New Toy for the Boy

This evening I am writing to the aroma of freshly mown grass. It appears that the long and agonising saga of buying a ride-on-mower is finally over.

First there was the endless searching and bidding and losing auctions for second-hand mowers on Trade Me. Then there was the mower paid for but rejected on pick up because it was not as promised and wholly unsuitable for mowing conditions at Te Horo. Then there were the long afternoons of minutely detailed examinations of brand-new mowers that cost more than my car did.

Then finally, the successful bid on the new mower through Trade Me, the subsequent long wait for the seller to return from some trip and ship it out and the exciting moment of the huge box's arrival. Then the long, loving, careful unpacking, assembling and servicing of the new mower (including an thrilling few minutes where I played my most significant role in the whole business by finding the 'missing' piece still hidden in the packaging material). And then the crushing disappointment of finding that despite being Brand New, the bloody thing didn't work. Numerous phone calls and emails followed to negotiate solutions and finally today we had delivery of replacement blades.

Oh glory be, the new blades work and Al is whizzing back and forth outside my window leaving trails of smooth lawn in our shaggy meadow as the motor purrs like a happy cat. Thank you thank you thank you.