OOOWWWWWWW!!

That has become my favorite word, which should come as no surprise to those who know me.  It's better than Oh  S#$%&%!!#$@, don't you think?

I like doing minor repairs.  It gives you a sense of accomplishment ... like I was actually able to fix that myself!!  There's really not much to fix here at my new ranch house, just a few annoyances.

When I discovered water running over the bathroom floor after turning the valves back on (I always turn them off when I'm going to be gone for a time), I was sure surprised.  It took three tries, but I finally figured out a wrench would probably do the trick ... and it did.  Chock one up for Nancy.

Next up, the bathroom sink drain plugs didn't work.  After a trip to Lowes to purchase a new clothes dryer (that's tomorrow's story), I picked up the necessary supplies.  Almost.  Turns out I really needed to replace more parts, but let them be for now.  

Scrunching in under the too small sink in the too small cabinet, I finally got the new plugs hooked up.  Might as well do both at the same time since I was on the floor.  So far so good!  Except one was missing that little piece of squeezy metal to keep the two pieces together.  I stole one from the other bathroom.  Guests will have to do without a drain plug.

That's when I unloaded some boxes from the rig and tripped over a piece of something with long spines that was stiff as a board.  OUCH!!!  Cactus?  I never even SAW them!!  I was wearing sandals, which resulted in two big holes in my toe!!  I grabbed a shovel and beat them into submission!!

Next up, pads for the bottom of the chair legs so they don't scratch the floor.  These are nailed on, with soft pads stuck to the white plastic.  What could possibly go wrong??  It was the hammer, I'm sure, as I smashed my finger trying to hold the thing in place.  Not bad though, I'll live.

Here is where I really got in trouble.  I've been carrying this guy around for two years before finally finding his home on my patio.  I should have used a nail, but I thought a big screw would hold better.

Yup ... OOWWWWW!!!!  That brand new sharp screwdriver slipped off the head of the screw and went straight into my finger.  There's something to be said for buying really good tools.  They seem to be sharper than most!  I bled like a stuck pig.

With no ice at hand, I substituted a nice piece of frozen chicken.  Worked like a charm.

Although much deeper than I first expected, it's nothing a little horse bandage couldn't fix.  

I spent the evening sitting on my patio enjoying the view.  It made my finger feel much better!!  Now if I can just figure out how to get the static electricity out of the carpets so I don't get a 50 volt electrical shock every time I turn a light on or off!!!!  Any suggestions??

This morning I'm heading back to Lowes to fix the clothes dryer snafu from yesterday, but that's tomorrow's story!!