find a way to get along with the neighbors

I got a letter today that we are being sued – yes, by the Neighbors From Hell. They are suing us for $900.00 – apparently the cost for them to remove, dispose and replace the sand in their sandbox. Yes, this would be the sandbox that they refuse to cover. I am just about numb with shock and anger (can you be numb with anger??), I don’t even know how to put it into words. After they vandalize our house and car, after they threaten to hurt our cats, after they have been repeatedly harassing US—they have the gall to sue us??? Our cats have not been outside since Oct. 20th, so it is clear that any further feces are NOT from our cat!

It is beyond comprehension.

I’m thinking that I need to change this goal because it is clear that getting along with the neighbors is an unattainable goal.

EDIT to fix a formatting mistake. :)

Here’s the latest installment of the ongoing saga of the Neighbors from Hell (cue spooky music)... when we last saw our despicable neighbors, they had smeared cat poop on our front door and plopped it between the screen door and front door (classy, doncha think?) after they threatened to kick the crap out of our cat. I filed another report with the police, but since we decided that we would work on keeping the cats inside, I thought the whole thing would be over (I know, silly me!). So the cats have been inside for the past two weeks, with maybe one exception when one cat got out for about a half hour. Then today, when I was letting A.’s friend into the house, Jelly snuck out (drats!), so we were outside trying to get her back in, of course, whenever we would get close she would just run away. So we stayed outside, watching to make sure that she wouldn’t go on their property (what a waste of an afternoon), at one point Pete heard the Mrs. saying, ‘now the cat is out AGAIN!’ So a bit later, I decided to go to the store, I open the van door and guess what was sitting on the drivers seat INSIDE my van??? A sandy pile of cat poop!!! Yes, folks, INSIDE my car – ON my seat! They must have opened my door and put it in there – unbelievable! I showed Pete and we decided immediately to call the police. (At this point, the poop could not have been our cat – because our cats have been inside for the past two weeks.)

The police officer came out and took our report, she then went to their house, but noone was home, so I gave her their cell phone number and she later called them and then called us with the results. She told them that they could not step foot on our property and if they did it would be “breech of peace”. She also said that they were not willing to compromise. Pete asked what that meant and she said that she explained to them that cats are considered ‘free-roaming’ and we are legally not expected to keep the cat within certain parameters. She said that he said he would ‘accept nothing less than us keeping the cats inside our house’. Huh? who does he think he is?? Does he really think that he can actually tell us what we do with our cats?? She also suggested that we write the letter that we’ve been working on sending to him, our atty. and the police department.

These people are just so unbelievable! My mom keeps saying that they should be lucky that we are not vengeful people and haven’t retaliated.

Yesterday Mrs. R came over when I was getting ready to take my dd to a b’day party and said that now the cat is pooping on the deck (wtf? I’ve never heard of a cat pooping on a deck?? I think it was really the squirrels who have been chomping away at these green nut cases which get left in little piles all over our walkways/yards, etc.) So then she tells me that “you’ll be sorry when your cat goes missing” I said, “Are you threatening my cat??” Then Mr. R comes running out of the garage screaming, “yeah, and what are you going to do about it?? call your lawyer?” I replied again with, “I just want to be clear, you are threatening to hurt my cat?” Then he says, “yeah, I’m going to kick the crap out of your cat – what’re you gonna do?” I said, “I’ll call the police AGAIN!” Then I got in the car drove off—I’m sure that pissed them off that I just drove away and really didn’t engage them in a screaming match. Later, my ds saw Mrs. R come over to our porch and then left, after which there was, you guessed it, a bunch of crap smeared on our door again.

I filed another police report and if something again (who am I kidding – it will happen), we will be pressing criminal charges. The police officer said that our log book which documents everything that has happened since August will be very helpful if/when we press charges.

I just don’t get people who threaten violence against a sweet, loving cat—especially when their 8 yo daughter is standing next to them and the 9 yo owner of the cat in standing next to me. Sheesh!

Last weekend and again this weekend, in the road by the the NFH (Neighbors From Hell)’s garage, there were two little bags of dog poop (like you would use while walking your dog), just laying there in the road – very odd. Last weekend, my mil took care of it – putting it in her garbage can, because that is what people do when there is litter on the ground (thinking that someone must have dropped it by accident). Then it happened again this weekend – odd. THEN, the NFH put a note on the garbage can (just a few feet from the bag of crap) saying, “Not for public use”. Hmmmm, now I’m thinking that they found the little packages in their garbage can and don’t want them there, so they threw them into the road—yeah, real mature!

What does have me smiling about this is that now it’s not just US that the neighbors seem to have a problem with. hee hee

it was getting better, but it seems I was mistaken. Despite the fact that I wave the their (8yo) daughters whenever I see them, they do not wave back and give me dirty looks – whatever. I thought maybe it was my imagination, but I guess things are still bad – my mil told us today that the neighbor was ranting on and on at her and he was going on about how he had smeared dog crap on our steps and door (what an ass!). The light is now back on glaring in her house. This was the first weekend that we didn’t have anything left on our doorstep – oh well, I’ll be expecting something next week.

I was talking with someone this weekend and she was saying that what her mother would do would be to “gently wish them happiness—somewhere else”. I love it! I’d been struggling with the part of me that really wants to fight back and wish them bad things, but then there is the idea that what I wish for them would come back to me three-fold. But if I wish them happiness – just in a different location, that wouldn’t be bad – three-fold of happiness – sounds like a good thing.

Of course, this is all well and good and easy because they are gone for 3 more days. Not sure if I’ll be singing the same tune this weekend as I step in crap on my steps.

okay, so after the last incident of crap on our front door, I filed a report with the police. Then said neighbors were away until Friday night. This morning (Saturday) there was more crap on our doorstep (seemingly from a sand box) and now we can’t find one of our cats (the one that they say is the offender). Hmmmm. I’m not liking this. I have a call in to the police officer who I filed the report with, but I think that he is off for the weekend.

I just don’t get how grown ups can act so childish (and mean!)

This morning my husband left the house for work and found that ‘someone’ had smeared feces on our front doorknob, across our doormat and on our driveway. UGH! It amazes me that grown ups act like this – talk about immature! We are going to be contacting the police, not really wanting to file a complaint but just to let them know in case this is the beginning of a pattern. :::sigh:::

He just came over to talk to me because our cat has been pooping in their sand box.

My suggestion to him was to get a cover for it. He said that he
wouldn’t get a cover because the kids wouldn’t put it back on and it would be pain to deal with. He wants us to tie up the cat if it goes outside, realistically that just doesn’t make sense, because the cats are in and out so much.

At the end he said something about how if we can’t resolve the issue with the cat then the cat will have to go. WTF??? does he think that he can legally have my cat removed? killed? put down? Is he the type of guy who would just do it because he was pissed?? yeah, I think he is.

The sad thing is that our kids all play together and get really well. I just wish the grown ups could as well.

~I should also note that this is not the first thing that has happened like this w/these neighbors. He told me today that he INTENTIONALLY leaves the flood light on the side of his house that shines directly into my mil’s house – literally flooding her house all night long – she has to sleep in a different room because it is so bright in her bedroom. He told me that he does that because he doesn’t like the rosa rugosa’s that she put in along their property line.
(it helps to know that my mil lives across the street from us)