Beautiful day in the neighborhood

We met several neighbors last weekend at our neighborhood's 4th of July party. Of course, there were like 30 of them and two of us, so I'm hard pressed to remember all of the names right now, but everyone was really friendly and the kids all seemed nice. Three of the families have been living in this neighborhood since the beginning (in the mid-80s). They told us that our house was actually the model house when this development was built, so that was kind of cool to find out. We had the best fireworks display ever, and we didn't even have to leave our own backyard. There were a few different cul-de-sacs nearby that lit off fireworks, and the effect of the whole thing was a great show.

I really like our immediate next door neighbor. He's the first guy we met, and we see him every couple of days. Today as I was heading to the mailbox, I ran into him again and he asked how we were getting along with everything. I told him that we're getting all settled in and trying to figure out a few things. He mentioned that he would try to text-message the sellers to see if he can figure out anything about the gas fireplace that we still can't get working. He also offered to take a few things with him to the dump next time he goes, since the sellers left a few random things in the backyard, like their broken kiddie pool and gardening equipment. Talk about a cool guy.

So far, we have only one semi-unfriendly neighbor. And I don't know whether they're really unfriendly, or just really shy. Sometimes it's a hard thing to figure out which kind of person you're dealing with. Anyway, the people directly across the street from us have been out in their yard a few times now, and both L. and I have tried waving at them or giving them the head bob of acknowledgement. So far, there's been no reciprocation. The guy even abruptly closed the gate on his fence when L. waved. So, I have no idea what's up there. I like to think that it's because we have the best yard in the neighborhood (even according to our friendly neighbors, this is so b/c the sellers worked really hard on the yard and it shows), and those people across the street are kind of runners up. Their yard is very nice and tidy, but has nothing on our landscaping.

To our surprise, we actually kind of like the yard work even more than working indoors. Every night except last night, L. has been out in the front or back of the house mowing, trimming, watering, and seeding. I came home from training the other night and it was still so nice out, that I promptly pulled out my new gardening gloves and knee pads, and went to town on the weeds in the back yard. I had to call my mom to tell her, and she didn't believe it at first. See, weeding was one of my childhood chores and I hated it. I don't even know if the word "hate" is strong enough to explain the emotion I had when weeding. As an aside, my guess is that if you want your kids to grow up and enjoy something, you shouldn't give it to them as their childhood chore. My sister and I were always mad at each other thinking that the other got better chores. I really wanted to vacuum and she didn't mind dusting, but those weren't the assignments. I was too young to work the vacuum, so no dice on that one. Even today, I enjoy vacuuming but hate dusting. Anyway, back to the point at hand. I was weeding, and it was on my own accord. This is nothing short of amazing, but it's kind of different when you are doing something to your own house and yard. Somehow, I don't mind so much now.

Last night, while L. went to do his radio show from midnight to 2:00 AM, I stayed up and prepared the master bedroom for painting. I taped all of the mouldings, window trim, light fixtures, outlets, and the heater vent. I don't know why, but it never seems like painting is that much work until you actually get into it. It's probably because I'm so anal about the whole thing, but I find that doing good prep work is essential when you're working with colors. The moulding, window trim, and doors will remain the same stark white that they are currently. But the rest of the room is getting a good dose of color. Those who know me, know that I despise white walls. So, I picked out a nice beige tone called Seagull Beach (valspar paint) that has a ruddy tone to it and will look wonderful with our mohogany furniture, plum bedding, and it will really make the white trim, moulding, and doors pop. I'm painting one wall a dusty blue/green shade called Autumn Fog (valspar paint, also) and it will coordinate with the drapes I got in the same shade. The drapes will be on one of the Seagull Beach-colored walls, and the opposite wall will be the Autumn Fog-colored wall, so it will all tie together nicely. I got a lightened tone of the Seagull Beach color for the ceiling, and it will also be the color for the master bathroom (which matches the Italian tile) and in the master bedroom closet. So, tonight I'll work on priming the bedroom (the bathroom and closet will be done another time) and then this weekend we'll do all of the painting. Then we can actually set up our bedroom and stop living out of garbage bags and boxes of clothes and shoes.