After the Alterneighbors | After the Alter

Great Neighbors Help To Make A Happy Home

Jen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:51:18 +0000

Growing up I lived in the most wonderful neighborhood. There were kids to play with in all age ranges, and the adults all seemed to be friends. When the weather was good my family would go outside and gather on our driveway. Within a short period of time a bunch of our neighbors would come and all the kids would play. We had block parties and even went on vacation with our neighbors. One year, we had about 25 people (including kids) go on a beach vacation! It was great. It’s what I grew up with and it’s what I knew. I had always hoped that one day I would get to experience that as an adult, and it seems that God has smiled down on me and gave me my wish. I have come to learn that good neighbors certainly help to make a happy home.

My husband and I were very lucky to end up in our section of the neighborhood. As you know we live in a town house community, and it is a known fact that since you are connected to your neighbor that it is quite possible they could make you very miserable. Since we are “social” people and some would say “loud”,(ok we like to party) we were very worried about who we would end up with as neighbors. But boy did we worry for nothing because we ended up being blessed with the best neighbors we could ask for.

Let’s start with our neighbors to the right and left of us.(you can see them in the picture I attached at the top). To my right is young couple who are the same age as my and my husband. We are extremely similar and have become very good friends. Sometimes I feel like I am back in college when it comes to these two because we party together, watch TV and sports games in each other’s homes, and me and “M” even exchange shoes and clothes. It’s wonderful. To my left is another amazing couple who have an amazing little girl. Little “L” always makes me smile and gives the best little hugs. Her mom “S” is great to talk to and I know that I can count on her if I need her.

If you branch out to the rest of our row of houses you will find many other great couples. There are kids and adults and I love coming out around 7 PM on a nice evening to find everyone outside just talking and socializing. It’s just how I grew up. Just yesterday I wandered down the street to visit my friend who just had a baby boy, and ended up eating pizza and watching a girly movie. Who wouldn’t love that? With all the gossiping going on here we joke that we live in Melrose place or on Wisteria lane.

Over the past two years of living here I really made some great friends. We know this isn’t our forever home, so it’s sad to think that we may not get this lucky again. But for now we will enjoy our home, and enjoy the great people we’ve met.

Wine Club: Volume II

Jen — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:44:58 +0000

Our second stab at our girls “wine club*” was a success. Eight women came over to my house (perfect number), and we celebrated Cinco de Mayo by indulging in wines from Chile. When I say indulge I mean drank too much wine, in a short period of time, but had a complete blast!

Wine Club at My House

Wine club was scheduled to be held at another person’s house, but at the last minute she found out that a softball game was scheduled for that day (she’s the coach). So after much back and forth we decided that I would just host this one because everyone had already scheduled to go out that night. My friend did some research and decided that we would be trying wines from Chile. We all thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and since our stores don’t sell wines from Mexico (are there Mexican wines?) we’d just improvise a little. So Chile it was!

The Evening’s Festivities

We had eight women show up for this month’s gathering. It was a perfect number because that is the exact amount that could sit around my kitchen table. It was such a great mixed group. I love it when you can make new friendships by meeting with other women this way. I had some college friends, some neighborhood friends, and some who are just friends….and it was wonderful. We always start out very dignified. The person who brought the wine would read the bottle and explain the type of wine it was…then we’d have a little taste. This was great for a little while but soon everyone is carrying on and drinking which ever wine was their favorite! Wine club is a great gossip fest!

I figured I would share our tasting! It turns out that there seems to be one main brand of wine from Chile that is sold in the local liquor stores, because we had 3 bottles (all different kinds) from the same winery!

Our Wines

Anakena Souvignon Blanc: 2008 Vendimia Chile: Crisp Gooseberries and wild blossom. This one was a favorite. it was light and crisp and very fruity. Also, very refreshing.
Anakena Ona: 35% Viognier, 35% Riesling, 30% Chardonnay. This one was tasty also. It was less sweet than the first one but still crisp.
Frontera: Conchay y Toro: Chardonnay. This one was very dry.
Big Tatto Red: 50%Cabernet 50%Syrah: 2006 Colchagua Valley: This one had an interesting story. There is a breast cancer ribbon that hangs from the bottle. The story is that this vineyard was started by two brothers whose mom died of breast cancer. Therefore, 50 Cents of each bottle sold is donated to charity. It wasn’t the best tasting (although I don’t discriminate), but it’s still a good cause!
Anakena Cabernet: Chile: Full bodied bursting with fruit. Blackberry, vanilla. This one was a hit! You could really taste the flavor of this wine.

