Bear is Eating but . . .

 

Well, I've got Bear on a schedule for eating and his Insulin but it requires me changing my normal routines.  In order to still feed him after my shower and my early pill, I need to get up 15 minutes earlier at 4:45 now.  Furthermore, to keep him on schedule so I can give him Insulin at 6:05 - 6:10, I need to watch him eat and cheer him on.  If I leave him to eat alone, he loses focus.  If I leave him to eat while I get dressed, pretty soon he's downstairs with me! 

 So, this morning I decided to just wait until he's all done eating to get dressed and pray and read my Bible as I hold up his dish for him and cheer him on.  The Insulin should be given every 12 hours so if I want to go anywhere in the evening, I need to be done giving him the Insulin early enough for me to leave to get there on time.  If left on his own, it takes him about an hour or more to eat but if I stay with him and cheer him on, he gets done in less time.  The good thing is he even ate most of his dinner yesterday without the appetite stimulant pill and finished all his breakfast this morning!  With the appetite stimulant pill, there were days he finished in just 30-43 minutes, but the vet says as long as he's eating (regardless of how long it takes), I shouldn't give him the pill.  If he should stop eating or starts just picking at his food, then I need to give it to him.    

I miss the evening walk with my dog though because I need to make sure Bear eats within the timeframe for the insulin.  I guess the nights I don't go anywhere, we could walk the dog later after the insulin is given.  Otherwise, my husband will be walking the dog without me until I can get Bear to eat on his own.  Don't know if that is going to happen.  I sure hope it does!  He has come a long way eating only the right food and only two flavors.  It sure would make things easier if he'd eat without me watching!

Drumming Fun

My husband and I went to the drumming class at the Parma Heights Senior Center today.  I had gone before and liked it but it was his first time.  This is quite popular.  We arrived about 15 minutes early and there was only one space left so we alternated.  It's pretty good exercise, especially if you do it standing up but you can also do it sitting.  It's a great way to relieve some stress.  They played old familiar songs and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  It's just like follow the leader.  Sometimes you hit the top of the balance ball, sometimes the side, sometimes the bucket underneath, sometimes alternating arms, sometimes clicking the sticks together and sometimes "air" cymbals at the side.  It can be challenging to keep up, but if you make a mistake, it really doesn't matter.  If you have never tried this, you should!  It's actually fun!

The Cookie Jar Burglar

(re-enacted later in the day)

Our cat, Bear, likes to walk around on our dining room table.  But  I was amazed when I got up this morning and saw the cookie jar open and a cookie lying on the table!  I knew it had to be Bear, but was surprised he actually was able to get the head off the cookie jar! 

 

I don't know if he actually ate any of the cookies.  I certainly hope not!  My first thought was to throw it away, but then I decided to just break off all the edges and go head and eat my oatmeal raisin cookie.  

I knew he often would hang out by the cookie jar but never pushed the head off during the day.  It's pretty heavy so I didn't think he could do it.  I think it must have been a bit ajar, at least I hope it was!

He has also learned to open the vertical blinds by pawing at the hanging cords on the side of the window.  Bear is one big smart cat!

Two Wasted Stressful Days of Jury Duty!

Terrible Mail

My husband got the notice in the mail about three weeks ago to report for jury duty downtown at the Court of Common Pleas.  He of course did not want to go, so we prayed that God would arrange things so he would not have to report.  He called Friday to see if he had to go on Monday, and we were delighted that he didn't; however, they said to call again on Monday to see if he had to go on Tuesday.  This alone is anxiety producing and stressful!  Unfortunately, it turned out that he did have to go.  Since he is not familiar with downtown, we both went down on the bus together and I showed him the way.  

We met up with a girl who was there on Monday so she showed him which elevators to use and how to get to the jury room area.  All day was very boring since he never got called.  He brought a book along to read (The Writing Retreat) and a lunch.  He had almost two hours for lunch!  A lady who lives a few streets away from us recognized him from walking our dog down her street quite often and offered him a ride down the next morning with her husband.  We thought that was very nice of her!    

