This spring when we planted the tomatoes, we added a bunch of compost to the soil. This compost had been percolating in our compost bins for over a year. Anyway, this season we have huge plants and tomatoes everywhere. Everyday, it is a battle to keep the plants staked and tied up since they have grown past the tomato cages we carefully put around each plant when we originally planted them. The garden is quite a sight now with stakes and white sheet-ropes used to tie up and support the plants. We have given tomatoes away and I get to eat the meal of the gods-a tomato sandwich on regular white bread, with lettuce, a piece of bologna and Duke’s mayonnaise-every lunch. Wonderful.
Last year I changed the outside porch light, and I kept the old light fixture in the shed. This winter I decided that I needed an outside light on the shed, and so I decided to put that light up on the shed. It didn’t seem like a big job, but for some reason I kept putting it off. This week, I did a thorough cleaning of the shed and found that light fixture. So, this morning, I decided that this was the day I would install that fixture. I went to Home Depot and purchased a switch and a junction box, and got to work. I drilled the hole through the shed wall and mounted the light-so far so good-I used a drill and chisel to cut the opening for the mounting box-on a roll now-cut off the power-switch 30 in the breaker box-spliced into the power supply-connected the wiring using those net orange colored plastic twist things-and when I flipped the switch it didn’t work-the breaker would not reset and the lights in the house would dim. Not only didn’t the light work, it was hot today (high of 100 actual), and a basic flaw in my plan was the lack of electricity going to the electric fan while the power was shut off made the job even hotter. I rewired, re-rewired, made trips to check the breaker, re-re-rewired to no avail. I finally went to the computer and found a wiring diagram that a second grader could use, did the wiring that way, and “there was light.” It is just after 11pm and I have to let the dog back in, but while I am there I am going to use that switch and turn the light on and off. I hope it still works.
Status report: The dog is in, the light works, but my clothes are still wet from the perspiration and are still hanging on the fence to dry before they are allowed into the house.
