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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A LITTLE TOUR

Thought you might enjoy seeing how some of the houses in our neighborhood were decked out for the Fourth.   It was an old-fashioned American kind of a day.  Complete with children selling lemonade in red white and blue stovepipe hats, picnics on the lawn  and a parade in all it's flag-waving glory.   Part of the charm of our little village is how the everyone turns out to celebrate.  Sorry about the quality of the pictures, I was trying to be discreet as I snapped them.
This last picture is of our little abode.  As you can see, the Russian sage is growing like gangbusters this year.  And the phlox is blooming, its scent wafting about as we sit on the porch.  On Sunday, Ran and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary.  How time flies!   I am always honored that this kind, generous, intelligent man has chosen me to be his wife.  No matter how hard times have been or will become, life is always sweet!

38 comments:

  1. Happy Anniversary!
    If we were driving through your neighborhood, I would be making my hubby stop so I could get out and take pictures (he hates it when I do that LOL!) I understand about being discreet ;)but your pics look great. I betcha if we walked right up and asked them, they would be thrilled to let us take the picture, I love seeing people take such pride in their homes.
    BTW- that first one reminds me of the 'lady in yellow' childhood memory I wrote about;)

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    1. Yeah, it does look like the house you described in your post, Lisa. I know I'm always flattered when people stop to admire my home. Although one time, I had the top of the Dutch door open and I caught someone peering inside! They were embarrassed and said something about looking at the garden, but I understood, I'm always curious to see inside of the pretty houses around here too. That's why I love going to estate sales!

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  2. Hello there! I am a blog friend of Laurie {Rosebud} and thought I would pay you a visit.

    Thanks for the tour. I like to see houses decked out in bunting and flags. I especially like your vintage looking flag. You mentioned the smell of your phlox and I may have to plant some of it next year as my oriental lilac scents the porch in Spring but does not last into the summer.

    Have a great day!

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    1. Welcome Tammy! Phlox is one one of those wonderful plants that blooms when everything else is starting to pass their prime. We have some bridal phlox growing in the white garden that doesn't bloom until August. Doesn't bridal phlox sound romantic? Phlox is very hardy, and sweetly old-fashioned.

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  3. Happy Anniversary!!! We celebrate our 30th in Sept. The homes in your neighborhood are so lovely! Angela

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    1. So it a banner year for you, Angela! Can you believe how quickly time passes? Thanks for the well wishes!

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  4. Happy Anniversary!

    Looks like you live in a beautiful neighborhood!

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    1. Thanks Shara! Yep, it's a pretty cute little village. No wonder we have so many tourists!

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  5. Congratulations on your anniversary Jane...thank you for the tour...the houses are lovely :)
    m.

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    1. Thank you,Maria! Still hard to believe that it has been over three decades!

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  6. Happy Anniversary! I love your neighbourhood - I really like American wooden houses. Its the porches that I particularly like. My absolute favourite film is 'Young at Heart' and an awful lot of my styles and tastes comes from that film and, dare I say it, from Doris Day! Your home looks really pretty. How often do you have to paint the outside of wooden houses - is it an onerous task? xxx

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    1. Hi Lily! For some reason my reply to you landed below Andrea's comment!

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  7. Happy Anniversary! In a couple weeks we will be married 33 years. very close on everything with you and me! ha.

    So neat, they don't make homes that nice anymore. Your flowers look so nice. I hope my phlox multiplies next year.

    I know what you mean about trying to be discreet snapping pictures!

    Your town is so nice. My area (which isn't even a town...everything around here is owned by the county) is awful. None of my kids are settling here..except one that is. love,andrea

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    1. Hi Andrea! I popped to your blog to reply.

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    2. It's a good thing you are too far away (for me to be from my children's homes) or else I'd be househunting there! I'm always a dreamer though....nato...no action talk only! love,andrea

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  8. Hi Lily! Have you ever seen the older version of Young at Heart with the Lane sisters? There was an entire series. I think the first was called Four Daughters. Another great house! Would have loved to have had an Aunt Jessie like Ethel Barrymore in Young at Heart. See, I love Doris too! I confess that I watch a lot of old movies for the settings. Here's a link you might enjoy: http://hookedonhouses.net/. Julia posts a lot of movie houses. It's a lot of fun to tour them.

    Yes, painting old wooden houses is quite a chore, especially these big old Victorians. We used to have one and it seemed we spent all of our summers scraping and painting. A good paint job can last for over a decade, and you can eke it out a little longer if you can catch little problems before they turn into big problems.

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  9. Happy Anniversary, Jane and Ran! I think he is the lucky one... just sayin'....

    I love the Russian sage. The bees love it, don't they? You really need two hives to keep all those flowers happy, you know! Such a lovely village! It seems to be alive and well. Such a joy to see when so many smaller places are dying off instead of growing on.

