Given the last few years of skyrocketing prices and supply chain issues, the fix-it-yourself movement seems to be gaining ground. For many of us it’s nothing new.
I come from a long line of fix-it-yourselfers. If the car had a mechanical problem, my dad was under the hood tinkering until things ran properly. When the toaster quit working, he repaired the electrical cord, and although the new plug end was big, awkward and ugly, the resulting toast was great. Mom was also a fixer, especially of clothing. She’d have my sister or I stand on a wooden chair, wearing our latest too-long bell bottoms, and instruct us to “Hold still!” while she measured and folded and pinned. Then she’d sit and stitch up the hems by hand.
I try to fix things too, but sometimes wonder if it’s worth the trouble. Which is exactly what I was pondering recently while performing human pretzel tricks on the floor of my car underneath the steering wheel, in turtle-on-its-back position, trying to get up. It had all started on the day before I was to fly away on vacation. I got into my car to run a quick errand, decided to swish the windshield clean, and the wiper lever attached to the steering column broke off in my hand.
“Nooo!!” I wailed, followed by a couple of expressions not fit for a respectable newspaper, loudly enough to get the attention of a dog-walking passerby who speedily changed direction back toward the alley.
After a bit of Google sleuthing, I determined this might be a case of fix-it-yourself, but it would have to wait until after the trip. Meanwhile, I gave thanks for those earth angel friends who transport people to catch planes in Saskatoon when said people can’t drive themselves. You are my heroes!
Upon returning home, while waiting several days for the replacement part, I could still drive the car in sunny weather – yay! It then proceeded to rain almost daily. “Fiddlesticks!” I exclaimed (or possibly some other word), after checking for nearby dog walkers. Finally fix-it day arrived, and with the help of a patient friend and a couple of excellent YouTube videos, the repair job was underway.
“Hold my specs please, I can see better without them. There’s every size screwdriver here except the one we need. Oh Phillips, not Robertson? Is that the “x” or the square thingie? Shoot, dropped the screw. No, over there – see it? Gotta change position. Maybe try reaching in from outside the door? Holy rug burn Batman, this pavement is hard on the knees!”
Ninety minutes later the job was finished — double high fives! The sense of satisfaction when those wipers once again squeeged the windshield clean was almost palpable.
Such resounding success has me dreaming of future fix-its. Maybe the old china cabinet. Refinish it, replace the broken glass, unstick the drawers. How hard can it be? Tons of people do this stuff. Maybe some have their own unfinished projects. Enough to hold an event, not unlike an old fashioned barn raising or quilting bee. Straw bales to sit on, a potluck meal, some fiddle playin’ and square dancin’ after the work is done. Yes! Mom and Dad would be proud.
Now… who to invite first?
