The more I get to know those on our block the more amazed I am at how diverse and unique we all are and how similar we are as well. Here's a look at a few of our neighbors and their gardens.
To our right we have Ronnie, a pastor, and his wife and daughter. They are lovely people and Ronnie's amazing garden has inspired me to tinker around a bit with an herb garden of my own. He gave me some mint and thyme to get me started. Since, I have added basil, rosemary and cilantro. My boys absolutely love Ronnie. They climb up the fence to say hello and my youngest even cried once when I didn't take the time to stop and let him say "hi."
cilantro
mint (it is truly amazing and delicious in person)
tomatoes and basil
To our left we have Stan and his wife Maxine. Stan is 89 years old and has lived in our neighborhood since it was developed in the 50's. He and his wife travel all over the world. When Stan is home, you are sure to find him in his garden. I think Stan is more active than I am. When we first moved in, Stan was growing cucumbers, corn and tomatoes. This year his garden is full of amazing Texas wildflowers.
Across the street live the Martins. Alison and her husband moved to Texas from up north and have a heart for adoption. They have adopted a beautiful girl and amazing boy. Good for us too because their son is 7 years old and plays very well with our son. The love to play basketball together.
A couple of houses down from them is the Kruegers. Sarah used to be an art teacher (more to come on that later - she is super talented) and is now a stay-at-home mom to their son Cole. They'll be adding another boy to their family this summer! Jeff dabbles in home improvements and blows me away with his creations. He made their deck in back and...WOW. It's amazing - when you're back there it's like being on vacation. They're pretty outdoors-y too, which comes in quite handy for us because we lose power in our neighborhood a lot and we can always count on them for hot coffee no matter what! Thanks guys.
Down the street, towards the end of the block, lives Rod, a single Dad raising an amazing young girl who will hopefully become our go-to babysitter soon. And then there's Mike and Tricia and their son Nicholas. They moved here after they lost their home to hurricane Katrina. Their son plays a mean game of football (pretending to be Drew Brees) and they throw some awesome parties. Everyone has a story and each one is just as engaging as the next. I love getting to know them and serving them in any way that I can. But, more often than not, they end up serving me. It's humbling and beautiful. Do you know your neighbors? When was the last time you said more than, "hello"? Stop and take the time to chat... I think you will be delighted that you did. Happy Monday friends and neighbors. xo
I'm grateful for 2 single women and 2 single mothers. They have loved my daughter and shown her the strength of a woman. And we have loved them on special days like Valentine's Day, May Day with special treats, they share plants, I help keep the driveways clear of snow!
ReplyDeleteThat deck really is amazing... but what I want is that awesome table! I'm the "handyman" at my house, and while I've done a bit of woodworking in the past, I don't have any equipment for it now. If I did, I'd certainly be inspired by your neighbors! Lucky you to have so many nice ones!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Brooke. You are so right about neighbours. One of the reasons we bought our place was because of the community feel of the street. The times we inspected the house there were always boys and girls out on the street playing sports with the parents out on the nature strip coffee cups in hand having a chat while keeping an eye out for the kids. My babysitters live in our street, there are street parties twice a year in our street, we watch each others' house when on holidays. We're all different but share many qualities and good times. That is why we love where we live.
ReplyDeleteEngracia
xx