Birthday Parties

Today a neighbor friend celebrated his third birthday. Instead of a full-blown bash with party favors, presents and organized games, kids of all ages congregated in the birthday honoree's backyard to sing to the birthday boy, watch him blow out his candles and, amongst themselves, organized a few impromptu games of Duck, Duck Goose and a few other games I wasn't familiar with. The kids happily ate their cake and drank their juice while the grown-ups chased newly toddling toddlers and chatted. Start to finish the party lasted about an hour. And you know what? No one missed the party favors. The mother was happy to have only a few homemade cards to deal with instead of piles of toys that would be forgotten tomorrow. Every child there was happy and smiling and had a fantastic time.

It's nice to be reminded sometimes of how nice and enjoyable simple can be.

Garage Sale

Madeleine and a neighbor friend have been outside in her friend's yard all afternoon preparing for a rummage sale.  They have both been picking the choice items out of Goodwill piles at their respective homes and saving them for this event for months which, if last summer is any indication, will be an on-going, all summer sale.  There are piles of books, cookware and clothes being folded, priced and arranged and rearranged.  They've been knocking on doors up and down our street and flipping old "Scott Walker for County Executive" signs over and turning them into really darling rummage sale signs colored pink and purple with lots adornments only seven and eight-year-olds would think of.

But the pricing.  Oh goodness, the pricing!  I took a stroll down there to look over their merchandise a bit ago and had to chuckle to myself.  Madeleine, who is seven, and her friend, who is eight, are responsible for the price structure.  At their garage sale a decent saucepan can be had for fifty cents while a cheap paperback off the bargain shelf at Target will cost you five dollars.  There are two sets of sparkly, baby girl sunglasses; one pair will set you back fifty cents, the other two dollars.

Incognito House Hunting

We love our house (recent basement post aside). Really, we do. Finally, after four years, it'a pretty much how we want it. It's smaller than we'd like, yes, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in location and neighbors.

That said, Superdad and I are always keeping our eyes open. We're constant visitors at various open houses and, even occasionally, have popped in a few tempting houses with a realtor friend of ours. If the right house came along I'm not quite sure what we'd do.

But don't tell our neighbors.

You see, every time someone has moved off the block for any reason other than a job relocation, they've been skewered. Sure it's all in good humor and fun, but people on my street house-hunt in secret. Including us.

Some good friends of ours down the street confessed to me yesterday morning in hushed tones while looking furtively up and down the street that they actually had considered moving twenty miles north of here. They then begged me not to tell anyone else. Today I'm going off with our realtor friend to look at an interesting house. What should I say if my neighbors see me getting into her car? Should I say we had a coffee date?