I'm remembering the Christmas break in college, when you'd take your last final for the quarter, drive or get a ride home, and collapse until New Year's.
I'm at that point now. I'm writing this at 1:00 a.m. because I just finished a home plumbing repair job and want to sit in a quiet house for a few minutes, knowing the job is done. Never, ever, start a plumbing job in the evening, after shutting off the water supply to the house. Never on a Friday evening. Never on the last Friday before Christmas, when your average plumber would respond to a call for help by telling me to take two aspirin and call back on January 2.
December has been one of those "joys of home ownership" months. Everything in the house seemed to come unglued or the wheels fell off. In no particular order:
The gas grill leaked gas from the hose that connects the regulator to the burners. Solution: A new tank, because the valve on the old one was defective, plus a new hose and regulator.
The pool pump, which sounded like a bucket of bolts anyway, began emitting a high-pitched whine, undoubtedly irritating the neighbors. Solution: New pump motor, which I installed myself, and a $109 repair job for a guy to come out and fix an air infiltration problem (which isn't totally fixed yet).
The fridge seemed to have a mysterious, random leak leaving small puddles of water every few days. I pulled it out to look behind it, got out the vacuum sweeper to clean up the crud that was under it . . . and the vacuum sweeper motor burned up. Solution: New vacuum sweeper. (I shoved the fridge back in place and it hasn't puddled since.)
The bathroom shower had a small drip, which brings me down to tonight. I should have saved this for January and made it a New Year's Resolution but, no, we are leaving for Boston and I didn't want it dripping while we were gone. A handle was corroded and stuck to a valve stem and I broke the stem. Solution: Not merely new washers, but new valve stems, seats, and handles to boot.
Problem saved for a New Year's Resolution: How to remove the old seats and put in the new ones. One of those tools you buy and then use once every eight or nine years is a seat removing tool. Mine didn't fit and neither did two versions bought from Lowe's, which will be returned to Lowe's tomorow.
I take a perverse pleasure in doing odd jobs around the house. What I do for a living can take months or years before anyone can see results and it doesn't get my hands dirty. When I see that a pool pump motor that I installed works and doesn't emit green sparks, or the shower doesn't drip after spending entirely too much time on it, I get Job Satisfaction. I love it.
I mowed the lawn this afternoon, too. December 21, and I'm out mowing the lawn. For Christmas, all I want is a bowl of egg nog to drink with my shoes off. I'm ready for a break.
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