PDiddie does indeed live in Houston.
Right now the weather is magnificent here.
Some of the snow in my front yard has melted enough that I can see some periwinkle leaves. A bit of the snow in the back yard melted enough that a couple of garlic chives got adventurous, and so did Cleo (with the garlic chives). I had a bit of cleaning up to do after the adventurous dog recovered.
Hi ehBeth, keep watching those shoots!
My mom loved flowers and loved her garden. When I saw today, the daffodil shoots that had pushed above ground, I thought of a certain poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
As I said one previous time when I posted it (and mother was still living then) the last line hits me like a baseball bat between the eyes:
Spring in the Garden
Ah, cannot the curled shoots of the larkspur that you loved so,
Cannot the spiny poppy that no winter kills
Instruct you how to return through the thawing
ground and the thin snow
Into this April sun that is driving the mist between the hills?
A good friend to the monkshood in a time of need
You were, and the lupine's friend as well;
But I see the lupine lift the ground like a tough weed
And the earth over the monkshood swell,
And I fear that not a root in all this heaving sea
Of land, has nudged you where you lie, has found
Patience and time to direct you, numb and stupid as
you still must be
From your first winter underground.
(Edna St. Vincent Millay)
I'm off to Avon again today, this time with garden tools.
I'm going to dig up some (not all) of the daffodil, and Iris shoots
and bring them home to Providence.
I'll replant them in my yard here in Providence, in their own separate plot, and then, in July, when the whole family is together for my niece's wedding, I'll have a dozen plants or more -- enough for everyone who wants one.
Aw, love these stories!
I'm in the strange position of living in a house whose garden is still a mystery to me. Went out and inspected all corners yesterday and was shocked to see a group of gorgeous purple crocuses poking out of last year's leaves. Not visible from inside the house, I had no idea! Shoots everywhere. Very exciting.
sozobe wrote:
I'm in the strange position of living in a house whose garden is still a mystery to me. Went out and inspected all corners yesterday and was shocked to see a group of gorgeous purple crocuses poking out of last year's leaves.
Not visible from inside the house, I had no idea! Shoots everywhere. Very exciting.
Hi Soz,
How delightful!
...and its still very, very early in the season. Who knows what other surprises are in store for you. And the sozlet? ...is she picking them yet?
what could be more unbearably tempting for a little child than flowers just begging to be picked!
This is such a lovely thread! I'm quite bummed I missed it last year. I've read pages 1-4 now and am enjoying it tremendously! Havent read such engaging-loving stories about one's neighbourhood since Farmerman wrote about the people around him.
I remember when you bought that house, jjorge. Even when you were only just buying it, you already spoke with such enthusiasm about it here that I actually looked it up on some internet streetmap. By the railway, right? It looked (I've picked up this habit of 'telling' a neighbourhood's feel from its layout on the map, works half of the time) like a really nice place, kinda in between zones. And the way you write about it reminds me of - well, the person I'd like to be. A better me! Its kinda cute: you pick up on all these things and enjoy the same kind of things that I would be describing in the What made you smile today? thread. But while I sit in a corner, observe smilingly and make notes, you're out there in the community, chatting and literally mending fences ... great.
I was fascinated/taken aback by the public bus description. Going by bus really means something, eh? I'd gotten that from A. already, that its really like ... well, you know you've bummed out in life for the moment when you find yourself having to travel by bus. Like in 8 Mile Road. Damn! Thats different here. And to think that its actually a pretty perfect system over there, at your work in 5 mins and everything! I love travelling by bus, or tram, or train too, in that you get to see all the nooks and crannies of a town ... everything's interesting, always. A sign over a shop or the build of a block of houses, a graffiti tag or a wild plot of green, it all tells you stories as much as a museum or monument.
OK, page 5-7!
msolga wrote:Stories of shovelling snow, while the neighbours are doing the same, are strange, even exotic (!) to my Oz self. Never had such an experience in my life! And speaking Spanish at the same time, even!
Ms Olga is cute ;-)
So are the stories of spring. I'm a barbarian when it comes to knowing about nature. But still, I'm amazed by things. Like, just the day before yesterday, I was writing over in another thread about the very first stirrings of spring on my balcony, "a young stalk peeping up remarkably tall from the empty earth" in the pot of the astilbe. Well, today I couldnt believe my eyes: the stalk had grown five thin, but noteworthy branches, each with 9 to 12 small (but not tiny) green leaves already - a proper mini-tree, practically!
nimh, I sooo agree with you re: the bus or other forms of public transportation. Any time I'm in a strange city, I make it a point to learn the local bus or subway or trolley routes. Driving a car or taking a taxi, you miss all the interaction with the local populace and get only a tourist's-eye view. I've done buses in Mexico, the el in Chicago and the commuter trains in Riga, Latvia (not to even mention the subways of New York and Washington, DC). Best means of short range travel ever devised.
