Gazebo

Before my Papa died he bought a gazebo for my grandmother. She had always wanted one in the backyard for the two of them to sit in. Soon after he was sick with lung cancer, though he'd sit in there from time to time. He liked to look at it out the dining room window, all lit up for the holidays. Gram's brother Bob would decorate with greenery, white lights and a nativity set. Years later Bob would get older and more frail and Brian and I took over gazebo duty. We entered it into a city decorating contest and won 3rd place the first year, honorable mention the 2nd. Gram would get all excited about the gazebo starting in the summer and be on our cases about decorating immediately after Thanksgiving. Here's an old pic from 1999 (but basically, it looks the same each year) http://www.diabolis.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=106&pos=2 . Gram would look out at that gazebo remembering Papa, their love, and his final days.

I just realized this morning that we won't have to decorate that gazebo this year. Gram will spend her days looking out of a Nursing Home window instead of her old dining room. I can't begin to imagine how that must feel. Each year she's faded and seemed less and less excited about the Gazebo. Each year my family grumbles more and more about having to assist in decorating it (it just goes much faster if Brian and I have some help in it). Each year, the two of us are the only ones that don't complain - for Gram and all.

I'm going to give Gram a mini gazebo for her room so that she's still got some piece of home with her. I'll wrap it with mini greenery and mini white lights. I'll put a mini round picnic table in the middle with a mini nativity set on it and a red table cloth. Who knows, perhaps I'll even get mini pointsetta plants to put into the mini flower boxes on the bottom of each side.

This will be a challenge, but I think she'll really appreciate it. Any idea where I can find a mini gazebo? One to accompany a dollhouse may work. I've found some bird feeders that just don't seem like they'll work. Ones to accompany train sets are too small. I figured, with the crafty bunch that reads my LJ, some of you may have suggestions.

I always tend to get myself into these projects where I'm collecting obscure goods to pull it off . . .

Community Preservation Act

It passed by 9 votes in Waltham: http://www.dailynewstribune.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=64938

Thoughts? Does your city have something like this in place (I'm curious what people's experiences have been). Its seemed to have worked well in nearby Newton since it was passed a few years ago.

Given Waltham's obscenely low tax rate, I figured that a 2% increase wouldn't kill me. Low income and Senior residents are exempt from it, and $ is matched by the state. Given the (imo) overdevelopment happening in some parts of the city and the plethora of property coming up for potential public use (old schools, closing hospitals) I think that community development is going to be especially important.

I'm curious if this passed in Watertown (my browser keeps crashing each time I try and get anywhere on the News Tribune site), also.