sklarblog

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!

From the "pissed off" department: Last night, when Kara got the mail, we found a lovely note stuffed in the mailbox. It read, "Please stop the dog from Barking @ Nite: OR ELSE"

My anger over this note has been building over several reasons. First, if someone has a problem with our dog, the testosterone-challenged complainer could have simply knocked on our door and spoken to us about it, instead of leaving an anonymous note in our mailbox. Second, I don't even think that it is our dog that they are complaining about; on our cul-de-sac of eleven homes, there are seven dogs. Buffy, the nine-week old puppy doesn't spend any time outside without us, and certainly not at "nite" [sic]. She barely knows how to bark yet (though that probably won't be a problem for long.) Giles, also, spent almost no time outside by himself, and very rarely barked (when he did, it was because we asked him to "speak".)

There are other dogs on the circle that do spend more time outside and at night, so I suppose it could be one of those dogs. I can't remember any night recently where I thought something like, "I wish those people would shut their dog up!", so I can't figure out what this pussy whiner is complaining about.

After sharing this with a few people here at work, I was convinced to call the police and file a report. I did so, though the officer didn't seem too concerned (I don't think he filed an actual report, since he didn't give me a case number.) Still, he suggested that I mention the note to my neighbors and ask them to keep an eye on things.

I really wish I knew what "OR ELSE" meant. It sounds like an empty, bombastic threat, but there are crazy people in the world (I know, cause I am one.)

OK, I'm done with my rant now. Thanks for listening. :-)

Update: So it turns out that we weren't the only ones to get one of these love letters. At least four houses on our circle got similar notes; two of the families don't even have dogs.

Return of the Patio

Well, seven days later, and we still haven't finished the patio. We have, though, gotten sunburnt and sore from hauling gravel, sand, and paving stones. Here's our progress as of Sunday evening.

We would have gotten farther if we didn't have to deal with the Giles situation (boy, I miss him) and the new puppy, who has proven to be even more trouble then Oliver. Olie just needs to be held all of the time; Buffy insists on activally impeding our progress by laying down right where the next paver goes, digging up the just-smoothed sand, biting arms, hands and gloves, and just being a general puppy nuisance. But she is kind of cute, a little bit.

Now that I'm back at work, I expect that it'll be another week or two before we finish the patio, and get the big pile of sand and pallets of pavers out of our driveway!

A Slayer is born ...

Everyone give a big "awwwwwww" to the newest member of the Sklar family. Say hello to "Buffy" ...

Buffy is nine-week old black Labrador (her mom was golden, and her dad was chocolate ... believe that?!?) Giles has gone back to the Greyhound adoption group, where I'm sure he will find a wonderful new home without children. And so we move on, with a new puppy that will be properly trained in how to be tortured and over-loved by children.

Stay tuned for more pictures of puppy cuteness.

Episode IV: A New Patio

Well, ten months after moving in (and one month after getting a tax refund), Kara and I decided to put in our patio. You can only look at and walk on four cubic yards of gravel for so long. Of course, we're cheap (and broke), so instead of doing what all of our neighbors have done (hiring a contractor to pour concrete), we've decided to "do-it-ourselves" and lay paving stones.

So, I ordered 1,700 pavers for delivery on Tuesday, and we spent this weekend tearing out sod, digging trenches and putting down edging. (Its a good thing I have a nice sissy job; no way I could ever do manual labor full-time!)

Here's our progress, as of Sunday at about 3:00 p.m., when we gave up for the day.

(Yes, that is a wading pool filled with water; I haven't quite figured out yet why we put it there, or how we are going to move it without making a big mud pit.)

Tomorrow looks to be filled with more digging, followed by raking and leveling of gravel, with a chance of many wheelbarrow loads of sand to be hauled from the front of the house to the back.

Ah, the joys of homeownership!

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