The Neighborhood

The land of the pretty people

November 11, 2006 by Tricia

A long long time ago – no I’m not about to sing the song that, that line is making me thing of (hey name the song if you can)- when Chris and I lived in our apartment, we lived in a very trendy area of Toronto. It was the Yonge and Davisville area commonly known as Yuppyville when I first moved into the apartment, also very close to Yonge and Eglinton aka Yonge and beautiful.

It was a sad day- in a way- when we moved from the area. I was going to miss the hustle and the bustle, the antique stores, great restaurants, the little shops that resell designer clothes. I loved just walking down Mount Pleasant and popping into all the different stores. Chris and I would go to one of the restaurants at least once every two weeks or so. Even though we live in a very Greek area now I still say that one of the best Greek food restaurants in the city is on Mount Pleasant.

I do love my house and the area, but it’s a lot more relaxed than our former hot neighborhood, and in a lot of ways that is appreciated. I did think one thing that was kind of nasty though, when we moved from Yonge and Beautiful / Yuppyville – I turned to Chris when I found out the former owners of our house had accepted our offer and said “We’re moving from the land of the pretty people.”

You see, the area we used to live in was an area where you didn’t go out if you didn’t have make up on and you wore really nice clothes if you could. You wouldn’t be caught dead going to the store in sweats. Uhuh, and everyone just always seemed to be thin, well muscled and more often than not very attractive – probably because of all that makeup of course. LOL Now in this area- as I said it’s more relaxed. People stop and say hello, people are more real and there are still great stores, entertainment and restaurants within easy walking distance. But I do miss my Yuppyville.

Do any of you live or have you lived in area like the one I lived in? Fun, but very pretentious? Fake? I really do love where I live now, but I do miss the land of the pretty people every so often.

How was your Halloween?

November 1, 2006 by Tricia

Here I am talking about Halloween and you’re probably sick of it or over it already. Am I right? If your American you’re probably already thinking of Thanksgiving. Uh huh. Well I’m just asking. LOL

I was a total party pooper this Halloween. Usually we decorate the outside of our house and even our front yard. We’ve got a Ghost, a scary skeleton in a reaper gown that shakes and moans when something moves in front of it. Cobweb making stuff galore. A scarecrow (for autumn) with bales of hay (4) and all kind of other Halloween related decorations that we put up. We even bought two pumpkins to carve and put out too.

But did I decorate? Nope. My husband had to work Halloween evening and since I haven’t been feeling all that well I decided that I wasn’t into entertaining the hundreds of kids that usually come by. We’re also a little low on funds too, so when I thought about how much all that candy costs I nixed the whole plan.

Next year we’ll do a super Halloween event. Usually we dress up and really get into it. I think we do a good job so that’s why we end up with so many kids dropping by. Next year.

So what did you do for Halloween? Did you decorate your home and entertain the kiddies? Did you go to a party? or maybe you just stayed in like I ended up doing?

My Stalker

October 29, 2006 by Tricia

My little old lady neighbor is at it again.

We took our window air-conditioners out about two weeks ago. When the living room / dining room air-conditioner was in the window Sofie couldn’t see me if I was sitting at my desktop computer. Now that that air-conditioner has been taken out and put away she has a clear view of me from her dining room window.

It’s an even clearer view when she moves her curtains aside and stands in her window staring at me.

I’ve taken to waving at her when I see her. She backs quickly away from her windows and the curtains close again. LOL Sofie- If you can see me, I can see you too!

If Chris and I are going out she’s often in her front window looking out or on her front porch. She always asks where we are going. Unfortunately my husband often tells her the truth – and often the truth is we are going to yet another doctors appointment for me. If she hears I’m going to the doctor she gets all worried and often gets teary. Why on earth does my husband tell her where we are going when he knows it makes her cry? Anyway, my doctors appointments are usually just routine appointments, it doesn’t mean I’m deathly ill just because I’m seeing a doctor.

If she hasn’t seen me sitting at my desktop computer she’ll often come to our back window and knock on it. She scares the crap out me every time she does this. I’m just never expecting a knock on the back window even though I should be by now since she does this every second or third day.

She’s nice little ol’ lady, and I know she’s lonely and that she worries about me, but her devotions really creeps me out.

Does anyone else have any overly friendly or overly nosy neighbors?

Garden Sabotage

October 29, 2006 by Tricia

My crazy little old lady neighbor is at it again!

I think she’s been trying to kill my garden piece by piece.

This year she’s attacking the little plot at the end of our shared driveway. She’s putting cement crumbles on it.

Her son did a lousy repair job on a hole in her walkway last year where she was convinced a mouse was living. Needless to say, after some cold weather the whole thing is a crumbling mess and she keeps throwing the chunks in my garden.

Now she’s putting all the little green keys from our other neighbors huge maple tree into this tiny garden bed. I found about two feet worth of maple keys there today. It was really fun getting them out from around the two roses that grow there.

Is it garden envy? Senility? Dementia? I don’t know, but I do know she’s really starting to tick me off. Remember my garden scraps post about here? And the stalking? Uh huh.

Construction on my street – again!

October 17, 2006 by Tricia

I’ve lived in this house for five years now and do you know how many times they’ve either dug up my lawn, the sidewalk in front of my street, the street in front of my house or the street directly across from my house? Six times!

I started to become suspicious that they were going to dig up my sidewalk again as early as last spring. I’d come out of my house and see orange symbols painted on either my snow covered lawn or newly growing grass. I was worried but nothing happened and the mysterious orange symbols stopped appearing in June or so.

Then in August I noticed pink lines and symbols marked out on the sidewalk in front of my house. Well actually on the sidewalk between my tiny little lawn and my planted boulevard. Oh gawd no! They aren’t going to tear up my lawn or my lovely little planted boulevard again are they?

The pink lines are still there – they probably mark the gas or water line, but so far there’s been no digging.

Unfortunately digging has resumed on the sidewalk on the street that is directly across from my house. They had a big machine there yesterday drilling and breaking up the sidewalk – the sidewalk they just put in last year after a digging session.

It’s so noisy! I hate it!

And why is the city or various companies digging up roads and sidewalks around here so often? Why can’t they coordinate their work? I’m sure it’s costing the Taxpayers of Toronto extra money to have a new sidewalk or roadway put in the SAME place every single year.

Update- you know what they were doing? Tearing out the sidewalks they put in last year and replacing them with new ones! I think I need to talk to my representative about this. Crazy!

The land of the pretty people

How was your Halloween?

My Stalker

Garden Sabotage

Construction on my street – again!

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