A Fine Start to the Day

So, last night started out pretty promising, but just got consistently worse. At about 4 am, Chong came to roost with us, completely restless, totally awake. Repeated attempts by both parents to get her to go to sleep or back to her own bed failed. At 4:30, the road grader came through to clear the streets, thus setting the decorative plates above our bed rattling and a illiciting a chorus of 'What's that?' from Chong. And then, at 5, our Japanese neighbours started up their snowblower. It would be one thing if it was a normally operating machine. It is not. The couple bought it after they arrived, just over 2 years ago, so the problem isn't that it's old. Nor is it a particularly behemoth that set my teeth rattling. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I have expertly narrowed the problem down to one of two things. First, they are mixing the fuel, a big no-no in today's machines, but very popular in older models. Or, they are giving it way too much fuel period. Either way, it sounds like a small jet plane with the hiccups and smells like tanker spill. Nothing like walking out your door to a smell reminiscent of the Valdez oil tanker. 1. 2.

A Fine Start to the Day

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