Just an update for now.

I'm not really back from my break,

not really.

But, I thought I'd let you know what's been going on lately.

Lots of stuff going on at work.

Stress, tension, power battles

There's been job changes for several people, not me though, thank goodness.

A friend of mine got fired.

Very upset about that.

Yeah, lots of stuff I'd rather not think about.

Because of this, I l really look forward to coming home.

My safe haven.

I've been working outside non-stop.

Last Fall I cut down all the trees and brush in my lower backyard that was more of a ravine.

I cleared that out but there was still a lot of vegetation left down there.

I decided to tackle it NOW, before it got overgrown again.

Before there might be scary things like snakes down there.

So...I started on it and I kept finding "garbage" down there.

Last Fall I had picked up a ton of it. None of it was mine.

It was odd things like old cell phones and broken liquor bottles

and baseballs and hangers and water bottles and cans and 

lots and lots of glass.

I tried to just let it all go and not hold resentment towards my neighbors.

The twin boys who are probably about 13 now had to be the ones doing this.

Anyway, I've been clearing the hill and finding more stuff and getting more MAD.

I told myself that maybe it had all just blown over into my yard by accident

until one day I found a big casserole dish and not far from it, a pile of petrified noodles.

Way too heavy to blow into my yard.

Still I said nothing but just hurled it back over into their yard.

Then the other night I was awoken by my little poodle, barking furiously.

I sat up in the dark and looked at my alarm clock - 12:15.

I looked out my bedroom window and down into the darkness.

Between my neighbors garage and my fence I saw flashlights.

I could hear voices and then laughter as the twins made shadows on the garage wall.

I sat there in amazement and watched for a moment.

Then I saw them shake out a empty garbage bag and it appeared that they were picking up trash!

Why in the middle of the night, I had no clue.

I text my sister who is always up at that hour and told her about the insanity of this

and how I had to get up at 5 to get ready for work in the morning.

I could barely see them as they picked up a small bag and shriek and drop it.

Yeah, I had the same reaction when I originally found it in my own yard before I threw it back into theirs.

Then I saw them fling a hanger down into my yard 

and I lost it.

I screamed "I"M CALLING THE COPS!"

They must have been startled to hear a voice in the night but they yelled back towards the houses -

"It's the neighbors!"

and I screamed again 

"I'm SICK of you throwing trash into my yard!"

to which they yelled back, "Well it's not ours either!"

And I yelled "The hanger? the casserole dish? the GLASS!?"

"We don't even eat casserole!" they yelled but I saw their flashlights now bobbing down into the pitch blackness towards the bottom of my yard.

Suddenly I remembered my phone!

I ran downstairs and came back up and started to take a video of them.

(Oh! I got a new phone! I went crazy and splurged and got an iPhone! I'm on the Framily plan with a few people and I will seriously have to brown bag it every day from now on but OMG! I'm addicted! I'm in love with Instagram

HERE

and I like lurking and reading everyones blogs while I follow dogs around the yard.) anyway...

They were down in my yard for a few minutes and then I watched as they came back up and went inside their house.

I texted my sister and she said to call the cops but I told her that it was very late and that I had to be up in 4 hours and besides,

my dogs when go crazy and start barking insanely if cops came to the door.

So, that was that.

I got up in the morning, a Saturday and went to work and got home about 1:00.

I changed clothes and went down the hill to work on it and

there was STILL trash.

So I took some photos.

A little bit later I was talking to my niece Lily and told her what happened and she was furious.

She said she'd be over later and was going to tell them off.

I laughed and said "Whatever".

I worked for several more hours and when Lily showed up, she handed me her little dog and said she'd be right back.

Off she went, around the front yard and then I could hear her knocking on the neighbors back door.

The grandma who owns the home answered.

Now she's not a sweet little pushover grandma.
She can be one tough cookie so I was kinda worried for Lily.

But Lily told her that it had come to her attention that "The boys are throwing trash into my Aunt Cindi's yard".

She said she was very concerned, especially about the glass.

Lily came back and told me that grandma had called the boys into the room and they had denied it.

That's when Lily told them that one of the pieces of trash had their mothers name written on the top of it

AND that I had them on video.

The boys, she said kept denying it and even blurted out "She was yelling at us and we don't even eat casserole!"

Lily thought that the grandma was nice and apologetic but Lily didn't trust the boys.

I was so upset over the whole thing that I seriously started looking for houses on-line.

Now that I've settled down I have a new resolve not to let these brats drive me from my home.

I'm in a good neighborhood and I like my other neighbor

and I can afford THIS house and I can NOT afford what I found on-line.

Anyway. 

Other stuff has happened too but that's enough for now,

just the tale of my yard.

Here's an updated photo of how much I have it cleared.

I also seeded the front yard and transplanted a zillion hostas with more to go.

Today at work I started a list of what else needs to be done JUST on the outside.

The things that need to be completed before I will be happy.

Here's my list.

I'm sure I forgot something.

and of course.... I still have so many other plans for inside and

other things.

So there's a long drawn out update!

......I'll be lurking on my phone!

xoxo