The B*tchy Neighbor and Tree Drama

I'm not normally one to publicly point out problems with friends, family or neighbors. However, I am going to drop this self imposed rule and share a little story of neighbor drama. We have a neighbor that's.... well, interesting. She has an ex-husband that shows up in some sort of modified truck/van that he obviously sleeps, makes curbside meals in and travels in like a gypsy. Kind of like a little odd circus on wheels. Not sure where he showers or even if I want to know. Her grown children often sit outside in the yard with guitars and what sounds like a sick banjo playing and singing very loud folk music. Her yard is full of old tires, rusting yard furniture and dead grass. The porch is littered with bags full of what I can only assume are items destined for yard sale or thrift shop fame. My last encounter with her porch brought me close to a bag of shriveled green marshmallows. I thought marshmallows were white, who knew. This leads me to tonight's drama and fun...

My husband, my ever handsome and manly husband, has been doing a little spring yard cleaning to keep our yard looking neat and as tidy as a yard can look with limited time and a large family. The aforementioned neighbor has 3 very large overgrown ponderosa pine trees hanging over onto our property as well as the sidewalk and into our mailboxes. Anyone who has seen a very large overgrown pinetree knows that the underside has a lot of dead branches and these things drop tons of needles... and ponderosa pines have nasty long needles. These trees have been dropping needles and pinecones onto our lawn ever since we have lived here and we've just dealt with their pointy sappy goodies spread all over the place. However, today while trimming our trees, these overgrown trees of the aforementioned bitchy neighbor got a "haircut" of the limbs hanging onto our side of the fence. My husband, being neighborly, also trimmed a handful of branches hanging way out onto the sidewalk which were making it difficult to walk past without getting slapped in the face with pine needles. I said "job well done!"... hubby felt happy with his progress and we decided to hop into the truck and spend some time together running about town. Upon arriving home we were greeted with post-it notes on our door. Four total post it notes, here is one:

Now apparently she thinks she has the authority to say who can and cannot park near her home on the public street. Interesting ! I thought only the city had that authority. A side note, our family and friends rarely park on the street by her home. They only park there when the street in front of our home is being used by our other neighbors.

Here is one of the apparently beloved neighbor's trees... the offending needle dropping overgrown tree. You can clearly see how low the branches are and how far it sticks out onto the sidewalk. By using the car and standard height mailbox as a measurement, it is clear how hard it is to walk around this tree.

I guess the days of doing a good deed for your neighbor are over. What a sad and telling statement on society !! I think a much better way to have handled this was to come speak to us in person and we'd work it out. I walked over to her house and attempted to talk to her but no one would answer the door although I could hear them inside.

Here's hoping your neighbors are "drama free".

xoxoxox

~Wendy

Spotlight on Hair Accessories

http://www.tichelmae.etsy.com/
Today I am featuring a very talented seller on Etsy. She makes beautiful and unique hair bows out of ribbon, silk flowers, buttons and charms. They look amazing. Her daughter is usually wearing one of her creations and moms often stop to ask where she got such unique hair bows. How do I know you ask ?? Because she is my sister Rachel ! Rachel is a dedicated mother to one


beautiful and lively young daughter who shows no indication of her very difficult entry into this world. My niece weighed a very tiny 3 pounds at her premature birth. She spent time in the NICU where she let everyone know that she may be tiny but she was a fighter. Today she is still petite and still a fighter... she knows what she wants !


TichelMae offers fun and custom hair bows with yummy colors and styles. Many different styles of ribbons and silk flowers are used to create these custom hair accessories. Each creation is attached to a fully covered alligator clip to avoid pulled hair ouchies.



Happy weekend fun to everyone !! Here's hoping you have great weather and something fun and relaxing to do !!


xoxoxox
~Wendy

Oh Snow Go Away !

I'm a little sick of the snow. This is the view I see when I step outside my house... gorgeous, yes ! But will it ever end ?? All of my tulips, daffodils and lilies are doing more than mere peeking out and I'm scared for them. They must be terribly cold. Can you imagine sticking your head out after a very long nap and getting hit with a freezy frost ?! Certainly doesn't sound inviting to me. I'm so sick of the cold and snow that I decided to wear capris today. I froze my ankles off, but I felt good about it. ;)

My daughter did bring a little bit of spring cheer home today though. She's involved in a cake decorating club and made this sweet little cake today. I think she did a wonderful job with the flower !

Happy Spring thoughts to all...

xoxoxox

~Wendy

Sentimentality in my Genes

I'm the sort of person that gets attached to things. I'm sentimental. I was reading a blog by Octavine Illustration and started thinking... actually, more pondering as to why some people attach themselves to tangible things from their lives and some do not. It seems that my memories get wrapped up and tangled amongst pieces of paper, bits of jewelry, photos, fabrics, even furniture and I can't seem to let them go. Now I don't consider myself a packrat. I like things neat and tidy wherever possible but I'm afraid I have far too many boxes full of nostalgia, dressers covered with shiny bits and baubles and scrapbooks filled to overflowing with photos, ephemera and keepsakes. My children have inherited this sentimentality gene, sometimes to sweet excess. I remember shortly after cancer took my father away, my daughter, in her wonderful little girl love, got attached to a styrofoam cup. Yes, she could not go on if her styrofoam cup was thrown into the trash. She had become, in that life altering moment of losing a beloved grandfather, a sentimental enthusiast and lover of "things" linked to memories. I helped her clean her ever-messy room this afternoon and she still clings to this gene that makes us keep things. We carefully tucked all the old party invitations into a drawer and somehow, that.... made me smile.

xoxoxox
~Wendy

Monday Funny !

Anyone got the Monday Blues ???

Check this out !! ---> The Monday Blues