Yesterday the sun was so bright that I put Olga's bed out in the garden so she could soak up some rays. I put on a jacket and sat with her, reading "The Wager" by David Grann, about the wreck of British ship off the coast of Chile back in the 1700s. I've just started it but it seems promising. Unfortunately, despite the sun, it wasn't warm -- 44º F or 6.6º C -- so we didn't stay out there very long.
Still, the seasons are slowly revolving.
We heard nothing back from Mrs. Russia regarding the front garden. Maybe she's written the landlords, but I doubt it. I think we're in a stalemate.
We are also in a bit of a Cold War with Mrs. Kravitz next door, over our rubbish bins. Remember how several years ago we locked them because she (or someone in her household) kept using them? Well, one day last fall I found one of the locks torn off and a lot of rubbish from her bins strewn around in our alleyway. I came in and told Dave, who marched over to her house to demand answers. Mrs. Kravitz was greatly offended that we suspected she had torn off the lock, and she hasn't really spoken to us since. (I think she's also been gone for much of the winter. I've only caught a glimpse of her once or twice.) Her rubbish at the time included a lot of gift bags from fancy brands like Chanel, and in retrospect, I think a homeless person or other passerby tore off the lock because they thought something valuable might be in the bin. (We did apologize for confronting her, for what it's worth.)
Thinking about these fraught neighborly relations, I began to wonder yesterday if we're the problem. As I said to Dave, "Am I an asshole?"
He assured me that I am not. Granted, he's a biased source, but surely wanting to use your own trash bins without finding them filled with the neighbor's debris isn't that extreme.
Besides, I suspect being an asshole is a bit like being insane. If you worry you might be, you're probably not. It's only people who think they are without fault who have the real problems.
We have since removed the locks on the bins. They were a pain to navigate and one side benefit of confronting Mrs. Kravitz, and her appalled reaction, is that she wouldn't dare put her rubbish in them now.
Well, let's lighten the mood. Here's a video of Olga plowing through the overgrown ivy in the garden. This is the same ivy we're going to have pruned and brought under control when the gardeners come in about a month, so Olga is enjoying it while she can!
Olga is having a grand old time in the ivy 😃
ReplyDeleteI have similar rubbish bin problems with neighbours using any old bin they please once theirs is full or if theirs is too far away, like two feet past the first available bin, so I keep my (washed and dried in the sun) bin inside my closed in back porch. Can't do anything about the communal green waste or yellow-lid recycling bins, so they continue to get over filled with whatever might be remotely recyclable. I did write on the lid just last week after I again washed the damn thing out, "No food waste! No Liquids!" We'll see how that goes.
It does sound like Dave was wrong to accuse Gladys, but if it has an ongoing positive effect, than perhaps not so bad.
ReplyDeleteOlga romping in the ivy is great to see. She still seems to move well.
Olga is agile and full of life.
ReplyDeleteWe used to keep our wheelie bin down by the gatepost at the bottom of the drive but somebody started to throw their dog poo bags in it, so now we store it halfway up the drive behind a large tree. We just have to haul it down to the roadside then back up again on collection day.
ReplyDeleteHaving and being good neighbours makes such a difference, on one side we share a drive with lovely neighbours on the other our home is attached to the most horrible woman.
ReplyDeleteOh no Steve, you are definitely not an asshole! You might be an arsehole but an asshole - never! Living close to other people can be challenging. Sometimes I think it would be a lot easier to live in a cabin in a clearing in a forest if not for the birds and goddamn badgers!
ReplyDeleteNeighbors! Here, with communal recycling and dumpsters, we don't have bin wars. Instead, with inadequate parking, we have car wars!
ReplyDeleteI just read that there are now professional neighbourhood mediators offering their skills in conflict scenarios like yours. Apparently in a city like Hamburg they charge only 150 Euro for the first session, 45 minutes. I imagine the first hour is used to figure out who pays how much. Some conflicts, they say, are resolved in one session but others can take months of meetings. I may consider this as a career move.
ReplyDeleteWe have one set of awful neighbors to one side--the good news is they're selling their home--but we have great neighbors behind and a kooky neighbr on the other side of us.
ReplyDeleteLuckily we all have big plots of land so no one is really close enough to use our trash cans!
You're not the asshole, rather the opposite I think.
ReplyDeleteWe keep our bins in the garage and roll them out the night before garbage day. All of my neighbors do the same. We don't put garbage in each others' bins.
ReplyDeleteOlga looks like she enjoys exploring in that ivy.
I really liked "The Wager" but then David Grann is one of my favorite authors so I'm a bit biased. If you like "The Wager", you should check out "The White Darkness" which I think is his best work of all.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I was wondering about Mrs. Kravitz recently. She hasn't been popping up in your posts.
ReplyDeleteGarbage Wars! This could be a new series. A reality series! Although it is sort of a pain to haul our trash to the dump, it does prevent some neighborhood strife I guess.
That is a LOT of ivy. Glad you're hiring someone to help you with it.
I've thought about offering to let our neighbors use our trash bin on our off weeks - I think they don't recycle at ALL because their bin is always overflowing. But I would never in a million years consider trying to put my own trash in someone else's bin. The nerve!
ReplyDeleteI think Olga likes being able to hide under the ivy.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I don't think Mrs. Kravitz would dare to use your trash bins in the future. I'm betting you will come home from work one day and find a whole new look for the garden in front of your house.
Neighbours are a bit of a lottery. Fortunately, our are very pleasant.
ReplyDeleteOlga's having a whale of a time in the ivy - lots of interesting sniffs.
In tis day and age we don't know our neighbors and so it's easy to mistrust them. Don't beat yourself up.
ReplyDeleteI never had trouble with either of my neighbors when I lived in the city, mainly I think because it was an inner city working class neighborhood, live and let live mentality. I'm glad I don't have any close neighbors out here, not that I have a problem with any of them except for the Wicked Bitch of the West but she doesn't live out here. And no I don't think you are being an asshole. Especially if you are willing to apologise when necessary.
ReplyDeleteOlga talking to you at the end of the video is wonderful! She looks so content in this post. No, Steve... I don't get the impression you're an asshole.
ReplyDeleteNo, you' re not an asshole..you think everything through!
ReplyDeleteMy bins are inside the side gate, a level pull to the kerb..I actually put them on the small step so they don't impede anyone's passage..and if I'm out or busy my neighbour puts them back for me.. better than having them blown down the road!
Nope. Not an asshole. We have our own bins but up at the lake used to share with our neighbor. Now he's moved. My cousin lets me take stuff down there but I think next summer we might spring for our own. Who knows. Mrs. K does seem to get her knickers in a knot fairly often, doesn't she?
ReplyDeleteI think you are reasonable. When someone tampers with a lock on a bin that's concerning and needs to be addressed. Regarding the front garden, the landlord needs to provide a detailed plan for review. If they propose paving over the garden, that's a big "No!"
ReplyDeleteYou’re definitely not an asshole Steve. It’s hard to live in such close proximity but you did apologize to Mrs. K. That’s good neighbor behavior.
ReplyDeleteNo...I would not call you an asshole...
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the positive feedback, everybody! I'm glad I don't come across that way -- at least on my blog, where I control the narrative. :)
ReplyDeleteI love when Olga gives you a hard time about the camera. She’s so bossy. You are absolutely not an asshole, but you sure have some asshole neighbors.
ReplyDeleteLove watching Olga walking through the jungle of ivy. My dogs loved doing the same through ferns and areca in my yard. Maybe your neighbor (s) are the ones that should worry about themselves being assholes.
ReplyDelete