The winner of the white category was the Anakena Souvignon Blanc, and the winner of the red category was the Anakena Cabernet. Overall the winner was the Souvignon Blanc! It is definitely worth the buy and would be perfect for sipping on the porch on a nice summer evening.

It was a little tough to get started this morning after the previous night’s festivities. I must make a mental note for next month: Drink Less Wine at Wine Club!

So here is a little fun challenge…run out to your liquor store, buy any of the wines mentioned and give me your take on it! All were tasty so you won’t be disappointed!

It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere!

Jen — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:38:49 +0000

All through college, my favorite time of the week was at 4 o’clock on Friday…the start of Happy Hour! It was wonderful - great friends, great music, and great beer. My love for happy hour continued post-college, but it seemed that my friends didn’t love it as much as I did, and over time I didn’t go as often. Now, don’t feel sorry for me yet.

My New Happy Hour

When we moved into our townhouse almost two years ago, I found that some of my neighbors also had a love for drinking alcoholic beverages at the end of the work week. We would take turns knocking on each other’s doors with wine, and we’d end up outside chatting away till our men got home. And after that…friends would start to show up, and next thing you know, it’s 1 am and we have a party! What a wonderful tradition. It’s the Autumn Drive Happy Hour!

We partake in this fun event a few times a month in the warmer weather. The fun of it is sitting outside and enjoying the fresh air. So, now that the weather is turning around and Friday was a warmer day, I hunted down my neighbors and we planned for our first Happy Hour of the year. It started out small. Myself and 2 of my neighbors. We started light, just some wine in our small front yard, but as more people show up, the rowdier it gets!

Half the Neighborhood Hates It

Our neighborhood is split into halves. First, the next generation half, is where we live. It consists of mostly people in their 20′s and early 30′s. There are few children. The other half is the 55 and older half. Now, you can see how the two don’t mix very well. Everyone is polite and smiles at one another, but each side knows that the two halves do not make a good whole. So our nosy older neighbors HATE when we have our happy hours. I would understand if we were outside and loud to the wee hours of the morning, but most of the time, we are considerate and bring the party inside when it starts to get late. I guess it’s all part of neighborhood living. Especially in such close quarters.

I look forward to this small little event. I get to bond with my neighbors and that makes me happy. We have many warm months ahead, so let the fun begin!

How do you get along with your neighbors? Do you have any great neighborhood traditions?

Snow Day Townhouse Style!

Jen — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:05:52 +0000

shoveling neighbors

: Our house!

Living in a townhouse community has its ups and its downs, but one of the major perks is knowing that when it snows someone else is in charge of plowing and shoveling us out!

Snow Day

Here is our house! March certainly came in like a lion this year and dumped about 8-12″ of snow on our little community. Working from home is a great luxury because when we do get snow, I can choose not to brave the inclement weather. Therefore, I sit up in my little office watching others get into their cold cars and face the snowy roads. I must say that during those days I am eternally grateful to be in the position I am in.

Rescued from the Snow Quickly

This particular snow storm had many of my neighbors home too! Around noon I went outside while they insisted on shoveling the driveway (even though I told them the complex would eventually do it). It was freezing! Down the street was the group of men who are responsible for shoveling us out. It is about 5 of them. After the plows take care of the street they go by hand and shovel the sidewalks. It is worth every penny of our maintenance fees to have this taken care of. It is certainly fun to have neighbors to visit with when the weather gets bad.

I Have It Good on Snow Days

I sometimes think I am spoiled to have such good neighbors. Not only are they my age, but they are extremely helpful! I guess we are also spoiled by having others shovel us out! I tell my husband regularly that this won’t always be true, and you can bet on the fact that I won’t be shoveling. In my opinion that is a man’s job, and I intend to always keep it that way!