Grateful For Good Neighbors, Take: 372 (okay, four!)

Okay, so I know I have said this many times before, but I really could not be more grateful for our neighbors.  We really lucked out in that department.  So what amazing thing did they do this time?!  Well, allow me to tell you the whole story.  

Chris has been in England for the past week, catching up with friends and family, and although it is strange to have the whole house to myself, I have managed to keep myself pretty busy.  Of course, his absence couldn't be punctuated more perfectly than with a sad, sob story (like that one time he was in Philadelphia...).  '

Monday morning, I dragged my sore, DIY-addicted body out of bed, got ready for the day and headed to Whole Foods in search of all things tropical for my fruit salsa I was bringing to a BBQ later that day.  When I returned home, I was getting the groceries out of the car when neighbor, Maureen, came out of her house. "Did you know that one of your sprinklers is broken in the back yard?"  she asked.  "Ummmm, no.  No, I did not."  She went on to explain that when she went to take the dog out at 5:30 that morning, she noticed a big 'fountain' coming from our back yard!  Goodness gracious.  Chris is gone, and yet again, I always pretend to fall asleep when he tries to explain how these things (ahem, sprinklers!) work.  

So, of course I picture something like this...

I am, however, very resourceful so I did what any sensible woman in my situation would do: I texted Chris in England.  Before I could even get a response from him, the doorbell rang.  Maureen!  She said that her and her husband were on their way to Lowes and would pick up whatever part I needed to fix the sprinkler and then they would fix it for me when they got back!  What?!  "Nevermind, hubby, I have help!"  After me insisting several times that I was happy to go get the parts myself, they really didn't need to do everything, I gave in. I think secretly they figured they would be better off getting the parts themselves, lest I come back with some unknown sprinkler parts that had nothing to do with the problem.

I decided to use my time wisely, I whipped up my pineapple, mango & papaya salsa at record speed, then decided I better tidy the rest of the kitchen and family room, should they accept my neighborly offer to come inside for some lemonade after they saved the day.  I didn't actually have any lemonade, but nevermind.  It sounded like a good idea in my head.  

After several rounds of trying the sprinklers (of which I had to FaceTime Chris for him to show me how to turn on that section of sprinklers!), we had successfully fixed the problem.  At least for the time being.  Chris will have a bit of work to do when he returns, but at least the fountain situation has been resolved in the meantime!  

One of many signs that I have allowed myself to be 'taken care of' since finding my hubby.  I would have taken charge and figured things out by myself in the past, but it's often easier to let someone else handle some things, or as I like to refer to it: divide and conquer!  Unfortunately the headlight and indicator bulbs on my car all burned out this week as well.  I hear you, Universe.  Figure. It. Out, Sarah.  Or just drive the other car until Chris returns. (Ha!)

I still think it's okay to loosen up the control strings a bit and not do everything yourself, but I will definitely be paying closer attention the next time Chris wants to explain some seemingly boring home-related system to me.  

Oh, and the best part?  I asked my neighbor how much I owed them for the parts.  "A glass of wine one evening!"  Done!

{ Boring } Tales of our Backyard Experiment

Listen, I get it.  This is likely not interesting to anyone but us.  And even we are only mildly interested in the goings on in our back yard.  So we don't blame you if you skip right past this post entirely.  I do, however, want to document the transformation for all of the projects we do at our house.  So, here we go...

Over the past few weeks everything bloomed really quickly - including the weeds!  We need to have a few trees removed, and are then going to be tilling and reseeding our entire back yard.  

Step one was weed removal (The really annoying part?  I am pretty sure these are the same weeds we pulled last Fall!  We just can't get ahead of the curve on this project with just the two of us... but we are determined!), and since Chris had to work all last weekend on a tight deadline, I was determined to tackle it myself.  That is until our awesome neighbor, Sarah, so kindly offered to help!  Seriously who offers to help weed someone else's back yard?!  It was actually really nice to have some help, but even more than that to get to know Sarah a bit better.  We chatted nonstop as we carried on weeding for nearly 3 hours!  We basically finished the entire yard in that time!  I had a lot of other general cleanup that I managed to get done before she came over, so I spent nearly my entire Saturday on the yard.  But it was worth it!  It was really nice out, not too hot, and it looks so much better!

Now fingers crossed that we can get the trees removed in the next few weeks before the weeds return!  But, seriously, who knew that having trees taken out was so darn expensive?!  This creates a minor speed bump as we can't move forward until the trees are gone.  Here's where we get creative!  I'm sure we will come up with something...

{ before photos }

{ in-progress photos }

We have found a ton of these flagstone (?) pavers throughout the back yard and are hoping to use them for a little fire pit project sometime this century!

We are in a bit of a time crunch to get the back yard in a bit better state as I am finally having knee surgery next Friday.  So we will see what we can do about having the trees removed and get it all leveled and reseeded before I am out of commission for a bit.

Fingers crossed that after photos arrive sometime this summer! Ha...

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

I think that is the second time I have referenced Mr. Rogers in my very young blog, which I must admit, is a bit weird, even for me.

Moving on...

I have to say that although Chris and I are still "new" to our neighborhood, we are feeling incredibly fortunate to have the neighbors that we do.  And not just our immediate neighbors, but the whole cul-de-sac has been so warm and welcoming to us.

{ I found this snow-covered photo of our house from just after we moved in earlier this Spring... Funny to see it with snow, when it has been roasting hot here this summer }

Two weeks ago, as we slaved away in the front yard on Operation Rock Removal, several more new neighbors, and some we already know quite well, came over to introduce themselves and offer up any tools or equipment that we might need.

From the hilariously sarcastic neighbor who is an original owner in our development, to the 70 year old woman who introduced herself by saying it was her husband that mows the lawn with his shirt off.  To which Chris responded, "Oh yes!  I know the house!"  {awk-ward!}  When we told her that it was our first house and that we are still figuring things out when it comes to landscaping, she responded, "well, we are 70, so this is our last house.  They'll be taking us out by the feet!"  I told Chris I can't wait to get to know Jean better so I can invite her over for tea.  She seems like such a sweet and funny lady.

Chris and I have made a point to introduce ourselves to new neighbors whenever we get the chance.  We know how strange it must be for them to have a new family on the block, and we want them to know that they have nothing to worry about.  Okay, almost nothing.

Our (law enforcement) neighbor... you know the one?  He saved the day during the toilet fiasco.  Anyway, he told us over the weekend that he really appreciates how good we are at communicating with them and being so friendly.  This is a welcome compliment considering we are new to the whole home ownership thing (or at least I am, not so much Chris), and are doing our best to put ourselves out there and be 'neighborly.'

I can't think of a better way to sum up our efforts so far, than in the words of George W:  

Mission Accomplished.