Rinse and Repeat

If you are looking for the Hop(e) for Haiti post, please click {here} You won't regret hopping, I guarantee you. The cards up for auction are just gorgeous and I'm so honored to have been asked to participate with such talented ladies!

Why rinse and repeat? Well, because after about 2 weeks of blissful nighttime silence(or manageable noise), the quiet was definitely broken last night. Yep, the dog was at it again. Sigh. Started barking around 7pm (that I noticed...could have been earlier, but it's possible I was too distracted to notice). Barked all evening until about 10pm when I wanted to go to bed. Showed no signs of stopping, so I called the non emergency line for the police to report it. Went to bed and read til about 11pm (which is late for me, but the dog was keeping me up, too). Fell asleep to the sound of barking and woke up at midnight. Dog was still barking. Managed to fall asleep and was woken up at about 1am (yep, still barking). Managed to fall asleep again to be woken up AGAIN at 2am or so by the barking. So that's from 7pm to 2am (or thereabouts) that I am aware of. I must have been so tired at that point I slept til about 5:30 this morning. No barking so far today. I've seen the dog, but of course, he could be just plain tired from all the nighttime barking. Sheesh! I called the city today and was informed that the owners didn't get served their ticket for the last time until January 28th, because no one was ever home when they went by to serve it. So, what, approximately 2 weeks or so until they decided they didn't need to keep the dog in the house anymore?? I was also informed that the first ticket hasn't been processed fully yet, and if they issue a second one at this point, one will definitely be thrown out. So, they are adding notes to the file. Joy.

So that's why I wrote rinse and repeat as my title. The saga continues...

I didn't want to leave you with just discouraging news, so I thought I'd tease you a little instead (hee, hee). Even though I said I was putting down the knitting needles for a while, I've already picked them back up and started a new project. Hmmmmmm....I wonder what it could be??? I guess we'll wait and see now won't we? LOLOLOLOLOL

And I've been thrift store shopping...I found some neat things too. Right after I saw this post, which I thought was really cool, I found this at the thrift store. 

 

And I thought it was too neat to ignore (especially at only $8!). So I brought it home and put it by the couch. I still need to clean it up a bit and figure out how to stabilize it just a bit. It's a rolling tray thingamabob(nice and technical term for something I'm not sure what the real name is). I'm going to use it for decorating for different holidays/seasons.

I found the tiered basket too. And some bunnies, but I'm holding off on showing those just yet.

For now it's housing some yarn, some swim goggles and Barb's treats (the swim goggles showed up after I put Barb's treat holders in there) and Amy's valentines. I plan on using this for entertaining when we have parties. My friend Susi uses something similar when she has parties for the kids and she loads each basket with yummy goodies. And I want to be more like Susi when I grow up, so I'm copying her idea. LOL

Hope you have a great day! I think I need a nap now. LOL

Tired Human Feels Better

First of all, I must thank you so very much for your sympathies and very kind words about the whiny post I wrote yesterday. I truly appreciate the time you took to care.

I thought I'd give you an update.

After I posted, I actually got a call from an Animal Control officer. She had pulled up the complaints listed for the address and told me there were 5 of them (over the past two years), but they were all anonymous. This was also frustrating to me because I know I have called many more times and each time (except for the very first time) I called, I left my name and phone number, my address and the address of the house with the problem dogs. I realized though, they must have a sort of revolving door in the Animal Control department because each time I made contact with a real person, it was a different person than the time before. So, I'm sure many of the complaints fell through the cracks. The upshot is, the first few logged calls spanned over 6 months between them, so, according to the department, they have to start from scratch then. I didn't know this (and secretly wondered if some of my calls weren't getting logged so they wouldn't have to deal with it, you know?). And she told me because the calls were "anonymous," they could only leave a notice and not take any further action.

But, she noted that there were 2 calls within the last few months and my call the other night. She said they could ticket the owners if I was willing to write up a statement for the complaint. This is the FIRST time anyone has ever asked me to do something like this. Tired as I am of the whole situation, I agreed and wrote up a complaint for this last incident only (although I worked in that it was an ongoing situation into the complaint). She stopped by and picked up the complaint and told me that how I worded it was perfect (whew). That means the judge won't throw out the complaint. If the owners fight the ticket, I might have to go to court to testify, but she said it rarely gets to that point. The ticket means there is a fine involved. She said, basically, all they can do is ticket the owners, they can't take the dogs away or muzzle them or anything. But the tickets get progressively more expensive. So, maybe, just maybe this will let the owners know that there are consequences for having dogs that constantly bark.

I thought I'd let you know that these owners are renters in the house. They are young adult males, in their 20s, I think (this is also the house where they let the weeds grow as tall as our privacy fence). They work odd hours and the way our houses are situated, ours sits a little higher than theirs, so I can see pretty well into their back yard from my house. They occasionally have parties, but it's not a problem at all. They may play their music a bit loud, but it's never for a prolonged period of time. I honestly don't know why they have the dogs since it appears their lifestyle isn't conducive to giving them the love and attention they deserve. I suppose it's the fact that having a dog can help offset the potential for someone to break in...but I don't know how helpful that would be if someone actually got INTO the house, because the dogs are OUTSIDE the house, but whatever.

