We recently moved to a new town due to my husband's work. Having lived in apartments for the last ten years, our family was so excited about finally having a home, a yard, and yes, a neighborhood to call our own.
We found a great house with a nice yard and a pleasant looking neighborhood. However, turns out the people who live on our street didn't go out of their way to welcome us into their hood. I was shocked no one appeared on our doorsteps with freshly baked cookies or casserole dishes. No one showed up to introduce themselves or find out more about us. Am I naive in expecting this? What has happened to friendly suburb America?
Well, after being here six months now, we have met some neighbors (when they came to our door selling boy scout popcorn, girl scout cookies and other school fundraisers). We did our part by ordering a little bit of everything. Some neighbors have waved and smiled in passing. But, the most boggling of all, is this one house on our street where the inhabitants never make eye contact or wave or try to be friendly at all!
I thought it was in everyone's nature to be friendly. These people have shaken my faith. Are they totally weird or have we inadvertantly done something to turn them off? Certain that it couldn't be US, our family has now made a habit of trying to figure these people out. They're weird, and these are our reasons why, so far:
1. They don't recycle. (Everyone on our street recycles. It's so easy here. No sorting, you just throw it all in a big garbage can container.)
2. They don't put up any decorations at all for any holiday. (We've been here for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine's Day so far. Not a hint of celebration.)
3. They never have guests.
4. They never wave, smile or make ANY eye contact at all.
5. They are obsessive about their yard work. My husband saw them yelling at an old man who walked on their grass.
6. They rev a loud, annoying car daily and rearrange it in the driveway obsessively.
I'll let you know if we discover anything more about them. They might as well live in a house like the one pictured above (but they don't).
OH, how could I forget. #7. Anytime we have guests, they park one of their cars across the entrance to their driveway, so that no one will attempt to use their driveway to turn around. A little strange...
Blokus is an awesome strategy game for all ages. Our youngest son, Remy, starting playing it when he was five years old. The rules take about a minute to explain, very simple and straightforward. The game was invented by a frenchman named Bernard Taritian who is a mathematician and biochemist.
This is another pleasure, albeit a not-so-guilty one. Sudoku is a logic-based number placement puzzle, for anyone who doesn't know, although it's hugely popular, and I expect everyone has seen it before by now. The game was invented by an American architect Howard Garns in 1979 and, published by Dell Puzzle Magazines and called "Number Place," but it became super popular in Japan where it was renamed. Sudoku roughly means "Single Number" by my understanding.
I found this image on the Internet of the Greek goddess Rhea. She was a Titan, daughter of Uranus (the sky) and Gaia (the earth). She married Cronus, a really bad dude who ate all his children for fear they would overthrow him. Well, after Rhea gives birth to Zeus, she hides him away in a cave and hands her husband a stone bundled up like a baby, whom he promptly swallows (not a real smart god). So, Zeus grows up, overthrows Cronus and becomes king of gods. Rhea is usually seated in a throne flanked by lions or in a chariot drawn by lions in all the arwork. Neat, huh? The picture of the lion above is one I took when we visited the Fort Worth Zoo.
We recently moved to a new town due to my husband's work. Having lived in apartments for the last ten years, our family was so excited about finally having a home, a yard, and yes, a neighborhood to call our own.
Where is the winter weather? Here in North Texas, we haven't had any really good ice days or snow days at all. We need at least one or two before Spring arrives. Ice always presents an excellent opportunity to take lots of fun photos. This icy leaf is from winter 2006 in Austin, Texas.
The last month or so has been pretty rocky. I think things are looking up now. I hope.
This is me. My name is Rhea. You pronounce it "Ray-ah."
This is the hubby. He's an attorney. I call him The Barrister.
This is Donny, my first born. He's eleven.
This is Remy, my younger son. He's six.
