Keeping it local

So pretty soon I won't be able to put off my Christmas shopping any longer...but the thought of crossing the bridge, or handing my very hard-earned (and scarce) cash over to some corporate giant, gives me shivers.

So I have decided to try to keep as much of my shopping as possible within the confines of 01062. Some of it will be easy (Florence Hardware, the bike shops, the book store, Herlihys!), some will be a bit tougher (where can you get men's clothes around here?), some downright impossible (my nephew is clamoring for a new XBox game), but I'll let you know how I do.

And if you know of some great stores that I may be forgetting, let me know..

I think it's a compliment

I was talking to my sister yesterday and mentioned something about walking in Look Park and she said, "Oh, have you seen the doughnut man there?"

"What??" I asked.

"I saw this great story in the Gazette today about how the park people are out in the morning with coffee and doughnuts talking to the walkers about what they want for the park," she replied.

"Huh," says I. "I may have read that story. I fact, I may have written that story.."

I guess not everyone is an avid byline reader like i am. But hey, she liked the story and didn't even know I'd written it, so that has to count for something.

Visitors from the past

A few weeks ago my husband and son were pulling out of our driveway when they noticed two women looking at our house. He rolled down his window and asked if he could help them -- they said, "Oh, don't mind us, we grew up in this house and we're in town and thought we'd drive by."

Well my husband, who would kill to be able to go into his childhood home, hopped out of the car and brought them right into the house for the grand tour (much to my horror, I have to admit, because the house was its usual mess, cobwebs, dustballs, and all).

They stayed for close to an hour, telling Phil stories of growing up here in the 1960's and early 70s. Their family was the one who'd had square dances in the barn (and it's their family friends' names that are scrawled on the walls). They loved the story of our son's talent show party in the barn. "The traditions continue," they said.

They were sad to see that the beautiful playhouse in the backyard was no longer there (we had to take it down last summer before it collapsed in a rotten heap). One of the sisters, who has since emailed me, had fond memories of playing there as kids:

"We also use to have carnivals and would have a haunted house utilizing the clubhouse (skinned grapes for eyeballs, cooked spaghetti for inards) and we donated money to some charity. We also loved to climb on metal roof (use to be chicken coop) to get to clubhouse roof. We would then go down the other side and jump off. We did this until a neighbor broke her ankle and another girl injured hers."

It's been wonderful to connect with our home's history. And to know that it has played such an important place in the lives of others -- I can imagine my kids coming back here someday, wanting to relive the days of sliding down the stairs, games of dominos in front of the fire, digging for treasure in the backyard, and endless performances of songs and plays in the kitchen.

I sent the Bronson sisters some pics of the house to share with their father (who lives in Tennessee now) and they sent me one from back in the 60's. Theirs is the gorgeous, well put together one on the left -- ours is the one with the crazily overgrown honeysuckle and wild animal prowling the driveway.

No more late fees for me!

For a while now (maybe since the library renovation?) you can sign up to get an email from the library about when a book you reserved comes in. This has saved much marital strife, as often they would call to tell my husband that a book was in for him, and of course I'd completely forget, and then about a week later he would say, "I have nothing to read" and I would say, "Oops."

But now we get an email when our books are ready and problem solved.

But the other day I got a new email, with the subject "Library reminder, items due in 2 days"!  This is going to be an even bigger savior as who in the world can keep track of all the stuff we take out...and the fines for a late DVD are $1 a day, and believe me, that adds up fast.

So, all this library technology has been a huge boon, in my opinion. I see a book review that sounds interesting, I log on to my account and reserve the book. They email me when it's in, and I go get it. They email me when it's due back, and I return it. 

Life is good. 

Concerts on the porch in Florence center

One of the more lovely summer traditions in Florence is the Concert on the Porch series, brought to us by the Florence Community Band. This free concert happens every Thursday evening, starting at 6:30 pm, at the civic center (next to the Lilly Library)...

...make an evening of it...stroll up to Florence Soft Serve for a little cone of something (oh, maybe Jericho's Kitchen is open and you can get yourself a whole picnic supper), come on back to the Civic Center, lay down a blanket, bring a chair, or flop down on the grass. Then sit back, and wile away a summer evening with friends, neighbors, and good music. 

Every Thursday evening, through September. See you on the grass.