Best. Sunday. Ever.

This weekend was a lot of fun, but not just because it was relaxing. That was definitely part of it, since taking trips every other weekend can be extremely taxing, but it was a small part.

The main thing that I found memorable about this weekend was what happened on Sunday. On Sunday Vicki had her Tupperware party, and I left the house fearful for my sanity if I would have to stay and mingle among that many women of that many ages. I ventured out to Half Price Books, got a good large stack of great Douglas Adams Hardcovers, and stopped by GameStop to slaver over the used Xbox, Wii, and DS games that they have on display.

All of this was quite enjoyable. However, I had a half hour to burn before I was able to return home with any reasonable hope that the living room would not be suffused with estrogen and plastic containers. I decided to go investigate the Selby-Dale area of West St Paul, near the Cathedral.



The short version = "I was very impressed".

The long version is thus: The neighborhood that we live in presently is extremely nice. All the houses around us have a metric ton of character, and it feels very safe and green. The main problem is that it is not quite close enough to any commercial shops to facilitate any real community. The closest useful food is Byerly's Over in Sun Ray, and last time I checked, a strip-mall is not a good place to get to know your neighbors.

Selby-Dale has pretty much everything that we like about our present neighborhood (awesome old houses, lots of greenery) and adds in a vibrant commercial nexus all the way along Selby Ave. Driving around down there, I saw one of the primary things that Vicki and I have been missing from Milwaukee; commercial community. I call it commercial community because it seems that the myriad cafes, stores, and markets that are down there contribute to a very different type of community than does a large park or well-kept sidewalks. People have a lot to do, and it is all within walking distance.

After dinner with my Vicki, my Mom and Erica, I spent some time looking up real estate prices in the area, only to find that there are a number of affordable fixer-uppers over there.

Sure, it might be two or three years before we can think about investing in a house, but it is good to know that there are extremely fantastic vibrant neighborhoods out there to pick from. I might be salivating, but I'm not hungry.

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