It's been a little while since I visited here. So many changes and yet, so many things are the same, lol.
A couple of weeks ago we had a "wine bottling" session here as our old next door neighbours finally gave Ted the demijohn of wine that the father-in-law had made the old fashioned way. Harumph. It's a hobby, non? A very messy one at best. I don't recommend it, lol.
The new people moved in next door. It's different!! There's the single mother and her son, plus son's boyfriend. They are a couple. Two dogs, one of them very yappy. Bless Chloe, my poodle, for her disdain of the goings-on next door as she'll let out one disapproving bark and saunter up to the back porch so she can come back inside where civilized people live.
Nick calls to his girlfriend "frenchie". She's from Quebec, a francophone. They seem to be doing really well together, but I learned my lesson well a few years ago and will not get attached until a second child is born. Nope, there isn't a first one yet either.
Tony's kids are hilarious, at least to me. I'm very glad they aren't MY kids as it would drive me completely nuts, but that's the joy of being a grandmother, non? I bought some ladybug motif toilet paper the other day for Q's potty training. If he isn't totally out of diapers before September, no school for him. He's not even 3 yet. The baby, Clarice, (10 months old) screams blue murder at the sight of me. LOL. I'm told not to take it personally.
Mike's g/f, the german girl, is here now and the two of them live in a third floor walk up in a "transitional" neighbourhood. They like it so I keep mouth shut. At least the A/C works well so they can get some sleep. It's been really hot here, as it has been all over the continent. What a summer, eh? It seems that all I do is water the garden!
And so life trundles along. I find myself longing for a house with a large veranda and a porch swing. It must be a past life creeping in on me. So much for being the urbane sophisticate of my earlier years. *snort*
And so here we are, mid-summer. There was a big deal golf tournament in my parents' back yard last week. Quell disruption!! People all over the place, roads closed for bleachers and cranes, and cars getting parked on lawns, upsetting some disgruntled neighbours. It's all over now, thank goodness.
Thanks for catching us up, KaeEll. I'm glad that Nick and "Frenchie" appear to be happy, and maybe things will work out. It's impossible to predict whos' going to be the perfect match, so I gave up on that effort a long time ago. Even when you can look at someone's long-time, successful marriage, it's often a head-scratcher to figure out how that particular couple ever got together in the first place! If I'd been the match-maker, I probably would have selected a different combination, and I would've been WRONG! LOL...
Anyway, I'm glad that you're finally having a quiet day. It's always an adjustment to welcome new neighbors. That's one reason why I'm glad that our neighborhood doesn't have a lot of changes -- at least on our immediate couple of streets. I don't very many people way, way down the hill, around the corner at the bottom, and into the other cul-de-sacs. But up here at the top of the hill, we're all long-time neighbors, for the most part...
Our new neighbors across the street (well, they've been here a year now), with the little boy (toddler), have a motorcycle, and sometimes it's revved up at odd hours. We ignore it, though, because they're otherwise so sweet that it's not worth worrying about. When I compare them to the original owners, I realize that they had their own quirks, one of which was speaking very loudly outside, at 4:00 a.m., when the mom took her daughter to "winter swim" practice. LOL! Those memories give Jim and me a real chuckle now; all three kids are grown and have their own children, and the parents are deceased. We miss the whole family, but enjoy watching this new young family, as they settle into our neighborhood. And I remind myself, whenever I hear the motorcycle, that it was a sound I enjoyed hearing in my younger days!!
[Darn it -- I wasn't finished writing when this thing posted itself!!]
-- Edited by Moore ideas on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 10:28:57 AM
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
KaeEll, I can't believe that Clarice is already ten months old! What happened to the time?? And little Q with his potty training...
I would love to have a house with a wrap-around veranda. Very Southern! Our front patio will have to do, and although it isn't covered, at least it's on the Northern side of the house, so it's cooler than sitting in back. The house that one of my Georgia aunts had faced Main Street, and had a covered porch. I have a lot of great memories of sitting outside with iced tea or lemonade, after dinner. Divine...
I'm glad that Mike and his girlfriend are managing (and actually enjoying) their transitional flat. There are things that I was more able to do when I was their age than I'm willing to do now, but at least (as you said) they have a working air conditioner!!
Jim is on an airplane to Phoenix, as I write this... I'll post more later!
By the way, KaeEll -- when Jim and I took our little riverboat trip down in New Orleans, about five years ago, one of our favorite things to do was to sit in rockers on the bow of the boat, in the early evening. There were two dinner shifts, and we were signed up for the second one, so the bow was virtually abandoned when the first shift hit. People were either eating, or were getting ready for the second shift, so we had those chairs to ourselves. Jim had his book, and I had my needlepoint. It was most definitely the old folks -- Ma and Pa -- out there in their rocking chairs. The irony is that we were among some of the "youngest" people on that darned riverboat! LOL...
-- Edited by Moore ideas on Wednesday 28th of July 2010 10:37:45 AM
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
So verandas ARE southern! I thought so. We've never had one ever, although Ted grew up with one in Wichita and slept out there many nights in the hot weather. They called it 'the sleeping porch". Or maybe that was the one upstairs. So charming, though,whichever. You'd never get Ted to call it charming, however. He's the first one to crank down the temperature on the A/C as soon as possible. No hot house flower, that one, lol. You need socks and a sweater to go downstairs here in the summer months. He likes it around 16 degrees. No wonder he loves skiing, snow and ice. Good country for him, this Canada.
Neighbours can be a blessing or a curse. Moore, you always find the NICEST possible skew on things. I have to work on this cranky attitude of mine more. The other day, Tony went off and bought one of those roof rack gadgets for their Ford Flex. When I was over there dropping off the ladybug tp, I asked the kids if that was where mommy and daddy put the children for the road trip (to the cottage on Elkhart Laker in Wisconsin). They howled " no, no, nanny. That's for luggage and strollers". I snorted to myself. No sense of humour, these kids. I commented upon how it would have made for a much quieter trip, notwithstanding. D-i-l scowled. Not far from the tree, non?
