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The corn is as high as an elephant's eye.....
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A chivaree here was often held the weekend after the bride and groom returned from their honeymoon although sometimes people would hold off until the couple thought they were safe, sometimes relatives planned one for special anniversaries or other celebrations too. The last one I went to (in the 80's?) involved everyone sneaking up through the back farm lane with their headlights off and of course anything that would make a lot of noise - car horns, bells, horns and shotguns (that would never fly today, somebody would call the cops)..... the "guests" brought all the food and drinks for the party. Tricks like removing all the labels from canned good and filling the bed with cereal were customary, unfortunately party planners had to be vigilant as there was always the risk some drunken fool would take things too far.
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People will say we are in love:

Some people claim that you are to blame as much as I
Why do you take the trouble to bake my favorite pie?
Grantin' your wish I carved our initials on that tree
Just keep a slice of all the advice ya give so free...

BTW, found on Youtube
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..Oh dear, had two windows open, posts did not show up.

I think I said:
Prior to the Shivaree comes courtship.
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https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shivaree
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Oh my GA, it's been years (decades?) since I've seen Oklahoma, I can't remember if there was a chivaree 🤔

(but of course now I've got that song stuck in my head 😂)
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CWillie, wasn't a chivaree held in the musical Oklahoma?    I haven't heard that term in years, probably since the last time I watched the Oklahoma musical.    I miss those good old musicals and operettas.   Other than specific musical channels, class in entertainment has significantly been eliminated other than for PBS presentations.
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Two local couples are celebrating 50th wedding anniversaries and while we were discussing this the topic of the chivaree came up (this is the local spelling, there are variants). These used to be very common in my area, I haven't heard of any lately but then I'm not part of that crowd anymore either. A search of the web would have you believe it is a custom from long ago - points to anyone who knows what it is!
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Just checking on this general topics thread, making sure it is not expired.

Remembered, one of the 'neighbor' solutions I have is a portable, decorative fence that is about 4' high, comes in panels 3-4' wide, that connect. I bought panels over a period of time, adding to it over the years. at Lowe's.

I have moved that fence everywhere, as needed. It has helped me be calm, just when workers or neighbors were ready to infringe onto my property. As the years go by, it has been the best garden investment I ever made.

At Christmas, it holds the decorative Christmas light across the front of my house.
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If plans work out I'm having some friends over for our monthly lunch date this week so I'll be busy with some house cleaning and sanitizing I don't usually bother with otherwise. Sad but true, I don't invest the effort I used to put into cleaning other people's houses into cleaning my own, I mean it's just me and as long as it's not a complete sty I'm OK with it 🤣
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Dust Bunnies were living happily under my refrigerator.
All gone.
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It's okay Elaine. Mostly I am trying to shorten back my own posts. Being responsible for my own contributions.

I always regret criticizing others after all is said and done.
If people enjoy reading long posts, they must be much younger than me.
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Sendhelp, some of the posts are very long. Sometimes I get long winded and I forgot to space out my paragraphs.

I’m trying to remember, lol.
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Is anybody having a difficult time reading the very long posts of new posters?
It seems that I have been writing more in response, when long ago, my answers used to be shorter.
If I wanted to read that much, I would read a book.
Can we shorten some of our posts?

Except for private messages, I want to read whatever is written there.
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Glad - he likely believes that an ATV is the perfect way to explore nature 🙄. As for your descriptive words, there seems to be a lot of that kind of attitude, it seems to me that we boomers failed to raise moral kids.
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Golden, good for you contacting the city. There are most likely setback requirements in place. Here a permit is required for all structures, and building permits required for anything 120 square feet and over. My county requires a signed complaint prior to opening the enforcement process.

Why do people remove trees unless diseased in some way. I just don't understand.

Here the developer wants to change rules to permit ATV trails in an area designated as "Nature Preserve" he is quite the a$$, entitled 30 something. This is also an area designated as wetland by US Fish and Wildlife. This has caused quite the uproar in the neighborhood. He is a stubborn, condescending, dictating pig!😡😡😡
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Several people around the block have removed perfectly good trees (one was a lovely birch, another a red leaved crab) and shrubs - a mock orange whose scent I enjoyed while it was there and more and have left their front garden bare. I don't get it.

One the other hand my neighbour to the north has erected a shed in the front garden backing onto my front lawn. I don't believe it is allowed so I called the city and am waiting for a call back. It detracts from the appearance of my property. I know I will have to keep after the city to get a response.

cwllie I love cedar hedges! So sorry that one was taken down.

send I am glad you have decent neighbours. It makes a difference.

cm - fun and games, eh? Sounds quite frustrating
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Don't bring my work home with me? I woke up talking to myself about it at half past two this morning! And yes, you're right - she gives people approximately ten seconds to decide what they want to eat and whether or not they want to wash, then it's time up and she goes with their last answer (silence does not give consent. Silence means no let's not bother. Apparently). By the time I'd washed my hands and put my gloves on, she'd got one poor chap scooped onto the stand-aid with his pants round his knees, and I didn't hear a single 'by your leave.' Another classic exchange was:

"Would you like the black one or the blue one?"
"Black."
"Actually I was asking [the client]?"

Whereas I am very thorough/meticulous/fussy (depending on who you ask) but often "ex-CESS-ively late!!!"

You're right. I cannot change this. Although a manager did once promise me - I was frustrated about service quality and had annoyed someone, so this was after a reprimand - "your time will come."

I've thought how to broach the hedge topic with your neighbours, here is your opening line:

"I couldn't help noticing..."
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CWillie,
This is war! It just is.....imo.

Ignore my usual advice, which would be: "As far as it concerns you, be at peace with all men".

I would find a friend with an ugly box truck, or anything huge, and have it parked there for awhile. The neighbor is not stalking you?

