Thank You Paper Plates

Thank you priorities.

I don't have any right now. Priorities that is. {I have paper plates}.

I'm walking circles, not sure where to begin. I spent the day resting (sitting around). It feels so good to do nothing. {I strained one of my feet over a week ago (my fault - I was wearing flip-flops as I was clearing out the yard) and my back. I have a weak back {possibly the result of my Scoliosis}. It's been sore my whole life. It's normal for me (to have a sore back every day) but it's been a little bit of a bugger through this move. Not complaining. Just saying}. :)

It feels good to rest.

When there is so much to do.

But nothing HAS to be done.

Today.

It's so nice.

I was just sitting on my front steps with a cup of coffee and giggling to myself as I enjoyed looking at the trees and an occasional squirrel; and not looking at the punk kids coming and going in a shared driveway. And I admit I'm tired but I'm also so very sentimental and feeling so much gratitude that we're finally home. So. Yes. I got a little teary-eyed sitting out there too. I'm just so thankful.

All of this mess is, of course, overwhelming too; which is normal but it feels so good that it doesn't have to be done right this second. So, I'm enjoying that.

I was also waiting for a bear or a cougar to stroll across the driveway while I waited in the {blissful} silence of the country. But, unfortunately, I was disappointed as my waiting was in vain.

For now.

We don't have a dog yet and I can't help but constantly peer out my windows looking for a wild beast.

Hey, if they're out there, I want to see them.

{I think...}

I am a Woman Warrior

...hear me roar.

I did it! I moved all of my junk to our new house! Carter had chicken pox. Abram was sick with a fever. But we did it! Sara watched my kids yesterday. I'm SO grateful to her. I wouldn't have been able to do it without her. Having the kids out from under foot, for even a day was tremendous. We're all tired and ready to settle in. For the night.

Soon. There is still much to do. Namely scrubbing down the bathroom. The kid's beds are set up in Nikayda's room and I want to shuffle some stuff around before hitting the hay.

I'm so excited that we have a new PERMANENT (yes, that's in capital letters ;) address.

{At the moment, I hope I never have to move again. :) Although, truthfully, I've said that every time I've moved}! I'm excited, exhausted and overwhelmed both in a good way (glad the move is over/excited about having our own home FINALLY/life is just beginning) and the not so good way (SO much to do yet) - but it's all good. I'll get a picture for you soon. Of the mess that is my new home.

You can't see the room that is my kitchen/dining room as I wanted everything stacked in there. There is still so much to do construction wise around here - everything in one spot was easier for me. I don't have anything that resembles a kitchen yet - just a little fridge (from our rental, that we bought from our landlords).

Oh lets be honest here! Technically all the stuff isn't in the kitchen. There is plenty in the living room and sitting room and not to forget the basement which is loaded with junk from various junk-picking excursions in Michigan within the past couple of years.


I was just thinking that this is my 10th move since I moved out of mom and dad's in 1997!! NUTS. Mark and I've been married for almost 6 1/2 years and this is our 6th time moving (counting when he moved into the house that I lived in when I was single). This is the first time that I've moved all of my stuff by myself. (Mark did the heavy lifting with the furniture and his brother Hans lent a hand at the new house with some of it).

;) Don't ever move. Stay put. Settle in your roots. Yeah RIGHT. I love the change ~ or I did when I was younger. Now I'm getting too old for this moving business. ;) But every move was fun (once the moving part was over. ;) I'm ready to settle down and plant those roots. I say I'll never move again. Until next time.

But I really hope we never do because I love it here already. Especially because I have no more drunk neighbors partying until 5 in the morning. There was another party at the house next door, last weekend. I didn't post about it because it's been so busy around here. But I got home at 1:30 a.m. after working out at the house, with 3 sleeping kids, and there were teenagers milling all around our driveway. The police came sometime after 4 a.m. I'm so glad someone FINALLY called. Maybe that'll put an end to it...for the other neighbor's sake. Especially our sweet elderly landlords. (They're in their 80's). I'm going to miss them. They were some of the nicest landlords that we've ever had.

