We have a phenomenal little corner of the world here in Grand Forks, a historic old house, a fenced yard for the pups, a little more than a 1/4 acre of land to garden with, and some of the best neighbors around. One of our neighbors in particular live three houses down from us and are simply some of the best people in the whole friggin' world (I might be a bit biased).
Our neighbor Brad* has a John Deere tractor with a bunch of attachments, one of which is a pretty powerful snow-thrower. Every time it snows (and it snows a lot here in North Dakota), Brad is out in his little tractor clearing his driveway/sidewalks and most of the rest of the neighborhoods' too. Even if he's already been out for hours clearing his own driveway/sidewalks, he tirelessly cleans off our sidewalks and even our large driveway usually before we've had a chance to do it ourselves.
Last summer I was out in the garden and Brad and his wife Paula* walked by with their little granddaughter, enjoying the summer evening. We started chatting about the raspberry bushes and plum trees that we'd just planted and the conversation turned to canning and making jam. Brad and Paula have a huge garden and make various jams and preserves.
Our chat wrapped up and a half hour later I was inside washing up and there was a knock at the door. It was Brad and Paula. They had two grocery bags of jams, preserves, sauces, and relishes to share with us. All I could say was "Wow, thanks!!" This isn't even the extent of all the awesome things they've done, they really are fantastic neighbors.
Each Spring the last couple of years, after the snow has melted, we've given Brad and Paula a gift certificate to a local restaurant as a way of thanking him for all their help. But this has never seemed like quite enough of a "thank you".
So I ask you dear readers for some help, some ideas. What do you think would be a proper/adequate way to say thanks to awesome neighbors such as these? Months of help with snow removal is such a big deal, we want to make certain we express our appreciation.
Our neighbor Brad* has a John Deere tractor with a bunch of attachments, one of which is a pretty powerful snow-thrower. Every time it snows (and it snows a lot here in North Dakota), Brad is out in his little tractor clearing his driveway/sidewalks and most of the rest of the neighborhoods' too. Even if he's already been out for hours clearing his own driveway/sidewalks, he tirelessly cleans off our sidewalks and even our large driveway usually before we've had a chance to do it ourselves.
Last summer I was out in the garden and Brad and his wife Paula* walked by with their little granddaughter, enjoying the summer evening. We started chatting about the raspberry bushes and plum trees that we'd just planted and the conversation turned to canning and making jam. Brad and Paula have a huge garden and make various jams and preserves.
Our chat wrapped up and a half hour later I was inside washing up and there was a knock at the door. It was Brad and Paula. They had two grocery bags of jams, preserves, sauces, and relishes to share with us. All I could say was "Wow, thanks!!" This isn't even the extent of all the awesome things they've done, they really are fantastic neighbors.
So I ask you dear readers for some help, some ideas. What do you think would be a proper/adequate way to say thanks to awesome neighbors such as these? Months of help with snow removal is such a big deal, we want to make certain we express our appreciation.
*Names were changed to protect the identity of our awesome neighbors.
3 comments:
Wow, what great neighbors. You probably don't need to do anything, they just enjoy giving so much, but it would be wonderful to offer them several days of gardening / yard work. Anything they want done (raking, gutters cleaned, new gardens dug and planted). I think you said they were grandparents, so if they are older, free physical labor is always appreciated.
What good neighbors! In addition to the GC you've been giving them, I had a couple ideas:
1) Pay for a tune up for the John Deer that does all the plowing?
2) Fuel voucher for toward the running costs of the snow blower?
3) Since they're also keen gardeners, maybe a voucher for one of the local garden centers?
And don't forget the big Thank You! :-)
I'm so jealous! And once again reminded to find local berries to make into jam. Homemade jam is the besttt!
As for a thank you, I think the two comments above mine have awesome ideas!!
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