Just When I Thought They Couldn't Outdo Themselves

This was the message left of my Facebook this morning by my neighbor/friend Krista:


So...what is that weird blue thing covering your neighbors front door? I've noticed it the last couple mornings when I've been leaving for work and I keep forgetting to ask.


Yes as if the "garden" in the front yard wasn't enough, my neighbors have taken yet another step in attempt to win the "Eye Sore of the Neighborhood" award (they're competing with Jason & Krista's neighbor).


To get the full affect...let's take a look at my half of the yard...



Now let's look at their half of the yard...

The blue thing is (to the best of my knowledge) is their cheap alternative for a screen door. When I saw it the other day, the door was open and I thought it was painters tape and that they were doing some work in their house. Nope, it's just a tack-it-up yourself, screen door alternative. It zips up the middle.

The plants by the front porch are cherry tomatoes. The other thing I thought was a weed, but now I think it's some sort of melon plant. I guess because I tore down their melons that were growing up the side of MY house last summer, they decided to try the front yard. I used to be annoyed by the maple tree they had growing in that spot (and then tried to transplant in the middle of the front yard and then moved to their backyard).

My neighbors are nice enough, but they drive me NUTS with the piano playing at all hours, the what sounds like the moving of furniture late at night, and the running up and down the stairs.

On a much happier note...my flowers in the front flower bed are doing MUCH better this time around!

Someone Needs to Take a Refresher Course in Customer Service

No joke...today I got a call from some from Cox Communications trying to get me to purchase more of their services and they lady sounded like she was eating lunch while she was talking to me on the phone. Considering it was around the lunch hour, I consider this to be very possible. Whether she was eating lunch or not, she most definately was chewing on something. Really?

A Good Lesson to Learn

I was reading my Bible last night and came across this story:

2 Kings 2:23-25
From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

It kind of made me laugh. I don't recall ever hearing THIS story in Bible class when I was a kid. Probably because they thought it would scare us, but maybe they should. It would teach kids a good lesson -- make fun of people older than you and you might get mauled by bears.

Quote of the Week

When discussing the fact that my car does not meet the requirements for the new "clunker law," my friend replied, "No offense, but your car IS a clunker."

I have to agree.

By the way, while I was on the above site, I found a link to this site. I found it really interesting.

Not Another One

I don't know what is going on, but there really has been a string of celebrity deaths lately. I think I am the most upset about this one.

And I'm Off

Twenty-four hours from now (if all goes as planned) I will be on my way here:



The only constant in my life for the last 26 years. I have spent at least one week (sometimes two) at this place since I was nine. It holds many fond memories (and few traumatizing ones). Many of the staff are like my second family and the week is like one big reunion.


It's changed a lot over the years. New mess hall with a/c. New cabins with a/c. The old chapel is gone, a new one is being built (may be done by time I get there). The trees that used to encircle the lake have been removed. But no matter how much changes, in many ways it's still the same. And if I ever have children, I hope they love it as much as I do.

Craziness

My first "hometown" had some excitement yesterday. Read the story here. I spent my childhood two blocks from here. And the driver of the trash truck lived across the street from us and his kids were childhood friends of my brother and I. I promise you, this is possibly the most excitement this small town has seen since the Farmer's Oil Company exploded when I was a child.

I Did This!!!

And ALL BY MYSELF!!!




Okay, I did make one phone call to a family friend before I turned the power back on to make sure something I had to do wouldn't cause my house to burn down. But he wasn't there and I had already finished before I called. It was actually easier than I thought. I might have to replace more light fixtures in the future.



If you looking closely and wonder why the light bulbs don't match...it's because the larger globe light bulbs (which is what the box said to use) wouldn't work in that one light fixture. The bulb worked, just not in there. I think the part you screw the light bulb into was crooked and since the bulbs were a tight fit, I don't think it was going in straight. Considering how much I paid for it I'm not surprised. But the fixture had to be replaced and I couldn't find anything I liked, so I bought something cheap that would do for now.

Ironic?

I found this picture on a slide show from the Michael Jackson Memorial:

"Elephants from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus are marched on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, through downtown to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the memorial service for Michael Jackson will be held. The predawn pachyderm march is a decades-old tradition for the circus, which opens Wednesday at the Staples Center."


Anyone else find it ironic that the "Greatest Show on Earth" is following the greatest "show" on earth?

July 4th Rule #1

Rule #1 for going to watch well-done fireworks anywhere other than your backyard is be prepared to wait in a long line of traffic. It’s annoying for all of us. I don’t know anyone who enjoys it…but it is part of the package. If you also follow Rule #2 (Take turns…let someone in ahead of you, then you go) everyone’s trip will go much better. Why is it when everyone is trying to leave the same place at once the Golden Rule seems to get thrown out the window (along with a few choice words and gestures).

The lady in the parking lot with us Saturday night obviously had NOT been schooled in “The Rules”. Of course as soon as the fireworks end, everyone tries to start leaving at once. In the true spirit of the rules, we were doing our best to abide by them and wait for our turn to back out. As we’re backing out, my friend notices the lady next to us is also backing out. So my friend stops and waits for the lady to notice she was there. Oh, the lady knew we were there…she just didn’t care. She proceeds to back out in such a way that my friend is trapped. She can’t back up, she can’t pull forward. But there wasn’t much space between us and the cars heading the opposite direction in the parking lot, so surely the lady will wait for us to finish backing out. Nope. She squeezes her car in-between all the cars (as we held our breath for sure she was going to hit us) and heads towards another exit.

I’d like to say it ended there, but it didn’t. We ended up pulling behind her at the other exit, but she didn’t want to wait in line to get out of the parking lot, so she backs up AGAIN and flies back the other direction in the parking lot, to try to get out that way. We’re all laughing at her knowing she’s not going to get out any faster the direction she was going. We probably had been waiting in line a few minutes when my friend’s daughter yells out that she was getting out of her car. No joke, the lady gets out of her car and walks up the truck in front of her and yells at him for not moving!!! Where did she think he was going to go? He was trying to merge into traffic and the street was bumper to bumper traffic.

We kind of wanted to watch the show, but we did have to keep the flow of traffic going and she ended up out of our view. I have a feeling the conversation that took place wasn’t very PG.

Flower Mishap

Because my neighbor's front flower beds look like rednecks live there (sorry, I should have taken a picture), I decided to plant flowers in mine on Saturday so it didn't look as bad. Sadly almost half of them have died already (two of them were dying by Sunday evening).

I got drought resistant flowers, I planted them where it said to plant them. What else can a girl do? I'll tell you what...take them back. I bought them at Lowe's and they have a guantee and you better bet I'm taking them up on it. I just hope I have better luck the second time around.

Guess I know what I'll be doing on my day off. ;o)