She (the landlord's wife) brought me dinner yesterday when I was packing and cleaning. And today she stopped by with watermelon in the afternoon, "to cool [me] off," she said. :) She's so thoughtful.

Enough rambling, for now. I don't even know what I'm saying at this point. I'm so tired!

Thank you all for responding on the screen name (I may have said that already...) Have a great rest of the weekend!

Oh yeah, I was going to tell you that every time we've moved Mark says I have too much stuff. This time, after I moved it all by myself, he just asked me,"So, now do you think you have too much stuff?"

Nope. Never. Junk is fun!

{I just don't want to move ever again}.

Well, Paint Me Blue

Paint colors continued...

That title has nothing to do with anything and everything to do with nothing.

Huh?!

Maybe the fumes are getting to me.

And I haven't even opened a can yet.

Ok. After standing on my head, turning the lights on and off, sitting on the roof (the neighbors wore off on me), opening and closing one eye, juggling ten kids (at one time...maybe it was only three...anyway...), holding my breath for ten seconds, standing on one leg and balancing a spoon on my nose (truthfully, I've no idea how I did that last part...I don't know how to do that), I think I've finally figured out which paint colors I'm going with.

Man! That's a lot of work.

But it's all worth it in the end, if you're happy with the colors you choose.

Which I can't be certain that this will be the case. This time.

I mean, I'm preeeeetty sure I want a pale, icy, minty bluish green color with absolutely no grey tone to it. More blue than green. Definitely not the other way around, for the living area and entry way. I chose it because I thought the name was fitting.

Retreat.

See. I know what I'm doing.

Mark's picking it up as we speak type read.

Whatever.

So, here goes nothing!

Oh and I went with a pale, icy, minty greenish blue for the kitchen.

Following?

Trust me. There is a difference albeit very subtle. ;)

And I picked "Caribbean" for the bathroom. Doesn't that sound fun?! Just a few shades darker than the paleness of the rest of the house. I don't want a dark bathroom so I'm sitting here cringing, all the while hoping that it's not too many shades darker and that it will flow with the house. Mark and I thought it would. By the looks of the eighth-of-an-inch paint chips.

We're jumping in head-first. As I mentioned before, we don't take too many precautions with stuff like this. Call it a little reckless, perhaps, but I'm not too worried because the leftover paint can still be used for projects if it doesn't work for the walls. It's still the right tone, if the shades off.

I think I could get use to living in a place, surrounded by colors like "Caribbean" and "Retreat".

I've always wanted a beach house.

Country Girl

Sometimes. No matter how hard you try, you can't take the city out of a country girl.

Now does that make a stitch of sense to you?!

I was thinking, earlier today, of what a treat it would be to go sit down at a Starbucks. *Gasp* Sit down?! Yeah. Like, as in sit down, drink a tall nonfat Caramel Macch1ato (my favorite. for life.) and read a book magazine. With no interruptions. Meaning, no kids.

Of course, the reality is that that would never happen. Never did when I did live near a Starbucks (in MI). I'd have to get a sitter for the kids and whenever I get a sitter, I feel the need to run errands because it's such a treat to grocery shop. Without them. And thus leaving a quiet hour spent at Starbucks...in my dreams.

But, still, doesn't it sound like a treat?

I also was thinking of how it'd be so nice to go to a nice restaurant. When I say 'nice', I'm not referring to some fancy formal restaurant nice. I'm talking about TGI Fr1days or Ol1ve Garden or Red L0bster nice. The nearest of any of these restaurants is not so very near. It's about a day trip away. But I've been having my cravings for a touch of the city, lately.

But make no mistake. I love where I love. I'm a country girl with a touch of city. Just a sprinkling. And I don't miss the busyness of city life. There was mention on my sister Amanda's blog about that recently. She was saying she's a city girl and I left a comment down the lines of the above.

I miss my friends and family in Michigan but I love living in the north woods where it's peaceful and quiet and I may well possibly have a convicted sex offender as my new neighbor. 2 doors down. (On the other side of our landlords).

WHOA!

Dude!

Say what?!

