Thursday, May 8, 2014

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
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

18 comments:

Vicki said...

Wow Cindi, I'm impressed with how much you've done to clear your yard. Looks fantastic!
A whole blank slate for a new garden. Love it.

Nice to see someone else who has lengthy to-do lists, like me :)

There's nothing like going home after a particularly rotten day/s at work - especially to the love, licks and kisses of our furkids.

Very sorry to read about those little ratbag twins. We've all had them in our neighbourhood.
Our "problem neighbours" eventually broke into our home and stole from us.
My worry, always has been, that no matter what neighbours do, as long as they don't ever throw poison baits over the fence, it's liveable.
But, I'm sure the twins are too young (and hopefully not cruel) to do something like that.
Hopefully soon, the brats will grow out of pissing you off and find something else to do.

I'm surprised to see their mother's name scrawled on a Watchtower, of all things. Or, am I? Hmmm.

tammy j said...

GOOD LORD!
it's not only despicable and utterly disrespectful.
it's downright DANGEROUS.
be careful of broken glass! i hope you don't wind up with a big gash on your foot.
i wish you could afford a small crew to just come in and COMPLETELY clean it out. i mean so that you could SEE whether anything new was thrown there again by those creatures.
there is nothing worse than bad neighbors. and so little you can do really. i'd be afraid they'd hurt my dogs somehow just out of meanness to retaliate. be so careful dear heart.
bless you! and get more rest!
or try anyway! ♥
no response needed here.
just ranting FOR you!!! :D

Cindi Myers said...

Hey Vicki!
Yes, it feels great to get that cleaned out. Now I just need to seed it and fence it in. I might put my shed in the far corner.
I like making lists and breaking it down into small steps. That way I have more to cross off and I feel like I accomplished more!
Yes, maybe in a couple of years those boys will out grow their mischief and find other things (hopefully away from the house) to do.
My niece was very surprised to find that they have 2 little dogs!
I was surprised too since I never see them but it made me feel more secure knowing they have pets and therefore less likely to try to do anything to mine.
You are right. I can live with anything except them harming my pets!

Cindi Myers said...

Tammy,
I actually got a quote and I was told it would be between 2 to 3 thousand to do my yard.
So I am doing it myself.
;)
I have gone over the area now, raking and raking and there is nothing left, trash wise.
So if I find something I will pick it up and throw it into their FRONT yard. They wouldn't like that at all and that would be my passive aggressive approach.
Now about my pets.... I won't type anything HERE, don't want it to be used in a court of law, LOL!
but it would get very ugly very quickly if they tried to pull something like that. I will take a lot but no one better mess with my pets or my family.
Years ago, when the boys were younger and I just had a chainlink fence bordering the patio, I heard their voices say "Look at his big teeth" and I looked out to see them with their fingers through the fence pulling Blue's mouth open.
OMG! I freaked...
and that weekend I put up the privacy fence all by myself.
Yep, I do day dream of living remotely in the country.
Thanks Tammy, xoxo

An Urban Cottage said...

"...we don't even eat casserole!" That's priceless!

I would call the police and just place a report to make a record of it. They're trespassing and dumping trash. You never know if it will continue or get worse or escalate and I think it's just good to make them aware of it. What if they injure themselves? They could sue you. I know I'm being an alarmist you just never know. How old are these deliquents that they're out after midnight?

Cindi Myers said...

Steve,
I probably should have called the police when I first saw them out there with flashlights.
Now that I've waited...I don't know.
I hate to really keep it going.
Their mother was out mowing the other day and although I had my back to her, she made a point of yelling HI! to me. I'm usually very friendly but I just mumbled Hi and got in my car. (I know, more passive aggressive behavior) but I do have photos and a little bit on video AND my neighbor on the other side said he would back me up on the fact that there's trash even in his yard.
So...hopefully I won't regret it but I will give them one more chance. (They are thirteen. I think their mom works 3rd shift and their grandma is sleeping when they are outside so late.)

leslie said...

sigh.

that's all i have for you.

sigh.

Cindi Myers said...

Leslie,
it's just exhausting.
I can take the physical exhausting stuff but it's the mental part that drives me bonkers.
yep....
sigh.

Jan said...

