Welcome to Lowe's, one of two huge franchise home improvement/hardware/lighting/nursery stores in Fayetteville, not counting either Wal-Mart or Sam's Club. Americans like big things, and this is no exception.
Bill and I had to run to Lowe's to look for 1) a yard tool, 2) heat registers, 3) paint roller, 4) painter's tape, and 5) plastic drop clothes. It is spring break, and Bill has promised to repaint the dining room ceiling and floor. Most people don't have painted floors but we converted a back porch into a formal dining room. At the time, we could not afford to replace the decking, so we painted it. However, we came to love the painted floor. It was quirky, unique, and provided a nice contrast to the dining room furniture my father made. A few years ago we had oak floors installed in the house but chose to keep the painted floor in the dining room. It's been 20 years since the last paint job, and the floor is in serious need of a makeover.
Going to a hardware store makes me think of two people. Diane (die-ann) Quinn, Bill's older sister, and Diane (dee-on) Terlin, a French glass artist who lives in Rome and was the subject of an earlier blog. Both Dianes love hardware stores; it must have something to do with the name, don't you think?
For my Italian friends who may not be acquainted with Lowe's or Home Depot, American mega-hardware stores often come with attached nurseries. Need pond pH neutralizer? They have it. Need a plant? They have it. Need dirt? They have that, too. So here's a picture of the "outdoor" nursery. Shade plants are kept in a more protected environment between this part of the nursery and the store proper.
Of course, Lowe's has nuts, bolts, lightbulbs, screws, refrigerators, 2 x 4s (lumber for building), barbeque grills, lawn mowers, hammers, hedge cutters, wire, toilets, carpets, plumbing parts, how-to books, doorbells, mailboxes, front doors, back doors, probably cat doors, and the list goes on and on.
I took the picture below for Diane Quinn because I know she loves gadgets. Tape measures are fun. I am lucky enough to own a metric tape measure that I bought from the ferramenta in Roma. I bet you could fit 20-30 Italian ferramente into this Lowe's. Diane (die-ann) also loves flashlights. She once gave Bill a small flashlight that he took with him to Roma. It burns so brightly that Emilio is in total awe of the footcandles it emits.
The next picture I took with Diane Terlin in mind. She'd die for one of these tools right now because they have blades on them--handy for cutting glass. Just think, she could have her choice of a Pin Punch, a Scratch Awl, or a Giant Circle Beam Compass. For under $10.00 Davide could have purchased a most delightful birthday present for Diane (dee-on). (Today's her birthday.)
And if Diane (dee-on) didn't feel like designing a new lighting fixture, well, she could just bop on down to the neighborhood Lowe's.
You'd think that a store this big would have just what we were looking for. Well, it didn't. I would like a cold-air return made out of wood. We looked for one 20 years ago and again today and still haven't found it. I guess we'll just have to spray paint the old metal one to match the color of the floor paint. Oh, yeah, that was the sixth item we bought: a can of spray paint.
A visit to Lowe's is something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon, and you don't have to be named Diane (pronunciation is immaterial) to enjoy it.
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