Saw point

Man, today went fast.  It started slowly in front of the television, but around midday kicked into full gear.

We head off into the sunshine (while it’s available) to go get a few things, one of which was a small chainsaw.
A tree fell over in the backyard during the storms just before Christmas, and since it wasn’t in the way of anything, nor damaging anything we just left it there.  However the gardener is coming on Tuesday and it’s time it was cut up into nice fireplace sized logs, and removed.  So a chainsaw would definitely be beneficial.
Especially given the weekend before last I tackled almost half of it by hand with a bowsaw.  I got through quite a lot of it, but had a very sore arm afterwards.

Anyway…  We bought a small electric chainsaw, not my first choice, as I’m more accustomed to using fuel driven ones, but given I’m not likely to be using a chainsaw too often here, I figured a cheaper electric one would do the job.  Even if it only lasted long enough to cut up the one tree, what it cost to become a disposable item would still be a good 200% cheaper than having someone do it for us.

Great idea in theory.  So off we went to Walmart where we found a small electric chainsaw for just under $60, drove home, I got changed into some old clothes and was unpacking it to go tackle the tree, only to find that it was covered in oil, rust, and completely clogged with sawdust.  It seems someone else had already purchased it before me, but had then used it, and returned it to Walmart, where someone else had placed it on the shelf to be resold.

Let’s just say I was less than happy, and my “truckers mouth” let fly a few choice polysyllabic Tourettes like phrases.

Back in the car and back to Walmart where I got my money back, back and an apology, that didn’t quite cover the wasted time and fuel for the trip there and back (twice), but there you go.

Then it was off to the local Home Depot (like Bunnings, only not as good), where we purchased a slightly better model for a few dollars extra, and since the day was already darkening, rather than going home to attack the tree, we headed off to do a bit of shopping at another of of those awesome discounted stores I like to frequent, this time it was Loehmann’s.  Last time I was there, there was nothing and I was less than impressed, this time it was as if we’d hit the Ben Sherman jackpot, there were bargains to be found everywhere.

I bought a new belt, since my last new belt is fast becoming too big, despite my punching new holes in it constantly, and a couple of other items, and Mark bought a few shirts.  I even managed to convince him to try on some styles he’d never usually wear, and he liked them.  So he’ll look a lot more stylish than normal, and the bonus is once I’ve lost some more weight (and those shirts are my next new goal), I’ll be able to add them to my “wardrobe options”.  *laugh*

That’s a big WIN-WIN if you ask me.

But that’s it from me for now.  It’s nearly 10pm already, and this is a very late blog posting for me.

Hope you’re having an awesome weekend.

James, Happy Birthday for today for Australian time, and Happy Birthday for tomorrow for Texas time. 😉