I needed (or so I thought) a handy dandy repairman to fix a few things gone awry in my humble little abode. A gate was falling apart, a tap was dripping and a doorbell had a hole in it which prevented it from ringing.

Help was elusive so as a last resort I reverted to “the me I used to be”. The old me in my young years could do it all; plastering, plumbing, electrical…you name it, I did it, because it had to be done and there was only me to do it. But I was young and strong back then and unafraid to try anything to save money.

So now, first came the gate…a few hammer whacks on new nails settled that problem. I described my faucet episode on Saturday’s blog.

Yesterday, I tackled the doorbell. Once I got the old one off it was evident that some miniature creature had been building a wee nest with the wire coating, leaving the wires bare. Once that was cleaned up it was a matter of patience working with tiny screws and needle-nose pliers to get the new bell rewired and working again.

And then there was the matter of a door that wouldn’t lock from without or within. I called a locksmith for that.

What next?