Yeah. I got a call from a friend this evening to warn me. She heard from one of our local police officer's wives. (Edited to add: The guy moved in last week). I tried calling the police dept. to get a name and a confirmation on that. The answering service wasn't aware of it and said to call back during daylight hours business hours. So, I'll try again tomorrow. Now I'm wondering how soon someone has to register after they move? And I've heard certain levels of offense don't even need to be registered... There was no one listed on the registry when I looked online. No one on our street. But there was one listed that lives a few miles north of us. In the same small town near the main highway heading to the next town over. That was news to me!

All I can say, with all of this drama in our neighborhood, you'd think we live in the getto! We really don't. I promise. It's a small one-horse town. Thank goodness we're moving by the end of August. ;) (That's sort of a joke there - we're moving five minutes away. And I love this place. Flaws and all ;) so it's not like we're moving across the country or anything).

On another note, we may have possibly found renters for our landlords. Yay! This was after I told them about the drama...so they still may be interested. I just feel better if they have all of the information so they can make that choice on their own. :) And I would really like for someone great to move in here for our sweet landlords sakes. They're so kind. They deserve to have non-drinking renters. They even said themselves that they hope to find people who don't drink. They're a dime a dozen in these parts. So hopefully they will and cross your fingers that our potentials will work out for them!

And as I'm skipping from one subject to the next and now back, are you a country girl/guy or city girl/guy? And why?

And no wisecracks on the "girl/guy" wording! ;) You don't get to pick your gender!

Edited to add: :) I had no idea that this could come across as a city vs. country post when I first wrote it and that was not my intention. It was not intended as, say, a debate in any sense. (Never crossed my mind that it would even be construed in that sense). :) I thought for conversation's sake it would be fun to see which one each individual prefers and why because I know everyone usually considers themselves one or the other...or sometimes both (like me - I consider myself more country than city but a little of both. ;) I really wanted to clear that up because there seems to have been some thoughts that it was a vs./debate type thing. No harm done! (Next time I'll note that, just for good measure ;). love, ~J

Aapo's Dream

What am I suppose to make of this?!

Aapo just told me, in all seriousness,"Mom, know what my dream was last night? It was a girl. Her was crying 'cause her was gonna die."

Then he tells me,"It was the neighbor girl and her mom and dad were there."

(And when I asked him which one, he said,"The big girl." (The teenager)).

Freaky!

(The reason it's particularly freaky is that she's had a lot of problems with anorexia or bulimia and, I've heard that she passes out at school pretty often.)

Never a Dull Moment

One would think that we live in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood with all the action we've seen in the past year. But we live in a quiet and peaceful little town. Most days. Yesterday was not one of them. At least, not last night.

The new tenants next door - two guys in their early 20's - one of whom, as I mentioned before is the Jail Dude's son. I also had mentioned that they had a party the first night they moved in. That was little over a week ago. Well, last night made the other night look like a cake-walk!

Last night there was a mob! The backyard was filled with kids every one with a can or bottle in their hands, many of whom I can only assume were underage. Did I mention that our backyard had some people in it too? And that our bedroom is RIGHT THERE? There was music blasting and people shouting and screaming and hooting and hollering. And let's not forget the fireworks. Ah yes. The fireworks! What a party! Such great fun and excitement. I'm sure it was all well-remembered today and I hope they're all feeling GREAT! Because the fireworks display began after 1:30. A.M. Oh this was some party. It was rockin' till well past 2. And so was I. (Why did no one call the police?! I couldn't have been the only one who heard them).

And my dh found bottles in our driveway this morning. I found this out this afternoon when we were discussing it. He was blissfully unaware of the great amusement park in full swing next door. He was far away in dreamland. The place I was longing to go with each wave of anger that rolled though me.

I went to bed after midnight. But, mind you, I assumed I would be sleeping within 20 minutes after doing a little reading. But for some reason, I had a really hard time focusing on the words on the pages.

So this afternoon, I called their landlord. Well, the dude suggested that they were just excited about our summer festival and that's why they were having a party. (Eeeeeerrrrrttt! Huh?! He's excusing this?!) Since when is it acceptable to make that much noise - in town - in the middle of the night?!

