(Untitled)

[amanda_mary]

Our lawnmower has been out of commission since the thaw. Because we haven't had enough time or money to price out repairs or acquire a new one, and because the grass (what little of it isn't overrun with dandelions, that is. I told Stuart he could have a penny for every one he successfully uprooted. It turns out that not even my three-year-old is

Comments

[hestiax]

Can you have a talk with the Wife? Just stop by when you know he isn't there and let her know that you appreciate his help with the mowing but that you can't continue to pay $25 each time. Tell her what you'd be willing to pay and that you can't do it each week - that you need to have notice to you can budget properly. Indicate that you'd like her to pass the message along since you "just missed him".

[amanda_mary]

That might work. She has come to "collect" for him in the past, though. (E.g. Once when he used his snowblower on the end of our driveway because I'd been plowed out with two kids in the car. Who are these people?!). But she isn't quite as intimidating.

[hestiax]

Some people just don't understand the concept of "neighbor".

[light_string]

how infuriating! so you have given him the check already? one of you should probably lay things down straight for him. something like,

'we appreciate you mowing our lawn when we asked the first time. we did not agree to, and are not in a financial position to pay $25 to have our lawn mowed every few days. in fact, we were trying to save up to buy a lawnmower. please don't mow our lawn in the future unless we have already agreed to pay you. thanks for your understanding...'

i dunno. i would be livid. i think i would've been like, 'um, no you can't get paid--we didn't agree to any schedule! sorry!'

what a dick. sorry you have to deal with that.

[amanda_mary]

I'll probably try a note to that effect (again with the avoidance. Oy!). Thanks for the wording, and the rage-on-my-behalf ;-)

[snoopdawg]

Ha, I was just about to leave a note saying that you should leave this guy a note, but it turns out you're already on this. Note-leaving might be easier than verbal-confrontation-having.

What a bunch of fuckery. Who *does* that? (Mowing lawns without permission, I mean.)

[idiolecto]

That is so rude. My old man neighbor mows the yard of my other old man neighbor using a push mower FOR FREE.

Just in case there actually was a misunderstanding, I would definitely leave a note saying: "Thanks again for mowing the yard. We will let you know if we need it to be done again."

[amanda_mary]

That does seem to be the way to go. Maybe I'll leave it on their front porch with a plate of cyanide-laced cookies. (I kid, I kid. I don't have time to bake!)

[jenefur]

I do.

[jenefur]

Now, for something completely different-

It may be a simple matter of just changing the oil and spark plug. Which is a quick and cheap job. You may not even need to do that much. If it was stored with fuel in it over the winter, the gas is most likely bad and just needs to be drained and replaced.

If Jeff can do it, you can do it!

[amanda_mary]

Great ideas, all around. Thank you!

[amanda_mary]

Cullen took a small engine repair class in high school, but I'm a total dunce when it comes to this sort of thing. I guess that's what the internet is for, though! And we have a Black & Decker home repair manual somewhere, too ... .

I haven't looked at the current mower recently, but I do know it was left outside in the rain at least once -- and was possibly snowed on, too. (Yes, I claim at least partial responsibility. But hindsight is 20-20, etc.). Hopefully the rust damage isn't a bear to deal with ... .

[nutmeg]

Oh my god!

This is crazy and nuts and that guy is an Ass.

This is one of the reasons that I don't want to move even though our house is not suitable for a family that might get bigger... Our lawn mower was broken and was getting fixed and I commented to our neighbor about how stupid long it looked. And he offered to mow our front lawn, and I said.. No no, but if I could come over the next day to borrow his mower that would be great. I came home a little while later our front lawn was mowed and their mower was in our backyard. Our other neighbors make sure to buy snacks to have in the house for eli in case he goes to visit them.

Of course the first three years we lived here there were crazy people living next door and half their yard was filled with junk and one night two of them were arrested on our front lawn in the middle of the night. So we did pay our dues.

[amanda_mary]

We just haven't "clicked" with any of our neighbors (although they aren't all like this). That's another reason I'm hoping our house will sell: so we can feel like we belong to a community somewhere.