Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling

"One shoe off, and the other shoe on,
Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John."

Some days a person just wonders what’s going to go wrong next…such was yesterday!  Thankfully, I was able to laugh to myself about the whole thing!

The night before, we as a staff had been informed that there was an issue with our fire panel.  Until it could be fixed, we’d have to do hourly fire safety rounds and take special precautions.  

Being sacristan here, I did think about the chapel and how it would be important to include it in our frequent tours of the building.  It might be easy to forget, but with burning candles, frequently checking the chapel would be crucial.  

Our maintenance man stopped and we touched base about the situation.  He advised that there really should be no (unattended) open flames at this time.  I mentioned that we really need to have the sanctuary lamp, but that I would look into what could be done.  

After making contact with the diocesan liturgy director and receiving needed approval, I got an electronic candle from our convent.  (I’m really not a fan of ‘fake candles,’ as I call them).  

It was, thankfully, already attached to an extension cord, and I brought it into the chapel.  I fed it through behind the tabernacle and plugged it into a nearby power strip.  Nothing happened.  No light.  

Just minutes before, it had been ‘burning,’ so I was baffled.  I tried plugging its extension cord directly into the outlet – nothing.  I tried plugging the light (minus extension cord) in, but nothing happened either.  I tried monkeying around with the little bulb, but nothing seemed to work.  

Finally, I got a hold of our maintenance man and he but a new bulb in.  I came into the kitchenette, where I had left it for him, and it was ‘burning’ brightly.  

I unplugged the flameless candle and brought it back into chapel, refeeding it through behind the tabernacle.  I got it plugged in and positioned inside the red globe from which I had just removed the real sanctuary lamp.  

Once the electric one was burning brightly inside the globe, I blew out the real flame and brought the candle into the sacristy.  

Realizing a few things were not quite tidy in place as they should be in the closet where I keep the candles, I placed the newly extinguished candle on the floor beside me and proceeded to make arrangements in the closet, removing a now empty box, etc.  

In the process, I bumped the candle that was on the floor near me.  I quickly caught it, but not before a big puddle of wax had run out onto the tile floor.  

Not only did the floor get a waxing, but one of my sandals did, too!  

Yikes!

Now, what was I going to go?  

I quickly removed the sandal and rushed over to the other side of the sacristy to get paper towels from their storage place.  I sopped up as much wax as I could quickly before it cooled and solidified.  Then, I left chapel and went down the hall toward the beauty shop (diddy diddy dumpling-style).  I got the key from the front desk and went to my destination in search of a hair dryer.  

After looking around a little, not being sure exactly which drawer it was in, I found the apparatus and returned to chapel, walking as if I had a limp due to the unevenness of my feet.  

As I neared the puddle, I remembered that the hair dryer’s cord was not very long and I would need an extension cord to connect it to the power supply.  To get a cord to use, I did not want to go through the ordeal of unplugging the flameless candle and having to get it back in place again.  Then I remembered the fans!  

It’s truly a summer to remember as our air conditioning is also out in chapel.  To keep the chapel a bit more comfortable, we have several fans running.  I unplugged one and borrowed its nice, long, orange extension cord, affixing it to the hair dryer.  

Then, I got back down on my hands and knees, and with paper towels in one hand and hair dryer in the other, I successfully removed the wax from the tile floor and my sandal (or at least most of it).  

I unplugged the cord, took out the hairdryer from its plug, and reattached the fan.  Once the fan was back in motion, I returned with the hair dryer to the beauty shop.  

The day went on, not without event, though.  Since this is already getting long, I will spare you the other details, except for one final little story.  

We were invited over to our friends’ home to celebrate birthdays, and returned late in the evening with a little container of non-GMO papaya seeds.  I love starting plants and experimenting with new things so, with encouragement from this friend, I was going to try and see if I could get a papaya tree growing for in our atrium.  

Anyway, I had stuck the seeds in a gift bag I was bringing home (with a small birthday present).  As I descended the stairs, however, I noticed that something had fallen.  As I stopped, I realized that it was the plastic container of seeds, wet and gooey!

Most of the seed had dumped out onto the carpeted stairs.  So, at 9:45 last night, I was again on my hands and knees, trying to collect all the little messy seeds.  I also noticed a few cobwebs while I was down there, so I used the cloth I had grabbed from our laundry room to clean both the carpet and the corners.  

Needless to say, I slept pretty well last night!