(Bonding over hardware)

For months the free dryer from Matt and Jess (see Shower of Sparks post) had been acting up, getting hot under the collar and in the sheets - in fact, burning hot.

How hot was it?

It was so hot that the smoke detector would go off from the heat when we'd open the door.

It was so hot that Trish's sheets (for Heartspeak Massage) would come out too hot to handle and with brown scorch marks. More like Heat-speck massage.

It was so hot that we feared leaving the dryer running if we had to do an errand. In fact, we feared leaving the dryer running longer than 15 minutes at a time.

Ever adaptable, we'd run it for 15 minutes, quickly open the door so it would stop and shut it before the alarm went off. Repeat if clothes still damp.

Since I knew that Grampa Dave had experience salvaging major appliances I kept "Fix Dryer" on his agenda for the holiday visit. Eventually, the day came when we tore the thing apart and found a burnt-out thermostat.

See the itty-bitty numbers? This is the L145-15F, an outflow thermostat for a GE clothes dryer.

Harold's appliance in Lacey had one in stock. They also sell fast-ons, which help join wire to tabs by way of goofy loopys (the technical term).

These have fancy blue insulators as well.

Grampa Dave suspected that the other thermostat was also broken. It was supposed to control the heat going in. L145-15F controlled the heat going out. However, Harold didn't have one in stock, and it was more expensive, so we opted to replace the obviously busted one and order the other one later.

By the time we had all the parts spread across the narrow hallway it was nap time (for Orion, Trish, Grampa Dave and Grama Julie). I told dad, "We've done the hard part. I think I'm going to put it back together while you guys sleep. He said, "I have complete confidence in your abilities."

Awww, Dad!