Olga's Kong Crisis

Dave was throwing Olga's Kong toy in the back garden the other day when it bounced over the fence into the next-door neighbor's yard. In the past, when this has happened, we've been able to reach over the fence with a weird three-pronged garden tool from our shed and retrieve it. (The only thing that three-pronged tool has been good for.)

But this time, the Kong was so far out in the neighbor's garden that we couldn't begin to reach it. So we knocked on her door, and of course she was away. We knocked again, hours later, and she was still away. Turns out she must be on vacation or something, because she hasn't been home in days.

Olga, meanwhile, acted as if we had stolen her puppies. She'd repeatedly stand at the fence, looking at us as if to say, "I know it's over there! Please go get it!" She moped around the house and went from room to room, as if willing the Kong -- her best friend, her only possession, her signal that fun is about to be had -- to appear.

The dog was such an emotional wreck that we decided to order another one and have it sent for next-day delivery. It arrived last night, and she eagerly snatched it out of my hand. Now she has her security blanket and all is once again right with the world. (We'll get her old one back, too, when the neighbor returns from Ibiza or Tenerife or wherever the heck she is.)

In other news, today is garbage day, and I am hoping against hope that the rubbish guys actually pick up the trash this week. Last week they left all our recycling behind. This morning I pulled all the bins out of the alley next to our house and lined them up on the curb so they couldn't miss them. I think one of the neighbors has thrown some stuff in the recycling that may not be recyclable, and I hope that's not why the garbage guys have avoided it -- because the neighbor will never fix it by herself and I, as the default garbage maintenance person for all three of our households, will wind up having to move everything to the garbage bin.

Suburban drama! Sigh...

(Photo: The view from the cafe in City Hall, a few weeks ago. The palm trees are a temporary, summertime addition!)