I was stressed out too waiting for his call to give him directions to the bus stop. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't leave the house because he had our only cell phone that we share so I had to stay by our home phone. They finally let them go around 3:00 and he called me for directions to the bus stop because it was different from the one we got off at coming down.  They gave him a bus pass to get home which was nice!  I went to meet him at the bus stop with our dog, Roxy, but the bus got there earlier than I expected so met him part way.  I felt bad I wasn't there to greet him when he got off.

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Switching Churches Can Be Refreshing

Brooklyn C&MA

Over time, things change, including churches.  I grew up in this church, got married in it, and served the Lord for many years in Hobby Club, as a Sunday School teacher, Youth Director, AWANA worker, Bowling League secretary and Church Secretary. We left the Brooklyn Christian & Missionary Alliance church because every week something seemed to bother me.  I came home upset and at times, even angry.  This should not be!  It was hard to leave but was time to try somewhere else.  

          PHBC is so sprawled out, I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot!

Since my sister attended PHBC, we tried there first and stayed.  When we first started attending Parma Heights Baptist Church ("PHBC"), we were very impressed with it and enjoyed the services.  Soon I started teaching Sunday School there and joined the puppet team with my husband.  It's a very big church which was quite different from the one we left which took some getting used.  We liked the preaching, the music, the cleanliness, the adult Bible study class, the opportunities for service and the fact that there were a lot of people who volunteered for things.  PHBC has a wonderful children's pastor and a top-notch children's ministry.  Special events such as VBS, Sports Camp, Summer Shake-Up and the Fall Festival brought lots of kids from the neighborhood.  

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Memorial Day Disappointment--Why Don't People Follow Rules???

First of all, I want to thank all those who are currently serving or have served in our armed forces on this very unusual Memorial Day.  No parade to go see this year.

It's a beautiful day, temperature in the 70s this morning and I was looking forward to playing Pickleball again with the group at Independence, Ohio.  I went up today only to be disappointed.  The was a big blue and white sign posted right next to the gate to the Pickleball courts which had some rules for playing:

Maintain 6 feet apart.
Only players allowed. 
Singles only.
Wash your hands at least 20 seconds when you get home and sanitize your equipment.
Courts will be closed indefinitely if these rules are not followed.

When I arrived, there was already a court going with three people so I made four.  I immediately pointed out the rules that we can only play singles, not doubles.  They all just scoffed at me saying they had played doubles last week, that it is okay.  Plus I noticed none of them even had masks.  It is extremely difficult to play 6 feet from your partner the whole time.  Therefore, I wore a mask and was very surprised that no one else did.  The one lady assured me that they live in Independence and know people so it was all right to play doubles, it wouldn't be shut down. 

I played a game trying my very best to maintain the 6' distance from my partner.  Mostly, I succeeded, but a couple times we were less than that.  The other side didn't even seem to be making an effort to keep 6' apart.  This really irritated me.  I played very well though and we won 11-4.  Another court started up with no masks and playing doubles as well. 

Another person came and I offered to play singles with someone but no one wanted to play singles so I left after just the one game.  I did not feel comfortable and couldn't get the others to follow the rules.  I was really looking forward to playing again with the group; however, it is not worth putting myself at risk.  I am so disappointed that people refuse to follow the rules to keep others safe!  I intend to check back to see if any will follow the rules, but if they don't, I'm out of there!

People who think they are above following rules is quickly becoming a pet peeve of mine!  I can't believe people are not taking COVID-19 seriously after all the deaths and all the precautions that the doctors and government officials have put in place.

This virus is not gone yet!  Please continue to be patient and stay safe.  Wear a mask when out in public if you cannot keep 6 feet apart.

