Evde bir şeyi tamir et

Okay, Lily, we're putting up this shelf today. First, I need the drill. It's in the red toolbox. No, the red one! And bring the screwdriver and the hammer too. Grandad always said, "Measure twice, drill once."

Where are the nails? In the small box. Good. Now hold the ladder, please, and don't laugh when I stand on it. I'm not scared. The ladder is just a little shaky.

Done! Look at that. A perfect shelf. Straight, strong, beautiful. I'm so proud. There's only one problem. This is the bathroom, and Mom wanted it in the kitchen.

Anna, don't panic, but three things happened today. First, the bulb in the hall went pop, and we have no spare. Second, the kitchen faucet has a drip. I can hear it all night: drip, drip, drip.

Third, at eight o'clock we had a power outage. I looked at the circuit breaker, and one switch was down. I pushed it up and the lights came back.

I think it was the kettle and the oven together. So please, no tea while the oven is on. I wrote a note on the fridge. Can you buy a bulb on your way home? And some cookies, for the stress.

Hello? Yes, I need someone to look at my washing machine. It won't turn on. Yesterday it stopped working in the middle of a load, with all my towels inside. It's pretty old, about nine years.

These machines always break down on a Friday, don't they? Can you come by today? I'll be home all afternoon.

Sorry? Is it plugged in? Of course it's plugged in. I'm not... Wait a second. Let me check. Oh. The plug is on the floor. My cat must have pulled it out. Never mind. I'm so sorry. Please don't send me a bill.

Ali, Grandma is coming tomorrow at ten, so we have three jobs tonight. First, the kitchen chair. It's wobbly, and Grandma always sits there. Get the screwdriver and tighten the legs.

Second, Grandma's favorite mug. The handle broke last week. Here's the glue. Be careful, it's strong. Third, the hole in the living room wall. Yes, the one from your soccer ball. I can't fix it tonight, so I'll hang a picture over it.

Update: Grandma arrived, looked at the picture and said, "Nice picture. It covers the hole." Then she sat on the chair, and it gave a little wobble. "Lovely," she said.

My dad loves DIY. He watches videos on his phone and thinks he can fix anything. Last winter a pipe burst under our kitchen sink. Water everywhere! Dad said, "Don't call a handyman. I can do this."

He used tape, glue and a lot of words I can't repeat. After two hours the water stopped, and Dad was very proud. He took a photo of the pipe and texted it to everybody.

The next morning, Mom called a handyman anyway. He looked at the pipe for ten seconds and asked, "Who did this?" "Me," said Dad. "That'll be ninety dollars," said the handyman. Dad paid. Then he asked for the man's phone number, to learn more.