Actually, it was Day one and a quarter since Ryan started yesterday afternoon by pruning the encore azaleas in the front yard.
Today we got up bright and early and worked all day. The HOA Nazi probably creamed in her jeans when she saw what we did today. I had gotten a Courtesy Reminder, a Second Notice of Violation, and a Final Notice which threatened fines if I didn't trim the "bushes on the right". Problem is, she was never specific in exactly which "bushes on the right" she was talking about. And these notices didn't come from her, but from the HOA management assholes. She didn't have the balls to deal directly with me. There was some fantastic blogging fodder that I cannot blog about because I'm a little bit smarter than Pumpman in what I put on my blog.
I went in halves on a chipper machine with my sister and her husband just for yard cleanup. When we did the pruning two years ago we filled up over 20 yard waste bags. The most time was spent in cutting the clippings to fit into the bags. Today, we just fed it into the chipper and spread the sawdust in spots where the max weeds were.
It was a long day and Ryan and Sherry are both beat. I sat in my wheelchair all day and fed crap into the chipper.
We were overdue on the pruning party. We normally do it every Spring, but Ryan had his shoulder operated on last year so we didn't do it that year. That was why the yard got so out of control.
So after a hard day's work, I grilled some filet mignon. With that, we had some Yukon Gold baked potatoes, a tossed salad, and some veggies on a stick that I put on the grill. Before that we had some smoked salmon. I also opened up a 2001 Margaux that was excellent. Ryan and I had some sauterne wine after the meal.
One of Sherry's friends called today and asked why I didn't get Mexicans to do the yard work. Ryan and Sherry work cheaper than Mexicans and do a better job.
We only have a few minor things to do tomorrow,
Posted by denny at June 11, 2007 09:20 PMYes, Denny, you are a cheap sob, driving your sis and brother in law like cheap slave laborers. In a communist country, they would brand you as "exploiting noble and diligent laboring comrades"!!!
And don't give me the sob sorry about the cost of the filet mignon, red wine and the sauterne. It's going to cost me more thsi weekend to take your sis and brother in law to a S.L. Cardinals game!!! We might think about you when we are having beer and hot dogs during the ball game. We will even make a toast for you w/our beer!
I had the same problem about 10 years ago after I put up a basketball hoop above one of my garages (I have two, a two car and a one car connected).
Not only did I not pay the housing Nazi's $132 a month back then, I told them in NO uncertain terms to fuck off and to sue me if they had a problem.
Most of my neighbors also were fed up and refused to pay since all they did was have the snow shoveled.
I did a check of the homeowners association board, and low and behold, they were ALL registered dummycraps!!!
The mo-rons even tried telling me I couldn't have my snowmobiles parked outside my house in the winter.
The little known secret (at least where I live) about homeowners associations is you have to sign an agreement to abide by their rules, and once you sign, you're liable, but since I was the very first person to buy my house in my subdivision in 1994, I was grandfathered in, as were a lot of my neighbors who bought right after me, and we can laugh at their pathetic lib asses and do what the hell we want.
Well, not really- I'd burn their houses down while they're away if I could.
Posted by: Rob Cooper on June 12, 2007 03:08 AMAfter seeing what my eldest daughter has to go through in one of these communities, I'm happy as a clam to live in my lower middle-class neighborhood, where they don't give a d!#% about that stuff. The neighbor up the street did get turned in to the county (I sure as heck didn't do it) for having approximately 6 disabled cars in his yard, but that's rare.
As long as they cut their grass and don't have 5 pit bulls terrorizing the neighborhood, I could care less.
Elizabeth
Imperial Keeper
I like your reasons for not hiring Mexicans, but of course there are others, like not wanting to abet the invasion of this country by illegal aliens who are hostile to us and our nation.
I'm sure reasons like that occurred to you.
Posted by: Squidley on June 12, 2007 10:15 AMYou're "rich!" Now, hire a good gardener to maintain the yard.
Posted by: vicki on June 12, 2007 04:10 PMThe HOA in a very big development in our town will not allow the kids to do sidewalk chaulk on the sidewalks or driveways........no shit.
Posted by: patrick on June 12, 2007 04:41 PMvicki - Then it wouldn't be done to my sister's satisfaction.
Posted by: Denny on June 12, 2007 06:08 PMToo bad the HOA bitch didn't come by. You could have showed her the chipper and "accidently" ran your wheelchair up her ass while she was looking in the chomping end of it.
:-)
Patrick.....
My nieces/nephews were never so challenged as my sister/brother-in-laws home was built prior to the establishment of a neighborhood association & they chose not to join.
If they had been so chastained ....it would have been a mistake, they would have put aside the chalk & got out the paint. Sis would have helped.
Posted by: dudley1 on June 12, 2007 07:53 PMGod god man! You have azalea bushes in your yard? Nice! I just have the boring tundra spireas and have to keep replacing the little pine trees that the neighbors let their dogs use as a biffy. I do have killer twelve foot white lilac 'trees' and I grow some wild ass 8 foot tall tomato trees in the back yard. No, I'm not kidding. I'm glad that there's no ass association around here to bug me!
I think Homeowner's Associations are amongst the most vile & pernicious things ever devised...So often, they are run by vicious "Mrs. Grundy" types who need to mind their own business. Yeah, I can see it if you've got a pile of garbage or a bunch of chickens running around, but some of this other stuff is awful. Kudos to those who stand up to them !
Posted by: Sandy G. on June 13, 2007 01:26 PM