As I write this letter the holidays are just getting underway. Christmas lights are starting to go up and the weather is starting to get colder. Every morning my son wakes up and asks if it has snowed yet. “Not yet,” I tell him, “but it will soon.” In fact, during this season a couple of years ago we had a big snow storm overnight. The next morning we discovered a huge snow man in the front yard. It had snowed so hard that all traces of how it was formed were erased. It just looked like this giant snowman had magically appeared. There’s nothing like waking up and finding an unexpected snowman in your front yard. We still don’t know who to thank, but would encourage them to feel free to surprise us again this year. It’s small things like these that make our neighborhood so fantastic!

Speaking of snow, don’t forget our new art project that’s down by the river. These boats will make perfect snow forts and hide outs for snowball fights. The artwork should be receiving its plaque soon. Stop on down to take a look at it.
In preparing our house for winter, we took down all of the screens and rehung all of the storm windows. I even took the time to finally fix the counter weights and rope on a window in our bedroom that probably has been broken for 50 years. The wooden rod that was used to prop it open over the years was so well used it had developed the fine patina of a cherished antique. If you have taken the time to remove one of the sashes from your window, I highly recommend taking the extra time to install some light durable weather stripping to the part of the sash that buts up to the jamb to tighten up the fit and prevent drafts. If you want more info on how to do this, send me an email and we will schedule some “this old house” time. We are thinking of hosting some home maintenance/repair workshops. If you are interested, please contact anyone on the board and we can work to set something up.

While it seems like things are starting to quiet down in the neighborhood we have quite a few things going on. First we have our annual Wine Tasting Charity Event on Saturday, January 28th. Please join us for the really special event in our neighborhood. Additionally look around for all the amazing lighting and decorating displays. Finally, there has been a report of excessive and constant industrial type noise in the neighborhood. We have the city looking into this issue but have not resolved it. If you have noticed an issue or have ideas about what might be causing the noise, please contact me.

 
Jesse Sharp ANA President Sharp_tx[at]yahoo.com