So, my neighbors put in a pool.  My outdoor sanctuary is gone.  Partly it was a self-inflicted wound; they needed our permission to tear down the fence and destroy a good part of the yard so they could get the backhoe in.  Every lawyer I know told me I should have said no.  I knew I should have said no.  But I didn’t say no.  The construction was bad enough, but I knew worse was coming and it did.  My outdoor sanctuary is gone.  I guess I already said that.

There’s now a pool party almost every night.  This one from four days ago was the worst.  We counted 42 place settings at this table.  42 women showed up about 7:30 for cocktails.  42 women sat down to dinner at 8:45.  42 women jumped into the pool, screaming like 8-year-olds at 11:oo.

We used Perfect Lawns to clean up the damage.  I still haven’t presented the neighbors with the bill; they typically use a guy with a pick-up truck and some shovels.  Things are finally getting a little bit back to normal, but the new normal, I guess.

We put in a ‘wall’ of crepe myrtles and Cherry Laurel for privacy.  We also did a more professional job on the firewood placement.

The puppies are glad to have their yard back in tact.  In April, Brian got two Pražský Krysaříks (‘Prague Ratters’ in English – I don’t even try it in Czech.).  Fanny and Mable.