I should have gotten the used adjustable height reel mower at the yard sale yesterday -- $25! Ah well.

Here's the review I just wrote of the motel I stayed in during the Orlando leg of my vacation:

Step back in time...

...to the 70s, when this motel was built and furnished. Do not let the bright, cheery rooms in the advertising fool you - those are the rooms in the part of the complex near the entrance and lobby that have been renovated.

I stayed in one of the older, more distant areas of the complex, where the central amenity was a massive garbage dumpster rather than the pools shown in the promotional photos, the door to the room showed evidence of past (thankfully unsuccessful, I guess?) break-in attempts, the living room coffee table was coated in sticky grunge that I hope and pray came from spilled food, the bedroom ottoman had a burn from an iron in the upholstery, and the bathroom had one half-functional flourescent bulb for the full walked-into-a-Saw-movie experience. Internet access was not free, and I ended up paying roughly $5/day for the privilege of having intermittent dialup-speed wireless access that cut out on me several times a minute. In any other location, where I might have intended to spend time in my room doing things other than sleeping and showering, all the above would have been good cause to demand a refund and book a room elsewhere.

Now for the much shorter good points section: complimentary shuttle service to the theme parks, comfortable beds that were thankfully several decades more recent than everything else in the room, a spacious and clean if dated kitchen, no evidence of the swarms of vermin that the outside of the building led me to expect and dread, and a very friendly and helpful staff.

The latter did everything in their power to make my stay a pleasant one, and can't help it that they're not the team of contractors/construction workers who would be needed to make this a desirable place to stay. Ownership really needs to get on the ball and bring this motel into the 21st century so it's worthy of the staff that operates it.

My Fiskars reel mower can tall grass just fine, though it rolls right over the tall thingies that crab grass sends up as if they're not even there, and can't cut the super thick parts of our Bermuda grass to a low height. Using it does get me tired but it's good exercise.

What battery powered mower do you use Rick? I like my battery powered trimmer a lot and may look into battery mowers eventually.

God, I love the Tonys. "Please welcome Audra McDonald and Zachary Quinto."

Peanut the wayward kitty has been returned home, a block up and over. She (odd!) does go outside but not far, so something must have scared her that had her hiding on our back steps since yesterday morning and not going home.

WHEW!

Phew!

Oh, I forgot about the Tonys!

I have now reached the end of White Collar, and Nikita on Netflix. I just started Once Upon a Time.

Was that Bebe Neuwirth introducing the Bring It On number?

I don't think so, though I don't know who's playing it now.

Apparently [link] i.e., no one I've ever heard of but who has fabulous legs.

Yeah, this thing where they're having characters from musicals introduce other musicals...no.