Final Score: Three For Three

Saturday, Brian spent hours working in the yard attempting to return it to a weed free condition and came in exhausted.  It looks much better now, thanks to his hard work, but he wasn't able to finish everything that he wanted too.  While he was at work on Monday, I decided to finish the hedges for him as a surprise.

While we have an electric hedger, I decided that I should use the regular garden hand sheers instead since the last time I used the electric hedger, I cut the power cord.  And the time before that.  These were the only two previous times I have used the tool.

After a few minutes of working in the humid summer heat, the idea of having it all over in a few minutes sounded great and my resolve to avoid any possible cord cutting weakened.  I got out the electric hedger.

I really enjoy projects on our house, even the routine maintenance stuff because, for the most part, I can step back and feel like I have done something productive and it feels good.  Some days, all it seems like I do is feed kids and clean up after them so on the days that I am able to check off a project in addition, I am pretty proud of myself.

I was feeling pretty proud of myself as I moved on from the first boxwood to the hedge and it was shaping up nicely and I even managed to miss the gardenia that is growing right up against the hedge.  All the sudden, Spark!  And the hedger shuts off. 

All I could think of at that moment was the phrase, "Pride goeth before a fall."  It was in so many ways such a major, ironic fail that all I could do was laugh as I commenced with what is now my "just cut the power cord" routine.  I unplugged it from the socket, then unplugged the cord from the hedger, and then reset the tripped circuit.  Sadly, I can, in fact, attest to the fact that all the outdoor circuitry in this house runs through the powder room fuse.  The first time, it took me almost twenty minutes to figure this out.  Now, I just go straight there.

I called Brian at work.  I said that I was trying to do something nice for him and he immediately responded, "Thanks, I appreciate it!" but became silent when I said I used the hedger.  I'm sure all his coworkers wanted to know what he thought was so funny when I confirmed that I had, indeed, cut the cord for the third time.  Teasingly, he said that I am now officially banned from the hedger.

I finished up with the hand sheers but never made it to the hedge on the other side of the door but at least one now looks pretty!  And, I was able to laugh and check half a project off my list.  But, in my adventure today, I learned that the third time is most definitely not the charm as my final hedging the power cord score rests at three for three.