Neighborly Ways

Have I ever mentioned how good our neighbors on either side of us are to us? Our old neighborhood was not so much about the neighbors as it was the 'hood, so it was a nice surprise when we moved in and were greeted right away by several of the neighbors. One even made brownies (chocolate--way to score points with me!) In the last 16 months we've gotten to know the families on either side pretty well. The kids love the girl next store and someday she will be an awesome babysitter. Her Dad is a chef and is always bringing food over, especially when he knows we are sick or Bill is out of town. He brings meals or stuff to try out on us for the restaurant. My favorite so far has been the taste testing of the lobster hushpuppies this fall. He also rides his tractor around in the snow and plows our driveway often or blows leaves. On the other side, they have an awesome garden and share the wealth with us. It was like a treasure hunt this summer. Sometimes bags of tomatoes would be tied to my van door or cukes would be sunning on our bar outside. In the fall my garden got roto-tilled (our neighbor likes big yard tools.) Today, in the middle of the snowstorm I see our neighbor, the one that likes the big yard tools out there with his mega-snowblower doing our sidewalk and driveway about the time Bill mentioned that he needed to shovel so the guys working on our backdoor could get in the driveway. I need to get baking for these neighbors, the orange poppy bread I made at Christmas isn't nearly enough of a thank you. I'm so glad that we can raise our kids in a neighborhood with such nice people. Much better to learn these values then the ones they would have learned if we had not moved.