Happy New Year! Best wished to all for the coming year!

Ralph has had a busy vacation this week, yesterday especially! One of my co-workers had a little electrical problem (nightlight short-circuited and almost caught on fire and the circuit break flipped) and I asked Ralph if he could take a look and see if it was a "big" problem (meaning calling an electrician - expensive!) or just a simple fix. The house is a new (2 years old) manufactured house, so we were all hoping it was a simple fix. It was! Ralph is now a hero! My co-worker had to spend less than $3.00 on a new receptacle, and Ralph replaced it, and everything is as good as new!

If only all of his ventures worked out so well! I bought a clock for the wall in the computer room last year - $20 or so from Target. The battery corroded and ruined the clock, so it hasn't worked for a couple of months, and I put off buying a new one - just because, I guess! Ralph made it his mission to get a clock for the computer room this week! He searched Craigslist.com and found a very nice new clock for $45 here in Redding - a new store opening up that didn't have their storefront open yet. He called, and went and picked it up on Tuesday. He got it home, and...the clock didn't work. He took it back, no problem, but now he was on a mission! (Did I mention that he is borderline obsessive?? He will get a clock!) He stopped off at McMahan's, which is going out of business in Redding, and saw a grandfather type floor clock that would be 'perfect'. Originally, it was $400, and was now on sale for $100. He checked with me, showed me pictures, etc. and went and picked it up on Wednesday. Once he got it home, he discovered that....it had no pendulum. Since McMahan's is going out of business, all sales are final, so, I still have a clock that is only right twice a day! Ralph called all the clock repair places in Redding, no luck. McMahon's called the other stores that are connected (a total of 6 stores are going out of business) and no luck. He has an e-mail in to the clock company, and (I think) he finally gave up and ordered a quartz movement for the clock, and will just replace the mechanical system and make it battery operated. Poor Ralph - he tried so hard! It is a pretty clock. I'll post pictures of it when I have more light in the computer room!

Ralph has also been chasing the furniture store we ought our chairs and couch from. The recliner/rocker chair that Allison uses broke - the frame and springs - probably from over use! We have a 5 year warranty, but...that style of chair has been discontinued, so the store came yesterday and picked up the chair to fix it. I have no idea when we will get that back! It wasn't a huge problem with the company honoring the warranty, just a hassle getting hold of the right person, sending pictures of the damage, etc. Ralph has been busy the last couple of weeks!