Also a bus and subway fan, here. Walking's good too..
Hi nimh,
Thanks for the kind words.
I remember when I gushed about my house and you looked it up. You are correct. My neighborhood is on the edge of the harbor and an industrial zone that contains oil tanks, the city's public works yard, a boatyard etc. and is rather deteriorated and underutilized. There have been a number of proposals to re-develop that area and build condominiums, marinas, shops etc. One of the proposals is estimated to cost $1ooo,000,000.
So far none of this has come to fruition but that kind of development 500 to 1000 meters from my house would transform the whole area --hopefully for the good.
Another proposal calls for expanding a small liquid natural gas
storage facility into a mammoth one that would be supplied by
LNG container ships (the current facility is periodically re-supplied by trucks not vessels. This latter proposal is opposed by the Mayor, the Governor, and the state's entire congressional delegation. Recent events suggest that the energy company proposing to build it may not succeed in getting the necessary permits.
******************
Well, I suppose I should update a little on the people etc. that I spoke of in the beginning of this thread.
THE PEAR TREE
The pear tree was a big disappointment. The pears that finally appeared were VERY small, about the size of a large radish.
I kept waiting for them to get bigger and told David over and over that they 'Aren't ready yet'.
Then they fell off the tree and that was that.
Boy, I HATE to disappoint kids.
HALOWEEN
Halloween was nice. I had lots of kids knock on the door for their 'treats'. I got to meet David's father and the parents of several other neighborhood kids.
MY DOGS
One of my dogs (Mandy) developed a hip problem and can no longer go for walks with me in the neighborhood. I guess I've sort of 'copped out' and not taken the other one (Andrew) walking either, tending to just let them both out into my yard.
The cold weather contributed to it too in the sense that it diminished my enthusiasm for such walks. as a result I haven't
had as much contact with my neighbors in recent months.
Now, with the weather improving I'll be out walking and in my yard more so that should change.
MY NEIGHBORS
Despite the cold weather and the curtailed walks, I still see some of my neighbors. Miguel and Miguel (mentioned above)
I see often because their driveway is right across the street from mine. I also see their tenants W and P.
P. is the 72 y.o. native-american/african american who baked me the 'Seven-up Cake'. (see above)
H., the asian fellow whose house is behind mine, has been clearing the snow off my section of sidewalk all Winter long.
It seems that the practice here is different than at my last place in the suburbs - ie. homeowners are expected to clear the snow from in front of their homes. My house is a double lot and is on the street corner, and as a result I have approx. 160 feet of sidewalk that I'm responsible for...... but H has a SNOW-BLOWER. What a nice neighbor!
(getting sleepy ...more later)
jjorge wrote:... There have been a number of proposals to re-develop that area and build condominiums, marinas, shops etc. One of the proposals is estimated to cost $1ooo,000,000.
So far none of this has come to fruition but that kind of development 500 to 1000 meters from my house would transform the whole area --hopefully for the good....
... Or it could also make the lives of your neighbours far too expensive to stay! Up go the rates! Up go the prices in the shops! Up go the rents!
Something a bit "in-betweein-ish" could be nice for everyone!
THE PEAR TREE
The pear tree was a big disappointment. The pears that finally appeared were VERY small, about the size of a large radish.
I kept waiting for them to get bigger and told David over and over that they 'Aren't ready yet'.
Oh, what a shame, jjorge! What a let-down!
Hey, can anyone suggest a good community-friendly RI website, so's I can get a better idea of what it's like? I tried a search, but got university/fishing/tourism & other unlikely sites. I'd love to get a better idea of jjorge's home territory! Right now I'm sort of imagining ....
http://www.50states.com/rdisland.htm
Try that, MsOlga. I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for but it will tell you more about R.I. than you probably wish to know.
msolga wrote:Hey, can anyone suggest a good community-friendly RI website, so's I can get a better idea of what it's like? I tried a search, but got university/fishing/tourism & other unlikely sites. I'd love to get a better idea of jjorge's home territory! Right now I'm sort of imagining ....
I found back that conversation from back then, and it turns out ...
... I didnt look up any map at all, jjorge pointed us to it! Ahem.
Anyway, the site he linked in that had a map no longer has the info, but as you'll see he gave a bunch of other links at the time too!
---------------------
jjorge wrote:Cute dogs!
