Daily Walks

The beginning of my walk...

I have walked my neighborhood daily

since I moved here eleven years ago.

Now that I am a week away

from my move date of June 6,

the number of walks remaining

for me to take,

is an easy estimate.

Neighborhood walks are one of the things

I will miss most when I move.

Whether it's a short power walk,

or a long, leisure saunter,

my morning walk is 

like my first cup of coffee

in the morning.

It's my kick start to the day.

It's my time for clearing my head

and organizing my day.

My walks and I are en sync.

It's my time for daydreaming

and gathering inspiration,

and keeping an eye on favorite houses.

On my walks,

I watch what's growing anew,

since the day before.

There are many gifted gardeners in this neighborhood.

Their effort are truly appreciated by this walker.

I have had the pleasure

of meeting many of my neighbors

on my walks.

And their dogs,

and occasionally cats.

My hope is the new owners

of my well loved home,

will discover the

joys of walking the

Tree Street neighborhood

as much as I have.

Viewing the Turkey Trot Run from My Front Porch!

It starts slow,

with the really serious runners,

but wait for it...

...more and more runners...

...keep coming.

One of the bonus features,

and there are many,

of where I live,

is that my house is on the route of my city's annual

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot Run.

It has been a tradition since I have lived here

to cheer them on!

This is a fun run with 4,000 plus runners and walkers.

There goes the Mayflower!

Not sure what relevance this guy has in a

Thanksgiving Day run...

...but he sure adds to the fun!

Everyone is invited to participate.

A lovely American tradition.

Even though I am an armchair participant of the run,

I am thankful for getting to share in it.

New friendships formed during the run.

The perfect "destresser" after a not so fun month.

The run is over and

Daisy is settling in for a long afternoon nap

before it's turkey time.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Urban Renewal at its Best!

I think I've mentioned before that I live in a very eclectic neighborhood.
My neighborhood is designated the "historic district" of my city.
(i.e. old houses)
The neighborhood  also borders a university.
(i.e. old houses subdivided into lots of student apartments.)
So, we have a real mix in the neighborhood.
You can read all about that here .

The house above is down the street from Buttermilk Cottage
and has set vacant since I've been here.
The picture above was actually taken before
renovations began last year,
but the appearance of the house is pretty close
to what it looked like when I moved into my house.

Last summer the house was purchased.
I snapped some pictures along the rehab process.

Siding going on!

Almost done!

And voila! Quite an improvement!
The house is now on the market.
Let's hope a nice family takes up residence soon
and gives this house the TLC it needs!

Curb Appeal

My neighborhood is designated as a "historical district" within the city where I live. It is also within walking distance of a midsized university. That means I live in an eclectic neighborhood. Which usually is fine by me.

We have some real mansions here.

There are some houses that can take you breath away by their sheer majesty.

There are also smaller, sweeter houses,

and those that just say "home."

Some houses that "get it right" every time.

And then, there are some...

which could actually be quite charming, but...

The only thing I have to say is that if God had meant for upholstered furniture to be on the front porch, he would have named it the "living room."

Just saying...