August 13, 2009 at 4:50 pm (On the Homefront)
For the 2nd time in exactly two weeks the police have come because of our new neighbors. In this case, it seems the man is moving out and the women is preventing him from getting his things.
The tale began to unravel when – on a pizza run – ChessMan needed to stop off at the bank to get some cash. On his way he happened to see our new neighbor (female) snuggled up at our local fast food emporium with the guy who I thought was her older son.
How naive I am.
August 9, 2009 at 11:05 am (On the Homefront)
Ok. It’s official. We are moving.
We invited our landlords over last Thursday to tell them about our decision. They are sorry to see us go, but also understand and respect our decision. They’ve also already talked with the new neighbors about some of the issues we brought up (see: earlier entry).
I will be very sorry to leave this house/this neighborhood/this village. I will especially miss my experience working outside in the garden, as well as the opportunity to use the balcony as basically an additional room to live and work outside during the summer months. We have already seen some interesting properties, but still haven’t found that one new space that made us both spontaneously shout. “That’s it!”
August 3, 2009 at 8:50 pm (Connecting with the Past)
When I was in junior high school I had two favorite teachers. One of them was my English teacher. Looking back, it still difficult to see it as just just your normal schoolgirl crush, and as one of the fortunate side-effects this teacher also further fanned the flames of my love of literature. (Actually, both of them did, though the other one taught biology.)
I remember very well how parents veto’d his idea of our reading things like Kurt Vonnegut‘s “Slaughterhouse 5“, Joseph Heller‘s “Catch-22” or Tom Wolfe’s* “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” in class, deeming their content much too advanced and controversial for our impressionable 9th grade intellects. Although we ended up reading John Knowles‘ “A Separate Peace” in class, he established an after-school reading club for those of us who (with parental permission) felt ready and willing to tackle something a bit headier.
August 2, 2009 at 10:22 am (On the Homefront)
Anyone who has read my most recent posts (or follows me on Facebook or Twitter) knows just how much joy I get out of our garden and balcony. I consider both an extension of my home, and really appreciate the opportunity the balcony provides in good weather as an outdoor workspace. Needless to say, ChessMan and I also enjoy many a cool evening out there with our trusty table grill, and whether we are touching bases about day-to-day details, philosophizing about life in general, or each occupied with our own pursuits (with him it’s usually a difficult sudoku) it’s an aspect of our life that we both appreciate highly.
Until recently, that is.
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