Wow you should be really proud of all the clearing you have accomplished! Too bad you can't borrow someones goats once a week to help keep it from growing back except of course they would eat all the stuff you try to plant too. So sorry for all the problems you are experiencing but those boys will soon move on to bigger and hopefully better things. maybe you could hire them to do something for you and that way win them over to your side and then they would feel protective of you. Maybe? I dunno, maybe not. Might be worth a thought. Your list is very long! Surely you could use some help somehow!
I kinda lurk on Facebook so I saw your comment there on the thing I posted about death and dying. Yes, I feel the same as you. when Sadie died recently it seemed such a good death. No frantic efforts to revive her instead I urged her to go on, she was ready. I think I might just climb a tree and tie myself into it and die in a snow storm when i am ready to go. or some such thing. Of course if I am dying I won't have the strength to be climbing trees but maybe you get my drift.

Cindi Myers said...

Hey Jan!
Thanks for stopping and commenting!
Nope, not hiring those kids. Those lazy kids hardly ever help their mom with anything. She is usually the one mowing the lawn. I remember last summer, seeing her out there as she mowed and she was having the boys rake and tidy up and instead they were whacking the flowers with the rake and making a mess.
Yes, a long list. Sigh. I would feel sorry for myself but I'm so past that! LOL! I will get it done, a little bit at a time.
I hesitated commenting on the link you shared but I have often thought about that subject.
I'm with you, I always joke that I would take up sky-diving and white water river-rafting...if you know what I mean. Doctors (like Veterinarian's) are trained to try to fix things and sustain life. I think that there should be another way available to peaceful and respectfully let a person decide to leave this life and go on to the next stage, whatever that might be.
OK! I try not to talk about any of the forbidden three topics, so I will stop here.
Of course you can always email me for my opinion on THAT topic!
xoxo

regreta said...

its good to see you are well my dear,
why instagram????

and I have neighbors too, but yours are a cake walk, at least you are dealing with kids, because when its adults its a different story.... i think lily is my hero!! what a cool kid having your back like that!!! Glad to see the pets are doing ok....

miss your daily posts...

Anonymous said...

You've been working like crazy :-) But it does look very good!

Kids can be truky nasty sometimes and I hope that grandma keeps her eyes on them from now on!

Too bad You live in the US, house prices here are low and during the fourteen years I've lived here I've only seen one poisonous snake when it bit my old Erna. They aren't deadly for humans and as long as the dog isn't bitten in the leg or nose they'll usually just swell up a lot. Erna looked very odd for a few weeks :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.

Cindi Myers said...

Greta,
The reason I love Instagram is that I am able to take a photo anywhere I'm at, like at work or on my way home and write maybe a sentence and I'm done. I think the fact that I feel like I just don't have enough time for everything I want to do, makes me love how "instant" it is.
My neighbors probably are a cakewalk compared to adults. If I was dealing with adults, I would go completely mad and probably move. Sigh...I just want to be left alone and be a hermit! LOL!

So sweet of you to say you miss my posts! xoxo

Cindi Myers said...

Christer,
If I could get my sister and her girls to move with me, I'd be tempted to head for Sweden!
Hmm, wait, would I have to quarantine my pets for very long?
OK, maybe I better stay put....for now.
Yes, I've been working like "crazy" ;) I just got finished raking and watering and spreading grass seed all over the hill. I received my new electric lawnmower from Amazon the other day (I got quite a deal) and I'm itching to cut some grass!
LOL!

Anonymous said...

No quartantine any longer but You would have to give them loads of shots against everything :-)

Cindi Myers said...

Hmmm. sounds like I'm staying put!
:D

regreta said...

miss cindi, i will go to sweden with you!!! christer take us in!!!! Im ready!! lolz!

the older I get the more I want to hermitize, Im right there with ya! sometimes Im just over dealing with the irrationality and insolence of folks these days...

well if you are feeling empowered and motivated by instagram more power to ya!!! I did see the pets, they look good! glad you are having fun! kudos on the hard work in your chores, it looks awesome!!! ohhh electric lawn mower... fancy:) be safe!

dont stay away too long!

Cindi Myers said...

Greta!
Just got home from an awful day and your comment made me smile!
Thanks I needed that!
xoxo
Christer does make Sweden look amazing with his fabulous photos but as much as I complain, I would never move out of the country. (Unless I won the lottery! LOL!)
Yes, I enjoy Instagram but I am missing writing my "stories"...I really wish my list was all checked off but I need to get at least most of it done before the triple digits get here!
Thanks again and thanks for the offer! Ha!