Neighborhood watch

According to Merriam-Webster, there is an inextricable link between the word "neighbor" and the word(s) "fellow man," or kindred human being.

Not where I live.

Where I live, a neighbor is someone who calls the city to complain about another neighbor's lawn.

Sigh...

Moving here has been very different than I thought it would be and one of the most difficult things has been making new friends.

I used to be the kind of gal who made new friends everywhere she went.

Since moving here though, it feels as if I haven't met a single kindred spirit.

Except for Tammy.

Tammy is a neighborhood cat and truth be told... she is one of the few things (people?) that has made me smile this week.

Isn't she beautiful? 

Last night a little after 1 a.m. I realized I had forgotten to take the recycling out. Since the truck comes by early in the morning and I didn't want to miss it, I decided to get out of bed and do the deed.

I scampered down the stairs and dragged the recycling bin, yard waste bin and six cardboard boxes filled with the remains of the day garden to the curb before turning around to see Tammy trying to make a break for it... into my house.

This isn't the first Tammy has tried to adopt me, or the house I live in, and I hope it isn't the last because the look she gave me before scurrying away filled my heart with hope and love.

Seriously.

The reason I had so much garden waste - a bin and six boxes seems a little excessive, don't you think - is because a neighbor who shall remain nameless (the cranky Polish guy next door) complained to the city about the sorry state of our lawn and gardens.

In addition to being the last thing I needed to deal with this week it also made me feel really bad, and kind of sad, because I actually put a lot of work into, and take a lot of pride out of, maintaining what I thought was a beautiful home.  

To satisfy the neighbor (and the city which gave me one week to address the issue) I spent the last three days weeding, pruning and mowing (for the first time, might I add).

Unlike Gwyneth Paltrow... who works a seventies vibe.

Here are two quotes that sum up the way I feel about life right now...

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people (OR CATS!) who rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.
Leo Buscaglia