up the street down the street

we live on a nice street
 a good block
 here
 on the upper westside

 toonman
 has been known to say 
if we didn't live here we couldn't afford to live here 

he's been here
 since
 our first his then mine friends
 bought the building back in the 1970s
 he worked on the renovation
 it was once
 what they used to call
 an sro
 single room occupancy

 a nice old townhouse
 that had fallen on hard times
 divided up
 from a single owner dwelling
 into
 tiny rooms
rented out 

after
 it was bought
 by his then now our friends
 it was gutted
 from 
roof to basement 
turned back
 into
 a lovely house

 the owners
 his friends then now ours
 created
 a duplex for themselves
 put in an elevator
 a small garage
 and 
two apartments
 on each of the other 4 floors

 initially
 toonman lived in a studio apartment on the 6th floor
 i moved in with him not too long after we met
 we lived there for 20 years
 give or take
 before we moved into a one bedroom
 on the ground floor
 or
 if you are living europe 
on the first floor 
or
 maybe its the other way round
 whatever

 theres a long story
 about
 how we came to meet 
the apartment 
we live in now
 figures into it
 but 
that 
believe it or not
is 
not
 what 
this post is about 

well
 then 
i bet you're thinking:
 why are you going on about this instead of what you meant the post to be about 

to that i say
 have you just met me?

  yesterday
 i  posted a photo
 i took in the evening 
on the way
 down
 the street

 today
 i am posting a photo
 i took the next morning
 on my way
 up
 the street 

and 
that's
 what 
this post
 is
 all about

 so there



one of our neighbors
 on 
this lovely landmarked street
 landmarked means you can renovate the interior but your can't change the exterior
 has 
these old stone
 not 
window boxes
 cause they're not in windows
 but 
i dont know the technical term
 i am sure
 there is
 an architectural
a technical term
 name
 for them 
but
 i dont know it
 if you do 
please
 be kind enough to share it 

these neighbors
 put some very lovely seasonal shrubbery in those stone boxes
 the security lights
 work
 like gallery spotlights
 dont they
 wait
 aren't they call pin spots?
whatever
 it caught my eye
 had to stop
 take a shot 
trust me
 it was wicked cold 
taking off my glove
 well
 i did for you

i hope you like it