It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

We really do have the best neighborhood.

But even the best neighborhood has it's quirks. Some days around here are just pure soap opera. Or Cops. It depends... I really wasn't aware of all of the stuff going on while I was working but now that I am unemployed, I'm all up in it!

On the right side, we have my parents. And while they call themselves "Frank and Marie" from "Everybody Loves Raymond", they are far from it. We love having them next door and I really love it that now I can let Stella out the front door and watch her run across the yards to her grandparents' house. It's really cool.

Across from us are Mr. and Mrs. Lowery. Stella LOVES them and has adopted them as another set of grandparents - and I think they have adopted her as well. Until recently, she could not say "Mrs. Lowery" and it came out "Busy Body" which is HYSTERICAL for reasons I will explain later... Lately, it has become more like "Mrs. Lowery" which kind of makes me sad. The really funny part is that she is so polite and uses the proper name for Mrs. Lowery, but for her husband, she simply calls him "Bob" and has since she was teeny. One day, we were pulling her in the wagon and she just yelled "Hi, Bob!" And he was so tickled by it, it just stuck. She loves Mrs. Lowery and Bob. They have a little dog named Baby that Stella also loves to play with (AKA terrorize.)

Two doors down from The Lowerys are Floyd and Linda. Linda and Mrs. Lowery walk Baby around the neighborhood twice a day, promptly at 9am and 3pm. They are like clockwork. This is when they get the neighborhood happenings. Bob spends a lot of time in a lawn chair in the drive way reading books or the newspaper - but I think it's just a front. He's really checking out the neighborhood haps as well. A lot of days, Toby joins him. ;)

On their right is Mrs. Brittle. On her right, is Joy. She is a master gardner and is a librarian. She wears a big floppy hat while doing yardwork which has earned her the nickname from Toby, "Floppy Hat." He is incredibly creative.

Then there is Warren. He lives a few blocks down and he is a bachelor, probably in his 60's. Everything he owns is in amazing condition. He rode his motorcycle up one day and I said "Got you a new bike?" and he said "Lord, I've had this since the 70's." He spends his days riding his bike for hours and hours (not his motorcycle - a bike - so he is in great shape) and visiting friends.

And at the end of our street is Jane. She is also a master gardner and it shows. She has taught Toby a few things about our yard and our gardens that are thriving now.

Around the corner are Chad and Chris. They are a really cool gay couple who just built an amazing house. It's mostly green - everything recycled and refurbished. The siding on the house used to be an old barn in Wisconsin. The doors are from some fancy place. Lots of antiques mixed with modern decor. Toby has been helping them put up a new fence and he has gotten to be good buddies with Chad especially.

Every.Single.Night, from about 5pm - 8pm, all of the above characters get together in the Lowery's driveway. It's a huge circle of lawn chairs. Toby takes Stella over there nearly every night and I go over sometimes...I laugh because I wonder "What the hell do they have to talk about?!?" But I guess it's plenty!

We have quite a few "interesting" characters here too...but I'll just tell you about one right now. Since it's fresh in my mind.

The house next to the Lowery's is owned by a single lady. She works at some community organization and has a big heart - sometimes too big. She has had lots of roommates over the years - people she runs across at work who need places to live. This is nice, HOWEVER, these people are strange.

Right now, her roommate is Jodi. Jodi is a little asian lady with a big dalmation dog. She "walks" her dog by holding her leash out the driver's side window of her car while she rides up and down the street. She also walks around and collects sticks to burn in their stove. Not sure what kind of set up they have over there...and I think I'll continue to leave it up to my imagination.

Recently, Jodi has started having a friend over. I'm sorry, but this dude is sketchy.

Every day he rides in on his bike with a different tool. One day, he was carrying a weed eater as he pedaled. The next day it was a skill saw. It makes you wonder where the heck he is getting these tools and why does he need to ride around with them?

Yesterday, Stella and I had lunch with Mom, my grandma, my aunts, and a cousin at a little boutique shop called Feathernesters, which is a few blocks away from the house. We parked in the lot and were walking to the store. We walked past a shop called "Tool Guys" which sells used/refurbished tools.

Jodi's friend was standing outside the shop when the owner walked out and I overheard him ask

"Hey, are you guys going to put a price on that marchetti in the back?"

Marchetti.

I can't wait to tell Mrs. Lowery!