to take it in.
Briony: That IS some remarkable rubbish, even for our area!
Vivian: I will let you know how it goes! Sorry you've been having so much trouble commenting. I hate that Google thing where you have to choose pictures.
Ms Moon: I'm glad to hear the clattery wind chimes still exist! Apparently windowpane oysters -- which they used to make those chimes -- are declining in number from overfishing. :(
37P: Isn't she great? If she weren't so big and I hadn't been going somewhere I might have kept her.
Robin: Yeah, I'm so glad Dave is OK! (Needless to say.)
Red: I've never seen so many people captivated by a pile of rubbish as the people stopping to admire that mermaid!
Sharon: Actually it looks like we may need to take it in after all. They only make house calls for commercial mowers. Sigh.
Catalyst: She'd take up so much room, though. She was not a small mermaid! I'd rather use the territory for more plants.
Jenny-O: Do wind chimes ever go out of style? Maybe you need some! I always have a mental checklist of tasks that need doing, and I just work my way down. Sometimes I get several things done, sometimes only one.
John: Ha! She's gone now, sadly. I could have mailed her to you!