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5 Things That Put Me in a Better Mood Instantly

Here are the things that instantly put me in a better mood:

Sunrises

Clear Blue Skies

1)  I love getting up early enough to see the sunrise.  It reminds me that God's mercies are new every morning and he has given us another day.  Also, a sunny day with clear blue skies always helps me mood.  All I need to do is look up and enjoy the view.  It's very calming.

petting my cat, Spunky Doodle

Boxing my Kindle cord

2)  My cat Spunky Doodle always improves my mood when I take time to pet her.  Also, when she does cute things like hide under blankets or rugs, go in new places like the sink, refrigerator, cupboard.  When she is in play mode, I enjoy playing with her with a shoelace on the bed or ping pong ball on the steps, or spinning her in a chair.  We've played lots of different games over the years.  Even when I just see a cat in someone's window or yard while we walk in our neighborhood, it puts me in a better mood!  I love cats!

favorite cookies

Pizza, my favorite food

3)  Good food always improves my mood.  I used to eat pizza 4 days a week, but stopped when I had to watch my salt intake to lower my blood pressure and besides, my husband would get heart burn from it.  Now I only have it on rare occasions.  My husband and I both enjoy the Pinwheels though.  He surprises me sometimes by bringing me one of these now and then.  Chocolate and marshmallow has always been a favorite combination for me since I was little and my grandma introduced me to marshmallow eggs at Easter!

A good Pinochle hand--a run, aces around and double Pinochle (doesn't get much better)

Beating my record high game on Word Wipe

Making a good shot in Pickleball, leading to winning

Making a great shot on the golf course leading to making par

Watching the Browns actually win a game!

4)  Winning always puts me in a better mood instantly!  Doesn't really matter what it is.  I love playing games and when I win, it always improves my mood.  I haven't golfed for a long time because my husband does enjoy it and it takes a lot of time to do (for me) and is pretty expensive.  I hope to go again though sometime.  I used to love bowling too, especially when I was the anchor on my team and finished strong in the tenth frame to pull out a win.

5)  Yes, I must admit, even my dog, Roxy, puts me in a better mood instantly at times.  I love seeing her energy when she gets the zoomies in the house, or starts running after rolling in the grass.  Sometimes I encourage her to run through the house.  I feel bad we can't let her run free outside since we have a small yard that isn't even fenced.  When I used to sleep in while she went on her morning walk with my husband, she would come running in to greet me with jumping on the bed and giving me a big sloppy kiss.  I no longer sleep in but join her for her early morning walks but we do enjoy porch time together!

Click on this link to Writer's Workshop for more topics and more posts.

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Made My Corona Virus Mask

With the new suggestion to wear a mask when out in public where you can't guarantee you can keep the 6' social distance, I decided to try making one after seeing this easy video on Facebook.  No sewing needed is what got my attention.  When I did mine, I found a pair of socks I never wear and just cut off the top part to use for the mask.  I sure don't want to be part of the problem and spread it to anyone else in case I have it and don't know it.

I saw there were lots of different videos showing easy ways to make masks.  I still think wearing a sign that says "stay away" might be a good idea though!  What about you?  Are you wearing a mask when you go to a store?

Join this Blog Hop:  Inspire Me Monday
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I Couldn't Stand It Anymore!

My sheepdog look

Hair off my forehead

April is when I usually get my hair cut very short for summer when I can't stand it falling in my eyes anymore.  Yesterday while walking, I had to keep brushing it out of my eyes.  With the hair salons closed though and the stay-at-home order in effect, I cut it myself.  When I even had trouble sleeping because it is so annoying, when I got dressed this morning, I had all the courage I needed thinking that the worst that could happen would be for it to look awful.  So what if it did, with me not being able to visit with friends now anyway it was a good time to try it.  Of course, it will grow long again, unfortunately.  All I know is, I'm glad I did it--feels so much better and now I may be able to keep from touching my face 500 times a day!

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"What We Do All Day During Stay at Home Time" (Writer's Workshop)

First off, I am not bored.  I am very thankful that I can watch videos of Silver Sneakers and Planet Fitness workouts to keep my exercise going, plus now that all the places I usually went are closed, I get five walks in a day with my husband and dog, two of which take around an hour each.  I am also thankful that on Facebook, I can watch a livestream of our Pastor's messages.  Tonight he is talking about the last days at 7:00 on the Parma Heights Baptist Church page as well as his own page.  Although Sunday services are canceled, at least I can watch our service on video at 11:00 on Sundays which is better than nothing.  I really miss teaching my Sunday School class and meeting in person, but understand the reason for this separation.

