If you get any good suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them, too. I am sort of a private person, as in, I am friendly and outgoing when I am with friends, at work, etc. but when I am HOME, I want to be HOME and be left alone. I like to sit out on the patio and watch the kids play...I like to work in the yard, spend time with the family, surf eBay, read, exercise...and just be HOME. I don't like to hang out with all of my neighbors, or have people-even family-just dropping by all of the time and leaving whenever they want to.

Well, this past year has been okay-all of our neighbors say hi when you take the trash to the curb, or when you see them coming or going-but other than that, we leave each other alone. New neighbors just started moving in on Friday. The mother has already been in our yard twice...and her DEMON of a 3 year old girl is in our yard all of the time. She just runs on over, doesn't ask if she can play-and just gets on the swing set, or into the bubbles, etc. with my kids. I am walking the fine line of being friendly and polite to the new neighbors, and telling them to bug off.

I told DH I hope this doesn't become a habit...oh, and on the landscaping front-I planted a tree this weekend-a Cleveland Flowering Pear (a certain smaller kind of Bradford Pear tree). For those who don't garden-they are the smaller, pretty accent trees that have white flowers in the spring, and turn red-orange in the fall. Pretty in two seasons. I also redefined the bed around the tree out front, and made the new one for the new tree...and put fresh mulch around them both. They look really nice-especially since the rest of the neighbors have not remulched or defined their bedlines yet this season.

On the neighbor front...I am thinking that I might combine my landscaping AND neighbor issues into one solution: I could plant large shrubs all the way along our property line-maybe something thorny.

Aphil ~ We could be twins. I have a very social job so when I get home the last thing I want to do is talk to someone. Plus, I always have my own agenda and if someone is their I can flush that down the toilet. Sounds like you have a very similar problem. No, no one really had many suggestions except my DH and boss. They both said to just tell her I have to exercise my horses and will be unable to walk. I don't care if she comes over while I am doing my flowers, thats fine but my agenda this summer is to ride my horse two days and drive my pony two. I am not going to let her stand in the way this year. I am also going to just tell her when I am ready to go in that I have to shower and get ready for bed. Just straight up honesty is what I will use. Oh and when DH calls I am going to say excuse me I have to go inside to talk to DH instead of having her sit and listen to my conversation. DH is even more personal than I am and if she won't leave he will tell me he will talk to me later.

Funny on the shrubs but that won't stop a kid. The only way to stop a 3 year old is a wall and it doesn't sound like you want a privacy fence.

The tree sounds beautiful and I may have to consider one. I love flowering trees.

KC, I remember you!!! Hi!! I let myself slip from stringent eating/exercise, and am s-l-o-w-l-y trying to get back to where I was.

I have been mostly posting on another thread, "Chicks on Motorcycles" but occasionally come here to say hi ti Aphil and other earlier Old Fashioned-ers.

Hi Holly!!!

Please come on over to the new thread for April!! Stop in more often-you are missed!!!

Amy

Hi Aphil! Is it now called "Calorie Counters Chat"?

oh, and what a gorgeous photo of you in your profile!! did you make that costume?

Yes-that is the new thread! Thank you-yes, I made the costume in my profile photo. I was pregnant with Saber in it, 3 months believe it or not-it might explain the glow...that, and the fact that I was sweating from performing.

I was pregnant in my avatar photo as well.