MY NEW LOVE

I found out today that one of the greatest inventions of the 20th Century was the snowblower. Unfortunately, it took us almost eight years into the 21st Century to discover this fact. When we had our first big snow this winter in early December, Chris and I spent well over three hours shoveling our driveways, our neighbor's driveway (he is in his late 80s) and our sidewalks and steps. The resulting sore back and tired muscles was enough to convince me that we needed a snow blower before the next big round of white stuff hit our area. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, in fact. At the time, I couldn't figure out what to do get Chris for his birthday present. After twenty minutes of shoveling heavy, wet snow, I had my answer.

Being a lover of online shopping, and also knowing relatively nothing about snow blowers, I took to the internet for some help in making a snow blower purchase. I found a wonderful site called Snow Blowers Direct http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/ (no, they did not pay me to give them a plug.) Once you get to their site, they help you figure out which snowblower would work best for you, designed around if it is for just home or for commercial use, as well as based on how likely it will be used, and how deep of snow it will be used in. Best of all, there was no tax, and shipping was free. It even arrived in two days. And then it sat for 43.

Just a tip - - if you don't want it to snow, pay $600 for a snowblower. Since that time, no more than an inch has dusted our area. I knew that eventually it would be a sound investment - yet still, having the $600 machine sit unassembled in the box it arrived in was somewhat disheartening. Well, today, the snowblower got to earn its keep. On the first day of February, our snowblower got its chance to take on six inches of snow.

What took two grown people well over three hours to do in mid-December took one woman about an hour and far less physical effort. I still did have to do a little digging in a few deep areas, like where the road meets the driveway, but there is no comparison to this marvelous addition to our snow-covered winter days. Yes, in about an hour, I managed to clear our two driveways, our neighbor's driveway, the sidewalk around our home, the alley way from the road to the back garage, and the sidewalk leading up to the house. I had to resist the temptation to kiss it when it was all said and done. I'm not afraid to admit, and I will tell you all here today: I am in love with our snowblower.

MY NEW LOVE: