Tag: diy

Not What I Thought I’d Be Doing

I looked out the window of the sunroom and noticed the gutters were full of leaves and the yard was covered with so many leaves it was hard to see the grass underneath. At that moment I knew it was the perfect time to go on a bike ride.

What I also noticed was that the trees still had more than half their leaves still clinging to them. Much like the old adage of not shoveling the sidewalk while it’s still snowing, there’s not much point to raking leaves when their still falling. Today’s accomplishment will be drowned out by the steady cascade of falling leaves by the morning. The same principle applies to the gutters. Drag out the ladder, climb, scoop and clean out the gutters only gives an invitation for the remaining leaves to settle in there before hitting the ground.

As I was preparing to embark on my ride my wife mentioned her faucet in the bathroom was dripping.

“Mmmm”, I replied trying desperately to think of an escape……. “is it a drip……drip……or more like a drip, drip, drip?”

She sighed knowing my less than handy skills with plumbing, electrical or with anything that involves a tool…… “its a drip, then a little while later a drip.”

“Mmmm”…… I pondered knowing I would have to investigate. Just then my son jumped up off the couch and in a moment of leadership said he would look up how to fix it on YouTube. While he scrolled YouTube I eyed the offending faucet and slow drip on my knees in the bathroom. An ole worn out washer I thought might be the culprit…..a simple fix I hoped, knowing there is no such thing as a simple fix. I looked out the window, the leaves were falling like snow, an even better moment to get out side and not rake them.

“It’s quite simple”……my son declared ( he obviously hasn’t realized yet about the fallacy of the simple solution )

“There’s a cartridge inside the handle we just need to pop off and replace.” I had never heard of said cartridge and I was quite sure it wouldn’t be easy to “just pop it off”….but he seemed determined and I certainly admired his take charge attitude so I watched as he unscrewed the handle revealing the plastic cartridge.

A few minutes later he went for the toolbox and I knew the chance of a simple solution were dwindling as fast as the leaves on the trees. Crescent wrench, pliers, vise grips were all applied in the ensuing minutes, all with no success of removing the cartridge. Perhaps because the faucet was almost 20 years old and worn out, but removal was proving more difficult than what appeared on YouTube.

I could go off on a side tangent about how every fix it project on YouTube appears easy until your elbows deep into it or I could say that perhaps why we lament the lack of focus and commitment in our youth is because life isn’t as simple as YouTube and life gets messy and staying with a project or work assignment that involves way more commitment than anticipated has it’s own rewards……but I won’t. The easy fix is never easy, the work project will be difficult and it will involve working with others and getting along and working together. Life really doesn’t happen on YouTube or Reels or SnapChat….it happens with each other at work or at home with family.

That was a bit of a tangent I didn’t plan on…..the time it took to write that was about the same time my son, having exhausted all the pliers and gripping tools, pried off the cartridge with a screwdriver. He triumphantly handed it to me…. “see told you it was easy”…….it was my turn to sigh and exclaim that it wasn’t exactly fixed and being only half done meant we were only half done.

A trip to the hardware store where surprisingly we were able to find the cartridge with no help from any salesclerk, not that there were any around and soon the new cartridge was installed. I once again got down on my knees and turned the faucet to see if the drip was lessened. My wife peered behind me…..there was a drip but only one….success I claimed. My wife ever the realist said….. “you should have gotten two because the cartridge in the other handle probably should be replaced and while your there pickup a new door handle because that’s loose too.”

By this time my son had skeedaddled to work seemingly having already learned the most valuable lesson…….that one fix is never simple and one project just leads to another one.

As I drove yet again to the hardware store I noticed what a beautiful fall day it was. The leaves continued to fall nestling comfortably in the yard and gutters….a project for another day.

Peace and Love,

John

If Only I Could……

Daily writing prompt
What skill would you like to learn?
View all responses

I am often dismayed by my own lack of skills. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of genuine interest and curiosity or just a lack of self-confidence and belief but it is rather astonishing how little I know and can do. My wife is often exasperated at my lack of knowledge and skills. Quite frequently this leads her to simply doing a task herself instead of asking me to.

Can I do car repairs, oh heavens no, that necessitates a trip to the repair shop. My friend once told me that he changed the brakes on his car by watching a YouTube video….I was surprised and instantly disappointed in myself, I can watch videos as well as anyone, but I decided it was probably for the best that I have no desire to attempt brake repairs as that could go disastrously wrong.

Can I do basic carpentry, not at all, I have a hard time driving a straight nail. Plumbing and electrical repairs are way out of my skill set and quite frankly I would be slightly fearful that I would make whatever the problem was only worse. I can perhaps change a tire in an emergency if I follow the instructions in the owners manual and I had my glasses handy.

I am quite capable of following instructions so I can put together stuff, you know the stuff you buy that says rather ominously on the side of the box “some assembly required”……usually my wife will come and check on my progress after an hour or so, her presence casting a shadow over me with a gentle inquiry of….. “so, how’s it going, need any help ?”

No matter my progress I confidently exclaim that….. “I’m almost done and just a few more things to tighten”…..this is of course an obvious lie as there are half of the pieces and parts scattered on the floor and a pile of screws, bolts, nuts and washers that I hope are just extras. She usually sighs and leaves me alone in my misery of assembly, her sigh saying so much. But unless I need an extra pair of hands I can follow the instructions to completion and I proudly stand over my assembled work hours later showing it off like a sculptor who just created a masterpiece.

I’m awed by those talented individuals who can see a pile of wood and construct a piece of furniture or a person who can walk into an empty room and envision a cozy space with just the right wall decorations and properly spaced furniture so the room has a certain flow and warmth. I know that most people aren’t born as carpenters or interior designers, except Jesus was a carpenter so maybe he was born with those skills, but most people spend hours acquiring said skills. Perhaps this is my weakness, I never really had an interest in spending so much time on something that it turned into a skill……but as I age there is one skill I wish I had and that is the ability to play an instrument.

Much like my inability to drive a nail or change the brake pads on a car, I have zero musical talent. I can’t sing, dance, read music or carry a tune. My musical ability peaked when I was a teenager and I could make a mix tape on my stereo adjusting the knobs just so to get the perfect balance of bass and treble. I wish I would have kept those mix tapes as it would be some sort of tangible proof of musical ability but now I just open the Pandora app on my phone to get a mix tape type listening experience.

What I would really like would be to learn how to play the guitar or piano….I want to be the old guy on the beach strumming a guitar at sunset or the guy at the piano jauntily playing a sing-along as everyone joins in. I suppose it’s never too late to learn a skill, it just takes time and interest and commitment. So perhaps one day I’ll find the time, I’ll make a commitment and learn a useful skill, one that doesn’t involve an instruction manual and doesn’t cause my wife to sigh plaintively.

Take Care….Peace and Love

John