Hunny Dun !

When we reach certain ages, some of us begin to place less and less value on birthday celebrations. In our later years, for the most part they become ... just another day.

Such was the case this past weekend, when my wife said that she didn't want any party, no cake and no special treatment. But she did make a request for a special gift ...

It was a request that causes husbands everywhere to break out in sweating anxiety. She broke out the dreaded, infamous and thought lost and forgotten:

Honey-Do List!

Numbers 1 and 2 were circled with a red Sharpie:

№ 1 - Install the ceiling fan on the front enclosed porch

№ 2 - Remove and replace overhead kitchen light fixtures

Both items had been on that list for some time. Both required a ladder, electricity, and having the arms raised above the shoulders and head for extended periods of time.

I'm comfortable enough with changing and installing electrical fixtures, but it was the ladder and elevated arms that been used as an excuse for not accomplishing those particular chores in the past couple of years.

In the past, I would get reprieves from jobs like this because we had to go to Home Depot of Lowes to pick out the fixtures. More often than not, she wouldn't like the available products, and would then get discouraged and say "The hell with it."

Not so this time! She had found fixtures she liked several months ago and had stashed them away for the appropriate time - her birthday!

Hmmm ... I thought ... 'no party, no cake, no special treatment ...'

Then she told me that she'd already made arrangements with my son-in-law to come to the house on Sunday to help me with the projects.

I was set up! Clever woman, my wife!

To be honest, I did want to please her. Our kitchen was dark. The overhead kitchen lights were old and terribly inefficient. In fact, one of them didn't work at all!

At least with my son-in-law, Scott, helping me, the jobs would be much easier and take a lot less time. Scott is an installer for Comcast. Climbing ladders and telephone poles are part of his every day job.

So with me holding the ladder steady and handing him tools and anything he needed, he helped me remove the old ceiling fixtures in the kitchen and to install the new ones. Afterwards, with me holding the ladder and handing him things, he also helped me mount the ceiling fan on the porch.

Image borrowed from Peter

While I was posting this, I remembered an image I'd seen on the blog of a fellow blogger from Australia, Peter Holtie. (Link in photo caption)

Now if that was the view ~~>
I would've had to look at while the fixtures were being installed ...

If I must say so myself I must admit that Scott, with my assistance, did a great job! The work was done in well under half the time it would've taken me by myself.

The kitchen is now so bright that at first I joked that I would need sunglasses when entering the kitchen. The ceiling fan on the porch looks and works great. It will be greatly appreciated while we are dealing with this seemingly endless hot and humid summer.

After the cleanup my wife said, "This is the best birthday present we could have given her!

I looked at the list on the table and was glad to check off №'s 1 & 2 and to make the announcement, "Honey, Done."

№ 2018