Who would have thought something so simple could make me so sore? Oh, my lands...but let me back up just a bit.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Wait, not that far back. Let's zoom ahead several thousand years -- to 2015, when I bought an older home. It was built in 1967, and I knew when I bought it, it would need quite a bit of repair and upkeep.
One of the things that had become a concern here recently was that many of my outlets had begun to crack, and it didn't seem safe to use them any more.
A few weeks ago, I'd gotten some replacement outlets, but me, I'm such a procrastinator those outlets had been sitting on my kitchen counter ever since.
You know, I've been seeing ads for an app that is supposed to help you stop procrastinating, but I haven't downloaded it. I intend to look into it and see what it's all about, but I keep putting it off.
Heh...
Anyway, I decided come Hell or high water, this would be the weekend I changed those outlets out. And since high water did indeed come in the form of heavy rains all day Saturday, it was the perfect weekend to do so. It was also the perfect weekend to skip mowing, but that's another story for another day.
After consulting some YouTube videos for guidance, I set myself to do just that. Changing the outlets, I mean. Not mowing. I'm telling you, the most aggravating part was figuring out which circuit breaker shut off which outlet. I found the one for the living room pretty quickly, but it took me forever to find which one shut off the bedroom.
Oh, and just an FYI, the breaker that shuts off your overhead lights doesn't necessarily shut off your outlets.
Finding that out the hard way, I got frustrated and finally just shut them all off. Every single breaker -- except for the one that cuts off the overhead lights. Being able to see made the job so much easier, you can be sure of that. The outlet now safely off, I got to work and started on the task I'd set for myself.
I know they make those screws hard to turn on purpose -- after all, you don't want them coming loose and having hot electrical wiring flopping around inside your walls -- but by the time I'd gotten two of the outlets changed, my arm was so tired I had to take a break.
You know you're getting old when turning a few screws does you in.
This morning, my shoulder and upper arm were so sore, I almost called in sick and stayed home with the aforementioned shoulder packed in ice. Alas, I'm too close to getting perfect attendance for the month, and being entered into the drawing for the new 50" TV, so up I got and to work I went.
My shoulder is starting to feel a bit better, but it's going to be a few more days before I change that last outlet out. I've got a few more I want to change out, and since my home is older and none of my outlets are grounded, I'm going to get some GFI outlets for the rest of them. That will make it just a bit safer until I can save up enough to get the whole house re-wired. Which was always in the plan, and honestly was one of the first upgrades I wanted to get done.
Hopefully, I'll have better luck finding an electrician than I am with finding a plumber.
OK, moving right along...
I know I'd said in a previous post that I wanted to start getting rid of some of the no longer needed junk I have laying around, and I did just that. I found all these shoes of Cody's
and these jeans he couldn't wear any more,
and advertised them on Facebook in the local free-bees group. Wonder of wonders, the first person who asked about them actually showed up and got them! Usually it's about the fourth or fifth person who finally comes and gets something, but these went quickly. So, yay!
And finally, just because it makes me giggle:
