Neighbors and Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a delicious Thanksgiving. Enjoying family, friends and making memories to cherish tomorrow. My holiday? Mostly quiet. I had dinner with my Mom's baby brother and his family. Though I have to admit that for the most part the day was difficult. It could have been worse but Rory did help take my mind off missing Mom. But it was when I got to my Aunt and Uncle's that I really lost it. The smell. I was so missing the smell of roasting turkey and stuffing. I hadn't spent a Thanksgiving since I can remember where the cooking smells didn't fill the house. Yes, I missed Mom and was remembering our dinner last year but it was the smell that I think I missed most. So, guess what? I went out Friday and bought myself a turkey and the trimmings. And Sunday became my personal Thanksgiving dinner with Rory and Rosie begging for turkey scraps. And as you can see Rory was very interested in that smell too. I am enjoying my left overs and can't wait to make myself some turkey soup and potpie. My two favorites with leftover turkey.

Now for our "Rory story". And a tale of neighbors.

We all have them. Many of us enjoy friendships with our neighbors. Neighbors are supposed to watch out for their neighbors. Help out in times of trouble and, well, at least be polite. Well, my neighbor on one side is that and more. The sweetest couple and "Aunt" Pat is one of Rory's favorite people. But the other side??????? They are one of those kinds of neighbors. Quiet people but strange. (There is a designer who has a pattern the has these two houses side by side. The one house is pretty and the other a disaster. I really have to get that one!) 60 feet (Yes, I measured it!) of their yard borders my back yard. It is the only section of my yard that doesn't have 4-6 foot chain link fencing. This area is a flimsy chicken wire type fence. It was always sufficient for my previous dog. Besides that the whole area has bushes covering the fence.

Can you tell where this is heading? Yup, Rory has crushed and broken enough of the bushes that he has a path along side the fence. The better to run and play with the neighbors dog and to keep an eye on those pesky feral cats that the neighbor feeds and encourages to make their home there. Where? Under all the sheds the neighbors have in their yard. As well as the decking around their pool, the decking with the hot tub, the gazebo, and most of the the HUGE pile of mattresses that are partially covered with a collection of blue tarps. Yes. I said MATTRESSES. As in what you sleep on in your bed.

I hear you know saying "What?"

Well, see for yourself.

Why you ask? I am not really sure myself. I did see one of the owners trying to pole vault and using the mattresses as her landing pad. (I had to quickly run inside the house. Holding in my laughter was too hard to do!)

This pile of junk has been sitting there for at least three or four years, They just keep adding and/or changing the tarps. (The neighbors dogs also like to climb the mattress mountain and tinkle on it!) The cats like to live under it and when they pop out of hiding my Rory goes ballistic. Barking and jumping on the fencing. Yup, He found out he could push on the fence and jump the 3 foot section with ease. He did this twice and there I was spending hours on Thanksgiving morning patching some areas, adding height with some of my garden fencing and wire. Pounding additional fence posts into the ground and making this 60 foot area "Rory proof." It is holding for now but as soon as I can I will be getting some stockade privacy fencing for this area. The other bonus that will mean is not having to look at the yucky blue mountain every time I go out my kitchen door.

So what kind of neighbors are yours?

Except for Rory's cat chasing, fence jumping antics he gave me some concern over the weekend. He wasn't acting his usual self. He didn't want to eat a couple of mornings and was very quiet. Spending as much time as he could in my lap. On Saturday he started sneezing and coughing and running a fever. I ran him to the veterinarian yesterday. He has kennel cough, a doggie version of a cold. Unfortunately it can get serious and turn into pneumonia especially with puppies. He is now on two different medicines and after just one day he was a little more his old self this morning. We figured that he picked it up at the dog shows. So once he is better I am hoping my fence repair will hold. I did get some stitching done. Finished my two exchanges and got them in the mail. Finished two Christmas presents and started a couple more. No photos until they reach their new home.

So until next time.................

Love and stitches,

Kathy

and licks from Rory too.