Q & A wrap-up

Last of the questions:

From bluedaisy:

"How do you like your new house/neighborhood overall?": We really like it. I feel like this house is home, perfect for us, not too big, not too small. I love so many things about it. Others are future projects. And we love the community that we've moved into. They just passed a school levy (lots of communities are having trouble passing theirs lately), has a great rec center, and lots of nice activities like parades and a great little downtown area with shops and restaurants. We like the location, too. If there's been any disappointment at all, it's that our immediate neighborhood doesn't have as many young families as I would like. BUT on my cul-de-sac alone there are four homes (owned by older individuals) who are actively talking about selling. It seems like young families are moving in gradually, and I do like having a variety of life stages represented in a neighborhood.

"What is the division of labor like in your home?": In general, I do the cleaning, shopping, and laundry. We share the cooking. Brian does lots of fixing, yard work, other large home maintenance stuff. But Brian is also really good at helping me with "my tasks" if I get tired or behind. There are a couple of things that I HATE to do: clean the bathtub and mop the kitchen floor. I've been known to talk Brian into doing these for me here and there.

From Pam:

"What toys have been a big hit for a 3 year old?": Hmmm...since Katy turned 3, she is really into games, crafts, and pretend play. Some of this might be a girl thing. She loves sticker books, markers, and board games. She likes to play "store" and "doctor" and "library." She likes to draw, ride her bike, and pet every dog that doesn't run away from her. Oh, and she still loves to be read to, and she'll read to herself some, too. So it's funny, but most of the playing she does isn't as much with "toys." Others with 3 year olds, same for you? Are boys different?

From Kelsey:

"What's the best concert you've ever been to?": I'm such a dork. Even though I could take the cool route and say it was the many times I saw Dar Williams (those were awesome). But I think the concert I enjoyed the most was Billy Joel. I went with my 2 closest friends in college, and we were all huge BJ fans. We drove an hour to Syracuse and sang every song at the top of our lungs. We coincidentally sat right behind 3 other people we knew from Ithaca whose ride had dumped them. So all 6 of us squeezed into my tiny Nissan for the 90 minutes of traffic on the way back. Those were the kinds of things that made college college. By the way, Brian isn't a big music fan in general, but he loves Billy Joel and we listened to it in the convertible that we rented on our honeymoon.

And finally, my childhood friend Jen wants me to reveal my nickname from the days of 'yor: Her family nicknames everyone, and when I was still in preschool I was dubbed Moly Bolkerschnietzel. Moly for short. Moly rhymes with holy, not holly. There were only a handful of people who used it, but I answered to Moly for many, many years.