The Sprinkler:

I bought a new sprinkler this weekend which I think is pretty cool.

http://www.gilmour.com/watering-prod...inkler-196xlb/

Note the orange ring in the center. By setting "peaks and valleys"
with the ring, you can adjust the distance that the water travels. I
have a rectangular lawn and never had a sprinkler that allowed me to
"set it and forget it". Every style I've tried required me to water
the lawn in sections.

With the Gilmour, I can put it in the middle of the yard and adjust
the ring to shorten the distance for the narrow sections of the
rectangle. It's pretty cool to watch to water follow the outline of
the lawn as the mechanism rides the peaks and valleys of the ring.

If I had one complaint it's that the unit is mostly plastic. I have an
all metal spiked impluse sprinkler that has taken a lot of abuse over
the years. I can't imagine that the Gilmour unit will handle the same
abuse, so I'll have to be gentle with it. Other than that, it's pretty
neat.

The Hose Reel:

I have the following hose reel mounted to the side of my shed.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

The reel mounts on a plastic hub that has 4 connection points to the
mounting bracket at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions. The other
day I happened to look between the reel and the bracket and noticed
that the 12 o'clock connection (where most of the weight is) was
cracked and spearated from the bracket.

I removed the reel and bolted a piece of 1/4" aluminum flat stock
inside the hub, reattaching it to the bracket.

Since that connection probably has more stress on it than any other
point, I'm guessing I'll get many more years of service from the reel.

The Play Set:

A friend bought a huge 2 tower playset with a poly spiral tube slide
and poly tunnel connecting the towers. He paid $250 on Craiglist. The
slide alone sells for over $500 new.

All we had to do was dismantle it and move it. 2 pickups, a mini-van
with the seats removed and my 5 x 8 enclosed trailer and the play set
is now in a pile in his back yard. Putting it back together will be an
adventure, but we'll get it done.

All in all, it was good weekend!