Frugality vs. Stupidity...

We are getting a new fence along the side of our house where rickety evergreens used to patrol. We hired a company to install said fence, assuming that it was a touch over our heads. When the sales-dude came to have us sign papers and nail down details we told him that we could demo the old fence ourselves... save some dough. "Great! No problem. Just make sure you remove the posts, and remove the cement base of at least the first post. If our guys have to take it out they will have to charge you by the hour for that work."* They will be here on Tuesday.

Thursday Bob and Michael were kind enough to take down the old fence while I made dinner. Easy peasy. When they got to the posts they looked a bit worried and started asking me for tools that I do not have.** "I'll dig them out this weekend," someone who sounded remarkably like me said, "let's eat."

Yesterday, suffering slightly from an overwrought Tequila Friday, I pushed off the task to today. This morning, after running six miles***, I got to work. I dug. And dug. And scraped, and pulled, and swore. I think I lost three pounds from the sweating, on top of the four I lost running. At one point I was sitting on the ground, in a pile of wet clay, digging with the back of a claw hammer. Two hours later Michele and I finally pulled a clump of cement the size of our daughter out of the ground... literally...I need to find better places to save money in the future.

* This should have been my first clue, but it turns out I'm an idiot.
** Second clue because these guys are both much more capable and patient than I.
*** Brilliant!!!