My husband has also agreed to play a game with me every day.   Since Friday, we've played all these:  Sequence (get 2 sets of 5 pics covered in a row that match your cards), Sorry! (like Parchesi with cards to add some strategy), Aggravation (marbles are used to go around the board like Parchesi but with shortcuts), Mhing (card game based on Mah Jong), Checkers and Stadium Checkers (move rows to get your marbles to drop towards your hole and get yours in first).  Although I usually win, he is a good sport about it.  We have lots of games so are trying to play a different one every day.  Do you like any of these?  Have you ever played any of these?  I will be posting more game posts in the coming days.

I used to go to the Parma Sr. Center to play Pinochle twice a week.  I miss the people, but found I can play online by just googling pinochle.  I also play Gin and Cribbage (through Facebook) and some Word Wipe, Word Search, Scrabble and Free Cell solitaire on the AARP website.

I have plenty of books I can read as well so am getting some reading in each day too.   Of course, I still enjoy certain TV shows that I tape so I can watch them any time:  Biggest Loser, The Rookie, Survivor--Winners at War, All Rise, Bull, For Life, My Wife and Kids, When Calls the Heart and All-American plus of course the news and movies.

What about you?  What are you doing to occupy your days? 

Stop by Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for more post options and to link up yours.

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The Corona Virus Restrictions Makes Someone Happy!

Everyone is upset over the Corona virus except our dog, Roxy.  Every time my husband and I leave together, we crate our dog.  She never minded though until last Monday and we cannot figure out why.  We've been crating her since last August twice a week.  We just put in some special treats and she walked right in and settled down.  Since I retired in January, we've been going out more often.  We crated her about 1-2 hours a day, 3 on Sunday while we went to church.  We used to include a busy bone along with some delicious frozen Wolf Wilderness stew until about four weeks ago when we found out she had gained 8 pounds and I discovered the busy bones are really high in calories.  We were giving her them 5-6 times a week but the recommended amount on the bag said only 2 a week for a dog her size.  Oops. 

I think she's realized that she misses these busy bones.  She has been losing weight since we've cut them down to just on Sundays so it's working.  Since our last vet visit 4 weeks ago, she's lost 4 pounds but still has 4 more to go yet to get to the weight she was at when we first got her.

With our church services cancelled, the Sr. Center closed for the rest of this month at least, and the libraries closed to the public, we are spending lots more time at home and haven't gone anywhere together without her.  I did our grocery shopping last night alone to avoid having to crate her today.  We are doing lots of walking including new routes to change things up.  Fortunately, the weather has been in the 30s or better and dry for the most part.  The ice and snow are all gone so I am grateful for that!

Although I am bummed that all our hangouts have closed down, Roxy is thrilled!  Any ideas on how to get her going back in again without the Busy Bones?  We can't really trust her to leave things as they are and not break a window if we leave her out when we go away. 

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Disappointed in Pet Memorial Markers

Just last year, I bought three pet memorial markers from Miles Kimball (only two pictured here, the other was for our first cat Mr. Moe on New Year's of of 2007).  Now they look like this:

All three are crumbling and the last two are not even legible anymore.  They looked so nice when we first got them and I expected them to last! I'm not happy at all with this purchase.



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A New Discovery - the Minute Clinic

When my husband went to get a free hearing exam and possibly a hearing aid, they found a lot of wax build up in his right ear and advised him to go to the minute-clinic at CVS to have the wax removed before getting a hearing aid.

This was the first I heard of a minute-clinic in CVS.  The name is somewhat deceiving though because it definitely takes more than a minute.  Perhaps the name refers to the time it takes to register and sign in, but there can be a wait as long as a couple hours which was the case when we went to the one down the road from where he was tested.  Fortunately, the CVS only .8 miles from our home also has one.  We just never noticed it before.  They do a variety of things, not just wax removal, and it's less than an urgent care or a hospital.  Our insurance covered $99 of the cost so we only had to pay $5! 

The technician was able to get most of it out and advised using drops a couple days to soften the rest.  She was very nice and considerate of what my husband was feeling during the removal process and did not continue once she saw the ear was getting irritated.  She also made a follow-up appointment for us so we wouldn't have a long wait.  She said the waiting list usually gets crowded.

I would recommend it.

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Thankful Thursday

This first week of January 2020 I am thank for:

(1)  Silver Sneakers--I signed up for free and got free membership at Planet Fitness and the Y.

