Thursday, October 4, 2012

Friends and Neighbors


"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."             Ralph Waldo Emerson



Good friends are one of the best things about being human.  Those friends you can talk to once in a blue moon and it's like you've never had a break in the conversation.  Friends who hold you when you cry and don't remind you how bad you look when your eyes are all red and puffy.  Friends who signal you to get the parsley off your front tooth or remind you to check your zipper - they are priceless.  Aren't those friends who gently hand us a breath mint or even a fuzzy cough drop wonderful on days when we don't notice our breath is less than beautiful?

My friend and neighbor, Patti, was kind enough to suggest (in her own sweet, non judgemental way) that I might want to put curtains on my front door.

We (Mr. J&C and I) were so happy to get rid of the double front doors that were here when we moved in.  On cold, windy nights, I could stand in front of those closed front doors and feel the breeze.  We found this Texas Star pattern at Lowes and added the sidelights to fill in the space the second door had occupied. 



The light coming into the house is so wonderful.  Before the change out it was like standing in a closet, once the new door was in, sunlight flooded the room.  The door is on the north side of the house so the extra sunlight adds light but not heat, it is just a thing of beauty. 

Being neighbors, Patti and I enjoy discussing the comings and goings of the neighborhood.  As Jane Austen so cleverly put it, "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?"  Who knows what the neighbors really get up to, but it is fun to speculate.  Rumor has it there's a sweet little lady with a telescope in her front window and she lives on my street.  Patti pointed out to me that if she had a similar door, she would have curtains.  I can see her point.  If the lights are on anyone and everyone can see into our house.  So, I've been pricing curtain rods and curtains.  I'll put up curtains but I'm going for the lacy ones - I love the light and don't want to get rid of that, I'm just looking for a bit more privacy.

I hope Patti is not suggesting curtains because one day she dropped by and saw more than she planned to see...  But then she's my friend, she can be discreet and I trust that no one else knows what goes on at our house... Then again, maybe it is something that Patti does in her own home that has her worried for me?  Hey! We're old friends, I will keep her secrets. We're also neighbors, so naturally I'm wondering what she's been up to...




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8 comments:

YONKS said...

Love this post and what a good neighbour/friend you have. We have very few neighbours, living on a boat, just 3 or 4 along our pontoon, who all keep to themselves until the sun shines, which isn't very often in the UK. We do all get together at times, but for the most part, privacy is king!
Have a great weekend Joy.
Much love
Di
xxxx

TexWisGirl said...

this was cute. but, yes, i'd never live in town with a door with windows and sidelights. never.

Bev said...

Wonderful post...and so great to have such a neighbour/friend!

JFM said...

What a fun and wonderful post, Joy :) I love the part about the lady and her telescope...lol!!!

Your doors are lovely and I can understand about the light...our front door is also on the north side of the house. We took out the old, ugly solid door and put in a beautiful oval glass one. I'll post photos of it on my blog soon.

Hugs,
Jan

Robin Larkspur said...

Love those Texas stars!

Sue Catmint said...

I love stained glass so much, yours are lovely Joy. We put in clear and coloured glass when we moved in too. I am interested in the comments of Texwisgirl and Yonks above. Living on a boat with no neighbours to speak of does sound heaven to me. And sometimes I dream of living in the bush out of the city too.

Anonymous said...

Hi just wanted to say that I like your article very much. Please keep up the good posts Thanks a ton! and Have a good day

Leslie Harris said...

I love those doors and can't wait to see what you come up with! What a fun post, sounds like you've got such nice neighbors.
Leslie (aka Gwen Moss)