Judder. Shake. Quake. And here’s a bit of wobble thrown in. Am I dancing? Huh? No. Well, maybe later. Read on for that. Is this an early Halloween post? No, nothing as interesting as that. Ok, PC, what’s going on?
As I write this, our house is shaking and there are huge thudding sounds from outside. An earthquake then? Nope. Those contractors who were on vacation? They’re back and they’re working, rain or shine, on our backyard and driveway. Oomph! There’s another one. Let’s keep this brief.
Scout is hiding under my desk because she’s not a huge fan of big noise. As a result, I keep hitting my head whenever she gives a muted bark. I was here first, it’s my safe place, but I’ve had to scooch along a bit to give Scout some space. (Scooch? Or scootch? Are these real words?) It’s getting crowded under here. Mrs. PC? She checked in on us earlier and is rather less bothered by the noise and rather more bothered about why I’m not using my desk properly. I said I’m under here for Scout…
Fortunately, we have very understanding neighbours, and one side used this time to get a bit of yardwork of their own done, so they’re all good. Our neighbours on the other side aren’t quite ready to do their yard yet (these are all new builds) but have been happy to let the work crew access our space across their lot. An outdoor meal in our new yard could be some sort of thank you. After the last meal we shared, who knows if they’d like that?
A culinary tale and explanation as to why our neighbours might not enjoy another meal with us? Here goes. Two days before the outdoor work started our immediate neighbours joined us for dinner. Me being of European descent, and only mentioning the adult names when making the invitation, I’d assumed just the adults were having dinner with us. Being of African descent, our neighbours assumed the whole family was invited. I didn’t even blink as five children followed their parents in. Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome and welcome. Quick peek up the street, nope that’s it and close the door. Yikes, five extra! Anyway, I remained very much the appearance of kitchen calm (but paddling feverishly under the surface) as I prepared extra servings. Luckily it was a pasta based menu and I hadn’t gone for making those individual soufflés. Beer, wine, speedily defrosting an extra baguette and dancing papered over any cracks caused by the suspiciously small servings. Yeah, we think it went well…
Jolt! An enormous boulder has just been prised out of what will be the driveway and dropped onto our neighbour’s land. Thump! We owe them – I’d better search out that soufflé recipe, scale it up for nine…
Let’s leave it here, since it’s actually quite challenging to write with Scout sitting on my lap. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful (long – hooray) weekend!
OldPlaidCamper 
Well I hope the yard looks great. I’ve have that problem before for miscommunication on amount of guests. Glad you could scratch together some extra, and get everyone feed.. Have a good weekend
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Thanks, Kelly! The weekend was long an unseasonably hot – dry, though! Enjoy the week!
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The quake of backyard machinery is distressing but balanced by the thought of what’s to come (hopefully): quiet hours in pleasant company with a favorite brew. Then watch it– the neighborhood kids want to share it, too!
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Thanks, Walt! We’re looking forward to that first quiet beer – and many more after!
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A few years ago I remember dog-sitting my friend’s two dogs at the time when the neighbours were constructing the new house across the alley. I remember the shudders and shakes, and yes, the dogs and I would meet gazes with a quizzical look every now and then. They were not amused and I too found the big booms and shakes unsettling as well. In the now I am wishing you and Mrs. PC and Scout well, looking forward to seeing the finished product. Sound like you have good neighbours. Enjoy the long weekend.
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Thanks, Jane! Yes, we’ve landed on our feet regarding neighbours – friendly on all sides.
Scout is coping, and she’ll enjoy the fenced in space when completed, running around without running away…
Hope your week is going well!
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Hope the contractors wrap up quickly so Scout can come out from under the desk and enjoy running around her new yard!! Hopefully some wonderful fall weather arrives just as they finish so the celebration beers on your new patio or deck will be perfect! Love the title because I can’t tell you how much home improvement projects make me shudder. Always loved your descriptions of the loud noise of logs crashing on the West Coast, but just reading about this project stresses me out. Another great football weekend and even enjoyed the Everton match!! Try to enjoy the noisy week and make sure you share those noise cancelling headphones with Scout!🐾🙂
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Thank you! Everton on a not losing streak, and no Premier League due to the internationals – phew!
It’s been almost fall for a week or two, but the weekend and this week is as hot and humid as July. Too hot for serious construction, so there’ll be a delay – but the quiet is to Scout’s liking! (She’d eat the headphones…)
Have a good week!
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Okay you got me laughing a whole lot here, pc. I heard a gasp too, that was when I read about the family with five kids coming through your threshold. I am sure, however, that all that construction going is very disturbing and difficult for all three of you. A backyard and driveway will be wonderful once it’s all done. Getting to the know all the neighbors is also a bit difficult at times, but good neighborly relations go a long way to a happy home, so I wish you luck on all these new experiences.
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And they kept on coming… I should have clarified, as we did that evening, child number five was a visiting cousin! Good fun and kept us on our toes!
Construction has restarted this week after the hot spell, so back under the desk we go! (All the crews have been super pleasant do work with, and Scout has made a friend or two when she’s popped out to see the project, so it’s not too bad for her. Plus she’ll have the completed fenced in yard she can try to escape from after…)
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