You did great! You shoulda called me, I would've come to do it for you. And for as little as a garden tour. You're no wimp. A wimp is defined as a weak, cowardly, or ineffectual person. You were none of the above. You held in there, were determined to do it, and very effectual at getting those bulbs in. Great job!

Pliers, church keys, knives - I make good use of all of them. I use a knife to separate the plastic rim from the cap on milk jugs. Holding the knife horizontally, you can easily cut through the little plastic threads holding the two pieces together. Now if car manufacturers would eliminate those blanket blank gas caps that have to be turned to "click" when closing. Opening it isn't a problem, but I've resorted to a good pair of adjustable pliers to get it clicked closed. (I do that little operation once I'm back home.) Thank heavens that works like a charm, would hate to have the malfunction light come on for just giving up and leaving it unclicked.

Thanks so much, all of you. You know, my carpenter said several times, "I'm sure there's a solution to this. I just don't know what it is. Why don't you call a cabinet shop - they must have seen this before." I think I couldn't hear it because I was too upset. The cabinet company won't work - it's Ikea. (That's another reason why I've been upset about this. I see money flying out the window, and my budget is very tight already.) But there is a custom cabinet shop nearby that does gorgeous work. (I would have gone with them had I been able to afford it.) Maybe someone there will be willing to take the job. Bmorepanic, I agree with you - they shouldn't have installed the counter. Unfortunately, the installers relied on their templater's measurements, and had the counter installed before they discovered the problem. It was my own fault that I ordered a cooktop that's too large for the cabinet, but if the cooktop cutout had been made correctly, I would have discovered the issue during dry-fitting, when there was time for my carpenter to fix it. Boxerpups, I discovered that Microtrim site, but it specifically says that the trim is just aesthetic - it supplies no support. Footballmom, I had the same idea. If I can't find a finish carpenter who will try to remove the excess cabinet, I will ask the granite people if they'll glue some strips on to make the opening smaller. I'm feeling so much better after reading the posts by people who think it can be done. (And after sleeping, of course!) I just wish I didn't have to go to work, so I could start calling around right now!

Hey Ya-Ya! That is about El Paso...not Arkansas! LOL! I actually make Sun Tea every day at work (My co-workers never had it before! Imagine! But now they are addicted!) I make 2 jugs every day and told them they have to start bringing sugar and teabags.....LOL! And the hot water thing...I take baths now in just cold water cause it ain't cold!