I know I shouldn't count my chickens before they're hatched, but if all goes well...

I'd called Discover Card to either cancel the card, or keep it if they offered me a deal to stay. They offered $20 in rewards after my first purchase.

The $20 just showed up. I can take the cash, or get a gift card worth $25, so I requested a gc for Ace Hardware. I was there today, and saw several leaf blowers priced at less than $30. I also have a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon for Ace in my Entertainment Book. And I just joined the Helpful Hardware club thing, so when I "buy" the thing, I'll also earn points.

It won't be the blower/vac model I was drooling over awhile back, but it will be free, or nearly so.

As opportunities like this keep coming up, I keep thinking about the book, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. What a role model for matching your talents with the opportunities you have, to get what your family needs and wants. If you haven't read it, do! (Have some tissues handy.)

I don't know whether to say I've committed myself to a lot of gardening, or say I should be committed. (Especially after that dream, LOL!) But I've just ordered 3 yards of mulch to be delivered next week, for $85.

BTW, there is a neat mulch calculator here, to figure out how much you'll need:

www.gardenplace.com/content/calculator/mulch_calc.html

The minimum most places will deliver here is 3 yards. One place would do 2 yards, but their price was the same as 3 yards other places. I checked Lowe's, and buying it by the bag looks more expensive. Plus, it would take multiple trips back and forth for enough bags, since we don't have a truck anymore. Then there's the work of lugging the bags out of the car each time, before you even start working in the garden.

My only concern is, am I getting a fair deal. They made a mistake and charged me for more expensive stuff than what I ordered. Then they didn't know how to fix the cc charge or issue a credit on the cc. (They're going to send cash over when they deliver.) Now I wonder how I'll ever be able to tell if I get a full 3 yards' worth. They showed me a scoop that's supposed to hold the amount I'm getting, but I can't imagine it would hold 42 bags of the mulch I saw at Lowe's. (That's what the mulch calculator says is the equivalent.)

I guess the only way I'll know is if it goes as far as I think it should. If not, next time I'll get it at Lowe's--at least I'll know I'm getting the right amount.