Nana's Whimsies

I haven’t lived in an apartment since 1974. That is, of course not including the condo where Court’s dad and I lived in the early years of our marriage. Our condo was a glorified apartment which we owned from the paint on in, as the realtor Grumpy the Elf informed us.

But here we are, in the sunset years of our life, back in an apartment. I’m at peace with that, I assure you. At Wind Crest, the location of your apartment matters. I was informed early on (and we’ve only been here a week or so) that Summit Square was the building to beat. Not only was Summit Square the best building, but the second floor was nervana. We even have a slogan: Second Floor is second to none. Keeping with the spirit of Summit Square, I mentioned this to someone who lived on the third floor. They assured me they, too, had a slogan. I just can’t remember what it is. Three Dog Night? Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady? Three Coins in a Fountain? I can’t remember. That’s okay, because all I have to remember is that second floor is Second To None. So there.

As I’m finally emerging from the fog of my pinched nerve (at least I hope so), I am starting to take measure of just where we are living. We are in the western suburbs, so our views of the mountains are Second to None. (See how I did that?) Even our own little apartment has a smallish view of the mountains where we can watch the sun set or the weather come in.

We have eaten a number of times out at the nice restaurants. One night we ate with an astronomer and his wife, a librarian. Another night we ate with a retired Episopalian priest. Most recently, we ate with a couple who had traveled the world, making Bill and my travels seem miniscule in comparison. I thought I would hate having to eat with others. On the contrary, though we are given the choice, I will almost always eat with another couple. They are ever so much more interesting than Bill and me. And the best news is that they haven’t heard Bill’s stories before. A new audience. Yay.

Yesterday I rode the WC shuttle to the original community, the Town Center Neighborhood. It is a 20 minute walk or a three minute shuttle ride. I attended a Wind Crest Writers meeting. I always approach meetings like that with great trepidation . The meeting consisted of 14 or so people, all who like to write.

The group had been given a topic last week, and they were to write about that topic. They went around the table and read their story out loud. Though it didn’t seem as though any of the participants were professional writers, they were darn good. I think my blog will be competitive, but who knows. As a Summit Square resident, I must admit that I was a little bit snobish about Community One, the original community. After all, we’re second to none. Still, I enjoyed my class and plan to return next Monday.

Step by step, we’re starting to get familiar with our surroundings.