Piano Recital Today!

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Recital and Make-Up Soccer Games
Don't miss the piano recital today - if you're coming, you know when and where.

I've talked a lot about soccer lately. We had a game rained out yesterday, and we've had other games rained out. Today we have two make-up games to account for the previous rain-outs, and one of them is on a field that is so muddy and wet, it is also being cancelled. I expect the other field to be pretty wet, since it was one that was closed yesterday due to mud and water. Looks like I'll have more shoe cleaning to do.

Lawn-Care Update
We have two electric lawn care devices that have not been working properly this year - one is a battery-powered trimmer (weed whacker) and the other is a sidewalk edger. We were pretty sure the battery in the trimmer was dying, so I went to the local Toro shop to order a new one. It would have been $66, so I decided to wait.

I came home and took the trimmer apart - the motor, line spool, handle, battery, switch, and everything. I cleaned it all up and charged the battery on my workbench in the basement. After putting it back together, it seems to be working much better, although still not as well as it did when it was new. J typically does the trimming, and she likes this trimmer a lot, so it was worth the effort. If it still runs out of juice, I'll see if I can find the battery cheaper somewhere else.

The sidewalk edger has worked well for us for about 9 years, and is suddenly not putting out much power. I also disassembled it and cleaned it, then put it back together. Like the trimmer, it seems to be better, as it doesn't give a high-pitched whine like before.


Sidewalk edger

These projects gave me a chance to get outside and take some things apart, which can be relaxing, and it also allowed me to be seen in the driveway with tools laid out around me, looking like I knew what I was doing.

There Will Be Blood
On May 5, I was scheduled to give blood at the kids' school, but I didn't go because I had a nagging sore throat that was about a week old, and I didn't think they'd want me to give. Last week at work we had a blood drive, and I donated a pint to bring my lifetime total to 9 gallons.

Links
I like this Savage Chickens cartoon. It's funny because it's true.

This is a neat idea - globes that have local maps, instead of world maps.

Ray guns! I'm collecting pieces for my first ray gun right now. I hope to have someting assembled by the time I'm 50.