Friday, June 8, 2012

A Man with a Gadget

With first-crop haying under cover, J. has been busy with his on-going renovation of the
garage into a better work space.
He has been making noises about his great need for a 'power-washer'
to aid in removing greasy deposits from the equipment he buys and refurbishes for resale.
He has been making on-line comparisons of price and features
and suddenly announced that Tractor Suppply Co had the best 'deal.'
G. had just whirled in when J. declared he was headed to town.
Since we both adore Tractor Supply [think farm, garden, pet supply, boots and stylish work wear]
we eagerly clambered into old Snort'n Nort'n.
G. and I had a fine time poking about the store while J. consulted with our neighbor, an employee there.
It seemed the local store had sold out of the power washer, but the store in the next county
had several in stock.
J. was in an expansive mood, so excited over his new gadget that he conceeded my plea for garden mulch should be indulged.
We roared off to C-ville with 12 bags of brown bark mulch stacked on the truck's flat bed.
There was no dallying allowed once the machine was in J.'s possession.
We roared home and after a hasty sandwich J. dug out his old yellow rainsuit and fired up his new toy.


In this humid climate scouring green mildew off the north or shady side of our houses is a yearly chore.
This morning saw J. happily finding another use for the power washer.

When I saw him planting a step ladder in my herb garden,
I was less than pleased.
The cats, sprawled comfortably in their adjoining fenced enclosure took umbrage
at the roar of the thing and hastily fled inside.

Even the back entry in the carpot was washed down.
I hasten to point out that the green stuff occurs only on the north wall oft the house.
However, if you're having fun, why quit?
At the end of the day I must admit that the whole exterior of the house looks fresh and clean.
Now, if I could get motivated to scrape and paint the trim.....

15 comments:

  1. Yes, the retired-guy just bought one, too and he is cleaning everything in sight.Our deck looks new again. Deb

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  2. We need to do this but haven't, each year it gets a little worse, does your husband travel?

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  3. Do you just males and their "toys". We are looking at a small one for around the house, I have large house rugs that get scrubbed twice a year, spring and fall and one of these toys would make better cleaning of large rugs.
    I love the part, "why stop at the north side of the house" now if we could just get them inside!
    Have a wonderful weekend with the new toy.
    PS I love Tractor Supply, we have one here.

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  4. We need to pressure wash our whole cottage, then paint, also the patios and walkways need cleaning too. Plus the lattice gate needs a good blast too. Now it's almost too dang hot to get involved in projects like that. It's like a sauna first thing in the morning and only gets worse as the day progresses.

    Enjoy your freshened look.

    Have a great weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  5. Used to use a pressure-washer when I worked on the farm. I can understand how addictive it can become; you just keep finding things that really need cleaning!

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  6. Send him round here - we have plenty of walls that need cleaning, AND the patio AND some paths . . . then there's the stable rooves too, to get the moss off and . . .

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  7. I forgot to add the word "love" males with their toys.
    Sorry for the typo. I need new glasses, can't see above my bifocals. Delete this if you want. I just felt guilty that I can't spell or put a sentence together.

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  8. Denim; Not to worry about typos offending--I make them all the time, proofread before I hit 'publish' and then find more later. I'm not sure why, as I don't make that sort of mistakes in longhand.
    Furthermore, I had my response to all these comments typed up, went to the kitchen and back and moved off the page without putting up my comment. Grrrr!

    Deb; For sure, this gadget is doing a fine job of cleaning. However, I'm sure if I tried to use it I'd blow out a window or create some kind of a mess. Its a man-thing.

    FlowerLady; I am so impressed when I read of all the outdoor work you accomplish. I'm familiar with the Florida climate in several seasons and can't imagine doing much heavy work in the heat from about May through October.

    John; I suspect there may be an intoxicating sense of power in standing behind this machine--wave the wand and whatever is in front of you is affected--addictive, indeed!

    Janet; Husband used to travel a great deal work wise [long haul truck owner/operator leased to Daily Express.] It doesn't take much to have him 'on the road again;' Maybe I could hire him out?

    BB; Oh my--roofs and all. I'm sure I'm over-tired at the moment because I'm conjuring this picture of a mad-man with a pressure-washer--roof tiles and moss flying about, soap suds running down the walls!

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  9. My DH doesn't do gadgets but has a similar penchant for computers and all their accessories and cameras. The north side of your house looks really good anyway so the power washer was obviously a good investment:)

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  10. The house is so pretty - now it will be even more so.

    My husband could never pass up a tiller - he had 6 or 7 I had to find homes for when he passed on.
    Lillian
    lillianscupboard.wordpress.com

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  11. Got to love a handy husband! We painted our porch this week. Never realized how grungy it was looking, until the new coat of paint went on. Now comes the fun part, redecorating it!

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  12. J looks as though he is having so much fun ...a man and a new 'toy' is a wonderful thing to see.xx

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  13. These boys and their toys..... :-)

    I`m sure J had a wonderful time with his new gadget and your house looks pristine gain after his test-run with the pressure washer!

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  14. This whole thing sounds very familiar, and definitely a male trait - I have sons as well who go quite ga-ga over some new gadget Charles has a new vibration speaker that really turns him on and we keep experimenting with how it sounds on the table, the floor, the wall, - next we must try the ceiling.....

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  15. We have mildew on our house too, especially the back side near the white pine tree. My husband is going to pressure wash it soon. We need a new hose, ours has holes in it.

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