The Neighbs

Last night, Dave and I went to our neighborhood's Winter Fling at the Van Landingham Estate.  We have a very active neighborhood association complete with a winter party, a spring festival including a 5K race, a pet parade, home tours and bands, and a fall party.  This year is our 100th anniversary of the neighborhood so folks just "abuzz".  We thought we should go and meet some of the folks in our 'hood who are our age and procreating, too, so we can get hopefully some insider information school and babysitting. 

After entering the mansion (which I have to say, if you've got the bucks, this is the bed and breakfast to stay at), and a quick tour to check out the food and drinks (no O'Douls, can you believe it???) we tried to talk to some folks.  Apparently, we were looking incredibly geeky.  It got to the point where we were trying to make obvious eye contact to anyone who walked past us, even waving at some, to no avail!  We finally headed back to the bar for another diet coke/merlot, when a young couple with whom we made eye contact practically shouted out Hey! as we walked by.  We immediately stopped, told them they were the first people to say anything to us and asked if we could talk with them.  Being as they were in the same predicament, they said OK! 

The conversation, of course, quickly turned into how much we love our neighborhood and how small our bedrooms and closets are.  I don't think there are many people in this neighborhood who complain of having too much space.  What they call a walk in closet in the 'burbs, we call the guest bedroom/optional office.  Character.  It gives us character.  It gives the neighborhood character.  It makes living more intimate.

We met a few other couples including one who gave me some very good advice about packing a small playmate cooler of snacks before going to bed for the nighttime feedings.  Some waters, grapes and a nice protein shake already whipped up could come in handy at the 3:00 am feedings when they are already fixed.  Of course, she mentioned that their bedroom was upstairs, so she must be in one of the fancy houses.  There are a few of them around.  The trend seems to be to for the houses on the main street to add a second floor thus nearly doublin both their square footages and resale values.  She also revealed her and her husband's bargain for the night feedings:  he does the diaper, she does the feeding.  A nice compromise for dealing with baby's input/output at night. 

I'm almost through clearing the ivy out for Round 2 of the landscaping.  Dave and I decided to start the backyard landscaping ourselves this spring.  We should save a couple of thousand on that by doing it ourselves.  The roof repair estimate came in at about $700 lower than my best hoped for price and about $3000 less than Dave's worst fear.  We also think we can reroof the garage for less than $1000 maybe much less if Dave can borrow the tools instead of renting or buying them.  As soon as the new roof goes on, I can fix the water stains in the green room and start its makeover into the new "master" bedroom.  That's the first step in the process of getting the nursery ready. 

Today's a work day.  I am spending every Sunday prepping for classes so that the rest of the week, theoretcially, I can spend on research.  I also have their first set papers to grade today.  That usually takes a full day of work and comes close to making my head pop off of my body.  So I tend to spread it out a bit over a couple of days. Gorgeous day...and here inside I'll be. 

9:46:48 AM