My combo of a Green MachineâÂÂs hard blade head, EchoâÂÂs long shaft and SR210 engine has been a lifesaver for my back. No bending, I basically drag the trimmerâÂÂs head with the wheel rolling (on grass vs concrete) and blade at a 45 to concrete vs straight (reduced edging every cut). I thought the split shaft with the hard blade would be my only option and maybe shorter. Experimenting I saw the EchoâÂÂs and long shaft would power the hard blade. No weight and the 45 angles or straight cut/trim while I stand straight was my challenge. The original split shaft and Green Machine power head was a winner over string but became a killer due to the short shaft requiring bending. The hard blade will also allow some trimming as a string in tight areas. My neighbor has a Craftsman split shaft with the wheel/hard blade, string or blower that seems to work for him. I used the G/M split shaft approx 15 yrs as a hard blade only while not believing in the split shaft concept but with quality I feel they work.

But one thing I do know. The assistance manager is not professional or honest. 1. I took the car to repair on Thursday, there were a few people there waiting, he told me he did not have the part and asked me to leave the car for tomorrow. It was 4:00 pm. The Pep boys would not close at 9:00 pm. He said he could not fix due to partÂs availability. Afterwards I made appointment with him on Thursday after Labor Day. I called on Wednesday to ask the parts. The other people told me there are a few parts available. Based on this, I could not make the judgment for the honesty. But  2. Since I need to base the info to make the decision about going home or browse the stores, I asked him how long it would take, He told me a couple hours. I confirmed with him about a couple times about a couple hours waiting time, he still said a couple hours. I went to the back and ask the mechanic( no car is waiting for repair). He told me less than 45 minutes. 3. . I always have my inspection done one month before. My car inspection sticker will expire in Oct. While I drove home after I picked the inspected car , I noticed my new sticker expire in September 06. I went back to Pepboys right away, I questioned the assistance manager about my inspection expiration month . He said it is new law the sticker expire in whatever month it takes inspection. I asked him when it changed since I did my inspection one month before last year. And ask him to show me the book and confirmed whether he was sure about the expiration month. He insisted it is new law. I went back home and went to Penn Dot to search and tried to called Penn Dot. It was not office hours. I could not reach any one in the Penn Dot. I did not feel to look through all the search results on the web. I called the other Pepboys to inquire about the expiration. They all said the inspection would expire in Oct. I called back the Pepboys which fixed the car and asked for him. Some one told me he left already and then I asked for manager. Right now the assistance manager was on the phone. I told him I contacted Penn Dot. The expired month should expire in Oct. He said the Penndot closes. I emailed Penndot on Thursday and asked about the expired month. Penndot replied my email on Friday. I read the Penndot email to him. He asked me to come back Saturday. I got my new expire date on Oct on my old sticker. While the manager asked me how I am. I just wanted to ask him if he were me, how he would feel about that. The assistance manager face flushed with red and talked the law change so often Â.. The judgment I draw from my experience the assistance manager is not honest or not qualify for that job. Thanks. Frances

I live in a place where location trumps just about everything. On top of that, very few houses are individual, they tended to be built as groups, so there are a number of identical or slightly different houses. But people here tend to pay attention to the inside, and the amenities, and not so much what the exterior looks like. Like I said before, since you would be moving into a neighborhood that contained similar houses, I don't think there would be any benefit to spending money to change the essential character of the house. (Like there might be if the mansard was anomaly). It would make sense to make it look like the most pleasant-looking example of whatever it is. You might like it better on the outside if you change it, but it doesn't really benefit its position in the neighborhood. I am not sure that it would necessarily be any more difficult to sell than anything else in the neighborhood--because it fits in the neighborhood as is. Again I will cite robo's example of the house that was converted. I think when you really analyze the outcome, it doesn't look any better than the original. I think there is an initial reaction of "great they got rid of the mansard" but when you really look, I think the new look may actually be even more awkward than the old. It just references something that we are more used to. I've said it before, but I live in a pretty ugly house. There are four slightly different ones. I bought it because the architect understood floorplans and getting light into the interior. I could have a house that looked better on the outside in the same neighborhood, but it would be darker and more cobbled together inside. But the "improvements" that a couple of my neighbors have made only serve to make their houses look worse. They are trying to compensate for something but not in the right way, really. So I think if you are looking primarily at location, you should really consider how the houses you look at "feel" on the inside, and not so much the face that they present to the street. (Since it's a development with similar houses). You really want something that works well inside, where you are actually doing the living rather than something that looks good on the outside--if you can't have both.

No, no birdies this season. I am guessing the smell of the varnish kept them away. Maybe next year after it has weathered a bit. Here is a close up as requested. I wanted to wait for my plants to perk up and look happier..not sure they are there yet but so far no critters has dug any up which I count as a plus. The white sheets and white powder are critter control. The orbs we made from hoops off of wagon wheels I used to have set in the garden. We found them on the property and I used them as a marker for the back of my gardens. I think all my watering was the death of them. THANKS for all the support!!