He then suggested that next time I call the police. (Duh!!) So I ever so sweetly told him I was going to but felt he should know about this first (I was giving them a chance but this was already their second chance) and that the last thing I want to do is cause problems with these guys.

Then he suggested that I talk to them myself. (Great idea!! NOT!) I said there was no way I was about to go marching out there at 2 a.m. in my bathrobe with my hair in curlers even if I was holding a frying pan and tell a bunch of drunk guys to SHUT UP! (Actually, I don't wear curlers, but thought that would sound good for-effect).

Then he suggested, ever so reluctantly, well...maybe I'll talk to them. (And I'm sure he will. And yes, that last part is utterly and totally dripping with sarcasm). And, btw, I assured him the police will be called next time and I nicely-but-firmly told him that I was not going to put up with this again. (I'm sure he believed me since I sound like some sweet little 13 year old, on the phone!!! Oh why can't I find a deep, serious, I-mean-business voice when I need it?!)

Looks like it's up to me to be talking to a couple of drunk dudes!

(My thought is this, if the police show up, that means nothing to people like that, they'll just do this over-and-over. The landlord has to be aware of this and deal with it).

Oh and did I mention that Jail Dude's daughter - the sister to the guy next door, is running for our festival Queen? Ah yes, that's definitely something worth partying about. Their dear sweet little high school girl who carries around a playboy bunny purse and wears string bikini tops. Around town. Yeah that one. She's running for queen.

Now that's a role model!!

New Neighbors

We have new neighbors.

We just went out for a late supper and pulled in the driveway to see life next door - for the first time in a month!

I don't know who our new neighbors are, as there are about 10 punks milling around the fire in the backyard.

As we pulled in, a couple of cases of beer were arriving along with a few more cars. (I can't see these cars, I can only hear them).

This aught'a be interesting...

Edited to add: Have I mentioned that Jail Dude's* son is one of the kids next door?

*That's the guy who used to live there!

A Day in the Life...

I'm not a very forgetful person. Actually, I forget things all the time. I'm also very organized even though my house is a zoo. I never lose things even though I can't find my cell phone! (Have I mentioned that I'm very decisive too?)

I've been walking circles in a 5' x 5' space for the past ten minutes. (I was going to call Shell back). I vaguely remember that I set it down, this morning, and thought, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I knew I'd never see it again.

Then being that my brain works from time-to-time (believe it or not), it occurred to me that I could call my cell from my home phone. Brilliant!

Eeeeeeeerrrrrrttttttttt!!!!!

Reality - (it's always there somewhere). I don't have the long distance code that *I* put on the phone - Thanks to THE PHONE LADY! Lol. Oh the irony of this moment is not lost on me.

(That lady's still messin' with my life. ;)

Darn.

Edited to add: Double darn. All of my phone numbers are on the cell. Can't call anyone else either. :) Yeah. I like to talk on the phone. I'm a phone person. And a blog person. Come to think of it, I just like to talk. ;) That reminds me, I aught to put them in my address book that's lying around here...somewhere.

Aaah. The joys of packing. I'm sure I'm about to gain infinite post-material with this process.

Wait!

Packing? What packing?!

Edited to add: Well...since I can't find my phone...

My blog is my first tool-of-choice when it comes time to procrastinate, second only to my phone, which of course I can't find so I'm back here. I've been wanting to do a post on this - figured now was as good a time as any. I'd love to know what you do or wear to get your cleaning groove-on. :)

I tie on an apron.

That's also why I'm wearing one in the picture on Amanda's blog when we were in Michigan. I was going through some of my junk-picking treasures. Or more like, I was going to. I managed to procrastinate, in my my mom's apron, all day and never got around to it.

I have a bunch of vintage aprons but I don't have any full-length ones. I'm still 'hunting'. I just haven't seen any that I love. So I settle for my old Pampered Chef aprons. (I used to sell it). I prefer full-coverage when I'm cleaning but I'd love to have some fun ones. I'll probably end up making some if I don't find any in the next year. Yvonne had a really cute one on in a picture on Cami's blog. I just love it.

I'd like some cute vintage ones just for the sheer fun of wearing them. They'd make cleaning that much more fun! I wear an apron all day, most days. So I'm really hoping that I'll find some cute ones one of these days.

