Thomas

We've become quite friendly with our neighbors, which is nice. Lars really has been the one encouraging and nurturing the friendship. He's much more outgoing, and around during the day while the husbands of the other 2 houses were also around. We have also helped each out over the past few years, helping shovel their driveways during heavy snow. I grew up in a place where our closest neighbors were a mile away, and while we weren't hostile to another, we weren't sharing meals together either. We had a 3 family bonfire last weekend, which was nice. We all contributed wood from various places. Our contribution was our old mudroom, there was an old sandbox and lots of brush. We sat around the fire, drinking beer and laughing and talking. When we left to go back to our house, our neighbor Marcel said, "Sarah, it's nice to hear you talk." Hm. Reminds me of my adolescence and people mistaking my quietness for snobbery.

Now whenever the kids see us they call our names and come and see the dogs. It's really nice. Lars brought them into the house the other day to see his collection of Thomas the Tank Engine stuff, which we've bought for future children or for a financial windfall for retirement. The toys still are in the original packaging, sitting on a shelf in our cellar way. I felt like some weirdo, like a pedophile luring children into the basement. This is also because our stairs to the second floor are on a pulley system, which means they easily lift to expose the basement stairs. It was a bizarre solution to the problem of having no space to put access to the basement. It makes for good conversation.