Where is a Camera When You Need It?

Today Steve cleaned the mildew off the porch roof with Jomax. He climbed a ladder up to the dry roof and sprayed away. He did not realize that Jomax turns mildew into a slick gel. Steve started sliding down the roof, facing the windows. He grabbed the shutters, which he has confirmed are firmly attached to the house. Tammy’s father saw him hanging onto the shutters, kicking madly, and just had to ask Steve why he wanted to rip off perfectly sound shutters. He made it across the street just in time to catch Steve, who is short and light. Steve also discovered a live and uncovered socket cut into the wall of the house. It was hard to miss sparks flying while spraying the porch! We can laugh at it because Steve walked away unhurt. God is going to have to assign him a full-time angel until we finish this renovation.

An electrician familiar with the wiring in our house came over to explain why it has old and new wiring mixed together. Apparently, the previous owner could not fund the entire project with a different contractor, so she hired him to do his best with what little she had. We will have to adjust the budget slightly to cover new wiring when copper is most pricey. In a way, we are glad because he informed us that the hanging lights in the upstairs hallway are original. He rewired them for her. We had already decided to replace them with something "more Victorian-looking" from Lowe’s. Are we amateurs, or what?