Meet Ray, my friend and handyman

If you've talked to me in the past six months, you've no doubt heard me singing the praises of Ray who has done a whole lot of work in my apartment -- both tasks I asked him to do and a dozen little things he found by himself to fix.

For example, on the stairway going to my bedroom, there was a head of a nail that stuck out from the bannister and every time, and I mean *every time* I'd grab the bannister, I'd feel the nail. One day, after Ray had been here, the nail head was gone. It was like a miracle to me!

Really -- how many little things like that wear on us all day long but we never do anything to fix it because it just doesn't impact us enough.

Ray's major triumph in my eyes is that he closed up every possible entry point for mice, with silicone jel, with tile, with steel wool to the point that I haven't seen a mouse in about three months. I even walk into rooms without turning on the light (as opposed to standing in the doorway, turning on the light and looking for movement).

He also did all the work in the garden, all the clean up and planting, and I gave him free rein to do whatever he wanted. I figured it was like getting a haircut -- everything grows back! Even though his work is finished, he enjoys gardening and has taken ownership of my garden and comes from time to time, like today, to check things out and make some adjustments.  So here he is today, and I know how lucky I am to have someone as hardworking and dedicated as Ray.