RC Cars or Grow up much?

My neighbor spends his days watering the grass, grilling, drinking, and driving remote control cars. Not with his kid. Never with his kid. In fact, the kid is yelled at if he even comes near the cars. Nope, he goes out there for hours a day (typically starts the day with a good RC car walk around 7.30 am and there’s nearly always an evening walk as well).  He doesn’t like to walk them in the hot of midday though, instead he just lines them up, ready to go once it cools off.  

Thoughts on Proximity

Proximity is a funny thing, isn’t it? And there are so many interesting places we could go with this discussion. Proximity

Dictionary.com: prox·im·i·ty [prok-sim-i-tee], noun. nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation.

Sometimes proximity is a wonderful thing. I enjoy close proximity with some of my good friends which is wonderful! I love that I can pop over there for an evening or ride my bike over. Close proximity to Dairy Queen could be a dangerous thing (although in my case, I manage to limit my visits there to about once a year, in spite of its close proximity).  It is great to be in relatively close proximity to my parish, a lot of my family, and many friends.

Here’s the proximity biting me in the tush right now:

This is my side yard. To the right you can see my veggie garden, where I love to spend hours and hours of time, spring, summer, and fall. To the left you can see the neighbor’s carport, grill, and smoking chair, where he likes to spend hours and hours of time, during every season, as far as I can tell.

Notice just how close those two are in proximity to each other. Yeah. That’s the new excitement around these parts (as if the chickens weren’t excitement enough!).  Gardening with an audience. And man is it AWKWARD!! Saturday the neighbor started grilling around 11, so I thought I’d give him plenty of time to finish his grilling and move on to other activities. So I headed out for some gardening around 2 pm. Still grilling. Sitting in his white chair in the carport with his cigarettes, Bud Light, loud music, and grilling away. For two hours. Watching me garden. AWKWARD! I decided to avoid eye contact because that made it even more awkward. I also thought that perhaps he would find it awkward and go inside. Nope. He finds it so not-awkward he even sang along to the music, with me there gardening 4 feet away. And had a very loud phone conversation, where he mentioned grilling ALL DAY at least 7 times, because hey, you’ve got it made when you can just move the grill under the carport in case of rain.

All of this close proximity is making me think this:

And this:

And this:

In spite of my little, tiny hedge I started planting, I’m thinking I may not be patient enough to endure this for a few years before going the direction of a privacy fence.

And then I have to decide which fence to get (probably the most affordable one) and whether or not to have a gate to close it in at the front or just leave it open. So many decisions…

This post has been brought to you by: Proximity. And Really Loud Music. Have a nice day!

The Neighbor situation

I don't remember what you know about the neighbors. No, not Scott (neurotic man) but the new neighbors. Well, they moved in probably six weeks ago, bringing their super-social 8 year old boy Elijah. He's a very sweet kid but oh. my. gosh. he is beginning to get under my skin.

Now anyone who knows me knows I am a kid person. I love kids. I generally like them better than the adults. And of course, upon meeting Elijah, I thought he was delightful. Super chatty. Wanted to know all about the dogs. Why Suzie likes kids. Why Maggie doesn't. Why Suzie catches balls. Why Maggie doesn't. etc. I met his parents over the back fence while Elijah was talking my ear off. Mom: "He'll talk your ear off." Anyway, they seem like nice people. Mom cleans houses for a living. They have a cat (No Elijah, I don't have a cat.) Dad is a do-er and warned me that he'll probably mow my front yard sometimes, if that's okay. (The dogs usually just play in the yard when I mow the grass Elijah). So yeah, that's about all I know. Right, five minutes over the fence and regular waves from the car. Oh and dad smokes and grills in the carport, staring in my kitchen window, which is a little odd. Fine, but startling when you look out at dusk and realize your kitchen is the entertainment for time being. Odd.

About a month ago, I had the nieces and nephews for a visit (5 kids for the day) and Elijah was over for a good 7 hours straight. I made him check with his parents before coming over to the backyard and again when we moved the game inside. I declined his self-invitation to stay for dinner. It was strange to me that though the parents barely know me, they never checked in on him once. (Yes, apparently I will be a neurotic mom someday). They didn't peek over the back fence and call out a greeting or ask how it was going, and they seemed perfectly comfortable letting him play in my house for 2 hours (or longer if I hadn't sent him home.) And while I don't think I give off any sort of major creeper vibe... they don't know me!! No matter how many kids I had visiting that day!

