Thanks for Coming!!

The Speakeasy we hosted Saturday night was a lot of fun...thanks to all who came; the costumes were fantastic....Once I get the chance to upload the photos I took, I will post a few. Getting to meet more of my neighbors is something I enjoy, and doing so always reminds me of how much I love this neighborhood. I can see perhaps an annual Speakeasy at our house.....
Thanks to all who brought goodies, and all local businesses who contributed gift certificates....
And of course, thank you Tommy and the involvement committee who organized the whole thing.

Not Much Going On

I have not had much to update; my new job has been keeping me really, really busy, (and so have my kids) so the house has fallen a little to the wayside. We are currently digging out the clutter and polishing the silver (so to speak) in preparation for the Speakeasy Porch Party we are hosting in March. I've done one party before, in JULY, and that's not going to happen again.....you can't keep a poorly insulated old house cool enough with dozens of people walking in and out.
I hope there are some cool costumes; I'm going to check out Sherry's, I got a shirt for my son there he wears while working at the Ren Fest. It's handmade - she is using a seamstress to make period clothing and costumes.....not thrift store cheap, but excellent quality and not as expensive if we had bought the shirt AT the Ren Fest. I don't know if I have the time/money/concentration to put together an actual costume, but I want one of those cute hats!
Our 23rd anniversary is this weekend (married at 12), our daughter's boyfriend is coming the following weekend, then the party is the following weekend. THEN, the immediate neighbors get to behold the spector of a big square carnival house, as we get "tented". Maybe we will stay at the Dutch Motel during this time......
I have also been reading obsessively about extended warranties. Many people think they are a rip off, but use one for one or two major repairs, and they actually do pay for themselves. I am a Saab owner, and anyone who has dealt with these cars, as much as I love them, knows they will have repairs....expensive ones. Saab owners are a little cult like, so it's hard to explain why I am on my 4th.....and this one is a purchase (used) and not a lease as my two previous cars, so I don't have free maintenance. I have decided on Continental. despite possibly the most obnoxious sales model in the universe, they cover costs to the NEW value of your car as opposed to the current value. They all look the same until you star comparing side by side.......they are not cheap either, but I figure I got my car for a couple thousand under book value, so adding this cost in doesn't put me far over that. Still not money I wanted to spend after buying a car.....but a piece of mind is priceless to a constant worrier like me.
So there is a lot of stuff going on for me.....just not outwardly.
We are sanding /putting fresh finish on some of the floors..stinky work. There's a house thing.......

Porch Parties

I attended a porch party this evening; for those who are kind enough to pop onto my blog from other places, this is a Seminole Heights tradition-I'm sure there are similar events in other neighborhoods; each month a neighbor hosts a pot luck gathering at their house. It is a way to meet neighbors, visit with neighbors you might not have seen lately and continue conversations started earlier in the day/week/month. What I like about these porch parties we have here is the fact that no one who attends feels like they have to because the association says they have to...these people gather because they want to chat with their neighbors. They want to meet the people who moved in down the street, or a block over.....they want to relax with people who have at least one thing in common with them-they live in this great neighborhood! (plus they are probably a little curious about their neighbor's houses.....nothing wrong with that!) I think these events may be a little more common in historical neighborhoods because most people who live in these places have the same interests, concerns and hobbies (fixing their house) as everyone else. We lived for a while in a newly built neighborhood and there was this pressure to do "neighborhood things".....have a community barbecue, yard sale......anything to get everyone together, and unfortunately it quite often turned out to feel more like a chore than anything else. "We MUST participate in this because these are our neighbors and the association says we must....this is a friendly, family oriented neighborhood so we must enjoy ourselves at these events". It just wasn't the same........not that we hated our neighbors, on the contrary, we had some very cool neighbors- but there was something very artificial and forced about the whole thing. I was happy to note that I knew almost everyone there...if I didn't know them, I certainly tried to meet them and introduce myself. Suzanne's house as usual looked lovely, and her backyard was awesome.She has done the same thing I am planning for my backyard.....no grass; mulch, paths, and lots of plants along with some statuary and wood structures. Candles everywhere and places for people to sit and chat abound. What a great evening! I will plan on hosting a Porch Party after summer.....surely the backyard will be done by then...and maybe the sod out front will still be kicking....
For those of you not in my neighborhood...I hope you have something like this where you are..if not...start! It's not expensive or pretentious....just nice.