(2)  The mild winter weather we are having. 

(3)   Lunch at Cracker Barrel with my husband.

(4)   Playing Cribbage and Pinochle again with new friends at the Parma Sr. Community Center.  I used to play Cribbage a long time ago with my mom and Pinochle a long time ago when I worked for Buckeye Union Insurance Company.

(5)  I broke a couple records this week:  Got an all-time high for me on the AARP Word Wipe game of 14,723.

(6)  After not shooting pool for a year or so, I cleared the table in just 16 shots breaking my old record of 17 set back in 1917!

(7)  I got my 15-yr.-old cat to play a new game with me using a balloon.  (see video in previous post)

(8)  My Anthem OTC card came in the mail that I can use for up to $70 worth of certain products free at Walmart or CVS each quarter!

(9)  Our investments are all at an all-time high as of the end of December!

(10)  Played Pickleball and won more games than I lost--usually I break even.

(11)  I enjoyed getting my husband to join me at the Sr. Center for dealer's choice day when he won Rummy and I won Cribbage and Crazy Eights.

(12)  Had fun playing chair volleyball at the Sr. Center for the first time.  Looking forward to being on a team when they start a new season beginning February.

I love being retired!  I have some fun every day now!

Find more Thankful Thursday posts at Knit By God's Hand.

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Last Day of 2019 Was Very Productive

First off, I continued my project of sorting my greeting cards by category.  I get lots of free ones from organizations that I made donations to.  I have so many though, it gets boring so I have to take a break from it.  May finish it tonight or tomorrow.  The Christmas cards are not shown here.  Those are in a separate plastic bag that I already put away.

I signed up Gerard and me for Silver Sneakers!  Back to strength training, here I come!  There is exercise/strength training equipment at the Parma Sr. Center that doesn't have loud annoying music playing like the gyms do so plan to workout there while waiting for Pinochle to start. 

Spunky Doodle was originally scheduled for a dental cleaning; however, when the vet reviewed her paperwork, he discovered something in the previous blood work to indicate she may have a heart problem.  Before doing the dental, he had to be sure she could withstand being put out for awhile.  Therefore, today she had an electrocardiogram and we will get the results in a couple days.  He was impressed with how cooperative she was.  He said she just laid there nicely unlike most other cats who fight.  She is not happy about having some of her fur shaved off.  I bundled her up in the cat carrier with three blankets in an attempt to keep her warm and even and the carrier opening right up to the heater most of the morning before we left because today is snowing!  Wouldn't you know it?

I reviewed the books my husband and I read this past year and here are the nine we both loved.  If you follow the links, they will take you to our book reviews of them at "Grab a Book from Our Stack" book blog:

Queen of Sorrow by Sarah Beth Durst (Third book in Queens of Renthia Series)  (Fantasy)

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (Fantasy)

The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst (Fantasy/romance)

The Chain by Adrian McKinty (Thriller/Mystery)

 

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin (Thriller/Mystery)

No Exit by Taylor Adams (Thriller)

We, the Jury by Robert Rotstein  (Mystery)

The Institute by Stephen King (Horror)

The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow (Autobiography--child abuse)

Of course, I also watched some TV (Hallmark Christmas Movies I had taped) and played video games on computer.  AARP has a lot of free games to play and I also found a free on-line Pinochle site!

I finished up with marking important things on our 2020 calendars.  Looking ahead to 2020!

How did you spend the last day of 2019?

Happy New Year everyone!

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Retired and Loving It

Last Monday was my last day so I have now been retired for a full week and am loving it.  It felt so good yesterday, knowing I would not have to go to work today!  I love the feeling of having plenty of time to do stuff and not having to rush.

I played pickleball twice last week, joined in on more walks with my husband and dog, checked out doggie day care for Roxy, and attended a Sr. luncheon at church. 

I checked out the Parma Sr. community center but am not impressed.  It seems to be very loosely run, activities listed on the schedule don't always happen and there are hidden costs.  I went to an art class there this morning only to find out no one was there for it and there is a $16 charge for supplies and $8 per class.  Forget that!