Since then, he has come over fairly regularly to ask if the dogs can play. The problem is that I usually don't have time to supervise and I don't really trust Maggie alone with an unpredictable new kid. So sometimes I will let him kick the ball for Suze, but usually she just wants to come inside if I'm not out with her. Sigh. He told me a couple weeks back that "My dad said I'm not allowed to ask to come to people's houses. I have to wait to be invited." I smiled and said, "Oh, that's nice" but didn't invite him over since I was heading out shortly.

This Saturday was the day Elijah blew through my goodwill. I was trying to get stuff done- desperately- when the doorbell rang the first time, I had seen him cutting across the yard but was heading downstairs to do laundry, so I ignored it (even though he rang it a dozen times in a row). I was still downstairs working half an hour later when the doorbell started ringing over and over, again. Grrr. I ignored it again. All told, he came by 6 times while I was trying to get stuff done. I wasn't up for supervising so I continued to say no, the dogs weren't available to play and neither was I. 6 times!! Next time I will tell him to come back another day.

A friend joined me late afternoon and we headed out for awhile, and my unsuspecting, tired homie came home after work. The doorbell rang. Could the dogs play? She was too tired to fight it. Next thing she knew, he'd invited himself in and had toys out. And suddenly she found her tired self babysitting the neighbor's kid against her will. Sigh. When I got home she had an twinge of tired desperation in her voice "He won't go home!" I sent him home moments later, though of course, he was back half an hour later (in the middle of our dinner) and I had to send him away for the eighth time that day.

The next day, we let the dogs out, to find that someone had left our gate open (this is probably the 5th or 6th time this has happened since they moved in-despite my continual warnings to Elijah). Arrrggghhhh. Luckily the dogs don't run away, they just run around and then end up on the front porch. But they could get hit by a car. Or freak out the other neighbors. Or eat the cat we all hate that lives across the street. CLOSE THE GATE. Better yet, don't open it if I'm not standing with you.

So in my head I've been trying to figure out how to have this conversation with his parents without being unkind. It isn't that I dislike the kid, but I certainly can't / won't entertain him. Nor do I hope to have my doorbell ring 8 times in one day. And the gate! Good Lord the gate. We have got to have that gate closed. Think about the cat! The cars! The gate!

This morning I was running later than usual for work and the neighbor flagged me down. "I hope it's okay, but they are doing leaf pick up today so I'm going to finish raking your leaves! You know me, once I get going I like to just go!" Me: "Oh thank you." In head: "Argh!!" How does a person lay the smack down about a person's overly intrusive kid when the guy has now mowed the grass and raked the leaves.

And then tonight the second I pulled in the driveway he was over again, he'd signed for a UPS package for me. I think I may be stuck...

My life is awkward... Help?

Looking into the future

I've been meaning to post this for awhile now. This is the lady that rides (very very slowly) through the neighborhood on her adult trike with her two little lap dogs slowly going along with her. The first time I saw her I did a double take and had to laugh, realizing that could be me in 40 years or so. Sure, now I am young and have my two big sporty labs and my 10-speed, but by the time I'm her age, I might be there myself. Anyway, I always get a good chuckle when I watch her pedal slowly by.

You may notice I opted for a pic out the dining room window after she had passed, though I kept trying to figure out a way to inconspicuously jump in front of her and get a real photo... but I couldn't figure out how to make that work.

The Greatest Neighbor

Yesterday I was out planting the vegetable garden and my neighbor Marie came out to chat. She's so great. First she told me that she and her husband Kurt used to have a huge garden, Kurt loved to garden. They grew everything, even sweet corn, and the garden spanned the entire length of their back fence. But as they got older, it got harder and harder to maintain it. Mind you, she's told me this story before, but I always love it when she tells it, its a connection point, and she is always so delighted to come out and find me in my garden because it reminds her of the good ole days and her late husband, who always loved his garden.


She said she thanks God daily that she's out and about and still on her own two feet. "People are always asking 'Marie, how ARE you?' I just tell them I'm still here and still on my own two feet, its a good day!" She said she'll be 95 in July (mystery solved) and she's just so glad to be in such good health. She waved toward her great grandson mowing the lawn, "and it sure is great to have him doing all of that!"


My Gram makes similar comments when you ask how she is, she responds with a brilliant smile and a cheery "Well, I'm still here!"


