Best. Tool. Ever.

So, yesterday afternoon I hooked up the new power-washer. I did it with a little trepidation: would it be a boondoggle? Would the plug fit the antiquated plug in my garage, or would I have to run a length of jerry-rigged extension cords and plug adaptors and whatnot from one of the plugs in the house, and pray I didn't blow a fuse?

But no, and no.

Hooked up the hose, plugged it in, put on the "dirt eliminator" nozzle, and tentatively aimed it at the side of the garage.

Day-umn. That thing rocks. It kicks major booty. It removed paint from the garage that I never expected would come off - and which, after my hours of ruining my wrists by scraping, I thought I had only served to adhere tighter.

You know, there's something very superhero-like about using the powerwasher. A wave of your scepter, and dirt and algae and spider egg sacks (well, sorry about that spiders, but I don't think my painting over them would have been any better for the eggs' health and certainly would have been worse for the paint job) are gone, along with the scraps and shreds of the top layer that was latex exterior paint. (Raise your right hand and repeat after me: "I (state your name) will NEVER paint latex over oil.")

I do fear for what my water bill will look like this month. After putting the thing away (and believe me, this is one tool that's going to stay under lock and key; don't want anyone getting a five-finger discount on this baby!), I scraped some more and found to my delight that a lot more of the paint had been loosened. I think another round of scraping, and another round of powerwashing (I'm going to get out the ladder this time so I can get right up close to the upper boards) will have the garage ready for priming and paint. And yes, OIL paint, unless some paint-company chemist has come up with a primer that makes it possible to paint latex over oil without having it go all ugly and peely in a couple of years.

But it's threatening rain today, so I'm not going to work on it. I do think I should run out and mow the lawn - all the rain we've had in the last week, coupled with the heat, has made the grass grow like mad.