I'm so lucky to be married to a handy guy. I mean, this is a fellow who can cut a huge hole in the back of the garage and install a second garage door so that it looks like it came with the house. A guy who can dream up, design, and construct an outdoor kitchen with running hot and cold water. He's a little handy.

My ex husband, bless his heart, is not quite as handy. He's one of those guys who knows just enough to be dangerous. I'll never forget the time he decided to install GFI switches in our bathrooms. This is a code requirement nowadays, but it wasn't in the early 80s, when the home we lived in was built. The switches worked - I guess? I mean, the outlets seemed to work just fine and they powered my hair dryer just peachy - but whenever we'd trip the GFI, the beer fridge in the garage would lose power and the porch light would magically turn on. Now that's some interesting home improvement, there!

I can imagine the folks at Home Depot hear stories like this all the time. It's tricky to wire older homes, and I don't think it's something that the average Joe should attempt, unless they know what they're doing! I was checking out a site called DoItYourself.com and found a bazillion articles and tutorials designed for the less handy. If this site had been available about a decade ago (back when we were on Compuserve - hehe!) I can imagine we would have had a lot fewer home improvement mishaps. It's a lot easier to tackle a project when you have some idea where you're going with it! After all, knowledge is power! Check it out.