Lumos (or Not)

We tried really hard to (at least temporarily) fix the lighting issues at our house. Let's just say that the lighting situation in nearly the whole house needs some... improvement, except for the bedrooms where we already swapped out the overhead fixtures for ceiling fans before we moved in.



First, who puts track lighting in the kitchen? Second, anyone know how to change halogen bulbs? Because for the life of us, neither DH nor I can figure out how to get the bulbs out to change them. I have four bulbs in the kitchen light, and two are out. It was bad lighting to start with; now it's horrid. Fine, we'll just change the light out for a fixture that works better! Simple enough, right? Except that the fixture won't come down. DH and I have changed several light fixtures in our time, and we are both engineers; it's not like we're complete idiots. But we CANNOT get the fixture to let loose from the ceiling. We've tried everything we can think of, short of just yanking on it with all our might, which we're reluctant to do in case of causing some serious damage. We were just about ready to have the "central" fixture taken out and have can lights put in, but with the job situation, that is now out. I *really* don't want to have to call an electrician just to change a stupid fixture (plus I really don't want to spend the money on something so silly). Guess I'll just live with a dark kitchen for a while longer. Anyone have some lamps we can borrow?

So, to make ourselves feel better, we did finally hang a light in the dining room. First time since we moved in 2+ years ago that we've had light in that room (besides a single lamp). The previous owners took their chandelier, which is fine with us. They were supposed to leave the ceiling medallion, but when they took the light down, they "discovered" that the medallion was not secured to the ceiling when it crashed to the floor and broke. This also led to the discovery that the beige ceiling was not painted under the medallion! We couldn't find a large enough replacement (or affordable enough, or one we liked), so we kept waiting until we got around to either painting the house or at least painting the ceiling to hang a light. Plus, I wanted a light I actually liked, but I didn't want to pick a light until I had settled on a paint color or scheme/style for the room. Thus why it is now going on 2.5 years with no dining room light.



We finally put up the chandelier type light that came out of the former office (now guest room). No, I can't explain why there was a fixture like this in a bedroom/office! I told you, the people who put these lights in were crazy (see also: track lighting in kitchen!!). So as a "make due" for now, until we can either paint the ceiling and/or select a fixture we like, we at least have *something* up in that room that now casts light. Mission semi-accomplished.

Please don't talk to me about the overhead lights in the den that eat bulbs (3-4 a year, per fixture, times 4 fixtures) and half of which have lost their covers (so old they literally fell down and are now dented so they can't go back in!). Whenever we get the can lights put in the kitchen, we'll put some in the den, too. But at $100 a pop (includes installation and ceiling repair, thought not painting, and we see how good I am about that), it's going to be a while before we can afford to get it done.

Currently feeling: not quite as bright as we hoped