Friday, June 25, 2004

I Bought a Kick-Ass Hedge Trimmer...

I know it's not really that exciting for most people, but buying a new hedge trimmer that can cut up to a 1"-thick branch is pretty exciting stuff for a gardening geek like me. Yesterday started out with my neighbor Dave (he took a vacation day) and I driving Jo Ann to work. We then went to GĂ©ant in St. Louis, France to do a little grocery shopping. After dropping off our groceries at home, we went to IKEA (I needed some proper herring for silli salatti), and then we went to OBI. The real reason for our trip was to buy lawn mower oil for my new/used lawn mower. But, I couldn't pass up the Bosch hedge trimmer with "530w of POWER"!!!
I came home and cleaned house, and then I went out and helped Dave trim bushes for about an hour. Let me tell you, the Bosch makes for quick work when trimming bushes. Afterwards, Dave and I had a couple of beers on the patio to celebrate the purchase. Then Gill came over and joined us for a beer. In speaking with Gill, I was reminded that the Swiss schools finish up today (Friday, June 25th). So, I think that our neighbor will soon be turning into a ghost town. Even though I've lived here for over 3½ years, it still seems amazing to me that the Swiss will take a 3-4 week vacation. They pack up their cars, and then the whole family leaves for the mountains, or France, or wherever. The neighborhood becomes very quiet, and I actually look forward to it every year. It's not that I don't like my Swiss neighbors - I do. It's just that it's a nice change of pace.
Today, I have to do a few chores around the house, go to the gym, and then we go to Coletta and David's (three doors down) for a BBQ this evening at 18:30. So, it'll be kind of nice not having to cook this evening.
Yesterday, my computer monitor was doing goofy things. But, it appears that it was only a temporary glitch. My Yahoo! Web Hosting account is having some problems which is why I haven't updated the website for a while. Hopefully they'll return my e-mail message soon and let me know what the problem is. Also, our SKY sattelite is still giving us only the basic channels and the North American Sports Network. It's been that way for almost a month now, and I'm starting to get pretty fed up with the fact that our contact in the U.K. doesn't appear to be doing anything about it. I'll try to reach him again today. Luckily, we've been able to watch baseball and Euro 2004. However, I miss my M*A*S*H reruns and Kerrang (music video channel). Jo Ann misses the UK Food Network.
Ciao....

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