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A few months ago the microwave oven in our rental home suddenly had a broken door panel.
Since both of us oldsters have pacemakers we were leary of escaping microwaves and the possible effect on the devices.
So a call to the management company brought a handyman to survey the situation.
He decided we did, indeed, need a new microwave.
A few days later "said handyman" arrived with a new oven.
He brought along his wife and adult daughter to help with the installation.
It took three and a half or four hours of effort, calls to the manufacturer, and milling around before the project was completed.
We were delighted that the old black oven was gone and a new WHITE one was in place and matched the other appliances in the kitchen.
What a concept!
Fast forward to a few days ago when the light bulb in the underside of the oven burned out.
It was the only source of light in the stove-top area.
The man of the house removed the glass cover from the bottom back of the microwave and unscrewed the burned out bulb.
It came out easily . . . without the metal socket!
He had apparently turned the bulb the wrong way and broke it off in the socket.
Repeated efforts to get the rest of the light bulb device out were fruitless.
Nothing either of us could do worked.
Alternate plan: Buy a couple of under-the-cabinet type fixtures or rope lights for the cabinets on each side of the microwave oven.
Great idea!
The rope lights I bought were too dim.
Back to the hardware store for under-the-cabinet light fixtures.
We came home with two different types.
One was a plug-in LED light fixture that required two tiny screwed-in brackets to hold it in place.
The other was a battery operated LED light fixture that required two tiny screws to attach its holder to the under side of the cabinet.
Each of these were nigh-on-impossible to install for a couple in their dotage.
Eyes and hands don't work like they once did.
But after a couple of hours (with a rest break in between) both were in place and functioning.
And it only cost $39.46 to replace that little broken light bulb!
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(A note from Catalyst: Not only did I allow her to pick out the lights with only a bit of commentary from me, I followed her suggestion to leave her the hell alone while she did the installation work herself.)
