Upon Us

I simply cannot believe that it is Halloween already! The summer has truly flown by, and I think we totally missed fall! Our pumpkin is carved up and we have our Trick or Treating plan all mapped out!

Steve and I are both HUGE fan of Charles Shultz. We both loved the cartoons as kids and still love them and make sure we are home for their airing. (We are the only people left in the world who don't have DVR and I'm proud of it....) However, this year my MIL purchased the Great Pumpkin video for us so we broke it out a few weekends ago when we carved our pumpkin.

We told Madeline how much we loved the video, thinking she wouldn't be very interested. She sat through it and that was that.

However, now she says " Watch Charlie?" about 47 times a day. So - ONCE a day I cave and we watch Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. But I have to wonder if it'll be as special to her as it was to us since she can have it "on demand." There's something to be said for a little wanting.

Less is More

My husband turned me on to a Hemmingway story I've never heard before. I'm not the biggest Hemmingway fan . . . The Old Man and the Sea turned me off pretty quickly . . .

I was intrigued because he told me that one of Hemmingway's friends accused him of being too verbose, and challenged him to write a story in only 6 words.

In my Creative Writing classes in college I had a professor who made us write stories with only one syllable words, or make everyone start their story with the same line. I thought these were tough! I don't feel I can express myself in a Haiku let alone 6 words. So - here it is - Hemmingway's little masterpiece. I wouldn't have believed you could effectively communicate an entire story (let alone rising and falling action and denumount) in six words.
I stand corrected.


For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

As many of you know, we don't live in a traditional "neighborhood." There are a grand total of 5 houses on our street and I've come to really like it that way. Thus my growling at the 2 houses being built across the street... I miss the sidewalks and sometimes the noise, but for the most part I like it out here.

It's interesting, I don't know if it's because we live out in the country or what - but we have a really fantastic relationship with our neighbors one one side. Let's call them Ken and Barbie. They're pretty much like our second set of parents. I couldn't even begin to describe all that they have done for us - from watching Madeline when we were in a jam, to helping up weed our garden or mow our lawn. Steve and I constantly talk about just how lucky we are to have these neighbors. They adore Madeline and we trust them with her implicitly.

They have a gorgeous home, an impeccable yard (I would dare you to try to find a weed!), yard upon yard of gorgeous garden, and a pool they let us swim in!

Now contrast them with our "other" neighbors. Let's call them the Skys. They built their house only shortly after we built ours. Does it have curtains yet? No. If Steve and I have the hankering to sit out on our balcony or porch - we can see right into the children bedrooms. They take care of their yard, but have let these really odd looking weeds grow up just along the driveway. At first I thought they were some type of exotic tree or something. Then I saw them sprouting up all around their house. I told Steve that I"m just going to go over there one night and weed wack them all! I think we've maybe said 10 words to them this year (5 of those being "Hi.") It is just such an interesting contrast to have neighbors that we truly count as close friends, and neighbors - equidistant, whom we don't.

I'm not assigning blame - I know they're busy and I could have gone over there with muffins or something. It's just that we clicked with one set of neighbors and certainly not with the other. I guess that's just the way it goes.

"Before I built a wall. I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence"