My gas engine string trimmer is now in the shop. Last fall I was working on it, I swapped out the silicone bulb to prime it and changed the fuel lines, and on my first attempt to start it, the starter cord plastic handle broke off and the whole cord pulled completely into the engine. The YouTube video shows a guy dismantling the trimmer and fixing the cord in about 15 minutes, meaning I might finish in 2 hours and have parts left over.

I have "a guy who does" who I took it to this afternoon and he said it takes him about 45 minutes to do the job. That'll work. And when he depressed the bulb he said the resulting clicking sound says there is a diaphragm that might be dried out. Okay. $6 for that item, $23 for a new carburetor if needed. We're still looking at a repair that keeps it well under the cost of buying a new one like this. There is a kind of depressing pile of dead trimmers on the side of his building, but this one isn't destined for that heap yet. I trust this guy to do the job right. Why? Because the first time I took this trimmer over he said he didn't have time to get to it for weeks, but I could do it on my own. He sold me $2.00 worth of tubing and told me how to do the repair myself.

This, then, is my way of not having to declutter myself of a defunct trimmer after buying a new one. I prefer to keep this tool in service.

In other activity, I've set up another station in the house for playing audio books from my phone. Goodwill and other thrift stores have discarded iPod docking stations that have auxiliary plugs, so they can be used to play from any device. In the kitchen I have one that is bluetooth (no port needed), and now one in my office that I can use with a cable or with my spare bluetooth receiver. I'm using GoodReads.com to keep track of books, mostly audio books, and the last one I read was 600 pages (equivalent to two typical books) so I'm pushing to catch up to my goal of 24 books this year.