I did find a brochure at the library for classes for seniors at Tri-C just on Fridays.  I found some that I will probably register for.  I plan on registering for the Spring session from March 20 to May 1.  For $99 I can enroll in as many as 6 classes.  Here are the ones I plan on taking:  TV Game Show Fun, How we Beat Diabetes or Who's on First (class on humor), Positive Psychology, and Learn, Discuss, Ask, Share (classes on information regarding aging).  Here is the link to encore 55+ Learning at Tri-C.

Got this shirt from my husband

In January, I can joint the Silver Sneakers program and participate at the Sr. Center Y activities for free as well as other fitness and rec centers so am looking forward to that too.  I recently read somewhere that retired people are the happiest.  I can certainly see why! 

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I'm Actually Doing Something I Always Thought Would Be Fun!

What, you ask?  Fantasy Football!  Yes, that's right.  I think it would be fun to manage a team and I like football.  The only reason I haven't played before was because I thought it cost money, but I got an open invite to join a league that is free!  Our Pastor is the administrator and other players are mostly, if not all, from my church.  I do find it odd though that I am the only woman.  We have 12 teams and I am excited to participate in this new experience. 

When I told my husband about it and asked if he would help me choose my players on draft day, he said he would like to play too and have his own team!  So, I signed him up as well and he has helped me by pointing me to some sites that rank the players according to how valuable they are to a Fantasy team (since scoring is based on individual accomplishments).  He also bought a magazine that gives lots of advice and information about the players and even some example draft teams by "experts."  He is nice and is sharing it with me! 

I have much to learn before draft day.  We are doing our draft online which gives me some anxiety, but I'm sure I will catch on once it starts.  It just seems it would be more fun and easier to do it all together somewhere face-to-face. 

My team is called Parma Pandas and my husband's is the Boston Barkers.  I'm sure by having a fantasy team it will widen my interest to include players and teams besides the Browns.  I will still root for the Browns every game even if some of my fantasy players are playing against them. 

I'm excited about this!  Let me know if you have any good advice for a beginner like me.  I'd like to hear the name of your team if you are playing Fantasy Football this year.

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5 Things I Learned Last Week

1--Did you know that statistically, one out of ten prisoners on death row is innocent?  I learned this when I read The Sun Does Shine (click on link to my review of it).  It was a very moving read for me.


2--I also learned from reading Little Shoes (click link to see my
review) that often eye witnesses are unreliable, but Juries often put a lot of weight on their testimony.  Also, police sometimes form a line-up with the guy they suspect but don't include anyone else who looks anything like him.

3--The cute little 2-yr old female leopard at the Cleveland zoo was moved from the nice new Asian Highlands exhibit back to the Primate building to await her move to the Bronx zoo in a couple months.  This seems so mean.  She had a ball in the new exhibit but because of some faulty construction, it was deemed unsafe for her to stay.  Plus the zoo wanted to move the three new baby leopards, her two brothers and sister, up there and needed to make room for them and the mother.  Both the father and mother are up at Asian Highlands as well.

4--I also found out that the zoo rotates the leopards around in different exhibits now at Asian Highlands so they get more variety and can smell the scent of other leopards.  Above is a picture of Edgar, the zoo's Amur leopard who likes his new home.  I thought that was good!

5--When we were assembling our new electric lawn mower, I learned what a cam lock is.  It is supposed to work easy but we could not get it into the lock position.  It is made of plastic and I was afraid to push any harder because it felt like it would break.  We called a neighbor over to see if he could help us, and he tried too with the same result.  I checked on YouTube, because you know you can learn how to do practically anything from those YouTube videos, but the ones I watched had no problem at all getting it locked into place.  I called the help line and was told to try turning the circular part one revolution.  I tried and couldn't even get it to turn 1/4 of a revolution.  Then I gave up and decided to try again later.  To my surprise, I got the one on the right side to turn and sure enough, then I was able to lock it in place!  Finally, after a few more attempts, the right side turned too and I had to give that side a couple revolutions but finally got it locked into place.  No tools were needed   What a relief! We got it to work but it will take some practice getting used to keeping that cord out of the way and not stepping on it.

Ordered it from Walmart - no tools required for assembly and beats our push mower.  

   

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