When all else fails....

People are usually surprised when I tell them that I cut my own lawn and clean the snow off my driveway.  Some folks think they are just too 'upscale' to do their own chores, sometimes including cooking.

(There is actually a subdivision near me where the sub rules do not allow them to cut their own grass, unless it has been changed over the years.  And I remember the local dry cleaner telling me years ago when I moved here that if they did underwear, people would bring it in to be done.)

While I have never had lawn service (they scalp the lawn and cut unnecessarily in dry spells), I have used snow services over the years.  Each experience was unpleasant.  One year I found dents in my garage door, which they claimed was not from their truck.  Another service went on 'spring break' the week of a big snowstorm and no one was around to plow.  Another time they did not show up to clean my drive until eight o'clock at night for a snowfall that was there at six in the morning.  And the kicker to getting rid of each of these different companies was the one who wanted to bill me for a year of heavy snow plowing after a prior year of not but a few cleanings.  So, I should pay you regular wages for not working and then pay you extra when you do.  Not.  It's not like buying insurance.

So, I bought my own snow blower to replace an older model in the garage.  Last year I decided to take it in for routine service.  And then it never snowed enough to be used. 

When I took it in, I told them that the electric start was not working, but not to bother fixing it, I would just use the pull start, which is what I had done for the past two years.  I started it up this fall and it worked fine.

This morning I went out to start the blower and - nothing.  Not even a whimper.  With over six inches of snow up near the house, I knew there was no way I would ever clean the drive by hand.

I primed, I waited, I tried to start.  Nothing.  Then I figured, WTH, let me try the electric start.  I figured it was a dumb idea because it didn't work for more than two years, why would it work now?

And, Voila!  It started.  I can only believe that some mechanic ignored the comment not to fix it.  Then again, the pull start isn't working, though I might go out and try it now that it has warmed up.

But first, some hot cocoa and cookies.

When all else fails, try what you believe is the least likely solution.  It might just work.