So either our new neighbors went out and got a dog, or someone was watching theirs while they settled in because I saw them with a dog this weekend. That same dog is now barking its head off because no one is home. Lucky us.
Just ONCE I’d like to live next to quiet. Apparently the only way we’ll ever get that is by buying a house on a large plot of land away from everyone else. Because being quiet is clearly a challenge for the majority of the population. Or at least 100% of our neighbors. Ugh!
When we got home yesterday there were people moving into the place next door. Our old neighbors abruptly moved out about a month ago and there had been a steady stream of people checking out the place ever since. We’re still not entirely sure who has moved in, but based on our snooping from behind the blinds it looks to be a couple with a small child (a girl, actually, based on the purple & pink children’s furniture they were moving in).
Also, based on the fact that someone was home all day today but I didn’t once hear or see them, I’m guessing their are neither smokers or dog owners. Perhaps we’ve finally won the neighbor lottery!
Now if they could start using their garage at some point I’d be thrilled. Right now they are parking both cars in the driveway and using the front door which makes a lot of noise due to the shared wall. I’m hoping it’s only temporary until they can organize their stuff and make room for their vehicles. What’s the point of a two car garage if you only fill it with junk? Trust me, we have a ton of stuff and we still manage to fit both vehicles in our garage. We rarely use the front door. I think I open it more to retrieve packages than to go in and out of the house.
After checking the weekend forecast, and seeing a blizzard was heading our way, we crammed all our errands into Saturday. We started the morning with a stop at McDonald’s for breakfast and then went to the Chocolate Expo at the Morton Arboretum. I only found out about it a week prior when one of the vendors who I happen to follow on Facebook mentioned they would be there. We got there at 9 am when it started so it wasn’t too crowded. I did kick myself, however, for getting McDonald’s when I saw that their restaurant was serving breakfast and had my favorite, eggs benedict. Oh well.
The place quickly got crowded and by the time we left an hour and a half later you could barely get close enough to a booth to garner a free sample. Interestingly enough, the only thing I ended up buying was toffee. I don’t even like toffee, but this stuff was really good (we tried a sample when we first arrived).
Next we headed to Petco so I could get a new hammock for Milo and Gizmo since they weren’t using their new one (and of course before I could switch them, they suddenly decided to start using it, grrr) and then Costco for a few things. After that we stopped at the library to pick up a couple of holds that were waiting for me. I got this book which was super cute and made me laugh. I also got a few back issues of my favorite magazine, ShopSmart. I just learned this week that you can put magazines on hold so I plan to catch up on all the issues I missed during the holidays since they are never available. You can only read the most current issue since that one isn’t allowed to be checked out.
After the library we also stopped at Walmart and nixed Target. I was just done with running around at that point.
That evening we ended up watching Gone Girl and I was reminded again how much I hated the ending; it was the same as the book since the author wrote the screenplay. I loved the book so much when I read it years ago but felt the ending was a big cop-out. That’s all I will say lest I spoil it for someone.
Sunday we slept in and just hung out watching tv and reading while it snowed. When all was said and done there was 19″ of snow on the ground although it doesn’t look like that much from this photo I took.
I read that this weekend’s storm was the 5th worst in Chicago history. I guess it’s hard to feel affected when you’re holed up inside the entire time, though.
Due to the weather Joe worked from home today and I just went about my normal Monday cleaning routine. I’m so glad I didn’t have to worry about trying to get to work. I’ve been lucky this winter that all the bad weather seems to be falling on my days off.
Friday I actually spoke to our new next door neighbor for the first time. I was on the patio trying to get a photo of a duck who had appeared out of nowhere when he came out for a cigarette break. We ended up talking for about ten minutes. He seems ok. We both realized the walls between our units must be thin because he said he can hear our home theater when we’re watching movies and we don’t even have it turned up that high. Ugh, I can’t wait to have a house where that won’t be an issue. In any case, we both agreed we’re happy we don’t live next door to this one guy who lives across the street. He and his buddies are constantly outside late at night goofing off and using the garage as their man cave. I would go nuts!
Here’s a picture of the neighbor’s cute dog. She’s friendly and cute, I just wish she didn’t howl instead of bark.
Saturday we went garage-saling which always sounds better than it actually turns out. I tend to get frustrated quickly between trying to locate the property having the sale since they don’t always list the exact address on Craigslist, and finding sales that are offering something I’m actually interested in. I ended up with a 50 cent envelope organizer because I love crap like that. I will probably take it to work for the time being.
Saturday was also our first pool day of the season. Our pool is heated so even though it hasn’t been terribly warm, it felt great. Surprisingly, even though it was a beautifully warm day, the pool wasn’t crowded at all. There were three girls and one guy sunbathing and we had the pool to ourselves for the two hours we were there.
Sunday Joe and I were in the middle of some alone time *wink* *wink* when it started to rain. Then there was this huge loud crash and our fire alarm starting going off, so we had to rush to get dressed, expecting the fire department to arrive. About a minute later the fire alarm stopped on it’s own. It was the weirdest thing.
I’ve spent the last two weeks trying to find a decent hotel for our small road trip to Iowa and Nebraska later this month. We are finally going to visit Omaha but I am so frustrated trying to find the right hotel that balances good location, amenities, and price. I even tried booking through Airbnb but none of the places I was interested in were available. Ugh! I wish I was rich so I could just book a nice expensive hotel in the center of the city and be done with it.
Just for the record…
We didn’t do much for our anniversary on the 23rd. We just went to Claim Jumper for dinner. We enjoyed a 4-day weekend together but didn’t go away like we had originally contemplated.
Halloween was anticlimactic as usual – only 9 kids this year.
I guess that’s about it other than the fact that someone has purchased the unit next door and has had hired workers to remodel it. We’re not sure whether the owners are planning to live there, rent it out, or flip it. Only time will tell.