Chandelier Project, Part 2

Our new chandelier weighed in at about 30 pounds. A man's man would just lift the chandelier with his left hand, climb the ladder, grab the chain with his right hand and join them together, and of course he would do this while also smoking a cigar and standing on one leg and kissing his own biceps. A girly man would need another plan.

Years ago I sought to become a man's man. I lifted weights at the gym and strapped myself into some monstrous mechanical devices with gears and pulleys and weights, all designed to torment and puff up muscles that just want to be left alone. After a few weeks my joints hurt so bad I could barely move, and my muscles looked as un-manly as before. I quit and have since learned to embrace my un-manliness (but not in a sissy sort of way--instead I do yoga, which is... never mind).

So, for this project, I hatched a girly plan to make a pulley system. I threaded a cord through a higher link of the chain and then attached it to the chandelier on the floor. Then Cheryl held onto the handle (that you see in the picture) and we hoisted the chandelier in place and kept it steady while I attached it to bottom link of the chain.

It worked like a charm. With the chandelier secure I finished up the wiring, spread out the arms, put in the bulbs and the project was done.

Our old light fixture had six bulbs but this one has 15 along with enough photon power to easily guide ships into Tampa bay. The lighting ceremony nearly knocked me down, though Cheryl (who is not manly at all) was unaffected. Here's Cheryl, posing in the supernova blast. Yesterday I got a dimmer switch, so I can now walk though the room without wearing a hat. Unfortunately I knocked some plaster loose next to the fixture so I need to fix that today.

Any future projects that involve ladders are under review.