HAHAHAHA!! Kids can take things so literally when they're little. Sorry about the scowling daughter-in-law, though. I thought that your comment was funny, and it sounds just like something that I would say. I'm a huge teaser, and my kids learned that early on. So did their friends.
Your story reminds me of a book that my in-laws gave us when the kids were young, and had discovered the pleasures of fishing. The title, "Fly fishing with small children", sent all of us into gales of laughter, and still amuses us. Our only question was "how does one get those wiggly kids to stay on the hook??"
I think that a sleeping porch is usually (technically) upstairs, but I don't see why a downstairs porch might not be considered one too. I mean, if it's a porch and someone is sleeping on it... LOL!
I'm glad that Ted loves his frigid climate up there in Canada, and that he has the ability to recreate the conditions of The Frozen Tundra during the summer months by cranking up the air conditioner. In the meantime, I imagine that you've been mimicking the habits of our turtle, Pan, by sunning yourself outside just long enough to warm your bones, and then braving the cold interior of your house again! You could always give Ted the hint that it's a tiny bit too cold in there for your taste by piling a bunch of large rocks in the center of your basement room, and attaching a human-sized warming light nearby.
Maybe not...
As for the neighbors, my philosophy is that they're a little like extended family. I might not like them all the time, but am willing love them despite that fact! I assume that they feel the same about me! We've hardly been perfect neighbors; our Lucy barked too much (despite our efforts to keep her quiet); we had a tacky tire swing in our front yard when the kids were young, but everyone enjoyed it, including the neighbors' kids; our ivy nearly took over the world; and many other things that are too numerous to list. We try to make up for it by cutting everyone else a bit of slack, and by showing them affection at every other opportunity!! It seems to have worked out fairly well so far...
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Yesterday afternoon my doorbell kept ringing and ringing, nobody there. It occurred to me that it was probably someone installing one of those wireless doorbell systems that had the same frequency as mine, and yep, indeed, it was Stephen, the new next door boyfriend. So out I went to their side door and found him labouring away on the damn thing. I was really, really nice about it, explained that there was a little doodley thing he could adjust and change the code, which he did. I thanked him, smiled (a lot), made some pleasantries and took my leave. He was grumpy the whole time, seemed pissed off that I had even so much as said hello. It's hard to embrace such stink pots, but I'll do my best, Moore. *sigh*
Today it's off to the chiropodist for me to see if he can do something about this disgusting callous on my foot that is driving me nuts. At least I think it's a callous. Then picking up, dropping off, running here and there...
The weather broke overnight and it's a beautiful day. YAY!!
KaeEll, I imagine that the young man's grumpiness may have been the fact that you'd witnessed his inability to install a doorbell, without incident! It may be a male thing...
Jim, for example, knows all about wiring, and has done his fair share around here. He's also a decent carpenter (or was, but isn't really up to it anymore). The one DIY project that always brings him to his knees, though, is anything related to plumbing! BAD words around here! It isn't that he doesn't understand it in theory, it's just that things never go quite the way they're supposed to! On top of that, nine times out of ten, plumbing issues occur in cramped spaces, so that doesn't help.
I wish I'd had a video of your encounter, though. LOL!! I'm just sitting here envisioning a young man who's discovering that he doesn't know much about installing a doorbell, and then a friendly lady, with a smile on her face, shows up with a "pardon me, but..." I wouldn't take his rejection personally. I really do think that it was probably a case of male pride, forced to acknowledge its limitations in the moment.
But GOOD GIRL for giving it your best shot. I'm proud...
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
LOL! At least Jim recognises his limitations now. Oh, that all these DIY'ers would do the same...
As for the surly new neighbour, I think it's part of his nature to be so sullen. It's an interesting proposition to consider why he and his partner, the son of the new owner, would have chosen to move in with the woman after having had their own place for many months, if not years before. It's a strange world.
Today is a civic holiday across the country, called different things from province to province, but a holiday just the same. It's Canada's way of honouring the short summer season, giving all of us the extra long weekend. Ted and I are spending the day bumming around after having had the gang here yesterday. So here's to Ontario's Simcoe Day, so called after John Graves Simcoe, Ontario's first Lieutenant Governor.
Oh I have always dreamed of having one of those porches that are on the second floor. I think that is why when we do buy it won't be a brand new house..Not many of the new ones have those.
Sorry I haven't popped in lately. Between the kids and SOC I am plum busy.
HI Shelly!!! I can understand busy. I can also understand the importance of disentangling oneself from the habit of the internet. Our high speed supplier of the internet is sporadic somedays, and it used to drive me insane. Other than paying bills and banking, most of the stuff we use the internet for is convenience and if there is no service, sobeit. At least that is the attitude I've finally adopted. As it turned out, a V-Tech phone we had on Ted's desk downstairs had a frequency that was so strong, it was knocking out not only the other wireless telephone's answering system, it was interfering with the Wi-Fi modem (or something), so we threw it away. It's much better now. Phew.
It's still blazing hot up here, near 40 degrees with the humidex. Did anyone see the weird Northern Lights last night? The sky was green!! Sunspots or something. We were watching The Closer (such a good show!!) and missed all of it, but it was on the news later.
We're moving into a period that should be so much quieter now. Tony is leaving for Wisconsin tomorrow with the tribe to deposit them safely and will come back early next week. Maya will be available to help me paint the back porch now that she doesn't have to be at Tony's place chasing children around. Better her than me, lol. My parents now, finally, have a nurse in 7 days a week. It only took me three years of daily pleading...
