On Gadgets and Throw-Aways

 It seems our foliage season flew by with almost no evidence. I've watched as drab, brown leaves were whipped away by the wind and whisked off into drifts against my cedar hedges and swirled into heaps under my porch, but there was hardly a single red or orange leaf in the lot. I think it was on Saturday that I went out while we were still getting slight rain showers and used the leaf blower and the rake to relocate a lot of them to my flower beds. They make great mulch over the winter. They were soggy enough so they didn't move very far and it was easy to gather them up. I didn't get all of them moved where I wanted them, though. I have learned that I have to pace myself or my aching back will incapacitate me for a day or more while it recovers. It's sometimes hard to quit when I should, but the batteries on my gadgets are a pretty good "timer."  Having whatever machine I'm using quit on me is a great reminder that I've probably done enough.

Today I was working with my battery-operated drill and it ran out of juice with the bit still embedded in a piece of wood. I was working outdoors and wondered how in the world I could balance the drill to get the battery out without breaking the fine bit I was using. I wasn't sure I could release the bit from the drill without breaking it. I found that by waiting a few minutes, the battery recharged itself enough so I was able to finally back the bit out. No harm done, and I have a fully-charged battery in reserve for it so I was able to finish my project.

I have had terrible luck with battery-operated "gadgets" lately. I bought a set of three battery-operated motion-detector night-lights a couple years ago, two of which I put up right away (and they have worked flawlessly), but the third I had no particular need for, so I kept it in the box until this past week when I thought it would be handy to have near a door in the garage. I loaded it with fresh batteries, but all it will do is flash briefly. It won't stay on, no matter what I try. I got in touch with the company (on line) and went through all the possibilities with them, but still nothing worked. So it's destined for the trash can. My hard-wired yard light quit on me, too, and I've had that replaced. Examples of planned obsolescence and a throw-away culture.

It is amazing how many gadgets I have in my house (life) that give me fits from time to time. A week ago it was the smoke detector - now motion lights. And of course the television remote is still very temperamental, but I've made peace with the darned thing and find that by just turning it off and waiting a few minutes, when I turn it on again everything works ok. I have a new remote in reserve, but I think the devil I know is probably better than the one I might have to deal with if I had to reprogram the new remote. And there's always the chance it's me (it's called "human error") and not the mechanism at all. I've had a rough week of things not going well - and I suspect most of it was "human error." Fortunately, I am unscathed and no serious damage has been done to any one or any thing. Except mice. I've caught a bunch of them - it's that time of the year when they are seeking a warm spot for the winter. Not in my house as long as I can set traps!

So I'm making a mental checklist of all the things I need to do before snow comes. It's always rather depressing to put summer things away, but I do it gradually - like getting my plants in from the porch a couple weeks ago. I'll wait until the last minute to cover and store the furniture out there. Other things get done as the spirit moves, or when one of the boys is around to give me a hand. No rush. I am in no particular hurry to have everything done. And the worst that could happen is that one or more of my three sons would have to finish up in a hurry what I have left undone. I enjoy taking my time and the feeling of accomplishment I get from doing these things myself. Besides, nobody does it as well!

Take care, enjoy the nice days we will certainly have before winter comes. and thank you for reading.