You're gonna have to wait up though ehBeth. I don't even pass papers on the new house till 1/15.
When I first saw the house I was BOWLED OVER by the living room and dining room!
As you walk into the house, the living room is at least 25-26 feet wide from left to right (in the virtual tour you can see that it contains TWO SEPARATE living room sets!). Straight ahead it is about 14 feet deep to the french doors leading to the dining room.
To the left, off the dining room is a lovely den about 12X 14 that looks out over a large (for the city) yard. The latter is dominated by two enormous cedar trees. I think the den, which can't be seen on the virtual tour, will double as a guest room.
When I first saw this house, all I could think about was,
"what a great venue for a party!"
Who knows, maybe we can have an A2K party in Providence Rogues Island.
here's some motivational material:
http://www.providenceri.com/richardbenjamin/thumbnail.html
http://www.waterfire.com/
http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/providence.html
http://www.providencecvb.com/
http://www.gonewport.com/
http://www.newportmansions.org/
nimh wrote:
Thats a beautiful, classic house. Its got character, thats obvious. The rooms, too. (Not sure about that leather couch in the living room, tho <winks>). And there's
ten of them! Damn! The place is huge!
Ah - America ...
The map made me smile, too, btw - man, they
do mean it when they say, "zoom out", huh? ;-). So, it's quite close to the park, with a lake, on one side? And on the other side, there's random harbour area? Is that empty lots now, or is there still riverside bustle going on, with the Amtrak rail leading there?
I love areas near the harbour, especially where there is this borderzone between residential and industry areas that seems to belong to noone anymore ... it looks a bit like that, on the map.
I never knew of a thing called an "in laws apartment", btw, that's interesting ...
jjorge wrote:Hi nimh, good to 'see' you!
Glad you like the house. I'm in love with it!
I will probably eventually take in a house-mate to share expenses as the mortgage is a significant increase over what I now pay.
The new house has about 2 1/2 to 3 times the square footage of the cottage I now own but I was able to sell my current house for about 70% of what the new house is costing me. Supposedly it's because my current suburban location is more in demand than the city. Nevertheless I am THRILLED to be moving into the city from the suburbs.
In the new house I will be about a 4-5 minute drive from my work, 4-5 minutes from downtown Providence, with all the good restaurants, theatres, clubs etc. and 5-6 minutes from College Hill (the Brown University area).
I wil also be about 3-4 minutes from a public boat launch where I can put my canoe and kayak in the harbor when the weather is warmer.
The park that you noticed, Roger Williams Park (also about 3-4 minutes away) is a very large and beautiful city park. with lots to see and do, including a great zoo:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60946-d105259-Reviews-Roger_Williams_Park_Zoo-Providence_Rhode_Island.html
http://www.osfn.org/museum/
The harbor area was once busy with commerce but we have a different economy now and it is underutilized. One portion of it is now the harbor campus of Johnson and Wales University. Recently there has been talk of developing much of the rest of it as shops, condominiums, marinas etc. One proposal was reportedly for a billion dollar development project. My street (ie. my NEW street) is about 4-5 blocks from that area.
My immediate neighborhood consists of a mix of mostly one and two family houses on quiet, tree-lined, dead end streets but I will be only one block from a major artery into the city (route 1-A).
In recent years my new neighborhood has been become home to many immigrant Portugese. They make wonderful neighbors as they invariably have well-maintained homes and manicured yards/grounds.
Well, I guess that's enough of my blathering about the house. Sorry to get so carried away.
PS
Around here an 'in-law apartment' refers to an additional living space created in what is supposed to be a one-family house. Although in-laws are not strictly legal, the local authorities typically ignore the violation, particularly if it actually houses an in-law or other relative.
Ahhh, I recall marvelling at jjorge's gorgeous new home. Lucky man. Lovely home, interesting neighbourhood, good neighbours.
Part of what I like about living in a downtowny neighbourhood is my walk to work - meeting and greeting the dogs and their human companions. I live in a neighbourhood of rescued dogs, and it's wonderful to be part of their socialitzation process. When my neighbours a few doors down first moved here, one of them commented that they knew I was on my way to work because they could hear my progress through the greetings approaching and receding.
Maybe those pears are small on purpose - like Seckels. I looked up small pears quickly in google and saw Seckels and pig pears and more...
Did ebeth just turn into an LSD-fuelled vision of Kicky or am I hallucinating?
hehehehehehehehehehehe
i was trying to decide on an Easter avatar and decided to pop that in as stop-gap. i'm starting to like it
makes me giggle each time i see it - seems to somehow change the tone of my posts
hehehehe
