There are times when my Travel Man cannot be home, and some little thing needs to be fixed around the house. Of course, with Murphy’s Law waiting in the wings, nothing ever breaks when he’s home, just right after he leaves. So when something of a minor proportion goes wrong around the house I try to fix it on my own. That means I may then be forced to learn a new skill out of necessity. I have also been known to place a phone call to a certain Travel Man that talks me through the fix over the phone.
You see we always have an ongoing honey-do list, but I try to keep it very short and sweet. When my Travel Man is home I do not want him spending his days at home fixing things. I want him to be able to spend his time with me. I am selfish that way.
Since acquiring my title of Domestic Goddess, there are a few new things I have learned how to take care of around the house. This is my list of 10 new skills that I have acquired, learned and/or taught myself while my Travel Man has been on the road. A good portion of the things on this list I would have previously left for the hubby to take care of or for the two of us to do together.
1. Cleaning the pool filter. This is usually just a weekly thing, but I am able to keep it on track by myself. We have an above ground pool, nicknamed “big bag of water” by my brother.
2. Maintaining the pool chemicals. I can do this, but in the middle of a hot summer this one drives me nuts! Oh how I loathe algae.
3. I learned how to use a roto-hammer to take up some flooring in our hallway. I got the floor completely prepped so Travel Man could come in and install the laminate flooring. This one was exhausting!
4. Taking the car in for service. I always felt like the service writer would take advantage of my lack of knowledge where the car is concerned. I never liked doing this one, but now I just do.
5. Cleaning the air filter on the air conditioner. Our filter is removable, and reusable. you just spray it off, let it air dry and replace. Voila!
6. Adjusting the sprinkler timers. I have had to learn how to program two different controllers for our front and back yards. Now I feel like I am an expert.
7. Replacing some drip nozzles on the lines out by our fruit trees. This one was surprising quite easy.
8. Repairing our thermostat. You can read the details of that story here. Travel Man was actually at home when this one happened. This was a must-fix critical situation!
9. Fixing our lawn mower. I learned how to clean out this little teensy-weensy carburetor jet. You can read all of the details here.
10. I have learned how to light the charcoal grill. It took me awhile to get past this one. I would always just light the gas grill for a quick summer meal. But now if I want a really great hamburger I definitely light the charcoal grill. The flavor is so much better, and now I love to do this.
All of the things that I have learned to do on this list make it easier for Travel Man to be away from home. He knows I’m not afraid (nowadays) to try to fix something I feel is within my “comfort zone”. And you know it’s also a confidence builder for me. I can still learn new skills, and be just a tad more self-sufficient when I need to be. However, Travel Man and I do have an ongoing agreement that if there are any plumbing problems when he is on the road, I simply call our resident plumber!
