Par for the course

Spring has taken its merry time coming to Germany and I'm well behind schedule planting my flower boxes. As my balcony faces east I plant geraniums because they always hold up under the strong morning sun.

The balcony rail for my new apartment is much different than for the previous one so I need a different way to secure the boxes. The flooring is also different - metal instead of cement - so I want to get a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet to cover it and make it a little nicer looking.

I made myself a list of what I need:

~ New flower boxes in a shorter length so I can fit three along the rail. I'll put the two I already have on a table I use on the balcony.

~ A hook system to secure the flower boxes to the balcony rail.

~ Potting soil.

~ Geraniums. Lots.

~ Carpet to fit balcony floor.

~ Trowel. My other seems to be hanging out with my camera's battery charger.

I wasn't quite sure of how wide the balcony floor is so I went out with a metal tape measure to find out.

B: Be careful. Don't cut yourself on that tape measure.

Me: I know. I've done that before. Hurts way worse than any papercut.

I have a rolled up awning on the floor of the balcony that runs nearly its whole length so I had to go to the very edge to find an empty spot to measure. I pulled out the tape measure, hooked its little edge over the back side of the balcony floor and proceeded to run it along the floor and get the measurement. 1.43 meters. I began to roll the measure back to where I had it hooked and it wouldn't unhook from the balcony floor. I shook it. It wouldn't budge. I shook it harder. No luck. I remembered B's admonishment to not let the tape measure cut my fingers so I let it go with the intention of letting it roll itself up and then I'd maneuver around the table and rolled up awning and pick it up.

It worked just fine. I let the measure go, it rolled up and when it reached the end it unhooked, flipped up high and then off the open side edge of the balcony. I could hear it bang against the side of the building and then land with a thud. Land in the area between my apartment building and the shops in front of the apartments. The area where I have no access.

*sigh*

Back inside to add "metal tape measure" to the shopping list.