Planning Pays; and I Spend

Saturday I decided to take care of the annual chore of draining my lawnmower of gas.  I typically combine this with the chore of testing out the snowblower to ensure I'm ready for the first snow of the year.

At first, all went well.  Raised the mower to a height above the level of the snowblower's gas tank.  Siphoned the gas from mower to blower.

I checked the oil in the snowblower -- yuck, that stuff is dirty.  But hey, we can test to see if it starts.  Hey, there seems to be a little gas leakage.  Tighten up a valve.  OK, prime the line with nine or ten pumps to the priming bulb and yank the cord.

You see, people, this is a very old snowblower.  We've been in this house over 19 years.  That means we are heading into the 20th winter.  For the first couple of winters, I cleared our 100-foot driveway with snow shovels.  Remember, though, that I was much younger then.  but I was also poorer.  Shoveling was a financial necessity.

But finally, a couple of years into owning this house, we got the snowblower.  It's the only one we've ever owned, so having it last for over 15 years is pretty darn good, considering how many times it gets used each winter.

Anyway, I yanked the cord.  The engine coughed a couple of times, but killed.  This, however, is not unexpected.  Even at its best, in recent years, this blower doesn't start on the first pull.

So I pulled a second time.

And it started right up!  Huzzah!

Oops.  Except for one small problem.  On that second yank, I was left holding the handle and the cord of the starter.  Completely pulled free from the blower.  Though the blower was running, if I ever shut it off, I would not get it started again.

I had three options.  But two, really, for anyone who knows me.

1. Buy a new snowblower.
2. Get this snowblower fixed.
3. Fix it myself.

The real point of this post is that, with any of those options, it would be technically possible that I would have a working snowblower before the first snowfall!  This, my friends, is what preparation is all about.  If a snowblower is going to break, wouldn't it be nice if it did so BEFORE you needed it?  Yet how often is that going to happen?  For me, it did!

So, what did I do?

Option 3 is laughable.  I have the mechanical aptitude of a ten-thumbed rock.

Option 2 is possible, but seriously, this thing is over 15 years old, has been giving us trouble for years (I am the only one m=in my family who has been able to use it for years, because I am the only one who knows how to set the choke "just so" and prime the engine "just right" to get it to stay running.)

So I went with Option 1.  I found a good looking Craftsman on sale at the local hardware store - one of those great local stores which always give excellent advice and service.  I bought it.  It will be delivered on Friday.  I just saw the week's forecast.  No snow between now and Friday.

So, by preparing early, I saved myself at least one frustrating shovel session, and I was able to buy the replacement snowblower without fighting crowds of people doing the same!

To quote Hannibal:  "I love it when a plan comes together."



P.S. For some strange reason, despite the fact that I have always, always, always spoken and heard these devices called "snowblowers," the advertisements all call them "snow throwers."  What do you call them where you live?