Friday, February 25, 2011

simple smiles: a beautiful day in the neighbourhood

It’s been a long week of painting and sanding and baseboards and drop cloths as my husband and I prepare our new house for our big move this weekend but the simple sweetness of a stranger has put a smile on my face that continues to brighten my week. It's not so often that a stranger takes it upon themselves to go out of their way to do something nice for someone they don't know. Sure, holding the door open for the person after you or letting someone know they dropped their scarf are certainly kind gestures that shouldn't go unnoticed...but when was the last time a stranger's generous gesture really warmed your heart? I was fortunate enough to experience such a thing this weekend as the doorbell rang at my new house after having only received our keys less than 24 hours earlier. Imagine our surprise to find that our new neighbour had dropped by, flowers in hand, to welcome us to the neighbourhood and offer her phone number in case there was anything she could do to help us. A simple reminder that we really do live in a wonderful world.
{via}
Neighbours can be a tricky thing. While some are sweet and smile and ultimately stay out of your way, others can borderline on being overbearing and a bother. I'm hoping that Bonny's kind gesture makes her the former and we’ll be waving at each other from across the way with chit chat and well wishes for a good day. Moving into a brand new house with fresh faces and strange surroundings can be daunting even in the best of neighbourhoods so knowing we’re moving in next to someone nice is quite comforting. We’re definitely going to feel like the new kids in town for a while, but feeling welcome will really go along way as we get settled. And now, thanks to the small gesture from a kind neighbour, sitting among the saw dust and paint cans and boxes and tools is a lovely flower arrangement that not only brightens up the room but has helped to make our new house into a home.

What are your neighbours like? Do you live in a friendly neighbourhood?

18 comments:

jeanette from everton terrace said...

That's heartwarming. When we moved in our next door neighbors brought a sheet with the names and phone numbers of the whole cul de sac. The funny thing was out of 6 houses, in 3 of them the women were named Susan so it was quite easy to remember. :)

Traveling Distances said...

That's really sweet of your neighbor! It's comforting to know you have someone friendly/helpful living nearby. Though one of my neighbors can be a little annoying (she works from home so she's always around, wanting to chat, etc), she's always on the lookout for us which is very helpful.

It sounds like your place is looking better and better every minute!

Unknown said...

How incredibly sweet! We're in a rather big apartment building so I don't really know my neighbors. But they're all nice enough to hold doors while you take the trash out or carry in groceries, etc. It's just a different vibe in apartments. However, we're buying a house soon in a different city so we're soon to experience the real neighbor situation and I'm so excited!

Molly said...

Fresh flowers! That is truly an incredible neighbor, what a lovely welcome to your new neighborhood :) My husband and I live on an Air Force base, and are surrounded by couples close to our age- it's a really crazy and wonderful thing.

Gia said...

that is so refreshing! how sweet and thoughtful of her!

PoetessWug said...

We borrowed some sugar from our neighbor just the other day!...Just one example of our really good neighbors. :-)

A Crimson Kiss said...

What a wonderful neighbor! So glad to hear that you won't just have a beautiful new home, but a nice neighborhood, too!

We've had much more than our fair share of neighbor nightmares in the last two weeks, and things have gotten so bad we're actually moving out. But the good news is, it's to a bigger and better apartment, and I can't wait! We'll finally be able to have overnight guests!

Gabby / Gypsy*Diaries said...

We just moved into a flat where everyone else in the house is retired!!! kind of funny... :)
Happy weekend dear!
xxx

http://gypsy-diaries.blogspot.com/

a little black cloud in a dress said...

when I first moved to texas, I had to change banks & I only had temporary check for a few days.. and I had gone grocery shopping & bought a ton of food, only to find out they didn't take temporary checks.. and the lady in line behind me paid for me stuff. It was well over $100. And my bank was IN the grocery store, so I was going to just go get in line to get the $ out and repay her, and she refused, and wished me a happy valentine's day.

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

I know all of my neighbors and for the majority they're all really nice. However I have the neighbors from crazy town behind my house.

kimbirdy said...

aw, so sweet. i hope she's not the nosey sort of neighbor too. isn't it sad that we live in the kind of world that makes all of us wonder that about a kind gesture? but there are enough of those nightmarish neighbors that we've all been a little scarred by it i think.

we have a lot of crime and gang activity in our neighborhood, but our little street is full of young professionals, couples and families. we've gotten to know the neighbors on each side of us, which has been so great. not only do we three homes give each other food and lend our things, but we also take care of each other's animals and keep a safe eye on our homes when one of us goes on vacation. it's definitely a wonderful situation to know the neighbors in our case, and i'm so grateful they're all amazing and give us our privacy most of the time.

SJ said...

i need to get to know my neighbours better. There doesn't seem to be much interaction in our apartment block as there isn't any sort of common area but I need to at least make an effort with the couple just next door to us.

that's lovely for your neighbour to come introduce herself, it's a nice start!

Tara said...

Ahh yes, neighbors. They CAN be tricky all right! We have some really good ones and some really awful ones in our neighborhood...though my favorite may be our next door neighbors who tried to butter us up with welcome gifts and then started getting on our case about the dead trees in *our* yard (there were so many that we couldn't afford to have them all cut down immediately).

k said...

that is really sweet!! i just read a good quote about true kindness and how that is one of the most important things in life :)
we have really nice neighbors, they even gave us their extra lawn mower!

Diana Mieczan said...

Aww....that is so very sweet. We have really nice neighbours but one older couple is especially lovely. The lady bakes weekly and she always gives us some yummy goodies. Also each summer they bring us fruits and flowers from their summer house:) Sweet, right? Happy Monday, darling..and congrats on the house:)
Muah

Teresa Tran said...

my neighbors are cool, they mind their own business but .... if theyres a party theyw ould definitely call the cops

Anna @ IHOD said...

Oh my goodness good luck on the move!!!
We live in the quiet elderly part of town! ha ha! So we have some sweet neighbors we try to visit and say hello because they love seeing kids:)

Señorita said...

I had a similar situation when I had to give a speech in front of my seventh grade class about George Washington. Before the day of the speech, I would practice daily in front of the mirror with my index cards in hand. But, on the day of the presentation, I forgot my index cards. Nonetheless, I still had to present the project and what do you know, I got one of the highest grades on my speech :)

Follow me @:
http://ladyonaroof.blogspot.com/