Kevin is civil. He’s polite. He’s a gentleman. And, although I strive to be a lady deserving of a man like him, I tend to be a little more edgy with the things I say and do in public.
So, I went to our neighbor’s house (someone who lives on the cul-de-sac around the corner whom I had never met before) and asked if I could take a picture of their calla lilies, my favorite flower (although I alternate between these, blue hydrangeas, and roses).
Turns out that our neighbor is an older, deaf man. My grandmother is deaf and so I know some basic, rudimentary sign language.
So, I was able to communicate to him: “Flowers … picture … me take.” He got my point. Then I told him: “They are beautiful” (sans the dead ones, but I didn't tell him that). He smiled at me. I think he was happy that someone made the effort to sign to him.
The reason I wanted to take this picture is so I could use it to tell you all the things I will miss about California. And, I will also mention the things I’m looking forward to about Indiana. Note: These are THINGS I’m talking about, not people.
Things I will miss about California:
- The early spring – the fact that calla lilies begin to bloom in January and roses begin to bloom in April.
- The dry, cool evening breezes in the summertime.
- The snow-capped mountains in the horizon.
- The open-space near our house where we ride bikes and take walks.
- The peaceful parkways in our community (Roseville really does have nice infrastructure).
Things I’m looking forward to in Indiana:
- The four seasons – I’m a romantic vs. a utilitarian, what can I say?
- Summer thunderstorms. So excited about this!
- Fire flies.
- Living where the color “green” takes on a new meaning.
- Vibrant fall colors.
- Sledding in the winter (even though you may have to drive to find a hill in Indiana).
- The prospect of having a backyard that’s bigger than a matchbox.
- The family-friendly cost of living!
I’m sure there are more in each category, but these are just some of the things I can think of.
7 comments:
I was at a huge bike event this weekend working a booth for a leading cycling industry publishing house and this guy w/a 10-11 year old boy came by the booth and were checking out the products, etc. They never spoke and I just assumed they were a bit shy. Then I noticed the boy signing kind of roughly to the guy and he signed back to the boy. When they started to walk away the guy nodded his head like he was saying thank you so I signed back the only thing I know in sign language which was thank you. He lit up and started signing to me asking where I got my bottle of water. Oops. My point and gesture was not as elloquent as my thank you.
Nice pic, Amy...glad you're not shy.
Matt - I would TOTALLY take you up on that except calla lillies don't do so hot in Indy. Thanks for the offer, though. Don't take those beautiful, precious flowers for granted. They look awesome in vases indoors, I think.
-AK
Good for you not being shy about taking a picture.
It will be great having you guys in town!!
I don't know about you guys, but when someone says the word "edgy" the first person I think about is Amy.
Jomama usually does.
Amy = edgy.
LOL
Anyways, I applaud you for doing this. It annoys the heck out of me how anti-social neighbors are these days. There is a line between being nosy and being friendly. If you remain on the side of friendly it's so much better than strangers!
At our last home we had a neighbor who was VERY nosy. It annoyed us to no end... well it ended when we moved. Now we live on a street where we're ignored. I don't like that either. Oh well...
I have no qualms about asking people if I can take pictures of their property, whether it's flowers, or about using an entry gate as props in graduation pictures. I do, however, draw the line at staying OUTSIDE, unlike someone (who shall remain anonymous;)) who wanted to knock on doors of former homes they had lived in to show them to me. Um, no. ;)
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