Last Christmas, having little disposable income (now, there's a surprise....sigh) we invited the neighbors in the two closest houses to "Soup Night", every Wednesday in January and February. The basic premise was that I would make a huge pot of soup, and I would provide bowls and utensils. Anyone could come, anyone could bring a guest, no one had to rsvp or anything. You could come emptyhanded if you were having a rough week or you could bring a salad, a dessert, bread, or a bottle of wine. But no one needed to plan what they would bring ahead of time. Some weeks we had just the core of eight people, and some weeks we had over 30. I think nearly eighty different people were here at least one of the weeks. We met people who lived nearby who know our neighbors well, but whom we'd only waved to in passing. We introduced out-of-town friends who were passing through to everyone, and our grown kids, who decided this was extremely cool, brought their friends and co-workers home from other parts of the state. Some weeks we had a good balance of food; some weeks we had five desserts and no salad, and one memorable week we had six bottles of wine, one loaf of bread, and the soup. A neighbor on a fixed income brought one apple each of fourteen varieties, and we had a sampling session for dessert one night. No one ever left hungry, and everyone stayed, every week, until the 10 pm deadline we'd agreed on earlier. As a result of our Soup Nights, we've pooled resources to rent equipment, swapped odds and ends that have accumulated on our properties, traded stories about experiences with local servicepeople and vendors, introduced each other to new people, heard local history from old-time residents, swapped services, helped each other out. We shared recipes and celebrated my son's engagement together and mourned the loss of a neighbor's beloved dog. We listened to bluegrass one week, classical the next, jazz the next. We commiserated over the high cost of, well, everything, and shared worries about the war. I really only started it because it was winter, I was bored and lonely, and I wanted to do something interesting for Christmas for our neighbors. But the end results were just incredible. People stop me in the hardware store and ask if we're doing it again next year (we are) and could they come some night. I didn't, initially, think of it as a hard-times sort of thing - but it is. Not only did that pot of soup stretch incredibly far, we forged a sense of community that had previously been lacking. We all miss it, but agreed that January and February was the perfect time for it, and we're looking forward to Soup Nights next year. katie

I guess the the thing I do for myself, after thinking long and hard and reading this thread, and not sure how to answer...is living my life on my own terms. I quit a corporate job after they gave me grief for caring for my terminally ill mother. After that I bought a Fetch! Pet Care franchise (not a commercial!) and use my time to care for animals. I don't make a fortune, but that's okay. I love my job....which I really don't even consider a 'job'. I enjoy buying books and reading, both novels and homesteading type books. I really enjoy starting my plants from seed for the garden, mostly heirloom tomatoes and peppers. Growing things is such a nice thing...it just makes me realize how great it is to watch things grow from seed and eat your results! Nothing better. Because I am self-employed I also enjoy spending time with my dad. I can go over to his place in the early afternoon and watch a movie or right now we are into the early season of season 4 of The Shield. I bought him the 7 series set for Christmas. I suppose I do those things for myself because after my mom passed away I realize time is precious and I only have so much time with him. When he is gone I can't do that and I want to make myself available as much as possible. So I guess the nice things I do for myself are living for me and my loved ones and spending time and enjoying our pursuits that bring happiness. Also, I enjoy travel magazines, car magazines and other 'fantasy' things that spark my imagination. I doubt I will ever live in Bora Bora or drive a Lamborghini, but is sure is fun to dream! Duane

I might just have the sister or brother to Teresa's..lol It's a monster..I'm going to need to clip it up good, and I was thinking about offering bits on Freecycle...But then I thought I might not get any takers..lol Sounds like I just might.. I was also told that rosemary doesn't root very easily..I have nothing to loose to try it, so that maybe eventually I can move my plant (or a part of it) to another location! I love this forum for all the little bits of information that I can gleen. :o) And Teresa..you sweetie pie! Katie..enjoy as I know you will!

We had the luck of finding our dream house in the world's nicest neighborhood - various neighbors offered to have us over for dinner while we were moving in and not yet able to cook; they took in packages for security when we weren't home; and when we got settled they had a neighborhood potluck to introduce us to everyone on the street. This is probably just how nice this particular set of folks are to anyone, but what we did that might have encouraged the friendliness was to introduce ourselves whenever we saw anyone out in the street. In particular, we made a point of speaking to the immediate neighbors on each side of our house whenever something potentially disruptive was going to happen, like the moving van arriving, or loud work being done, or expecting tradespeople who might possibly park in the wrong driveway. This let them know that we are aware that this is a shared public space and we have no intention of running roughshod over their established privacy. They invariably waved us off, saying it was all more than fine and we never needed to ask (which is what any good neighbor says) -- but I think the gesture meant something, if only symbolically.