Thursday, October 05, 2006

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

7 comments:

  1. This makes me smile, as I know the frustrations of being the new kid on the block...and I love happy endings...this seems to be a good way to end a bad start!!! ;}

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  2. Oh my goodness! What a mix-up. I'm glad you got to meet a neighbor, and I'm really curious to know if you found out who, or where, that pig belongs.

    I would hate to have something like that running amok in my yard, scarfing down my veggie garden and leaving special "calling cards" for the dogs to roll in.

    So, does the phone interruption mean that you'll be back to highspeed internet access?

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  3. I've heard pigs are almost as smart as dogs. I wonder if that's true... *grin*

    ...leaving special "calling cards" for the dogs to roll in. My male dog likes to roll in everything. We often take the dogs out for runs in the nearby parks/open space/wooded areas, and about twice a year he gets out of our sight for a few minutes and comes back COVERED in the stinkiest, stickiest stuff imaginable. That is usually followed by a long soapy bath...

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  4. "about twice a year he gets out of our sight for a few minutes and comes back COVERED in the stinkiest, stickiest stuff imaginable. That is usually followed by a long soapy bath..."

    So, who gets the long soapy bath? I have to admit, after walking and cleaning a dog, I'm definitely in need of something like that myself!

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  5. Anonymous2:39 AM

    What a cute story. I'm happy you met your neighbor and it turned out well. It'll be nice to have someone who can help you acclimate to your new home. That's awesome broadband is available so you won't be as frustrated getting online. Tell your husband happy belated birthday for me!

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  6. So, who gets the long soapy bath? Well, since he won't stay in the tub by himself...both of us. Actually, we have a detachable handheld shower head in our main bath that's great for dog washing. I still have to climb in the tub with him, but it does a great job of getting the dirt and soap off the underside of him.

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  7. "we have a detachable handheld shower head in our main bath that's great for dog washing."

    That's the same thing I use to wash my dog. I've never encountered pigs in my yard, though. That had to be intresting.

    I had a neighbor who had a rooster adopt them, and he would crow all day until he finally gave up and moved on. I think he lived there for several years before they got rid of him (either that or he just wandered off and adopted another family). Your house sounds lovely, even with the livestock wandering through!

    M

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