indylisa actually gave me this idea. I got thinking about how it would look painted terra cotta and then with hens and chicks as indylisa said and my mind got working and I started seeing some of the weird shapes my hazelwood contorta would put out, which made me think to paint it like it was wood, you know, put in swirls and such that look like wood grain. After that, I got thinking a creeping thyme would look good in it. I still love indylisa idea of the hens and chicks, but be a nut about herbs, I'm liking the creeping thyme idea better. Or you can stay on the gross side, make it into the mass of worms a poor animal coughed up, but cartoonish, paint some eyes and a grinning mouth here and there, lol.

I guess I'm the Dad in this case! I do remember having an el cheapo power mower (person propelled) when I was a kid (red and perhaps Western Auto) and using it for everything - a field at the rear of the house comes to mind... one day it was 3 feet high, the next it was "lawn". Anyway, everyone is always dumping on Craftsman tools and power equipment. I'm still using my Craftsman Eager One, 5HP, Tecumseh engine, that I purchased in 1984. I don't recall it ever failing to start except when the switch I installed to replace the dead-man handle died. It smokes, uses oil, but still cuts better than my $500 Troy-Bilt. At the beginning of the summer, I ran over a rock and bent the blade so that it was actually digging into the ground. Had to replace the blade plate and blade, but didn't faze the crankshaft or the upper crankshaft shear pins. The only maintenance I've ever done is occasionally replace the air filter, less occasionally replace the spark plug (do clean it annually), and change the oil. I think it is coming to the end of its long life and really hate the thought of getting rid of it. It really needs a total engine rebuild (chassis, etc. is still fine - no rust but lots of scrapes), but I just don't have the abilities. JimC

There is a company that makes a product called E T Air Ride. www.ztpuffer.com You mount this air ride system on your mower then mount your current seat on top of it. If you have a seat that slides you can still slide your seat. It raises your seat a few inches so you need to build some wood platform to support your body, no big deal. You hook the power side to the ignition switch so it shuts off when you shut mower off. John Deere dealer was helping me get the correct wire. I'm looking forward to using it as my tailbone is sore. Age has nothing to do with it. Lawnmower manufacturers don't want to spend the extra money to build this into their mowers.

We recently bought a Miele refrigerator a few months ago. Perhaps a fluke or bad apple, but we are on our fifth service call in the few months we’ve owned it. Our situation is “no cool,” which means the refrigerator is unable to cool and basically doesn’t work, like take-your-life-in-your-hands-and-risk-food-poisoning doesn’t work. Calls to Miele’s US customer service center have also been a disaster. When the unit first went in the fritz and we called, the earliest available appointment was 4 weeks out, yup, you read right, 4 weeks. When we asked if there was another repair provider in the vicinity, we were told that they’d have to cancel our appointment to check. Bonkers! Each visit turns up a new issue where the tech needs to order parts and then we have to wait for the parts to arrive, usually 5 business days. Then, oh joy, dealing with the service provider, who without fail, even though this latest repair has been an ongoing issue for the past month (3 service calls), states their earliest availability for a tech to come out is 4-5 weeks. And this is the super confusing part. They know there is an issue. The tech has ordered part(s). They know it’s an emergency situation as the refrigerator won’t cool, but each time, we’re told 4-5 weeks before a tech can be dispatched. So, we appeal (numerous calls) to the high-end appliance retailer who sold us this lemon, who intercedes on our behalf (yay)…and miraculously the service provider has an opening a few days later. It’s like a crisis merry go round. But the big head scratcher is that neither Miele customer service nor the service provider see this as an icky situation. They’re like what’s the problem. Hubby (who is German) is like never again…