What Price To Be A Good Neighbor?

I need help. We are living in a new neighborhood and I really want to have good relationships with our neighbors. They ahem, might not share that sentiment.
Let me paint the picture.
One of the first days we were here the husband parked his car in a space that made it difficult for the across the street neighbors to get out of the garage. Our bad for sure, but instead of introducing themselves and politely asking if we could move the car, uhmm they sere not so polite in telling us why the car did not belong there.

Moving along, these neighbors also run a dog sitting business that is pretty much illegal. Their idea of walking dogs is letting the small ones, chihuahua, out their gate onto our front yard were they are none too happy to take a dump on our front yard. At first I thought; "oh no the dogs got out I should go let the owners know." WRONG! day after day they let them out knowing they run across the street and , you know . So now I'm faced with some choices. Lure those little punk dogs into my house with meat and if the owners come looking for them act confused, because after all they were pooping on my yard every day so surely they belonged to me. Pick said dogs up and stuff them in all the mail boxes on the cul de sac or get our the air soft gun.
I really am an animal lover but for real???




Oh and that's not all - the neighbor on the side of us also lets their dog out to run free down our adjacent slope and poop in our back yard. WTF? can somebody help me understand this , and give me some suggestions? Right now I'm considering collecting poop and knocking on the neighbors doors, and saying "oh, this belongs to you."
what do you think?
If you have any suggestions leave them in the comments section you don't have to sign in you can do it anonymously.
Oh and I live in Canada.

Ted Kennedy Rest In Peace

Light a candle in your window tonight to memorialize an amazing public servant.

This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American...will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me—and more urgency—than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.

— Ted Kennedy

Show THIS To Your Teen!!

Not that teens are the only ones that text and drive.... and to think that Hawaii was unable to pass a no texting while driving law?

Fire Poi

If someone were to tell me 15 years ago that I would LET my son PLAY WITH FIRE I would have told them to lay off the crack.
Never say never .
It's hard to fight the influence the island has had on the boy.
Here's some great pictures Mike took of him doing a fire poi show.
Check out Mike's website at colelleaphoto.com

RIP John Hughes

If you were a teen in the eighties this will bring back memories!!!
Complete with my favorite quote from Ferris Bueller:
"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while.....You could miss it."

"

Friends

I'm lucky I have some really great, caring, there for you in good times and bad, friends.
I've been wanting to write about two in particular who recently visited us from the East Coast.
Mike and Soozie.
Here they are:


Don't they look happy? They just mastered the stand up paddle board
And
They're in Hawaii, who wouldn't be happy?


Back to the friend part. These are real , in the realest sense of real, friends.
They were our neighbors in Maryland in the first house my husband and I bought together.
Mike photographed our wedding.
After I had the boy and the girl I came home to balloons and a home cooked meal courtesy of Mike and Soozie.
They treat my kids like they are their kids.
When the boy was little his favorite activity was going over to Mike's pond with earth worms to feed his Koi .
He would just walk into their backyard like it was his own and it was no problem for Mike and Soozie.
We use to share Christmas Eve cocktails late at night and when they smelled the garlic wafitng from my kitchen they knew it was an invitation to dinner.
And now it gets really serious....
Mike and his daughter drove our U-Haul van across the country from Maryland to California.
Yes you read that right DROVE A U_HAUL VAN ACROSS THE COUNTRY!!!!
That was a serious lapse in judgement on Mike's part but we LOVE HIM for it.
They photographed our older daughters wedding, beautiful , beautiful pictures with a personal touch that can only be added by someone who knows the people getting married.
When I told Mike that my kids were going to the Lego Robotics World Festival, he called and volunteered to be a photographer.
I was at the festival taking pictures and someone said, "shouldn't you let a professional take that picture?"
I turned around and there was Mike , surprising us .
In the closing ceremonies for the festival the boy and the girl's face were plastered up on the jumbotron for all to see, because Mike was one of the official photographers.
When I called to tell them about the surprise birthday party I was having for the hubs, they said, "we'll be there."
Get this, they flew from Maryland to Hawaii for the WEEKEND to be at that party.
They like to do stuff like that,
incredibly kind things because in this day and age it's shocking, to find such kindness.
Today when so many people don't even know their neighbors, we were so lucky to end up next door to Mike and Soozie.
Mike and Soozie you're the best, we love you and treasure your friendship all these years.
And now some pictures from their visit:

shave ice of course!!!!

He's got wasabi coming out of his ears, lots of ahi sashimi was consumed.



Sunset beach warning signs. In the winter this is where the 20 foot + waves can be found. In the summer it's glassy



No trip to the North Shore is complete without a trip to Ted's bakery



Honu basking in the sun, bliss.

Gilmore Girls

best moment in season one of Gilmore Girls.
A thousand yellow daisies.
The girl loves it (me too) .

Julie and Julia

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS?????
IT'S ME.
loved the movie made me cry,
a big dream I didn't know I had, until this movie.
Must figure it out.
I have the cookbooks ,
I watched Julia Child,
I cook,
I like to eat,
I blog.

what makes you cry?

Standing ovations always make me cry.
Friends and family standing up
for you, strangers,
applauding.

The Mormons Want To Suck Your Blood

some sights from my run:

The mormons want your blood:



These people are tired of being dumped on:




but it comes with a price the sign should say no dumping or pilfering


While we're talking about pilfering,
People are serious about their mangoes here:



And finally,
this sign at the top of a long hill.


I see it and it says Pain In You!!!