Summer Etiquette

As you know, I love sitting on my little porch reading a book and having a beverage or two. So when I ran across this little snippet on Apartment Therapy it made me think of my neighbors in my townhome complex. It's not a historic brownstone with beautiful old porches but we do alright. I know everyone on my little block and everyone knows me. It's a good thing really. But there are times for proper etiquette.

Matthew Smith wrote a nice little article in the Midnight Sun about Porch drinking. Some really good rules to follow when you are enjoying your porch, your stoop or just plain hanging out in the drive way.

Here's a few of my favorite rules:

"Greet your neighbors as they come in and out of their front doors, which are, after all directly adjacent to your drinking area. Not to do so will create a weirdness force-field for all future interactions." (My advice is to invite them over for a beer. Some of the most fun has been an impromptu block party on the driveway.)

"Clean up after yourself, but don’t scrub too hard. A porch should never feel too clean to spill a beer on."

"When the cops come to your door, be excruciatingly polite to them. Do not remind them that there are murders they might be solving. They know this, and it is why they are irritated with you."