Saturday, April 5, 2008

In The Yellow Corner Spring And ?

In The Yellow Corner 4 year old Walmart Tractor which was working when put away in October



In the Blue Corner ( Blue Because of The many expletives ) Little Old Me

Spring has Sprung here in Wisconsin at last temperature to a whopping 58 degrees

OK nice day , good day to sort out few things in the garage
1st on the agenda ( Bring the tractor Out and move things around )

Ding Ding Round 1
Bloody Flat Tire ( Guess what valve on inside ) So need to take wheel off to blow Bl??y Tire Up

Now where did I leave the jack ( F??? Knows ) 1 hour later find Jack and take wheel off
Now Where did I leave the Pliers to take pin out ( F??? Knows ) 10 minutes later success
Pump up Tire all ok
Wheel back on Tractor
Now Where did I leave the Pliers to put pin back ( F??? Knows ) 20 minutes later and air going very blue all round me success

End Of Round One ( Tractor Wins )

Ding Ding Round 2

Turn Key to start Tractor ( Nothing flat as a pancake )
Now Where Did I leave the Pliers to disconnect battery ( You Guessed It begins with F ) 10 minutes later ( they moved must be the Bogey man
OK push tractor outside connect Battery Charger ( Charge for 2 Hours )
Engine doesn't start
Oh crap forgot that the only way to start it towards the end of last year was with Easystart ( Guess What Run out of easystart ) Oh Well quick trip and she starts like a dream .

End Of Round Two ( Tractor Wins )

Ding Ding Round 3


Well all seems OK gears work blades go up and down and round cool

Whoops what is that bloody smell ( Crap Fuel Hose leaking like a sieve rotten as a pear ) Gas pi?????? everywhere

OK need to take little clip off
Now Where did I leave the Pliers to take clip off ( F??? Knows ) 10 minutes later Bogey men have been hear again
OK Clip off Where does the other end connect to Oh Cr?p need to take off the whole of the top cover god knows how many nuts and bolts .

Now the fun really begins is it just me or Murphy's Law to pick up 6 spanners until you find the right size one
25 minutes later ( plus realise why only started with Easystart Air Filter covered in Greece and Shi? )

OK can see the other end of the hose
Now Where did I leave the Pliers to take clip off ( F??? Knows ) 10 minutes later Bogey men have been hear again

End Of Round 3 ( Tractor Wins ) getting closer to technical knockout

Ding Ding Round 4

OK off to get fuel hose how hard can it be at 2PM on Saturday Afternoon

1. Tractor Repair Shop and Spares ( CLOSED 1PM on Saturday ) WTF?

2. I am sure NAPPA just down the road ( Oh changed hands to freds ????? )
( CLOSED 1PM on Saturday ) WTF? Now I am getting very pi??ed

OK lets nip into good old ACE Hardware ( Lifesavers I tell you ) fuel pipe couple new clips and $1.30 the lot ( smiling first time all day )

End of Round 4 Equal Points me and the beast

Ding Ding Round 5

OK now just got to get it back together

Now Where did I leave the Pliers to put new clip on ( F??? Knows ) only 5 minutes I am getting better

All back together and doesn't need easystart plus no gas leak

Sounds good goes like a dream

Wins by a knockout
I WIN I WIN I WIN


Now my question is

Is it just me that puts a tool or nut down and can not for the life of me see it ?

Is it just me that takes x number of spanners before selecting the right one ?


But for all that was an ok day being able to spend the day outdoors

Steve

12 comments:

Rising Rainbow said...

I have no idea what spanners even are so I can't answer that question. But I lose tools all the time.

Why is it that tractors don't work first thing in the spring? I swear it is some form of Murhpy's Law.

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

OMG - We have the same bogey man. That dude really gets around. The same problems were encountered today at our place. The tractor won - I think we need a new starter(WTH?-it started fine last fall). Know we need a new front tie rod. Both riders and the push mower need the oil changed(now why didn't we do that last fall?). But of course the ONLY place in town to get the right kind of oil closes at...you guessed it...@ 1pm on Saturday. So I butchered some more trees just to make myself feel better.

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

That was funny, but painful. I am truly sick of these small businesses that are only open Tuesday through Friday when everyone is at work, and Saturday until 1:00 PM when everyone is either still asleep from a hard work week, or just starting to figure out what errands they need to run. Sunday is truly the only day I can run errands, and no small businesses are open then. That's why Wal-Mart makes the big bucks.

Anonymous said...

I solved these probs a long time ago! Knowing how useless I am, I pay for somebody to come & fix vehicles that won't start! I know. I, too, hate paying but........what the heck! helps my Blood Pressure no end! lol.

Anonymous said...

I solved these probs a long time ago! Knowing how useless I am, I pay for somebody to come & fix vehicles that won't start! I know. I, too, hate paying but........what the heck! helps my Blood Pressure no end! lol.

Callie said...

Mikael, A spanner is a wrench. That's what Brits call it. LOL, I didn't know what that was the first time he asked me to hand him one.

B-girls, That's too funny, Steve did all this while I was sleeping in between night shifts. I don't understand why places close so early on Saturday!

NuzMuz, That's exactly what we were talkin' about. And then they complain about Walmart pushin' out the little guy.

dickiebo, That's the smart thing to, but there is a bit of satisfaction knowing that in the end, you've conquered the beast as Steve puts it....LOL

Grey Horse Matters said...

Very funny! I have actually spent time looking for a tool only to find it in my back pocket.

Callie said...

Arlene, I laughed so hard when woke to find this post!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad someone else has WTF days like that! I have no tractor skills, but boy you should see the battle that wages when I try to start a house project like indoor painting. Now where did I leave those tarps???

Glad you were able to come out victorious.

Shirley said...

Thanks for the good laugh! Well written. In defense of small business, they need a life too- most of them are family run and we all know how precious weekends are. So if you know they close early on Saturdays,either plan around it or, like you say, go to the big stores. But don't cuss 'em out!

Callie said...

We always try and support small business first, but it can be difficult and local Ace Hardware is small business too, would rather not got Home Depot and such but is sometimes quite frustrating.

steve said...

Shirley,

Thanks for the comment , I always try whenever to support small local businesses , I think it is important and as Callie says Ace is a small local business .

The problem is weekends are the only time when many of us can take on these tasks and often bits and pieces needed come up after we have started.

I am sure it must be a dilemma for smaller businesses on staying open to catch extra business or take time with family or just to unwind.

I worry that the big boys like Walmart, Home Depot and a number of others make it harder and harder to survive as I know that smaller retailers are often forced to pay more or the same from wholesalers as the big retailers can sell at.

I think this is why I was frustrated because I wish to support local businesses as much as I can as I am sure many of our readers do.

steve