We Just Can't Have Nice Things

So, having purchased a house that is 54 years old, it's old.  And, while some things have been repaired and/or remodeled over the years, some of the things in the house can use some maintenance.  Some of the things that need work are of course things that have been updated.  Like the one kitchen cabinet hinge.  The kitchen cabinets are fairly new, and they were repainted and new hardware was put on them, so they look very new.  But then, there's the one door that the hinge is falling off.  Of course, it's the cool corner cabinet that has a lazy susan, so we can't use it until we fix the hinge or replace it.

The hinge on one of the screen doors on the lanai is also coming off.  My sister thinks I just need a different screw (ha ha), so, I will try to see how that works before trying to replace it.  Also, the other two screen doors get stuck so that one cannot open them from outside.  Luckily there are three doors though.

The sink in one bathroom was maybe replaced sometime in the last ten years.  It had a leak which it looks like the previous owners tried to fix.  So, we tried to take it apart part by part to fix it.  It didn't work, so we decided to just take it all apart and buy a new assembly.  We haven't even touched that one again yet.

The other night the FP leaned on the towel bar, and it came off the wall.  Luckily, it was just the one part.

Then, there's the whole saga of the glass hanging light.  So, we had this IKEA light and cord assembly. So, one day in Lowe's I saw these hanging light shades that were really cool.  Only, they were glass.  But then I found a perfect silver one, so we got it.  So, we took it home, and I put it on the couch so it wouldn't break.  And it was there for a day or two.  Then, one day, the FP ran around and took a hook from the ceiling and moved it to the living room.  The hook was too small, so he took another hook out of the ceiling.  That hook left a big hole in the ceiling, so then he put the hook back in.  So, he put the first hook in the ceiling in the living room.  Then he went to get the light to hang it.  He was very excited.  He grabbed it by the cord, and the light shattered the glass shade.  It chipped a half moon in it. So, then he said, you wouldn't be able to see the chip from the bottom.  So, he grabbed the light again by the cord, and broke the shade even more.  The hole was too big to hang it anymore.

So, when we went to Lowe's again, I got another shade.  I babied it.  I held it in my lap on the way home.  I left it on the couch for a while.  Then, later on, I put it far in a closet on a shelf and didn't touch it.

So, today, I installed a new bigger hook in the ceiling.  And then I hung the naked light up, taping the cord together so it wouldn't slip from the hook.  Then I grabbed the light shade.  When I unwrapped it, it was shattered.  We just can't have nice things.  I'm glad we didn't get those glass lamps that the FP picked out in IKEA.  While they were very cool, they looked dangerous.

So, we then remembered last night in the middle of the night when we heard a noise that sounded like shattering glass.  It startled us awake, and our first assumption was that someone was breaking in.  But then we heard the pitter patter of little paws on the floor.  So, clearly, one of the cats must have jumped on the shelf and broke the light.

So, I'm going to look for a more... durable shade.  Maybe plastic, acrylic, hard rubber...

I should have known better, but I just really loved that lamp shade.  If I can't keep glasses as in glasses that you drink out of that are very thick without breaking, then why would I think I could have a glass lamp shade?