I have read of pest control methods promoting the use of making the pest's habitat unlivable, with you becoming the nuisance instead of the pest.

Sorry you are having such a time with a neighbor. My situation has improved, and on each side of me, I now have two really decent neighbors, both working and living alone. We keep an eye out, but with Covid, there is little to no contact, and I like it that way.

Hope your situation improves. Please share if you find a solution.
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CM, that sounds like the kind of worker who always gets kudos for being so efficient but on close inspection is really just skipping half the tasks, the hidden ones that nobody notices until somebody else has to clean them up later. You sound more like the thorough, plodding through every detail type who will even stay late if necessary, am I right? Think yin and yang, as long as there is balance things will work out, remember you are just a cog in a very big wheel so don't bring your work home with you.
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If there were ever a safeguarding issue I would report it, come what may.

But then with the minor issues, who wants to be a tattle-tale? It's not for me to report differences of opinion about what is and is not correct protocol.

We're supposed to wash our hands on arrival and on leaving clients' premises - I don't think she laid hands on a bar of soap all evening, but then I don't usually wash my hands on leaving because in most houses by the time you've taken your gloves off, washed and dried your hands, and then got from the handbasin to the front door you've probably got more germs on your hands again than you would have done if you'd kept your gloves on 'til you were safely outside. I keep a vat of sanitiser in the car instead, and I imagine she does the same. I'm glad we agreed beforehand (against the rules, by the way) that with 90 miles and over 2 hours of driving in the round we were not going to share a car.

To be fair, this girl does actually get through what work she considers herself bound to do. By contrast, a sweet lady on our team was pop-eyed with fury because the worker she'd been teamed up with "never even took her jacket off! She just stood there with her phone! Chewing gum!" I almost envy the brass neck of it.
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My true feelings are WTF!!! I've dedicated most of my time here to planting things trying to increase my privacy, and now my yard is open to theirs. There is a very tall hedge on two sides of his property but they always trimmed the one between us fairly low (and weird, about 6' at the house and sloping unevenly to about 4' at the back). I've asked the cost of a privacy fence when I first moved in but the quote I got was prohibitively high, granted I am cheap that way but I can't imagine spending 1/3 or more of what was my annual wage on a fence, plus then there would need to be the cost of getting a survey because I have no clear proof of the boundary line.

This is the neighbour who has caused me grief over snow clearing and lawn mowing and always seems to find a way to retaliate whenever I interact, my policy is to cheerfully say hello but limit any other interactions lest it lead to something unpleasant. I can just imagine that if there is a fence it will be one that is ugly on my side.

Margaret - my dad always said "good fences make good neighbours", amongst my old farm neighbours there is a dispute between two families that has been carrying on for generations over boundary slights.
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A popular commercial has been running for years in my area.
"Got Milk?"
So popular, that a political candidate used: "Got Wilk?" and it was understood.
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Countrymouse,
Your co-worker's attitude would bother anyone who is conscientious.
So you have heard that depression is anger turned inward?
(I know you have, just putting it out there for newbies).
Unexpressed anger is the cause, so it is good that you are expressing it.
You did the right thing by sending a request for milk to be brought in the morning. You will be the hero when you suggest that powdered milk be kept supplied for emergencies? My loved one who passed loved buttermilk. Hard to keep milk in supply though.
But the part that gets my goat, why is the co-worker over your shoulder telling you what to write?
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I'm depressed, need to vent somewhere safe.

On double-up round yesterday evening (2 workers to each client). I was filling in the notes and heard

"No, don't put he hasn't got milk."
"Sorry?"
"Don't write there isn't enough milk."
"Er. Why?"
"They'll say we have to go get some and I don't want to."

I didn't actually disagree that it wasn't the best idea for us to try to track down an open grocery store on a wet evening in Bromyard - I sent a message to the shift leader asking the morning shift to bring some milk with them - but seriously? You don't want to document a problem in case you're expected to do something about it?

I will say this for my co-worker, she's certainly quick, and the clients really like her. But I was beginning to lose it by the end of the shift when I heard "don't worry about it" for the fortieth time. I DO worry about it, if by worry she means bother.
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?! What are your true feelings, CW?

You're puzzled about their cutting their hedge down, and wondering what if anything is going in its place. Any reason it would be a problem for them to know that? It's not like you're prying.
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CWillie,
Remember Jessebelle's mother, who would go outside and 'garden' by chopping down plants and bushes? Randomly, and destructively?

Maybe your neighbor has a dementia or Alzheimer's, and you will be the first to know, and call attention to the dysfunction with neighbor's family? Watch out for your own garden though. It could be next.

What a shame, a living green hedge, and not enough time before winter to grow something nice.

Were the roots pulled up too?

Oh, I hope it was not removed for solar panels?
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Fences and trees are common neighborhood disputes. Here the Law Society publishes a little booklet explaining it all, perhaps you could see if there is a local one for you. If it was the neighbor’s hedge, was it on his land? Could you agree a fence right on the boundary, shared cost? Or could you put one on your land just inside the boundary? The rules here are more or less that neighbors can be forced to share the cost of a basic fence, but if you want something unusually fancy, you pay the extra cost yourself.

How high was the cedar hedge? High enough to block sun light? It’s sometimes a hot topic here, with so many solar panels. At least there would be some logic to dealing with sunlight, although of course discussing it has even more than logic! Good luck with neighborly relations.
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This is the passive aggressive neighbour I have had trouble with in the past. And I don't think I could ask without letting my true feelings show.

My container garden and compost pile both backed on to the hedge so now they can have full view of the sad, previously shaded side of the garden and my big pile of brush. Hope they like it😉
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Sisters are weirder. 🙄
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