Friday

"The only think in my life right now that DOESN'T suck is my vacuum cleaner."

-Me

TREE UPDATE

This is what the tree did. As you can see, the big branch didn't fall all the way. So, something had to be done. And, no matter what that was, this was going to cost money. Either pay someone to come take care of it (and have the problem of dealing with the dogs), or just figure out a way to do it myself. I went to Home Depot and looked at renting a chainsaw. They only had big gas ones. Too heavy for me, and for some reason gas powered tools and I don't get along. So, I went over to look at ones to buy. For $12 more than one day's rental of one that wasn't the best choice for me I got a nice electric chainsaw. And, I set about cutting up the damn tree.

Here's where it got a little scary. The branch wasn't broken all the way through, and was wedged between the tree trunk and the ground. The safest way to get it down was to make a cut near where it was hinged to the tree. So...

I found the spot where I was least likely to be squished by the falling branch, and cut it off!

And, done. Okay, not completely. I still need to cut up some of the big pieces. The rest of the tree needs to come down too. And, I need to make some neat piles with the wood so that I can burn it in my little fire pit. This took me two days. I had to rest a lot-it was very hot. And, I wasn't foolish enough to go out and use a chain saw and deal with falling wood in shorts and flip-flops, so I was overdressed for the weather. But, I made it safe to walk out back. I did it myself. I have lots of fire wood. There's more sun for plants. I didn't cut a leg off, or any other body part. I didn't drop a log on my foot.

I am woman, hear me run power tools!

Or, I am woman, hear me whine about how SORE I am.