halloween neighborhoods

sometimes i have weird ways of explaining things.

i remember having this discussion with lara a few times. . . about our inability to communicate some of the more abstract thoughts that we have. things that only we can picture perfectly in our heads.

one such example . . . "halloween neighborhoods".

how to describe a halloween neighborhood? i can see it perfectly in my mind. . .

1. it has to be the right kind of houses. . . pre 1950's, or at least look like it.
2. it has to be just the right area. not too rural, and not too suburban.
3. the houses have to be close together (ideal for trick-or-treating).
4. the streets have to be lined with trees. i mean, lots and lots of trees. (it wouldn't be a halloween neighborhood if there weren't tons of crunchy leaves on the sidewalk.)
5. the houses have to have the perfect distance from the street to the front door (preferably with a slight incline).
6. you have to be able to imagine pumpkins lined up the walkway or situated perfectly on the steps and porch.
7. there has to be a fair amount of cute wooden fences around the lawns.
8. you have to be able to imagine children in costumes running excitedly from one house to the next.
9. even in the middle of summer, you should immediately be transfered to fall in your mind because you can picture it so clearly. the neighborhood just "feels like fall".

there is such a neighborhood here in ithaca. i love it and i drive through that neighborhood as much as possible. on sunday, josh was kind enough to pull over and let me take pictures like a crazy pregnant lady. of course, the pictures don't do it justice because you have to see the overall neighborhood, but i tried.

again, you have to see it to know exactly what i'm talking about.

i love it when i stumble upon a halloween neighborhood. i'll say to josh, "oh, this is a perfect halloween neighborhood!" to which he just nods and smiles. (he puts up with a lot of my house-admiring. he will drive down streets i tell him to on a whim just so i can see cute houses. really. i do it a lot.)

poor guy, i put a lot of stress on him, what with all my spending money and all. i have a lot of requirements for our future life (meaning, after grad-school), and settling down in the perfect halloween neighborhood is just another one of them . . .

(oh, and goodness, i can't not mention the most perfect halloween neighborhood of all. the street from "father of the bride". i'm thinking of the shot in the movie when he's driving home from work to see annie and he turns down the street and you see the perfect tree-lined neighborhood in all its glory. not to mention the house . . .)