So what are you guys going to do for Halloween this year? For the first time in ages, we're going to "go dark", as in turning off all the lights and hunkering down in the lower level and not answering the door. Those vile whelps across the street are not going to get any candy from us this year! They have caused such a disruption to our otherwise peaceful neighbourhood this past year, that I won't be hypocritical and offer them treats this Halloween.
Let's see, what have they done lately? Well, a couple of weeks ago there was a loud screaming match on the street when the daughter decided to run away with both mother and father screaming and running after her. (She's about 9 years old.) Then there was an 8 a.m. Sunday morning birthday party on the street complete with screeching children, a hopscotch chalk board, cars coming and going, whoops and hollers, etc. Not that I mind so much a street party, but at 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning, please. Oh yes, poking through our garbage out at the end of the driveway, always a welcomed neighbourly gesture. Timing my backs and forths. Yes, with a stop watch, both son (about 7 years old) and father, sitting on their front lawn as I was noting the distances around various blocks for my walks. And commenting loudly on my each and every return "omg dad, she's back again. What a crazy old hag." Nice. I love being called a hag.
So what's going on today? Anything new or exciting? Other than a pre-Halloween tea party with my little ones here at 4, nothing much today here.
Good Lord! I remember the early morning birthday party, but I hadn't heard the other stories. NICE parents to allow that kid to say such a rude thing about a neighbor! Charming...
We're getting ready to hang dolls on the Strathmore tree on Monday, so I'm awaiting club members' inventory sheets today, and then I'll forward them to Strathmore so that bar codes can be created for our hang tags. I'm doing some sewing too... We don't hang the tree until Monday, so I have a few more days.
It's cold but sunny here today.
Jim came home last night with quite a story. You have to understand first that he's a very mild tempered person and one who despises any kind of confrontation. Remember too that he had that spinal fusion last year.
So he was in stopped downtown traffic last night. Apparently there was a giant pothole in the middle of a major artery, and so M Street was like a parking lot; everyone was stuck. There was a taxi behind Jim, and it pulled so close to his recently-repaired cute little car that it tapped his bumper. Grrrrr.... Jim pulled up slightly (as much as he could), and lo and behold, the taxi bumped him again! So my kind-hearted husband, all dressed in his suit and tie, got out of the car, and walked up to the taxi. There were passengers in the back seat, and the driver rolled down his window. Jim estimates that he was somewhere around 35 years old. Jim looked him in the eye, and said, "If you TOUCH my car again, you'll experience birth a second time because I'm going to pull you through that window, and beat you up!"
Then he walked away. The driver didn't do it again. LOL!!!
I cannot even begin to tell you how out of character that is for him, but he's had it with idiots on the road...
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Well the nerve of that cab driver. I hate cab drivers. I swear they think they own the road, they run red lights everywhere, cut people off. I say good for Jim. I hope he was nice and loud.
Kae I don't blame you for not putting out any candy. We are going to probably go around the block and then come back and hand out some candy. I love to see what all the little kids are dressed like.
Shelly, Jim is never loud unless he bursts out laughing!
I wasn't there, but if I had to guess, I would say that he probably pointed his finger at the guy, and stared him in the eye, while telling him in a forceful but slightly raised voice the facts of life, as Jim saw them. Jim said that there were plenty of people all around who were watching, and if they had their windows down, they could probably hear what he said.
I should ask him if he yelled, though. I was so busy laughing at the idea of it all last night that I didn't press for details. It was such an unlikely "threat". Of course, if the guy had actually gotten out of the car, Jim would have been pulverized!
Don't touch my car.
Testosterone...
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
So I am kind of upset. My daughter's school is doing a little costume parade tomorrow morning at 1000. Last year they did it in the afternoon. The problem is that Jo has a dentist appt at 930 tomorrow so she is going to miss the whole thing. I am so sad for her. I just called to try and change her appt and the dentist doesn't have anything available until some time in December. That is just ridiculous. I am tempted to cancel it anyways, but its her first appt.
I wish they had kept the parade to the afternoon. Like after naptime or something.
That's a tough call, Shelly. I'm not sure what to tell you.
Of course, dental appointments are important, but if she's not having any problems, it probably wouldn't hurt to put it off another month.
How much would SHE be disappointed by missing the parade. Not YOU feeling bad for her, but how much has SHE looked forward to it? That's the other thing to consider. If it's not a biggy for her, just keep the appointment. If she's heart broken, reschedule it.
KaeEll...??? What do you think?
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Good grief, that's hilarious about Jim and the taxi driver. He sure took his chances speaking to an idiot like that. There is so much road rage around here that I'd never risk talking to someone like that, but then again, I don't care that much about my car, lol. Poor Jim!!
Shelly, I'm sort of watching Y&R today but Maria is here with that vacuum and it's noisy in the house. If I have a chance to run the recording later, I will.
Just for the heck of it, I'm going to take a picture of the hideous neighbour's house and post it here. They have had construction ongoing now for 15 months. Their back yard is filled with joists and decking material, so they are in the front all the time when outdoors. It's the one good thing about cold weather coming. They'll be stuck indoors for a few months. Ugh. Oh, and our good neighbours to the west of us are so fed up with the noisy, rude attention-whores across the road, they are going to put their house on the market in the spring. I begged them not to...
Note the tarps all over the front, the attractive basketball hoop...I can be such a cranky old "hag", lol.
I'd definitely cancel the appointment, reschedule it for another time. Jolene will get far more out of the parade that a dentist appointment. Does she have a problem that needs immediate attention?
