It's a Block... Party

Jeff and I moved to our house almost 20 years ago, and we've been really lucky when it's come to having great neighbors. Last night we helped host a block party connected to a Halloween at the park event. It was in the street between our house and our neighbors Kris and Ricky, and Jason.

Despite the cold, it was crazy good fun, and we had probably 60 people out on the street rotating between the grill, a neighbor's fire pit and a our chimenea to keep from freezing. (If it's against the law to have fire in the street, you can just keep that to yourself.)

Bier Brewery donated two small kegs of Weizengoot and Pumpkin Ale and our friends Angie and Nick Brothers brought wine. At one point we realized there was only hot chocolate for the kids, so we brought out our water dispenser.

Ali reconnected with a friend whose dad lives down the street. They'd met back when they were both learning to ride bikes, but she spends most of her time with her mom in La Porte.

Ricky and Kris's driveway was parked full of their patio furniture and a big screen TV. Angie had tunes playing from her car. And there were more little kids in costume than we have seen in a long, long time.

About an hour in, Ali was inside our house wrapping Jeff's birthday gifts (it's his birthday today) and Jess rang the doorbell like she used to do, and the girls were off on their own the rest of the evening. At one point, I saw them walking to Jess's house. Dave and Kim were still milling about near the fires. We figured Ali would eventually return. (She did.)


You know you have good neighbors when they're helping you drag stuff in when it's pitch black outside, and others just leave stuff, knowing they can come back and claim it when they're ready. I got up this morning to get the paper, and the pole tent was in the front yard, and Ricky's driveway was still full of patio furniture.

One of my sisters once lamented the fact that I lived in a city instead of being in the country or in our small town. But there's no beating the folks on my street and neighborhood. 

Canterbury is an older neighborhood with tons of mature trees and a wonderful little park next to the Monon Trail. It's a great place for a young family, but good for older ones, too. There are at least two families who are currently living in homes where they grew up or that their grandparents once owned. And we at least wave to each other if we don't stop to chat when we see each other.

One year, I was helping my next door neighbor with her leaves because she was having back problems. Four or five neighbors saw me and got their rakes to help out, too.

A couple weeks ago, Jason saw me helping Ali in the house after she had her wisdom teeth pulled the other day and texted to ask me if he could go to the store to get us anything.

I was sick recently and my mail carrier asked me if I needed anything he could get for me. (Yeah, I was looking pretty good that day. :) )

It's like my very own small town right outside my door. You should move here.

In other news, it's Jeff's birthday and next weekend we'll be celebrating (in addition to today's fun) at Taste, a fundraiser for the local Ronald McDonald House, and then at the Symphony with our friends Alison and Chris.

Speaking of Taste, our friends at Lee's Orchard donated three bushels of apples for the fundraiser, one of my clients gave a Christmas tree and his full ornament collection and Jeff and his beer friends are putting together an awesome craft beer basket for it. So that small town goodness extends beyond the neighborhood.

Speaking of small towns, Claymont is heating up again and I'm thrilled to report that I currently have a perfect score with my Amazon reviews. If you're wondering how Tammy and Danny are doing, I have a small stock of books on hand and am happy to cut you a deal. If you're coming around my neighborhood anytime soon, I'll cut you a deal. Or, you can order here.