Mrs. Fixit
Mrs. C loves
fixing stuff around the house. She likes
measuring, leveling, drilling and screwing (watch your 13 year-old-self)
screws. She has patience to read
directions and she measures twice to cut once.
She is methodical and precise.
I have
little patience, eyeball not measure or level, and along with screws I also
say screw it to directions. I measure twice, cut
once, throw the bad cut away and try all over again.
It took me a
while after we were married to realize that not only is Mrs. C better at
household fixits than I am, but that she also enjoys fixit chores.
The first
few times something needed fixing, I stepped up to the plate to assume my manly
duty. I had to tell Mrs. C to “step
aside” while I tended to “man’s work.” She
stepped aside but critiqued my every wrong move.
Finally,
during one such job I stepped aside, “You know so much, you do it!”
She has been
doing it ever since.
A while back
a pullout kitchen drawer collapsed. The contractor
had put it in incorrectly and with a missing screw.
After a year or so two plastic brackets twisted and broke. Pots and pans came crashing down in the
middle of the night. There are, I might
add, better ways to wake up in the middle of the night.
Anyway.
She ordered
new brackets (not an easy find) and they arrived today. Even coming off a bad cold, Mrs. C was noticeably
excited to fix the drawer. I was the
hand it guy, and she the surgeon.
Tools
Mrs. Cranky doing her thing
Drawers all fixed
I did have
to crawl in there to give a final tightening twist to each screw with my powerful man-arms, but Mrs. C did all the tricky stuff.
Let me tell
you, a woman who knows how to use a power drill and a level…now that is a real
turn on!
I am very impressed. I do things around the house out of necessity and, let's face it, really out of being cheap, but I certainly don't enjoy it. My lack of any innate concept of the principles of physics extends to using even the "simple" tools such as screws. However, when a friend suggested I needed a man with tools around, I ripped her head off.
ReplyDeleteMany husbands will be wondering where they can find one of those!!
ReplyDeleteI suspect her legs are better than yours, too, Cranky.
ReplyDeleteWell, Queenie has some skills but she will only use them for ...... someone else. Kudos o Mrs C for bailing you out!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteMrs. C sounds fabulous. I lack all those handyman skills but am pleased with myself for painting a bureau this week, that I can do.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to borrow Mrs Cranky for a simple job I'm unable to do. I have a large mirror that needs hanging and there are slots on the back of the mirror so it can be hung on two screws set into a wall.
ReplyDeleteThese screws MUST be level with each other and set into the correct places on the wall. it should only take her about a half hour, I already have the screws and can buy a drill. How soon can you send her?
That is a job that takes patience. If it is a heavy mirror you might also need dry wall anchor for the screws as finding two studs just the right distance apart and where you want to hang the mirror is very unlikely.
DeleteIt's a lightweight plastic framed mirror (Ikea) and the wall is solid. My brother will do the hanging on the weekend.
DeleteMay I put in a request for Mrs C to take a look at my bodged attempts? Of course, when I was younger I could tackle most things, but the sight of the necessary tools kind of put me off. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteAh, she is a jewel, and you will be thankful for all she does.....Romeo does our repairs (unless I know I can handle it), and the words that come out of his mouth during the procedure ~ well, you just don't want to be there. :-)
ReplyDeleteI may be guilty of such words also...does it sound like "Blitzen fraggin ratslefoggin frumpkins!"
DeleteShe's a keeper lol.
ReplyDeleteYa done good this time joeh. I use to be like Mrs C but it takes so long for me to get off the floor now days. It takes such a long time to do a simple job and a bunch of the fun has gone out of it. Keep bringing her coffee in bed and spoiling her. She is worth it.
ReplyDeleteIt can be quite satisfying to fix something, but I'm usually best with a hot glue gun.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder she can't write a decipherable grocery list! That section of her brain is filled with more important information.
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't have a Hick, I would want a Mrs C! You are a lucky man.
I think my husband likes it when I need him for fixit stuff. I know he likes me when I do all his computer work!
ReplyDeleteYay, Mrs. C! My dad taught us girls how to do all of that stuff. He didn't want us to feel dependent on anyone. :) It worked. - And that would've scared the crap outta' me if I'd heard those pots n' pans in the middle of the night!
ReplyDeleteMy husband would have loved it if I had intervened more, but I faked him out.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Mrs. C is a keeper. But in case things don't work out between the two of you, I'd like to propose marriage to her.
ReplyDelete