I spent €142 on lampshades in IKEA. Nobody noticed the number of bulbs without shades but me; it was gnawing away at me. As soon as I got home, I put them all up, without assistance. Throughout the week there was a mild burning smell. I got home one day to find a blown bulb with a piece of melted plastic adhering to its surface. My husband was reproachful. He re-fitted all the bulbs. It turns out that these lampshades are trickier to fix than you might think. Do not mock the afflicted.
In other news, we made a last ditch attempt to mend the broken door handle with sugru having tried, and failed, several times with superglue. The problem is that it’s a door handle and you forget that it is supposed to be bonding and pull it off at a crucial moment. After each of us in turn had pulled off the sugrued door handle, Mr. Waffle covered it in a yoghurt pot and some threatening notes:
It was probably too little, too late. It didn’t stick anyhow and I have bought new door handles from China at €25 a pair. They are waiting under the stairs until after Christmas when we all feel stronger.
Did I mention that the bad weather has knocked slates off the roof as well? What are the chances of getting a roofer out between now and New Year? Pretty poor, I think we can agree. Never mind, we are so handy, I’m sure we can sort something out ourselves [insert snort of derisive laughter here].
I have so many equivalents of your door handle. The worst is probably the set of three roll-up shutters on my large bay window on the street side. Every so often, the cord breaks and the whole shutter comes crashing down, or the opposite happens and the shutter jams wide open on a piece of masonry. In either case, it’s a bugger to fix. Unfortunately, they were all askew they day the Streetview van passed and are thus caputured for all the world and posterity to see.
I think I will spend the festive season sniffing around my hosts’ houses for similar failings – it will make it all (the season, my slovenliness) more bearable. Thanks for your card, which came yesterday. Au reservoir, perhaps?
Must now look at your house on street view. Hope you had a lovely Christmas.