What A Way To Meet The Neighbors!!

Since we have moved to our new home in the middle of TIM BUCK TOO, BOON DOCKS, BACKWOODS, etc. whatever you want to call it, it still seems nothing goes as planned. (But we still hold out hopes!)

For example, yesterday a HUGE pig -I mean HUGE, was in our poor garden, the garden we started only a few weeks ago (actually things were peeking out from it, spinach, collard's, etc.) Our daughter on her way to work so early yesterday morning, chased the monster pig off and felt guilty that she had yelled at our dog for her constant barking. Especially since the dog resorted to the chair crawed up with a sad look on her face, of "I was just trying to alert you!" Reminders of the pig were evident of the huge hole it dug, the footprints of the pig, actually the smell, which attracted all 3 dogs, even though the pig had left hours ago. DANG it, I had just gotten use to the chickens and roosters in our yard that made our dogs go into fits, but I had no idea that a huge pig lived or was loose in our vicinity. Well, to make a long story short within this paragraph, my husband spent all day yesterday repairing the interrupted garden back into its proper shape and building a fence to protect our little garden. (which by the way, we are still not sure how to grow!)

Speaking of my husband, today is his birthday of 51 years. Last night I went to bed with thoughts of how to make today very special for him. You know what I mean! Romantic stuff. I had planned the entire day ahead of time for his birthday to pamper him, make things special for him, make it a day that he would remember. And it started off well, with breakfast in bed for him covered in a tray of sweet smelling rose petals from our rose bushes in grand colors laid upon dishes of his favorite foods. I was so pleased with my effort and his gratitude expressed upon his smile. That was just the first of things I wanted to do for him on his birthday. (I love romantic things, and he also does.)

But then the calls came (which will explain why this story is about meeting my neighbor via the phone.) The first time it rang, I answered and the other party said "Angela?" I replied "No, this is Katie, and I am sorry, but I think you have the wrong number." I set the phone down (we were on the back porch) and it rings again, and my husband answered it. Again, he tells them it is the wrong number. And again, and again. (Actually he is now become irritated, and sounds close to being rude!) Around the 5th ring, the caller tells him that there is a problem, as she is trying to call her own home, and each time she does, we answer the phone. I am standing in front of Jim and saw his facial features change with concern, and a much nicer tone entered his voice. When he said "Oh, really?", I knew we were once again a victim of Murphy's Law, and possibly the one on the other end of the line talking to him.

To make a long story short (well, sort of, as I did leave a lot out, as not that real interesting) I found out that my area did include broadband instead of just TURTLENET (dial up) and it was to take place yesterday for my insulation. My phone service was cut off yesterday for about 20 minutes, and then right back on without any problems (well, until today). Yet, it turned out that the phone service made a mistake in my order and switched lines to my neighbor 2 miles down the road. And all calls coming in to us, were actually for my neighbor. It was so confusing for awhile.

Yet, it actually turned out to be quite funny (at least now) as the first call that we answered was from the grandmother hoping to talk to her granddaughter. My husband kept telling her she had the wrong number. Grandmother sees red flags and calls her daughter that a strange man is answering her phone, and the granddaughter is home alone!! (Not so funny right then!)

When the mother of the daughter called, we realized something was amiss. Phone calls from me and my new neighbor stopped and we both started calling our phone carrier. (I was pretty angry as an add went into effect today that cost a pretty penny to place, and the idea was to sell the majority of my daughters possessions of furniture, etc., in her efforts to make her move to Iraq. And if any callers answered the add, the got a dead number!)

In the ending, it was fixed, and we laughed and joked together about it, exchanged numbers and life experiences. We just clicked, as if we had known each other all our life. As it turns out, her family has been here for ages, (in this small community of only 500 families), and told me many things that were helpful to me as a newcomer to this community. We actually have a lot to talk about, and it is good to meet the neighbors.

It just goes to show, that when things do not go as you hoped or expected, and things interrupt your life, the silver lining that we always hear about behind the black cloud still shines through. Sometimes we just do not see the shine. But, I did this time, and loved every minute of it.

Katie