Tintinnabulation

There are so many pleasant sounds of bells ringing -- our church bell high in its steeple, the tone chimes that the children from our church play during worship services, the phone ringing when you're anticipating a phone call from a loved one, the jingling of the bell on the door of your favorite store, the wind chimes outside our kitchen window, even the doorbell at home when invited guests arrive.  But one recent early morning, I awoke to the sound of an occasional little bell, a little chirp and I knew that one of our smoke alarms needed a battery replacement right away.  So, I got up and pranced around with one ear cocked to the ceiling until I discovered which smoke alarm was ringing.  Then, I got Larry up from a sound sleep so he could stretch his long arms and with a simple twist, change the battery.  Needless to say, both smoke alarms received new batteries that day and their bells are thankfully once again silent.