Pretty things: the neighbor's garden

On my walk to work, I passed this pretty flower.  I would love a garden of them.

Also, did not know this, but apparently it's in the onion family?  A friend of mine told me that when she saw this picture.

Facts: Making a summer list

When we were little, we always had to write a list of fun summer things to do on our summer vacations, and more often than not, we'd successfully do most if not all of them.

The lists were realistic -- no one wrote "Disney World and Space Camp!", for example -- and filled our three months with day trips of ice cream, Maine, mini golf, and fun.  Then we got older and summer jobs got in the way of lists.

This summer, my husband Ricky and I decided to make a summer list.  We made a Christmas season list as well, but the summer list seemed more fun.  Our lists are small, since we both have full time jobs, but still filled with fun weekends and excursions.  They are:

Ricky's List:
1.  Go to Newport, RI
2.  Go to the bird sanctuary
3.  Host a housewarming
4.  Introduce people to the Salem Willows

My list:
1.  Make ice cream
2.  Ride bikes to Marblehead
3.  Go the Kimball's and play mini golf
4.  See Shakespeare in the Common

They may grow but for now these are good starts.  I've already made a lot of ice cream, but my goal is to make a fun summer flavor.  Kimball's is a childhood memory and treat, since my family grew up in Westford, but I want to go back again and enjoy it.

When we check anything off of our list, I'll report back.

Facts: apartments by the numbers

This weekend I am preparing to move.  I wanted to break down living in Salem into the numbers:

4:  apartments I’ve lived in in Salem (including my new one).

3:  roommates I’ve had in Salem (including my husband).

3^rd floor:  furthest up I’ve lived.

0:  times I’ve lived above the first floor since the hell of moving in and out of a 3^rd floor apartment.

2:  pets in apartments.

2:  housewarming parties hosted.

3:  Christmas parties hosted.

1:  times the police have come to my apartment (when a woman on drugs rang on our doorbell at 3am).

1:  times the fire department have come to my apartment (when my husband thought the dying battery warning on the carbon monoxide detector meant we had a carbon monoxide leak at 2am.  It didn’t.  We survived).

2:  Presidential elections I’ve voted in since living in Salem.

7:  Halloweens I’ve either been a part of or tried to avoid in Salem.

3:  Trick-or-Treaters who have visited me at any of these apartments.

2:  rodent situations in my apartments.  The first was a mouse that I walked in on in the middle of dying in the kitchen.  The second was a rat that was wreaking havoc on my apartment.

5:  couches I’ve had (or roommates have had) in apartments.

1:  couches that didn’t fit up my 3^rd floor walk up.

Endless:  memories in all of these apartments.