they were on sale

[fflo]

On the way back from my Saturday morning getting out there into the world, I impulsively stopped at Ace Barnes, even though I really had to pee, cuz I remembered I wanted to look at hand pruners. (Cityfolk, those aren't things that turn your hands pruny-looking.) I figured they'd probably have a bathroom, and if they did I'd then look about at some leisure. Locals, it's true, you can pee at Ace Barnes, and though you have to stop at the back counter to pick up a key that's tethered to an Ace Hardware yardstick, once you're in there you can sample a number of cleaning and lotion products, the display of which reminded me I'd been in the bathroom at the old Ace Barnes, where they'd made a careful tableau of those as well, modest decorative doilies and all. Ace is a place that's just a little groovier than a plain ol' hardware store, but not in a precious or ostentatious way. And it isn't a mile from the paint to the birdseed.

It turned out I happened to be there today during the 2-hour window in which the Fiskars pruning things were being demo-ed, and were 10% off. The demo guy---a B– pitchman, with me (I'll spare you the details of where he was off his game)---he had

hi ducks! we interrupt this post to say hi ducks! the ducks are back. waddling across the road.

---he had some tidy sample twigs to cut and some sample pruners open and ready to go. I ended up getting these ergo-hyped ones that have a twisting handle. They really are easier on your hand. They're approved by the Arthritic Society of Garden Tool Raters, or something like that. I don't think they quite : pruners :: the OXO : veggie peelers, but they're pretty sweet.

I'd run into Bert there and gotten a little help from him in justifying buying myself some new pruners. The ones Juli gave me quite a few years ago now have finally just about had enough. I kinda hated to move on, not just from the frugality and waste perspectives, but cuz they're one of those yard tool kindnesses bestowed upon me back in the Hard times. My mamma mighta liked me buying these Fiskars ones, though. She loved her Fiskars scissors for sewing. We weren't to use those scissors on vulgar scissor-killing things like paper.

My mamma woulda had a hard time imagining me doing yard work. Might be part of why I have a hard time imagining it, too.

Ooh, gotta shower. Almost time to bowl.

Comments

Re: pruners?

[fflo.livejournal.com]

Lopping, to me, is for bigger things, and loppers thus the longer-handled things you use both hands to operate. But not the scissors-like hedge trimmers.

I don't think there are True Values up here, but I might be wrong. Do you have Western Autos down there? I think we had both of those in Kansas.

What about IGAs? Does anywhere have an IGA any more?

Re: pruners?

[free-the-alien.livejournal.com]

Ah, yeah, well, I guess the userpic threw me off. er-hem. At any rate - glad we're on the same page, but sorry you're not high in a tree reaching dead limbs with a brand new spring-loaded smooth action sharpy thing called loppers. Grounded with the pruners. Damn.

There used to be an IGA in Salem, IL, where I graduated HS. yikes! That town will never change, so surely, the IGA is still on Hwy 50, headed East out-of-town. Western Autos is a vague name from some place way back in the back... Nothing like that around here, so must be a memory fragment from the same hell where the IGA resides.

I'm gonna have to get me some pruners. Mine are Craftsmen, from Kmart - but yours sound cool. That'll come after the house in the Twin Cities, which is coming at me fast (the city, not the house. Still need to find that, but not 'til after I'm there. Soon to be.)

Re: pruners?

[sprig5.livejournal.com]

is that your dog, free...? cute. special handles on pruners are good. i get blisters w/ mine; wonder if the special handles would help. my yard actually needs a "controlled burn."