The Neighborhood

On Sunday I had the day to myself. It was sunny, the air was calm, and it was seasonably warm (for December). I've started bartering with myself, trading productivity for guilt-free lazy time. "If you spend 2 full, uninterrupted hours conquering your to-do list, you can lay around for the rest of the night." Fortunately, the first item on my list was taking a long walk--on days off I still try to do the equivalent of my 2 mile walk to work and back. I chose a path I'd never walked and brought my camera to capture pieces of my neighborhood. 

1. Window display at my local craft store, which specializes in weddings, baby showers, and quinceaneras for the Hispanic community. 

2. These two ladies passed me on the sidewalk, carrying their mid-sized tree home from the lot (I assume). This, along with the parking lot pop-up tree shops, is so very different from what I am used to. I wish I'd had the guys to ask them for a proper photo!

3. Wonderful, huge balloons in a car lot. One evening, a month or so back, I watched two grown women snatch one and run off giggling, their balloon trailing behind them.

4. Painted asphalt at the same car lot.

5. Gene's cow has its yules all tied for the holidays.

6. This is what the street markers look like in Ravenswood Gardens. I was standing across the street from Blago's home, which is just blocks from where I live, but avoided taking a photo in light of his recent sentencing. Frankly, I was nervous I'd be accused of being a paparazzo.

7-9. Scene from a community garden run by the children on a local elementary school. 
10. North Center reflecting in the window of a wedding-planing office.
11. My favorite neighborhood breakfast spot. Crispy hashbrowns!
12. One of the aforementioned tree pop-up shops, complete with airstream trailer. In the summer, this location is the Daily's beer garden. 
13. The Davis Theater, with first-run showings for only $7.50--cheaper than Cedar Rapids!