There are two dogs that live there. One was there first and isn't too much of a problem. They brought in a puppy, (to keep the other dog company) and it's THAT dog that is the main problem. He's been a barker from the get-go. Although sometimes he gets the other one riled up enough to do his barking thing.

I know the dogs are bored. There isn't anything really for them to do. And they don't bark ALL the time, but it's often enough that it is incredibly annoying when they get going. Given that I can generally see they aren't getting attention I know WHY they do it, and I feel terrible for them living such a sad life. I don't know that the other neighbors say anything, mostly because they are neighbors, or maybe they work a lot, too and simply aren't around to realize how often it happens. There is foliage on either side of the backyard and that could be muffling the sound so we alone get the full "benefit" of the noise. All these are guesses on my part.

And it's usually worse when the owners are gone from the house. If they are home, it's not much of an issue, although I can tell when they are home and they let the dogs bark endlessly (without coming outside to see what's up). If they are gone for the weekend, I know we are in for a noisy time.

I did get a much better night of sleep and feel much less like a zombie this morning. My perspective is returning and I think I can handle the annoyance of this situation much better. (They haven't barked as much since I called, thank goodness~that helps).

Thanks again for listening! I really appreciate it! Hope you have a great weekend! I'm gonna try really hard to enjoy mine!

Barking Dogs-1, Tired Human-0

It's about 9:15 in the morning as I type this and I've been awake pretty much since 2:30am, so up front I'm going to tell you I'm tired and this is going to be sort of a rant type post. If you don't want to listen to me whine, feel free to move along. But, I also want to get it out of my system and hopefully be done with it. I also want to note that I realize, in the grand scheme of life, this isn't some horrible thing, but on the other hand, it's incredibly frustrating.

By my post title, you may have an inkling as to why I've been awake since 2:30 am. Long time blog readers know we have had an ongoing (for, oh, about 2 years now) issue with the dogs that live at the house behind us. One more so than the other. The issue? Constant barking. Like for hours at a time. Not at the squirrels that roam our back yards. Not at someone who may be up to no good. Just barking because they are bored and neglected by their owners. When the owners are home, they don't bark, usually (but they've been known to bark when they are home). When the owners are gone, they generally bark, constantly. And yes, they are about 99% of the time, outdoor dogs. I sometimes see someone come out for a minute or two, then they go back inside, leaving the dogs outside. I have called our animal control department numerous times, talked to a real person, or left a message. I get a song and dance and nothing ever changes.

During the day when the dogs are barking, I have come to the point where I can pretty much tune it out and go about my day. At night, it's harder to do that. When you are awakened in the middle of the night by the barking (and in addition to just general barking, which is bad enough, they are adding a sort of howl to the mix), it's maddening. Especially when you call the non-emergency police number to report it and both the dispatcher AND the officer tell you...it's really an animal control issue and I should call them in the morning. It's overwhelmingly frustrating to be told by the officer you are speaking to that the ordinance for the city is written in such a way that says the dogs can bark at pretty much anything, a flick of dust flying by, a cloud floating across the sky, the streetlight...doesn't matter.

So, I was awake at 2:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. I looked at a few emails, then knit for a while and at about 4:30, I laid down to see if I could sleep. I dozed for awhile. But, I pretty much have come to the conclusion (after 2 years of this...you'd think I'd have picked up on this before now) that there isn't anything that is going to be done about these dogs and I'm tired of complaining about it to the city. So, I'm done, I will just tune it out as best I can.

After dozing I got up to start reading blogs and the computer is off. Yesssssssssssss....it's acting up again after about a week of working just fine. So, no blogs for me unless I go to the dinosaur computer (which I'm on right now). Amy isn't speaking nicely to Jessica, which doesn't help my mood, either. Such a happy morning!

Get the girls dropped off at school and head to Wally World for a few items then over to the city hall building to pay a utility bill. I must have looked dog tired as the gal commented and I started crying like a baby. I was so embarrassed, but that's what happens when I am overly tired and frustrated, I guess. They were really nice and even got the "community outreach" person to come out and talk to me. I told her what happened and she took the information and said she would follow up and work on getting the situation taken care of. Do I believe it? Heck no. I'm sure they were just trying to appease this wacked out woman crying over some dogs barking. Was she sympathetic, yes, most definitely. Will it help, most likely not.

I have a feeling I wouldn't have reacted this way had yesterday not been my mom's birthday. She would have been 74. And while I thought I was doing okay handling it, I think my (over emotional) reaction was a delayed response to dealing with my sadness and missing my mom. I went out clothes shopping yesterday and came away emptyhanded and down in the dumps because nothing ever fits me right. (Clothes shopping on a day when I'm a little blue to begin with isn't the best idea I've ever had, I'll admit that).

So, the barking dogs win. This human is tired of trying to get someone to care (other than me), so I'm done getting worked up over it and will ignore them as best I can.

Like I said, not the most earth shattering situation to deal with, but it was bugging me so I wanted to get it out. If you read this, thanks for putting up with my whining. I'm sure the next time I post, I'll be in a much better frame of mind. I think I'll go take a nap now.