Fashion

[Fressa]

Hi Everyone!

It's sunny and cool but is forcasted for cloudy and wind gusts. ??? I'm thinking I may still do some minor sprucing up outside in the back yard. I moved some cracked blue glass solar lights and a wind chime on the side hill by the family room window. I'm hoping it will deter some wildlife from using it as a shortcut. The new solar light works well on that side to light the holly bushes. Crossing my fingers that it deters the deer from the shortcut they created. Hopefully, it will deter whatever hissed at me to relocate to the woods. 

The front garden is in full bloom so I'm enjoying it while it lasts. It's usually only a few weeks and then it looks pretty sad. I purchased 2 rectangle planters for petunias that I hope to place there once these are done for the season. Crossing my fingers it all comes together.

I've been trying to avoid all the sales on the Q. I spent most of the week doing those little clean ups and reorganize of the drawers, my desk, etc.

Have a good afternoon/evening. 

[meallen616]

It's about 46 degrees in New Jersey, but a freeze warning in effect till tomorrow morning. Sunday looks good in the 50's.

[Bird mama]

Oooh, something hissing at you in the yard is not good @Fressa   I have a sense of humor and am pretty welcoming to the wildlife that stops by my yard.  The day something starts hissing at me, our relationship is over.  I got my limits 

[Bird mama]

So I picked the lamps up from home depot shortly after I posted about them on Thursday.  You know how it goes, buy a pair of lamps and one of them is gonna be problematic, lol.

I'm gonna try to explain how the lamps are made, what gave me a problem and how I fixed it.  If you have something better to do in prep for the holiday, just scroll on by.

So, here's the anatomy of what I would call a better quality table lamp than what I bought.  For heaven's sake I got two lamps for $80 in 2023 so how well made could they have been   The only difference between the picture above and my lamp is that I don't have a cord switch like that and my lamp hardware ends at the top of the ceramic part.  In other words there is no pipe running all the way down to the bottom of the lamp base.

Some assembly was required on my lamp.  The shades were already made.  The socket assembly had to be scr*wed onto a threaded piece of metal that was attached to the lamp base on the inside of the lamp base with a nut and washer.  I put both lamps together the exact same way.  One was fine. The threaded piece of metal that I attached the second socket assembly to was loose so the socket assembly wobbled when I finished assembly. If the socket assembly wobbles, the harp and lampshade wobble.

I carefully removed the felt on the bottom of the wobbly lamp base and looked inside.  For starters, it's not the like hole in the bottom of the lamp base was big.  Also most of my tools were not long enough to reach the loose nut.  I was discourage on Thursday until I found out there are such things as long nosed pliers.  Eureka!

Lowe's sold these and I thought what the heck.  I'm bound to need these on something else in the house.  I ran over to Lowe's yesterday and bought 'em.

If ever the saying close but no cigar fit a situation, it was my lamp situation.  I got sooo close.  I had to spread the blue handles apart to open the jaws and couldn't get the pliers all the way into the hole in the bottom of the lamp base.

I was going to tighten the nut with these pliers and then it hit me.  Bernie, find a way to stop the nut on the inside of the lamp from moving and rotate the socket assembly that was on the other end of the threaded pipe.  I worked with 14mm and 17mm open ended wrenches and had a death grip (forefinger and thumb) on the wrench so I wouldn't drop it in the lamp.  I managed to get it taken care of after about 15 minutes.

I used some craft glue to reattach the felt to the bottom of the lamp.  Here's the funny part - Presto my finch is really funny about any changes to her environment.  I didn't want to spring it on her so I showed her mama replacing the lamp in the office this morning.  Okay the previous lamp was a lighter brown and the lampshade was more cream (this new lampshade is oatmeal color).  Good Lord - she has been giving that lamp the stink eye all day.  She also chattered at it for the longest time - I'd swear she was cussing me out.  I told her the other lamp is not coming back - period.

She should be fine in a day or two.  

[Bird mama]

This photo shows me trying to approach that silver looking nut with the long nose pliers.  As you can see the handles were getting in the way of me reaching all the way down.

This is the threaded pipe.  Inside of the lamp base is the nut in the previous photo.  This is the threaded end that the electrical cord ran through.  The lamp socket assembly scr*wed onto this this threaded part.

If the lamp base had been any taller I wouldn't have been able to reach the nut and I would have returned the set of lamps.

[LindaLatte]

Good Evening and thanks for getting us started, Fressa.  Hope the winds were not a problem for you.  My DD lives fairly close to Augusta, Georgia where they are playing the Master's golf game.  Hope they didn't have any problems with the storms there.  The trees that were toppled at the golf course yesterday were huge.  

I bet your front garden is beautiful.  My hospice patient (who I visited today) said that she had great luck with snapdragons, so I think I will try to buy some next week. 

Happy Easter, meallen..  Seems like the cold weather we had earlier in the week has moved to the East Coast.  I still can't believe it got down to 28 degrees one night, and in the low 30's another two nights.  Today, it has been warm/hot and sunny, and they are predicting a high of 87 degrees tomorrow.  I had planned to wear a very nice spring blazer to church tomorrow, but it will be way too hot to do so.

You certainly had an adventure with those lamps, Bernie.  I think I mentioned that a lamp that I ordered interfered with my radio.  They were not on the same outlet, and the lamp didn't affect the TV.  Anyway, I contacted the company, and they sent me a new plug -- it didn't help at all.  Funny thing is that by the time the plug arrived, I had forgotten how to thread the wire, and ended up taking out s c r e w s that I didn't need to.  Oh well....  Otherwise I like the lamp so I'm just not going to turn on the lamp and the radio at the same time.

I have been very good in resisting clothing or shoe purchases, but found a JR cardigan (A591224) this morning (AM Style).  It is overpriced (despite being on sale), but I really need a light white cardigan for our warm weather (so I can wear sleeveless tops/dresses but not expose my crepey arms).  Hope it works out.   

Waves to all of our posters and readers.

Hugs,

Linda

[Bird mama]

Linda @LindaLatte  Was the lamp LED?  I ask because one of the first applications I tried for LED bulbs was the light on the garage door opener.  I had to go back to incandescent bulbs because the LED bulbs messed with the garage door opener.  It didn't matter if I tried to trigger the garage door opener with the remote or the switch on the garage wall.

GE makes LED bulbs specifically for garage door openers.  Thank goodness somebody figured it out.

If LED bulbs can interfere with the operation of a garage door opener I wouldn't be surprised if messed with the radio.

I like the cardigan that you chose.  It's feminine and very pretty.

[LindaLatte]

It is an LED bulb, Bernie.  But, there is no way to put in a different type of bulb (Brightech Lifespan - Bright LED Floor Lamp) from Amazon.  Glad you were able to change out the bulb that was causing problems.  Yet another thing to keep in mind when ordering lamps.

 

[Fressa]

I'm pretty fair about critters--if they stay outside the patio gate or run if I'm weeding then we have an agreement. Once something hisses or slithers we have an "issue". This wasn't the cat or a snake. It was something the size of a small/medium dog and I saw claws and teeth. I thought maybe a rabib racoon or possum because we've had them before. For the life of me...I don't understand why they don't hide in the woods.  

[Fressa]

Birdmama---Those pliers look handy. Congrats on being able to fix it. One project always leads to another. I really think animals, birds are more senstive and aware to their home than we think. Good thing your color choice was similar to the original. I went from ivory colored drapes with light filter lining to chocolate color black out drapes in the lower level. The dogs loved it! (perfect napping enviroment) LOL Once in awhile you catch a break. Enjoy your lamps.