My husband and I feel like we are 'that' couple in the neighborhood. Everyone has a crazy neighbor, but no one really wants to be that house. Not really sure how it got started, but I have a feeling our yard is the #1 culprit. I love working on the inside of my house... the yard, not so much. For one thing there's no air conditioning, for another it is almost impossible to work cheaply in the yard. When we moved into our house we did not even own a rake. It has been hard for me to spend money on yard tools that I despise using in the first place.
Another reason we might be ostracized by our neighbors may be my love for their trash. I try to have a no collection zone (essentially I don't take the items on the side of the road if I can see their house from mine). Unfortunately I had to break this rule when I found the gate (now my sister's headboard). It was only 3 houses down from us and I rationalized that this was for my sister and therefore worth violating my 'zone'. As there was no way I could lift it myself, I waited for my husband to come home.
Thankfully he has come to understand my love of junk. He even helped me load up cut trees to make the arbor for our wedding. Yes, someone did yard work and I ransacked their brush pile for the straightest wood and used it as the centerpiece of our ceremony (thats just how I roll). This is why he didn't think twice when I told him about the gate on the side of the road.
Now we have a child, which of course changes everything. We could not put Hudson in the back of Shanes car, and then load up the gate in the back also. So I stayed home and sent Shane to load the gate alone. For some reason he waited until dark (not a good idea because although stealing trash is sketchy already, doing it in the dark could get the cops called on you). Shane told me that as he was struggling to load the 5' x 6' gate onto the roof of his car lights began turning on in the house and people were peeking through the blinds. He did make it home before the cops were called and the gate sat in our driveway for several days before I painted it. Remember the house is only a hundred yards from us. I know they must know who took their gate. I doubt they'd recognize it now, but I don't think I'll be invited to any neighborhood bunko parties in the near future. See, we really are 'those' neighbors.
