3.12.2007

Cozy with your Neighbors?

Chimneys everywhere...
March 2007

What I'm Listening To...

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own by U2

In my neck of the woods...the homes are quite cozy and this shot gives you a perfect perspective of that!

Does anyone remember Mary Poppins? Of course ya'll do (sorry, that was my southern accent creeping out)! The rooftop views of London are wonderful in that movie. I am especially fond of them because in America you don't see these sights everyday. I love how they look all crowded together.

I snapped this on a walk along the outskirts of our neighborhood. There is a hilltop near our home, when you climb it and then turn and look back this is what you see. However, this is just one part of the view...there are hundreds and hundreds of rooftops right next to these. See the image below that I took also from a distance and you can see what I mean. It is pretty cool I think. To me, this is a daily view here but it definitely isn't ordinary!

This image is also indicative of how people used to live, a time that once was. Villages and towns were tightly weaved together to form a thriving community with everything you needed within a short walk. I have to say, this will be something I will miss from the home we have made here at some point. Knowing that I can walk to the High Street and wave at the store owners and they know my kids and me is very cool. It really solidifies a sense of community rather quickly, no matter how long you have lived here.

What do you think? Do you like to have your neighbors close or with a bit of distance? Do tell...

My Village...

By the way, look to the sidebar to the right and check out my VISUAL DNA...it was fun to do and took just a few minutes. I got it from Kenju's site.

28 comments:

Beverly said...

Before I even read your post, I immediately thought of Mary Poppins. I loved seeing that movie with my children, watching Julie Andrews and Dick VanDyke.

CG said...

I love these rooftop shots. I like having neighbours. I live in a village and I know so many people. It really feels like a community. I like my space but I'm happy that my space is close to other peoples space too.

CG said...

I liked that Visual DNA

Andrea said...

What a cozy village!
Hard to say...I like close neighbors--almost forced community. But I do like my wide open spaces, too. Either way, I enjoy community. Sounds like you've got a good slice of that, there. :) Great images.

carmilevy said...

I am saddened by the world's move away from rural and village life toward one that's decidedly more urban. But I am heartened when I see pictures like these. Joyously captured, as always.

Definitely makes me want to live there, because the real benefits of the life these places offer are intangible. And priceless.

Corey Bienert said...

Good old Marry Poppins.

Just a spoon full of sugar....chim chim chimanee ...chim chim charoo.

Chad Oneil Myers said...

I thought of the "Chimney Sweeps" from "Mary Poppins" as soon as I saw your image ;)

photowannabe said...

A fav. movie and book too. I love Mary Poppins and you live in a Mary Poppin world.
I wish I could visit across the Pond.

kenju said...

I thought of Mary Poppins too, and that the UK must have hundreds of chimney sweeps!

I like to have land around me, but there is a definite advantage to being able to walk to shops and not be totally dependent on a car, as we are here. When my daughter worked and lived in NYC, we only had to walk a few short blocks to get anything we needed. I loved it!

BTW: my new post is about Bill's Barbecue!

Anonymous said...

How interesting. I want so badly to walk those streets and get a feel of that town you are now calling home.

Then I'd stop in for one of those hot chocolates from the tea room (I think you called it that)and then top the evening off with a pint at the local tavern :)

Oh yeah, I'd also have to have some fish and chips!

Tracy said...

Ohhhh, your village looks beautiful, and the rooftops are definitely Mary Poppins-ish. A wonderful place to live, I'd say!

Beverly said...

I love to come back here and look at your photos. I like your caption for my photo of Ella and her daddy. :-)

Anonymous said...

I thought of Mary Poppins even before I read your post. I think the chimneys and rooftops are a great shot.

Now as to your question. I live in a mid-sized city with a lot of traffic. Sometimes I long for the small town I grew up in. Perhaps someday I will go back to the smaller town, who knows.

My brother lives out in the country and while it is a nice place to visit I am not sure I would want to live that far from people. So the small town or village has my vote.

awareness said...

hi Anna......definately Mary Poppins. My favourite childhood movie....I can see Bert and the other chimney sweeps dancing on those rooftops.

I loved the years I lived in a city, in an area of Toronto similar to this. Now, I love where I live. I have neighbours, and there are no fences between homes.......our backyards stretch into one. I like the openness and the space that I have around me. There is a feel of community in my neighbourhood, especially during the spring and summer months.

take care. hope the homeschooling is going well.

bluemountainmama said...

great shots....it does look cozy.

i like it somewhere in the middle. i like a sense of community, but value my privacy, too. we have a nice neighborhood, but you can never sit out on the porch if you don't want company. if you are out there, someone's gonna come up and talk.

Kyle said...

You are surrounded by such a gorgeous environment.

I am envious!

Kaycee said...

I thought of Mary Poppins when I saw your photo. I still love that movie!

My house is close to my neighbors' houses. I live in a small city, but I guess that I would rather live in a more rural area.

Memories Catcher said...

Beautiful view.What a cozy village!
Good colors and light.I like the detail of the roofs.Good job!

Cris said...

Mary Poppins! Wow, great picture, and your village seems so inviting!

srp said...

I loved the practical idea of having everything within walking distance, and for this reason I did love NYC. The subway, the local grocers, walking with the rolling cart to and from the apartment.

But, the space on the prairie makes my heart soar. On my grandfather's farm they had a pine grove. When I was little the growth was about head high to a ten year old so adults had to stoop over to get under the trees while I was in a wide open space with a soft carpet of pine needles on the ground and a canopy of branches overhead. My cousins and I could spend hours there in our own private kingdom and feel like we were in a far off kingdom all by ourselves.

Let's see... cozy vs space. A little of both... although if pressed to make a choice... I would have to pick "space".

M.Benaut said...

Your village is So Pretty and Chimneys Everywhere is sensational. Glad I found you, in Istanbul.

Oya said...

I envy you ! Quite diffrent than our villages.

The Harbour of Ourselves said...

funny how you have captured the ordinary and made it such an intruiging symbol for all those on the other side of the pond......

how we miss the beauty in the ordinary

Jacob Boll said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jacob Boll said...

these pictures are so awesome. they feel so warm and calm.

evanhuntphoto.com said...

haha veryy cool.

glad you got the bse cd! they should be pscyhed

utenzi said...

That's a little too cozy for me, Anna. I like having a little distance from my neighbors. That's why I bought a house in the middle of nowhere.

Michelle said...

I think if all the houses looked like that I wouldn't mind close neighbors!! ;) I do like the idea of being out of town a bit though, eventually we're hoping to have a small farm, couple of goats and chickens maybe.