A work in progress

Harry has been doing a number of chores around the house. He's been helping stack wood, he's been cutting up old lumber for kindling, he got an old lawnmower running that hasn't been running for two-three years, he cut down a sapling that had grown up in the midst of the rhododendron bushes, he banged in the awning windows so that they're tight for the winter, and he put away all the deck furniture into the shed. What a great help! Now he has taken on a much bigger project. The chandelier over the dining table has a problem. There seems to be a short in one of the sockets. The chandelier actually has two systems: one of upper bulbs in globes, and one of down-facing bulbs. Down-facing bulbs have seemed to have a short somewhere so we haven't used them for several years. Harry has tackled this problem. He's taken the chandelier apart, and has taken out the three-way switch that controls the different bulb systems. He thinks this switch might be the problem. I am not sure but it's worth a try. He and Ellen have just gone off to an electric supply store to see if they can get a new switch. The chandelier is now resting precariously on a jerry-rigged table system so that it won't be hanging just by its wires. Fingers crossed!

The mower Harry got going again

The woodpile being stacked

Kindling being cut up

This is an awning window - it is hinged at the top and opens out from the bottom using a crank inside. There are 18 windows like this in this house, and eight of them are on the upper level, reachable only by ladder. It is impossible to close the window tightly using only the crank. You have to put a board over the frame of the window from the outside and hammer the window in until it is tight. This is necessary during the winter months so that cold air does not leak in. Next spring, I'll have to push them out from the inside so that they can be cranked out and in again.

Tackling the chandelier

Steady as she goes!

Is this going to work? LATER Ellen and Harry came back from the electric supply store empty handed. They said that we would have to identify the manufacturer and contact their parts department. That seems very unlikely to be possible. The chandelier is almost fifty years old. So I guess Harry will just try to put it back together and make it workable to some degree, but it won't "fix" the problem.