    Have a wonderful day, Jane!

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    1. Hi Matty! What the bees really love are the blossoms on the sumac! There were thousand buzzing about that. I want to try top bar beekeeping, so I'm going to need you to hold my hand through the process! The past month three young families moved into the neighborhood. That's always a good sign!

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  10. Happy Anniversary! Love all the pictures of your neighborhood, the houses are all so pretty, and I love that they all were decorated for the fourth. Sounds like a nice community, I love old fashioned celebrations. :)

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    1. Hi April. It's so nice to go to the parade and see the guy that mows your lawn driving the ambulance in the parade. Or our elderly neighbor high stepping with the local dance troupe. (Although the argue more about formation, then actually dance!) It gives you such a sense of belonging

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  11. Happy anniversary!! So happy for you both! Those are some gorgeous houses! We always put our flag out when the weather is nice, not too many people in the neighborhood do though!

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    1. Thanks Jane! I love to see the flag flying. It certainly gives the place charm. Not to mention sends a message that patriots live here!

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  12. I did enjoy seeing these homes! You live in a picture book town! How grand. Your place is adorable, too. Of course, I love houses and towns. It's what I do all day long!

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour. We do live in a picture book town, complete with a resident witch (a story for another day). If it wasn't for all the paperwork and just plain work, I'd love to be a realtor. I love houses too.

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  13. Loved seeing a photo of your lovely home, Jane. And Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby.

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    1. Thanks Sandra! And they said it wouldn't last!

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  14. Happy Anniversary! We just celebrated our 5th! The neighborhood looks so sweet! I loved the tour. I just planted a Russian sage...hope it takes off and looks as good as yours.
    Hugs,
    Courtney

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    1. Thanks Courtney! Russian sage is one of those never-fails plants. My sister is perhaps the worst gardener. She never waters or weeds and definitely never prunes, plus her husband is always spraying her plants with weed killer, but her Russian sage is shoulder high and nice and thick. So if she can have success with it, anyone ought to be able to grow it.

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  15. Hi Jane. It figures I would pick something hard...but it was very educational to learn about apples. It seems I need mistakes to learn!

    I am brainstorming every day of whether to move. And when if so...I think after another year, when my youngest finishes high school, we can make a better decision. One driving force is the fact that our major city here (where we go to church and school) has several shootings/week! Being from the country originally, I find it ridiculous I put up with it! (living here that is....but my kids, mostly my boys, did have some of the best private schools here). love,andrea

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  16. dear jane
    happy anniversary!love the photos of your neighborhood.thanks for sharing the tour.your russian-sage looks fantastic!!!
    wish you wonderful days in your lovely country,
    love and hugs regina

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    1. Thanks Regina! Do you grow Russian sage? I'm always curious, is that what it is called in Germany? The common names for plants are always interesting.

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  17. I certainly LOVE the houses in your neighborhood. I like how they are all unique with their own colors, charms, and styles. Suburbia Land is NOT like this, as all the colors are the same drab color of brown with just a wisp of lawn. At any rate, sounds like everyone in your neighborhood had a good 4t6h of July celebration. It's nice to see that in some parts of the U.S.A., neighbors actually "know" each other.

    Also, congratulations to being married for 34 wonderful years! I guess I am still a newlywed compared to you, as I only have 6.5 years under my belt. I have alot of catching-up to do, don't I? :)

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  18. It's such a joy to live somewhere where I know the neighbors. I even know their pet's names, Mara! I used to live outside of Chicago, and a more unfriendly place there never was. I was miserable the entire time I lived there. Such a waste of time! I suppose that 34 years sounds like a long time to you, but you'd be surprised at how quickly the time passed! I recently read in our local paper that a couple was celebrating their 85th wedding anniversary! Can you imagine that? She was 102 and he was 104.

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  19. Thanks Jane...I appreciate hearing how you moved. I guess it just shows that parents are willing to sacrifice for better schools. I never liked my house so I definitely am not tied down to memories, but I am getting a bit lazy each year about starting anew! Fear (of change) is never good though, (and I know change would be best) so we will assess this every year...in a year my daughter finishes high school, and in 4 years after that my husband retires....that opens up alot of possibilities. love,andrea

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  20. Hi Jane. yes, I know all of that. These people are such people of darkness! Soon God will come and they will know there is a God and their actions have consequences for eternity! love,andrea

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  21. You are a comfort to me...it is very rare to find people who know what is going on and what is wrong these days. I think finding fellow bloggers is a miracle of God using our technology. love,andrea

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  22. hello jane
    russian sage called in german blauraute.i have had russian sage in my garden,
    but i lost this wonderful plant after a frosty winter.
    have a nice weekend,
    love regina

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    1. That's so interesting Regina! Thanks for answering my question. Wonder what Russians call it? Ha! Or if it even grows there?

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