Being Handy

Today, my big accomplishment was fixing two leaky faucets.

For a month (two? three? how long can you ignore such a thing?), two of my faucets have been leaking. They're in the two places in my house most likely to annoy me - I can hear the dripping when I sleep and when I work. Lack of time, lack of knowledge, and laziness have prevented me from fixing them so far. I close the bathroom door when I sleep and turn on the TV when I'm working.

I decided today was the day. It was either do work or fix the faucets. Faucets seemed like more fun.

It required a little research in the Time-Life book for Home Improvement, a little more research online, and only one trip to Home Depot (including a tool I was afraid I'd never use again but was worth the entire $13 I paid for it!). Plus one call to my dad and one call to Moen (where they collected information for a call-back instead of putting me on hold).

The biggest challenges were actually solved by the Home Depot tool and by a little elbow-grease.

Now my faucets turn on when I turn them on and turn fully off when I turn them off. Almost as good, they turn hot when you expect it and cold when you don't. I'm living in a brand new world, where delights await me every time I wash my hands!

Life is good.