It seems like getting older makes people more aware, more thankful of each passing day. And I think that is a good reminder for me as well. How am I? Praise the Lord I'm still here and on my own two feet. And I'm grateful for the wonderful examples of living joyfully in the moment in the people around me.

more neighborhood watching

I cannot figure out the people directly across the street from me. The house was up for rent a little over a year ago and these people moved in. They have a small windowsill dog that barks a lot, they don't do anything with the yard or front garden, and are never outside. My suspicion is that its a divorce situation since usually its just a guy, but sometimes there is a couple middle school age kids, and sometimes a woman coming and going... I don't know, its confusing. He never smiles or waves and doesn't walk the dog, so we haven't had any connection points to date.
The people next door to Marie are pretty cool. They are probably about my parents age and spend a lot of time on their patio and in the yard. Last year she (I don't remember her name) came over while I was in the garden and offered me some black eyed susans from her garden, which I accepted happily. The husband spends a lot of time in the garage working on cars and they both ride big motorcycles together on sunny days. They have a boston terrier named Payton, who they got from their daughter because although he was great with their kids, he was too protective and would growl at the mom when she punished the toddler. So they took him in and love him (see, dogs are a beginning conversation point). Payton and the BOC occasionally notice each other across Marie's yard, but its generally not a huge barking issue.

There is a little old lady who rides an adult tricycle and her two mini scottie dogs run along next to her (on leashes). It is an awesome sight that I hope to capture on film sometimes. For as crazy as I must look biking with my labs, its much funnier on an adult trike with lap dogs, going slower than a leisurely walk.

There is a guy who lives about a block away who has two big white fluffy dogs. He walks them regularly, and they are the the BOC's antithesis. There is an over abundance of barking every time they walk behind the yard. It is kind of funny, my two black short haired ladies, his two fluffy white doggies.

Neighborhood Watch

I always enjoy observing the happenings in my neighborhood, the people, etc. I wouldn't say I'm tight with my neighbors, but people are friendly and we generally smile and/or wave, even though we don't actually know each other. Let's see, the guy 2 doors down is an older gentleman, maybe 60-ish, and always washes his pick up truck. He also grills a lot and did grill out today, in the rain. He's a waver, we always smile and wave, although we never actually speak. I've never noticed if he's married or not, but he does take good care of his lawn and vehicles.

The people across from clean pick up guy moved in a few months ago. I've always liked that house, and had met the older couple that lived there previously. The old owners had a huge black dog, Bear, and we used to chat occasionally (dogs seem to be a common point to begin a conversation on). Their lawn was always immaculately kept, weed free, and lush... so jealous. Anyway, the new people have a little girl, maybe 2 years old, and I see them in the front yard a lot. This weekend while I was doing my front yard I noticed them pulling out all the pine bushes in front of the house (I loathe pine bushes). It gave me a little thrill to see them working to get rid of those things and I'm dying to see if they're going to put in flowers with the space. That was the one thing that yard always needed, some color, flowers, and less pine bushes (even if they were always immaculately trimmed). I wish I was a little more outgoing and would just go over and meet the neighbors, but that seems awkward somehow... but if they are flower people, maybe its an "in" :D My first impression was that they seemed cool (young couple with cute kid) and now they've moved up another notch getting rid of those bushes, maybe I'll introduce myself sometime soon.

The people next door have lived there for years, since before I moved in. Scott is a good dad and an intense guy who thinks I'm an idiot. I know he means well, but he gets under my skin when he offers advice or treats me like an idiot. I try to just smile and be polite. His wife is cool, but doesn't spend nearly as much time outside as Scott and the kids do. The kids and I smile and wave, but aren't overly chatty usually, although they always talk to the dogs. Friday night I mowed the yard and planned to edge by our mutual fence on Saturday. When I pulled in the driveway after garage saling in the morning, Scott was leaned over my fence with his edger... awesome. He hadn't edged yet either, but its kind of annoying that he had to hang over the fence to do my side... again, I'm sure he meant well, but probably didn't think I would do it. Grrr.

On the other side is my favorite, Marie. She was in her 90's when I moved in and she's even older now :) She is wonderful and so cute. Her husband died about 3 years ago, she always wears skirts and old lady leather tie shoes- adorable. I don't see much of her during the winter, but always chat with her regularly during yard season since my garden is right out her side door. Every year she asks me a couple of times "Did you grow up on a farm?" "No." "My husband and I used to have a wonderful garden here, we loved it." Anyway, she's awesome and inspires me. I want to be in my late 90's and still living on my own. Thankfully though, she now has a kid that comes to mow her lawn every week (she did it until about 2 years ago). It's nice that it is spring again and we chatted for a few minutes yesterday- and its always great to see her still out and about! Marie was the first neighbor I met and brought me homemade raspberry jam to welcome me to the neighborhood- that's the kind of neighbor I want to be, although I'm kind of chicken sometimes. She's my hero.