How handy are you?

Are WE HANdy
beCAUSe WE
hAve some
sPEciAL tALent,
or BEcause
wE Try?

He checked the basement when the outside temperature fell to 5 degrees, Fahrenheit.
​
At first, the ragged shape on the cement wall looked like a shadow cast by the light fixture with the pull-string cord knotted at the bottom.

But it wasn't.

It was moisture. We had a leak.

Was it the frozen pipe we were feared that frigid night ... a burst pipe leaking water, wreaking havoc?

We grabbed a flashlight and followed the telltale shimmer on the copper pipe above the damp spot on the wall that was below the kitchen sink. Up, up, up, we went to the drip, drip, drip coming from ... the faucet stem.

Is this something we can fix ourselves, we wondered?

Let's look.

No. We need a plumber.

But wait. Three days ago the hose connected to the faucet was dribbling. The connection was loose. I tightened it.

So now, we wondered ...

Maybe it's the seal, it needs a new washer.

It did. The unscrewed connection revealed not a worn washer, but a frayed o-ring.

Oh ... we can fix that, we said in unison.

And we did.

We dried the wet, fanned the moisture, gave one another a high-five and exclaimed ...

Are we handy, or wHAt?

-----

Yes and no.

Changing one o-ring won't make anyone "handy." But having the willingness to try, does.

Because more often than not, there's no instruction manual for the exact problem that needs a solution. So we read the manual and try this, or that, and see what happens.

With each attempt, we store what we've learned in a memory folder labelled, "Try this, it worked last time."

And that's what makes us handy ... and creative and artistic.

The trying.

So, give it a go. Shine a light and see what shimmers.