What do you wear to get in the cleaning groove? I'm trying to interact here! :)

Edited to add: An hour later - FOUND IT!! (my cell phone)

Time

The beautiful scenery that we've had for the past year and a half. ;) I took a couple of pictures after they left. Felt it was pretty safe to do...since they were gone. This is how they left the yard! There was even more junk piled along the back of the house while they lived here.

Time. Such a wonderful thing, yet so incredibly elusive! But I think we've just been given a little more of it...without neighbors. Phone Lady and Jail Dude moved out a while ago and the place has been blissfully vacant! I've even taken the kids outside to play! That's a big thing for us. I can't stand having people staring at us while we're outside. And I'm not a very patient person when it comes to neighbor kids hanging around the whole time we're outside... (Shrug).

The landlord has been coming and going since they left - doing a little clean up. He's got a huge trailor that he's been filling with junk, bad junk! This afternoon, there were a couple of guys sawing boards and working on something...I can only assume a little remodeling, after seeing the inside of that house! So, for now, we've been given a little more time!

They've Moved!

I wrote this post a while ago...just noticed that I didn't post it yet...

Is it polite to party when your neighbors move?!

They headed out in the U-haul, Monday (May 14). The same U-Haul that their kids rode in the back of. The same one they slept overnight in. They were actually perfect neighbors...until the whole gun-incident. Perfect, meaning they always kept to themselves. Never heard a peep out of them until a month before they moved. It was much better that way. Seems to be my experience with neighbors.

Not all neighbors have been bad. We've had many good ones but because of the few rotten tomatoes, I'm always leery and have learned to keep to myself almost 100% of the time.

After this past experience, I've got to work on that 100!

*********************************************************

Anyone just tuning in - the neighbor guy landed in the clinker after aiming a gun at his "fiance" in the middle of the night a while ago. They lived next door to us and shared a driveway. He's out on bond right now awaiting trial and has been gathering his stuff from next door. Oh. And one more thing, he's covered in tattoos. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (yes. that last part is sarcastic.) Oh. Yeah. And he has a new girl. She looks about 18 or 20. She was with him today in her nice rainbow tie-die shirt. (Oh. The life.) He's about 40.

I feel like an idiot.

Sometimes if you just tell the whole world that, you'll feel better. So. There. I feel like an idiot. Like this weekend when I had to open presents in front of a whole group of people at Josephson's. I felt so stupid. Why is it the most uncomfortable thing in the world? So. I just told everyone, in the middle of opening gifts, that I felt "so stupid opening gifts in front of everyone". Did it make me feel any better? Not really. Well, maybe a little... But at least I wasn't sitting there feeling all awkward and dumb and keeping it all to myself.

Our friendly little neighborhood Phone Lady owes me money. She made long distance calls on my phone. And she's LONG gone. Now, it wasn't very much. The bill. About 10 bucks to be exact. But I wouldn't take this chick out for a 10 dollar dinner! So. I'm mad.

The "Gun Guy" was next door, today, and I ran over to see if the Phone Lady left any good junk. I thought it might make me feel a little better....like an exchange for the 10 bucks. Then I felt like an idiot. As I was talking to him a fancy truck full of his "people" showed up. I call them his "people" 'cause they all looked like they were a bunch of 'heavy smokers' (if you know what I mean?). The driver's underwear was showing over the top of his pants, which were sagging to his knees. His hat was on backward. He was shirtless and the sunglasses he wore could easily be converted into rearview mirrors.

The Gun Guy told me I could look around. I said no thanks. Too many punks milling around...besides he was still moving his stuff out. How would I know what was hers? So I mumbled something like, "Ah don't worry about it....I guess..." and walked away. Then I felt like an idiot.

He had asked how much she owed me and I said about 10 - 12 bucks and that I knew I wasn't going to see it. As soon as I said 10 bucks, I could tell the conversation was over. I should've turned to him and said, "Listen here buddy! 10 bucks may not seem like a lot to you but it could buy one of my kids a whole new wardrobe at a garage sale, or a package of diapers or a couple of boxes of cereal or a whole lotta junk for my house! So 10 bucks may not buy you a whole lotta what you're smokin' but it would buy me something!"

