Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.
Gosh, you’d think with all this beautiful weather we’ve been having, I’d have a decent gardening column in me, but I’m afraid I spent so much time helping others with their hoophouses this fall that I barely planted a winter crop.
I will note, however, that trees and shrubs and maybe even lawns have got to be suffering from the lack of moisture. For my more delicate, younger plants, like the fruit trees, I’ve been out a couple of times with buckets of water. As warm as it’s been, though, I might as well get the hose out.
I’ve moved into home improvement mode. This weekend, I had two relatively minor tasks I’d hoped to accomplish. First, I’ve got some ancient doorknobs throughout my home. After 50 years, some have stopped “snapping back” after they turn. I took apart all the outside ones, cleaned them, and lubricated them with gun oil last year. Now, the inside ones needed the same maintenance. Is it even possible to buy doorknobs these days that homeowners can maintain instead of replace? At any rate, they all work like new now.
The other minor repair was the arm connected to the handle that flushes the toilet. I headed over to Carter Brothers with the old one. The toilet turned out to be some weird configuration. Three trips later, we couldn’t find one to make do. Those guys helped me with humor and concern, accepting my returns even when I broke one (while following directions). I finally had to go to Lowe’s, which had the original piece for a toilet that must have been purchased there. While I don’t much like shopping the big box stores, I do believe there is a certain amount of local impact from the jobs created in them.
But why does this stuff have to be made from plastic? Assuming this one lasts as long as the other, about 10 years, what are the odds I’ll be able to find a replacement part next time? Seems just as likely I’ll have to buy a whole new toilet.