Absolute Write June Blog Chain

Holy Toledo! Can you believe it? It’s blog chain time already. This month was speedy in looping back around to me. Proceeding me in the chain was AuburnAssassin and following me will be WildScribe. Be sure to see the list of all participants at the end of my post. Here is the challenge for this month:

Setting the Scene

Write a location description, and make us feel as if we are there. No dialogue, no introductory comments, just a location. We’re the tourists, you’re the guide.

So, with that in mind, here we go.

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Sometimes I look out my bedroom window and imagine the tract homes on my street are charming brownstones with varying facades and postage stamp lawns. I pretend I’m back in Chicago in our three-flat, serenaded by car horns and people talking on the sidewalk. I can smell the stale beer and hot dogs from Wrigley Field across the street and I can hear the roar of the crowd when the Cubs score a home run. At night the “W” flag flaps in the wind, a lullaby for me to fall asleep.

When I focus my eyes, the sights and sounds from home fade away and I’m staring again at the cookie-cutter houses of my new neighborhood. The only difference between them is the color of the cheesy vinyl siding. Ours is yellow. Not even a respectable color like gray. Or brown. I could walk into the house across the street and find the bathroom without asking.  It’s in the hallway, across from the stairs. Guests will have a hard time finding it. They’ll be standing in the kitchen and will try the pantry or basement doors first. And they’ll be all, “Oh! There are so many doors here!” As if Georgian-style houses are all that hard to figure out. Architects in the suburbs have no imagination.

And you should hear my mom go off about the window treatments. The old homeowners left them behind. Mom thinks they add a touch of country charm. I think they are tacky-chic. If she starts putting things like mason jars and antique milk cans on the counter to decorate, I’m so out of here.

I miss the city. Everyday I’m here I try not to think about the street fests I’m missing. Watching eighties tribute bands while eating chicken on a stick and drinking frozen lemonade? How could you not love that?  

Sadly, my parents couldn’t get their matrimonial act together. As if that should be my problem.  A court case and a real estate debacle later and here I am: in the ‘burbs. For life.

Still, it’s not all bad. We’ve got a pool. And there’s this guy across the street who is nice to look at. In fact, he’s down right dreamy. Sometimes I see him doing yard work with his dad and it’s all I can do not to walk over and lick the sweat from his skin. Or dig my fingers into the springy curls on his head. Of course that would make me a world-class freak. “Hi, I’m Leah, your new neighbor. Do you mind if I have a taste?”

So I’ve settled for a little wave at the end of my driveway as I hop on my bike and head to work. He always waves back. So that’s something.

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I hope I’ve given you a proper tour (of two locations, actually!). Here are the rest of the participants in this month’s chain:

orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to this month’s post)
juniper – http://www.katjuniper.com/ (link to this month’s post)
LadyMage – http://www.katherinegilraine.com/ (link to this month’s post)
dolores haze – http://dianedooley.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
jkellerford – http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
AuburnAssassin – http://clairegillian.com/ (link to this month’s post)
pezie – http://www.erinbrambilla.com/ <——– YOU ARE HERE
WildScribe – http://DionneObesoBlog.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Inkstrokes – http://drlong67.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Irissel – http://irissel.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Guardian – http://daewrites.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Lyra Jean – http://lyratorres.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
egoodlett – http://wordlarceny.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
cwachob – http://www.corriewachob.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
xcomplex – http://www.arielemerald.blogspot.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Della Odell – http://dellaodell.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Aheïla – http://thewriteaholicblog.wordpress.com/ (link to this month’s post)
Robbi Sommers Bryant – www.robbibryant.blogspot.com (link to this month’s post)
TheMindKiller – http://www.jabberwocky.ws/ (link to this month’s post)