One of the items I purchased after my cheese class was a thermometer: The Big Daddy Dial Thermometer.
It is super cool because it has a nice long stem, and it can be calibrated. My previous thermometer didn’t register at low enough temperatures for some types of cheese.
I put the instrument into rapidly boiling water and saw that it was two degrees off. Fortunately, the solution is as simple as adjusting the tension on the nut in back. It was way more than finger tight, so I asked DH2U to help me find the right tool for the job. He produced an appropriate pair of pliers, and I tried to grab the nut straight on, but the stem was in the way.
See where the nut is? Wouldn’t it be hard to grab hold of that nut from the top?
I finally managed to get a grip on it tightly enough to make the turn, albeit at a very awkward angle. I was happy.
After watching me, DH2U said with a straight face and no hint of sarcasm, “For future adjustments, let me teach you an easier way.” He then showed me that the pliers could grasp the nut from the side and not just the top. That had never dawned on me. No wonder the ASVAB said I should never touch things with moving parts!
I was having serious flashbacks to the recipe cards right then. I started to laugh at myself. “I must have looked silly!”
“No. I simply have a lot of experience working with tools in tight spaces where you have to improvise.”
Yet another reason why I love this man.
Grown Up, Now What? 