"Well I’m feeling really macho now! I got the whole project done with only 2 trips to the Home Depot. I was finally able to shut the water off by using a vice grip for leverage, as you suggested. The handle turns to the right, clockwise, to shut it off."

"I replaced all the nasty old stuff with some new things. Kept the handles and the valve stems, but that was about all. I’d replace the spout if I could figure out how to get it off of there. I think they put a whole lot of caulking around it, and I can’t unscrew it."

"And as if my ego weren’t flying high already today, the guy at the Home Depot made a pass at me. He offered to come over and do an inspection when he got off work. He was a little old, even for my taste—he was 79 years old!!!!