12.12.07

julie makes a lamp



last week i found an old hamster cage at sacks and decides that it would make a good lampshade. then i got some paper to line it with and glued it all inside. then today i went to the hardware store to get a lamp socket, and the guy who helped me find it took the time to make sure i knew where to put the hot cord and where to put the neutral one. after he explained it all very carefully to me, i put the socket kit in my basket and thanked him, saying that i thought i'd probably be able to figure it out after all of his help. "you're practically an electrician already," he said, "next time i see you you're going to be driving a big truck for your big lamp company, and you'll have tattoos of electric bolts all over your arms."

so i came home and i did it, with a little bit of constructive help from adam. when it was time to plug it in, he teased me that since the whole thing was made of metal, if i had done anything wrong it might be catastrophic. it's true i had to take it apart a couple of times until i got it right. i know it's just a little thing, putting together a lamp socket kit, but it exhilarated me anyway. apparently i'm an easy person to exhilarate.

i would say that makes me a lucky person.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's beautiful and incredibly impressive. i never would have thought to put together my own light socket. nice job.

Julie R said...

gee, thanks kay.

Anonymous said...

Julie Makes a Lamp

a children's book by Isabel E

Julie looked out on a dark day
many sad monkeys and puppies
were clomping and slumping
shadows were stretching
and frowning faces were twilight fading

She gathered some light from fireflys
and bright hyenas with glowing smiles
she gathered moonlight from owls who whoooed
she traded rum punch with stars for thier twinkles
a bright idea was collected
and she gathered glowing testaments
from glow worms

she took her bright light tonight
and made a lamp
It glowed and showed all
a little light, a chicken leg dance
for all chicadees in winter's trance

birds from the north flew south
for her glowing lamp
they chittered and flittered
and squirrels came and and chattered
and dog's smiled
and Petaluma's chicken's all hummed
a winter song together.

What a lovely lamp you have made!
A beacon for all winter's chickens

Julie R said...

oh. that is just the best and sweetest ode to my lamp as i would ever dream of. it gives off quite a bit of light of its own.

my favorite: "she traded rum punch with stars for their twinkles." the first time i read it as "twinkies."