I came home from the dentist this morning (we’re on first names up at that office, I’ve been there so often) to hear a strange buzzing sound in the hallway. I tracked the noise down to the doorbell chime unit. I popped the cover off and the solenoid that fires a metal plunger out to hit the chime was making the noise. It was also very hot! I touched it and burned my finger!! So I disconnected the wire coming from the doorbell button out on the front porch and then removed the unit from the wall. I let it cool down and then inspected the unit. The metal plunger had at one time a plastic knob on each end. The plunger had gotten so hot the plastic knobs had melted. I suspect this thing could have gotten hot enough to set something on fire. So, I disconnected the transformer in the basement and then took off the doorbell button out front to find it was stuck in the “ring” position … along with a door knob tag from the FedEx man that he had tried to deliver a package and a tag from the Idaho Power guy saying that our power will be off tomorrow (Tuesday) from 9 to 11 a.m. One or both of them had rung the doorbell before leaving. The button got stuck, the metal plunger heated up, the spring that should hold the plunger out of the solenoid came off, and the whole chime unit started heating up. It was a good thing that I came home and noticed the noise!

That meant, of course, that the doorbell chime unit along with the button had to be replaced. The FedEx package could be picked up after 3:30 p.m., so about three this afternoon I drove over to Lowes to get a replacement unit. I wanted to know if there was a unit that had a thermal sensor and would shut down if it got too hot. No such thing available. That should be an opportunity for someone! I bought a cheap unit, picked up the FedEx package, and came home to do the installation.

That’s when I discovered the stove was still on. One of the gas burners was busy warming up the surrounding air … fortunately no pans were on the burner. I asked Nina about it and she reminded me that I was the last person to use the stove when I “made” some Ramen noodles for lunch. That’s right … moi. Dang. Two opportunities today to burn the house down.

The doorbell has been replaced. The stove is off. I think I’ll stay out of the kitchen for a while, though.