But I kept my mouth shut. And now I feel like an idiot.

Should've said 20 or 30 bucks.....

Steve's Back

Our neighbor guy is back. He posted bail and now he's at the house next door to pick up his stuff.

I went to talk to him. Yeah, he was jailed for aiming a gun at his lady friend but hey...he's a nice guy.

No. I'm not that naive but I also realize there are two sides to every story. Even the worst stories.

She took a bunch of his tools. And he couldn't find all of his clothes either. (No small surprise!) I always thought she seemed a little...like the type to do that - even though she told me she was leaving everything for him. And she felt bad he went to jail and she still loved him...blah...blah....blah... Yeah. Right! I could sense underneath it all she didn't feel that way.

Even when she offered popsicles to my kids the other day. I wanted to make sure she wasn't upset with me for cutting-her-off and not letting her use my phone anymore. She said she wasn't but I could tell (in her eyes) she was totally lying. There was a flicker of something not so friendly there. And her smile was painted on her face even though she almost sounded sincere.

Good actress but didn't fool me.

Mark's told me from day one (when Steve was jailed) that he wouldn't trust Shantay (that's her name). Ever. And he thinks Steve's a good guy.

I'd have to agree...a little.

The Circus

It gets better and better!!

I was hoping really bad that our neighbors would be gone when we got home. The Phone Lady. Mostly, so I don't have to lose my breath every time the 5 and 8 year old are playing catch on the roof. But also so I don't have to feel so disgusted when the 15 year old flaunts it when she smokes. Aaaand flaunt it she does.

Personally, I could care less if someone wants to smoke. I just quit myself, a year ago. I don't even care that much if young kids do either. Yes it's stupid but there are far more stupid things out there.

(Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my mind when my kids get older. Because I realize that I might...)

Anyway, the day we left for our trip to Detroit, theeeere she was standing on the roof of her house, in the middle of town, in one of those 'cool' stances with her hip jutting out. And boy did Mark and I think she looked cool. Number 1 because she was standing on the roof! And number 2 because she's a sophomore in highschool. Smoking.

She was standing around acting all cool this afternoon smokin' in her yard with another 15 year old friend. But in this day and age, it just bothers me to see kids, I'm talkin' school-age kids, smoking because their own mom handed them a cigarette.

But don't worry it gets better! I was talking to my mom on the phone when a U-haul pulled up in front of their house. I could barely contain my excitement. Finally. They're moving. When out of the driver's seat hops the 15 year old. With her permit. (Last I knew, by law, you have to be much older than that to drive a rental vehicle.) The mother hops out of the passenger seat. And it gets better....wait for it...

They both circle around the truck

open up the big garage-type door on the back of it

and OUT POP THREE KIDS!!!!

Just gets better and better. What am I going to do when the circus leaves town?

It's going to be pretty boring around here.

People Are Just Plain Crazy!

(This is in reference to yesterday comments on the roof thing. Only this is today.)

What's the big deal?

I'd let my 8 year old daughter and her friend and my 5 year old son play on the roof too!

Wouldn't you?!

(Is that even legal??) LOL

Hmmmmmm?

Ummmm....if you just stepped outside and saw blankets on your neighbors roof...and they were hanging out up there...wouldn't you be curious as to what's going on?!

Yeah. Me too.

By the way, I have no idea. The mom and teenage daughter and friend are on the roof. And there are no fireworks scheduled. (We're talking about Phone Lady, here.)

Phone Saga - The End...

The freezer's thawing. The corned beef is in the crockpot. Carter's napping. Times a ticking.

I should get these dishes done. The ones piled by the sink. (Oh, will it be nice to have a dishwasher!)

Instead, it sounded more fun for me to hop onto the blog.

***************************************
Phone lady just knocked on my screen door.

Phone Lady (tentatively): I'm sorry to...bother...you. Could...I use your phone for a sec.? I need to put minutes on my calling card (as she holds up her card as if she needed proof).

