Little Rock was dressed in her Easter best!!!!!
We went for a walk in our old neighborhood on Easter morning......It was positively delightful and a literal trip down memory lane!
(Azalea flickr photo by billums)
This neighborhood feels like a time capsule, from the minute we turn down the street where we lived for 15 years, it seems like going home......
We park our car and begin walking our, digital camera at hand!
This is an older historic neighborhood, most of the homes were built in the 1920's.
Following the sidewalk, as the street winds and curves going slightly downhill, we note that the homes have great variety of architectural style...(and not a single one looks like a tract house or imitation French chateau....) we see stucco bungalows , English Tudors , 2-story Colonials and others with a mix of Craftsman elements. These homes were built in the days of porches. Porches on the front to socialize with the neighbors and more porches on the back called sleeping porches. These were used on the hottest nights of summer before the days of air conditioning.
Most of these houses sit up just a bit from the sidewalk. They have well-kept gardens. Landscaping is very important in Little Rock.Magnolias and Japanese maples are very popular. Azaleas and iris are blooming.
We note one bungalow with classic striped awnings.
Our former house is the sage green 2-story stucco with the large Bradford pear tree in front and coral azaleas in bloom around the front. (The azaleas, dogwood and the pear tree were planted by my husband.)
We also put the Pella windows in the front "music" room. They are still in good shape.
I like how the current owners have maintained it!
It was a house full of light...large windows, hardwood floors and French doors.
This is a house which still occurs in my dreams...
The tall trees cast shadows on the sidewalk, a Japanese maple and a rock garden add interest to the yard of this stucco home.
This shot was taken looking up the street, across the neighbor's yards.... It is a street of tall, older trees.
Several of Arkansas's governors lived in this neighborhood when they were not in the governor's mansion.
Bill and Hillary lived in the neighborhood for a couple of years (when he lost his bid for a second term here as governor.) After the next election, the Clintons invited the whole neighborhood to a Christmas caroling party at the Governor's Mansion...
It was a neighborhood of children visiting up and down the street and carpooling to school.
In the late afternoon, several of us (mothers) would sit and visit enjoying wine or coffee on the deck while the children played in the yard.
Today our deck is still there...however now there is no swing set or sandbox in the backyard....this is a photo my husband took from the alley. (Through a crack in the fence!!!!)
I can look at this and see the "ghosts" of my children and their friends at play here!
Time quickly passes,before we know it, it is time for a good-bye hug on Saturday morning. [He is leaving early so someone is still in her pj's!]
We truly savored every minute, from an outing to a local construction site, [ The Walmart heiress is building a fabulous art museum near here.] to games of Scrabble with my Mom in the evenings. Good memories!
