I left with two items of homework. I needed to know the exact height of the trim piece that would go on the top of our deck railing, and I needed to re-draw our site plan to scale. Everything on our property to exact scale. We decided 1/20 would be good because it would still fit on the page. I have one more thing to do tomorrow morning, and that's measure the distance from our fence to the sidewalk along the east side of our house. It's also a little tricky because our fence is at the top of a little hill. I'll eye it.
On my way home, a block away to be exact, a red coat caught my eye. I saw a woman sitting just off the sidewalk in a pile of leaves. I quickly realized she was trying to get up so I pulled over. She gladly accepted my offer to help her up, and I walked her the rest of the way to her door. She'd been pulling some dead vines off her fence and when she leaned forward, her knee gave out and she went down. While I wish we could have met under different circumstances, I was thrilled to meet this neighbor, and I can't believe I haven't seen her before.
My thought when I pass her home has always been wondering whether or not the twisted wire fence was original. I'm pretty sure it is. Twisted wire you ask? It's chain link's beautiful older sister.
I think I've officially met the person who has lived in my neighborhood the longest. Her grandparents built the home, her parents lived there after them, and when my neighbor's parents passed away, she inherited the home. We made an unofficial plan to meet again. I can't wait!
Two random compliments today: When I pointed to Dot from my neighbor's home to let her know where I live, she smiled and said that she thinks Dot is one of the cutest houses in the neighborhood. And when I was at the Historic Preservation office discussing our fence and how we came to the final decision, the woman helping me said, "You have an eye for historic preservation - nobody ever notices those details. Maybe someday we'll snag you for the the [HP] commission." Put my love of old homes and buildings to use? She can snag me tomorrow.
I also wanted to remember the lunch I shared with friends today. I met Mickey and Becky when I taught at Northwest (really when I student taught there). They both retired a year and a half ago, and we try to get together every once in a while. They've been a huge help to me at different points in life. I was pregnant with Cora when I taught with them. When I was hospitalized for two weeks, they helped keep track of my classes. They also visited me in the hospital and called regularly to check in. They were both so proud of my sweet little daughter. I was happy for their advice. They've watched my girls, come to visit when my anxiety was raging. I love them dearly. They've just been great friends, and I count myself lucky that they're part of my world.
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