Home Repairs

Some people accuse me of being a procrastinator, but I’m going to have to get back to you on that.

A couple years ago, probably BC (Before Covid), the lights stopped working in our den ceiling fan fixture.  I tinkered with them a little bit but couldn’t get them to work.  And yes, I did check the light bulbs to make sure they were good.  (Why does every YouTube video start out with that tip?)  Our son even took a shot at it but to no avail.

Jenni was raised by a mother who HATED overhead lights so it really wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.  We just relied on the lamps spread around the room.  I just couldn’t read sitting on the couch when it was so dark.

Then, a few months ago, I was trying to change the light bulbs in the study’s ceiling fan fixture.  And they stopped working.  I double checked the new bulbs, the breaker, etc. and finally gave up.  But the desk lamp wasn’t enough to compensate in that room.

I was raised by parents who did not call on licensed professionals to resolve issues in their home.  No electricians, no plumbers, seldom a carpenter.  And I was basically true to my roots.  I secretly hoped that one day I would flip on the switch and the lights would work.  (I’ve seen it happen in the movies.)

Then one day I had some unexplained inspiration and dug deeper online to find a solution.  After reading a few articles and watching some videos I found a work around. After snipping a couple wires, connecting a blue and a red, and capping a white, the lights came on in the study!  Turns out it took more time to get the glass bowl fixture back on than it did fixing the light problem.  I moved the ladder into the den, duplicated the process, and shazam! they started working as well.  After that I tackled the ceiling fan in the bedroom that was stuck on ‘high’ the last three months and fixed it, as well as removing a dozen dead lady bugs from the light fixture.

Oh, and half way through an incredibly hot summer, I finally reversed our ceiling fans to ‘summer’ mode from their ‘winter’ rotation, sending more air directly down onto us.  I was actually cold watching television that night.

Why am I confessing my slowness at solving home repair opportunities?  Well, I suspect I may not be the only one out there.  But the tool to solve most problems is just waiting online.

Is the power on?  Does the lightbulb actually work? 

Okay, let’s begin.