Solutions

I have a wonderful friend who is painting the basement as a house warming gift. While engaged in this project, he also helped with the mind bending problem of the light fixture over the stairs. It looks like an ancient affair, crusted with dirt inside and out and obviously the bulb needed to be changed. Yesterday, using the ice scraper, which is in fact a tile scraper, I was able to open the fixture. Inside it is lined with beveled glass to enhance the light.

We talked about constructing scaffolding with ladders and boards, but over the stairs it can be tricky. None of us are young or lightweights, so we were being somewhat cautious. Jack, our friend came up with the idea of picking up one of those contraptions on a pole. He brought it with him this morning. On touch of the lightbulb and he realized that the bulb was loose and it came on as soon as it was tightened. We cleaned the glass by using a cloth, rubber band, and the pole. The entire process took less than fifteen minutes. I now have a light over the stairs, the capacity to change the bulb when I need to, and a tool to change every other high, inconvenient bulb around.

Thanks for helping us solve the problem, Jack.