[at-l] OT There Goes the neighborhood..., was OT Wal-Mart & Vermont

[shellydhale at earthlink.net (Shelly Hale)]

> DelDoc and I used to look silly to some of our neighbors hiking the
neighborhood in packs for training (which I still do without my hiking
buddy), ...

Believe me, I've seen stranger...I once had a friend that was a cyclist.  He
shaved his head, eyebrows, legs...well...just about any body part that
wasn't covered by his spandex training shirt and shorts.  He wore this
helmet that looked like a mini-spaceship.  Needless to say, he was often a
good conversation piece.

Being different is a great way to get conversations started.  We are
innately curious, and if you wear your pack around the neighborhood, don't
think of yourself as looking silly.  Think of yourself as having ready
conversation material!  LOL

> I agreed as a Christmas present to get my wife a sunroom for the back of
the house provided we put a porch on the front where I can sit.  Once she
picks the design, we are installing both.

Black&blue, that front porch will be the best investment you ever make!  To
me, there is nothing that makes a home more inviting than a front porch. I
have a lot of memories surrounding my Mom & Dad's front porch.  After supper
when evening chores were done, we used to sit out on the porch and watch
people drive by.  Many times folks would stop in just to say Howdy and catch
up or provide local gossip, er...news.  (LOL)  There was many a comfortable
summer evenin' spent on that porch.

As a result, my sister, my brother and I each have huge front porches.  The
funny thing is that before we built our home last year, we had been looking
at several homes in the area.  There was this one brick house that we really
liked the layout of.  But, when we took the kids to get their perspective on
it, my youngest daughter piped up from the back seat as we started to get
out and asked where the front porch was.  My eldest daughter added to this
by saying that the house wasn't right without a front porch.

Wonder how big their front porches will be when they move out on their own?
LOL
Shelly Hale