Jennifer (hesitantly, pondering): Ummm... (pause) I'd...rather you didn't. There have been a couple of times I've needed my phone back right away and haven't gotten it. I'm sorry. It's kind of been an inconvenience for me. (Yes. I said that...as nicely as I could) I didn't expect that you'd use it so often. I'm really sorry. I don't want to be rude or anything.

Phone Lady (pointing to the porch) (she came through with her usual persistence): I was just going to use it right here.

Jennifer (I wanted to stand my ground but hesitated): Uh...

Phone Lady: I'll just walk to town.

Jennifer: Um... (trying to think. Fast. What do I do?) Ok. I'm sorry.

Phone Lady (responds quickly, but not too rudely): It's ok. I understand (and walks away).

Now, I'd like to say that my heart was racing and I felt bad.

But it wasn't and I didn't.

I feel relieved.

Funny how little things like that can totally disrupt your whole life. (A neighbor knocking on your door to use your phone all the time...)

I sure hope this really is the end of it!

(Note to self: Lesson learned!)

Neighbor Saga

My neighbor lady (the phone lady) found a new neighbor. Can you believe it? A new neighbor. I mean, I was joking when I said she needed to find a new neighbor to use but she did!

I saw her at this neighbor guy's house one night with her kids spending time around his campfire. I've never seen her talk to him before. Ever. They were hanging out again, last night, around her fire in her backyard.

Not to be all judgemental but he's kind of goofy looking and she's kind of pretty. She's a redneck but she's a pretty redneck. (So, the analytical side of my little brain wonders if she's leading him on or anything). And get this. I was being the epitime of what I absolutely do not like about living in town - a nosy neighbor. I can't stand nosy neighbors. To give myself credit, my windows were wide open and the guy was practically shouting and our houses are right next to each other.

The point to all this is he was going on and on about things in the bible. He was all loud about it like he was some southern baptist minister giving a sermon he had memorized for weeks. He kept talking about Adam and Eve and then the flood and all sorts of other things. I was getting such a kick out of it. I couldn't make out much of what he was saying - I would've had to step outside and they would've seen me (but I was tempted). Mark was getting a bang out of me for being so nosy because I just kept chuckling at them. But it was entertaining. It reminded me of someone else. I could tell by his voice, the guy was really puffed-up on what he was saying.

The neighbor lady & her kids spent the whole day, Saturday, un-junking their yard. Their little tiny yard has been full of garbage (literally) and other misc. junk since we moved in - including three cars that don't run.

With any luck she'll be gone when we get back from vacation.

I Did It!!!

I did it! I Finally told her no!

My neighbor just came-a-knocking and asked if she could use my phone. I was using it when she came and told her, "No. I'm using it right now."

Then she started her usual begging, "Do you think I could use it later?"

And I said, "No. I'm kind of busy tonight."

And that was that!

My heart was racing but Mark said I didn't even sound rude. Darn! (She'll be back again... But now that I told her "no" once it should be a lot easier next time.)

Aaaaand The Phone Saga Continues...

It's been peaceful and quiet around here for the past week or so. (Kind of like in the country). Until, this morning, Rrrring, (look @ caller i.d.: neighbor's mom) rrring, (and I think: NOT AGAIN!) rrring, Rrring. (Answering machine picks up after four rings). It's the neighbor herself calling from her mom's. Her bomb-of-a-car broke down and she's stuck in the next-town-over at her mom's and two of her kids (15 year-old & 5 year-old) are home alone and could I please go over there to let them know. So, being the kind and gracious neighbor that I am, not to mention, decisive person that I know, immediately call my husband.

Jen: (Tell him about message). What do I do?
Mark: I don't know.
Jen: Do I go over there to tell them or pretend this never happened?
Mark: I don't care.
Jen: Yeah, but I feel kind of bad. How else will they know? Should I call her back, being a mom myself, and let her know that I will tell them so she doesn't have to worry?
Mark: I don't care.
Jen: I don't know what to do! I don't want to go through this whole phone thing again but...
Mark: I don't care. Do whatever you want.

So, I get off the phone, call the neighbor back. Run next door, tell the kids. The end.

