What's the Idea? Flowers that Close at Night

I should read the labels a little closer. Our little patio garden needed a bit of a sprucing up. For whatever reason, the little pansies sort of shriveled away over the last few weeks, leaving things looking quite spent. So we went to Frager's in the neighborhood and looked around for something with a little punch that covered the ground. We found a really pretty yellow flowering plant, and another that was red and peach. I planted them right away and they looked just right - until the late afternoon evening arrived. All of a sudden, the blooms disappeared, which defeats the purpose of having flowers in the garden! At first I thought the blooms just didn't last long, but then realized they were playing games with us. I do recall having a different flower pulling the same trick on our Milwaukee patio. But there were so many other pots and plants around that you didn't hardly notice. Here it's another matter altogether because we notice every single flower. So to fill the gap we picked up a few dependable petunias and stuck them in. Sometimes exotic isn't always the best, but the flowers sure are pretty when they are open. 

Halogen Track Lights

We have lived in DC for ten years, and for the first time, one of the track lights in the kitchen burned out. All I know is that whenever one of these has bitten the dust, no one can figure out how to remove the halogen light from the holder. My husband was able to figure out how to finally get it out, and it was a good excuse to walk down to Frager's hardware store and stock up on a few new bulbs. The slogan there is "if we don't have it, you don't need it," and with a little help from the staff, we were able to locate and find what we needed. So we got four replacement bulbs and decided to update all of them. It so happens that we had wall damage being repaired at the same time this happened, and our expert handy man, man of all trades, was kind enough to replace all of them for us, along with a couple other things that needed attention - like the squeaky bathroom faucet. Now let's hope the new halogen lamps all last another ten years. 

A Frager's Outing

"If we don't have it, you don't need it." And that is usually the case when we visit Frager's hardware for house stuff. We just got a little bioethanol fireplace and needed to pick up a plastic funnel and measuring cup. But of course, whenever you are in a place like this, there are other things you decide you need - like a flyswatter, garden shears, dishwashing gloves, and lighter. The mission took our morning walk in this direction and on the way home we enjoyed the wisteria blooming along the way. What's nice about living in a neighborhood like this is the fact you can walk to just about anything you need. And that's a good thing because moving the car is always a risk. But on gorgeous spring days like this you would be crazy not to take advantage of the season. And it feels even better knowing that I am no longer trapped inside an office building. That makes it all the more lovely!

Kidde Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms and a Walk to Frager's

The chirping started and we knew it could only be one thing - the smoke detector battery needed to be replaced. Between my husband and I it took several tries to finally realize that the case on the smoke alarm had a simple pin mechanism that needed to be pulled out, and that it was a battery alarm only and not connected to electricity. Luckily we had the right sized battery. Then we remembered that we wanted to get a carbon monoxide detector too and decided to hoof it over to Frager's Hardware. It's been awhile since the original Frager's burned down. It is now divided and scattered on Capitol Hill...a "pad" at Eastern Market that has plant stuff; a paint shop on the corner of 11th and Pennsylvania Avenue; a rental space; and the hardware place on 13th. The slogan "if we don't have it - you don't need it" has generally worked. This time, we couldn't find one item we were looking for, but did find a Kidde carbon monoxide detector to go along with the smoke alarm. This one plugs in to the kitchen wall and has battery back up, and doesn't require us to climb a ladder to reach it on the eleven foot ceiling. Of course I always read the instructions before use - my better half usually doesn't. I think between the fire and carbon monoxide alarm tests we probably drove everyone nuts. And my ears didn't appreciate it one bit. But that's the small price you pay for trying to keep safe. And around here, that's not a small thing when everyone lives on top of each other in cramped spaces.