No Spark

I've become a Jill-of-all-trades. Really, I have.

I spent yesterday afternoon squatting beside a brush mower, wielding ratchets, wrenches and pliers like a pro. Well, like a semi-pro, anyway.

A semi-pro with greasy jeans and a book on small engine repairs laying open on an upturned compound bucket. Yeah, it was all glitz and glamour here at Villa Leone.

Honestly? Watching my husband work on the farm machinery was interesting and I was great at handing him the tools as he needed them but actually doing it all by myself is a completely different matter. This whole mechanic gig is harder than it looked.

One of the big enigmas that revealed itself yesterday? I have no idea how he managed to get his big fingers into some of the tight spaces. I changed the gas line on the brush mower and even though my fingers are much smaller than his I had a tough time squeezing my fingertips into the spot to attach the new hose. I persevered, though, and finally got the job done. I will admit that there were a few choice words muttered...in Italian, mostly, but the translations were less than angelic.

I got the machine reassembled and, shockingly, didn't have any "spare" parts left over! A big deal, that. I was sure I'd have an "extra" screw or filter when I least wanted it. But no, everything that came out went back in.

Today I'm off to buy spark plugs. The machine won't start and from what I can gather, I have no spark.

I'm not surprised.

What about you? What's on your agenda for today?

And--dare I ask?--how's your spark?