I think I may do that. She has been looking forward to dressing up in that monkey costume since we bought it for her. And I just know that since we have to take her into school before her appt. She would be there when all the other kids were starting to put on their costumes. I really don't want her to be left out.
I can't tell what the blue thing is, KaeEll, but it's the exact color of the huge tarp that Jim and I have to put down over our patio whenever we expect a rainstorm, until we get the patio ripped up! It's SO embarrassing, but if it helps to prevent flooding in the basement, we're willing to look like the tacky neighbors overnight. LOL...
I'm so sorry that these people are driving nice neighbors away. How awful to have to live with a family like that nearby. It's just so astonishing that the parents are willing to allow their kids to be so rude. They'll get their just paybacks, though, when their little darlings hit their teens. There won't be any respect in that household!
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
I just postponed it, but I think I am going to look around and find another dentist in the area. Its ridiculous that this place is booked a solid month and a half in advance.
Kae I didn't realize that your streets were so small. Must make it so much worse because you can hear even more. I sure hope that you get a few good neighbors to balance out this horrible one. I guess this would be one case where a housing group wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Imagine my luck, I just called a place actually here in Groton and not on the other side of the bridge in New London and they have an opening for both myself and Jolene on Monday.
I fell in love with New London, CT a gazillion years ago when my father and I were touring colleges. I looked at Connecticut College which was then called Connecticut College for Women. I thought that it was the most beautiful campus, and I thought that New London itself was gorgeous.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Good, Shelly!! Halloween is too much fun for a little one to miss.
Moore, those tarps are covering a bunch of building materials, and I wouldn't mind so much if they hadn't been there for more than a year, lol. They kept running out of money, hence the massive delays. Oh, I forgot to mention another charming thing with across the street people - they have a VW with no muffler. You can hear it 2 blocks away. I should knock on doors and ask the rest of the street to kick in a few bucks for a trip to Midas Muffler for the father, lol. I know we'd all be willing.
Yeah, Shelly, the streets are tiny. It's a development done in the mid 50's, designed around a little plaza that was like the community centre with a great cafe and outdoor tables where all the retired fellas would hang out and sip espresso, a bank, pharmacy, dry cleaner, hair salons, a flower shop and a wonderful bakery that stocked everything you could need for dinner. Of course, it's been torn down by some idiot who said he was putting in townhouses and that was 2 years ago. Now it's just an empty lot full of weeds. So now all the old folks around here (there are lots of people in their 70's and 80's here, then young-ish families. We're an anomaly in this neighbourhood) have to walk to a larger plaza about 2 kilometers away or take taxis. It pissed me off to no end when our plaza vanished!!
Yeah, heaven forbid we'd still be in this house when those vile whelps reach their teens. The mom and dad have it coming, lol. Ya reap what ya sow, non?
Yeah, the only thing that kind of stinks is that they don't have a pediatric dentist. But this is her first appointment. They can't be doing that much to her. And I scheduled my own appt for the same day. Good news is that since I am pregnant I don't have to get x-rays done.
Kae your neighborhood still sounds wonderful despite the nasty neighbor and the weed field. I hope someone buys it up quick so that they can put something else in there.
And Moore I like New London but a lot of it is pretty ghetto and I don't always enjoy driving around it. It is pretty though and incredibly rich with Revolutionary history.
KaeEll, that really stinks about your nice little plaza. I'm amazed at how much things can change over the years, though. It's crazy... People are just desperate for conveniently located property in our area, so a lot of older homes that are perfectly nice are either being torn down or completely changed. One house around the corner from us was redone about eight years ago, and what USED to be the entire house literally became its front hall.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
KaeEll, those BABIES and those COSTUMES are adorable! I especially love the little witch costume. How cute!!
Where were these taken? I don't recognize the house... I ask because the carpet reminds me a lot of the one I have. Mine doesn't have quite as bold a design, but it has similar "creatures" in it. My main background is cream, and my border is pale peach.
Just curious. It doesn't look like any pictures I've seen of your house so far.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
I've got some trick or treating planned for Jack tomorrow. Some organized trick or treat parties at a hotel and a body shop, and off to a friend and brother's house. I'll try to post some pics of Jack all dressed up.
Cute costumes, Kae! They are adorable! And you're right about karma for the neighbors...they'll get theirs. They sound horrid.
Good for Jim! What nerve of that stupid taxi driver!
Shelly, good call canceling the appt. If it were here though, I'd have to think long and hard. We've got a 3 month wait for dental appointments around here. So much so, that folks usually drive over to South Dakota to see dentists.
Jojo, 3 months that is just ridiculous. I think the fact that this is a military town is what made it easier for me to find something else. This place very much caters to the military. Without us this town wouldn't exist sad to say. We still have Electric Boat (they build subs) but without the sailors in town to work on them they would probably shut it down and move it. So I think thats what made it so easy to get an appointment somewhere else. And I think the reason the other place was so backed up was because it was a pediatric dentist. This new place isn't. I figure we will try it for the first time and if I feel Jolene wasn't given the best treatment then we will switch and go for another peds one.
Kae those 2 are just cuter and cuter every time you post pictures. I am like Moore, love the little witch costume. I think we may go there next year.
HI Jojo!! So good to hear from you, and Happy Halloween all!
Moore, that's my living room and the carpet is a Tabriz. I bought it ages ago, back in the 80's, and it was because of all the little creatures on it. It's been great in not showing spills and other boo boos over the years. I really like Persian rugs, have a bunch of them and now that my little peeing Champeroo is in puppy dog heaven, I've been able to unroll a few more of them here and there in the house. I just have the one Tabriz, though.