Not so fast. A few hours later, neighbor calls again. Could I please let her kids know that she is trying the best she can to get home and that mechanic said it's not worth putting a dime into the car and she will proceed to drive it home. (And, I'm sure, get stuck on the side of the road, in which case, she will proceed to call me to come & pick her up). (See comments).

Aaaaand It GeTS BeTTeR!

4:40 p.m.

Knock, knock, knock.

She's at my door: Do you have a roll of toilet paper I can borrow? I need to run to the store.
Me (thinking: You've GOT to be kidding!): No. I'm sorry I only have one roll left myself. (I have four).
So, She begs: Do you think I could just borrow a couple of sheets? Austin REALLY has to go #2 and I'm all out.

I look up to see him doing a jig by their door!

Me: Okay, hang on a sec. (And I come back with a handful).

All the while, Sara's on the phone with me and could hear every bit of this exchange through my headset. (She was laughing).

BTW her mom was ReALly concerned about her. She just called, three hours later (after neighbor LEFT her house), to see if she made it home...And to see if she could talk to her but I just so "happened" to be "on the phone with a relative - long distance". (A total lie).

Aaaaand

She told me she's getting evicted and doesn't know where she's going to live. (Not feeling sorry anymore...) She was "supposedly" moving three weeks ago. She said she's not feeling motivated to move because she doesn't have a place to go. (Sure don't blame the landlord if he's not getting rent. I mean she doesn't EVEN have any toilet paper!) Her kids are supposedly enrolled in school in the town that her mom lives. And she was supposed to be trading her bomber car (which barely ran, doesn't anymore) & minivan (doesn't run) for another car. She said dealer changed their minds. (What she failed to mention is that they took a look at the two she had and changed their minds. Most people wouldn't trade "something for nothing", as the one they had actually ran).

My only concern, when she moves out, is that the place could turn into a bachelor pad or party place. That would be worse than this! See. I'm looking on the bright side. It could always be worse.

True Feelings

Why is it so difficult to show disagreement to people sometimes?

The whole thing with my home-phone is one example. It all started when I was loading the kids into the bargain-cruiser to go to Wal-Mart and so graciously obliged my neighbor's plea to use my phone for a few minutes so that she could put minutes on her cell-phone. (Thinking it would be a one-time deal).

Now, look where I am. I've been woken up in the morning & a nap from phone calls (for her). Woken up from knocks on my door (her kids, coming to borrow the phone). Interrupted when resting (when I had the flu). Late for a funeral (Annika's) because they just had to use my phone. (Which, at that time, I told them "no" but the whole interaction took several minutes and made us late). Not to mention the fact that I've been without my home-phone for a total of about six days, as they've had it all afternoon when they've borrowed it. (If you've thought I was crazy before, I know this just confirmed it).

I got inspiration from Peggy, this past weekend. She doesn't answer the door if she doesn't feel like it. I've always thought, "Well, they know I'm home, how can I ignore the door?" But in all reality, they have no idea what I'm doing when they knock. So. With that said, Monday morning and Monday afternoon, I completely ignored the door when they knocked. That sure felt good! It is now Friday and they haven't tried again. Until then, they'd been using it nearly every day. I feel bad to drop-her-like-a-hat but that really isn't my problem. I realize that. I wanted to help but I'm just not a very "neighborly" neighbor! I can only do so-much.

That brings me to my other thought...on neighbors. We won't have any when we move and I'm ecstatic about that. But on a more serious note, I hope we don't get any either. There are about 20 acres (not "listed" but possibly available) right next door to us that were a potential for one of our friends - who have presently found property elsewhere and are set to build.

I'm afraid that I'm going to offend someone here but this is nothing personal towards anyone. I just don't want close neighbors - someone we "know" or not. I just really hope we'll be able to buy the property someday...and soon so I don't have to worry about it. I really want my privacy (....aaAand I have a blog?) and I know I wouldn't make a very good "neighbor" to anyone. But that's my other problem. When they ask, I've acted like it's a great idea for people to move-in next door to us, when instead I want to bring out the claws and growl, "go away". [How do you do that in a nice way? Besides, we have no control over it if someone buys the property.]