The Peackenstein Lamp

Last night, when I arrived home, I found a HUGE box on the front porch. No, it wasn't the Roomba - that's not due until tomorrow. Instead, it was the lamp for the kitchen nook that has been on back-order for weeks. C was all excited, and I quickly got all-in-the-mood to install it, since I'd already converted the nook's can light into a chandelier style hanger. See? Here's the picture of the BEFORE:

I must say, the lamp was beautiful. It came out of the box with a stained glass bell-shaped shade, done in peacock feathers. The lamp was configured such that the bell hung right-side-up, with a 3-bulb fixture underneath. The light would shine directly down onto the table. Each bulb had its own pull-chain. Beautiful. I got started installing. I didn't get very far before C's voice came to me softly.

"Um, I've been working on a vision for that lamp, Nolan." she said.

"Uh-huh. What's your vision?"

"Well, I'm envisioning that shade turned the other way, like
the lamp in the dining room."

I had that queasy feeling in my stomach again. The feeling that she was about to ask for something much easier said than done. The resistance rose up in me. The hardware that came with this lamp was purpose-made for and upright bell configuration, not inverted. There was no way to flip the lamp over and make it work the way she wanted it. Not with what I had in front of me. I made a conscious effort to stay open-minded to her idea.

We worked it through. We identified what I'd need to accomplish her vision, and located the parts. Five or ten minutes later, the plan (shudder) was for me to do the following:

• Piece out the brand new lamp, keeping the cord, the chain, and the shade.
• Piece out another lamp designed to hold the shade inverted-bell style, to scavenge the light receptacles and center suspension post.
• Tease out a way to hold the huge peacock shade stable on the inverted-bell fixture.
• Install the new inverted bell chandelier mash-up.
• Use a rose-motif ceiling medallion to hide/decorate the old can light installation.

So, over the course of a couple hours, that's exactly what I did. I dismantled both lamps down to their key pieces. I scavenged hardware from my basement shop (significant in that, while the shop may not be pretty right now, it is nevertheless organized enough that I could find the esoteric items I sought). I modded parts, re-purposed pieces until it all fit together. I mean, it really fit!

I surprised myself, frankly. I expressed my stress over being in the position to 'create on demand'; I got a response from my adoring wife that went something like "you deliver miracles all the time; you're good at it and we expect it."

"Well, one of these days, I'm not going to deliver a miracle on short notice, and you're going to be disappointed that I'm merely human." I said this not as a criticism to her, but an expression of my fears and the pressure I sometimes feel to perform.

She took it as I meant it, and looked at me with appreciation. That was all I needed. She'd heard me share a fear and it was okay.

And for C? It's truly a one-of-a-kind lamp, built out of all sorts of mixed pieces. The Peacock Frankenstein - Peakenstein.