Sometimes I feel as though Grace is watching over me. The device in the picture is an apple peeler/corer; it works like a charm for preparing apples to cook, because all one need do is stick an apple on those spikes and turn the crank, and the apple is peeled, cored, and spiral-sliced in about 30 seconds. But a few weeks ago, I noticed I hadn’t cleaned it thoroughly enough when I put it away last year, and in the process of remedying that I accidentally unseated the spring you can see at lower left. In the past, I would’ve simply taken it to Grace’s workbench and she’d have fixed it in under five minutes, but this time I had to do it myself. It wasn’t easy, but I found some close-up pictures on the internet and was eventually able to get it back together properly. At least, I was fairly sure it was correct; the moment of truth came on Sunday, when I picked a basket of apples to turn into mincemeat. The first apple I tried fell apart, showing me that I had adjusted something incorrectly, but a little examination and a second messed-up apple showed me what I’d done wrong, and I was soon back in business. It’s a small thing, I know, but I’m easily frustrated by problems that are outside of my scope of expertise, so when I suddenly see what I’m doing wrong and I’m able to fix whatever it is, I feel as though Grace is there behind me, invisibly pointing out what I wasn’t able to see by myself. 