is 11 pm the right time for yard waste?

(this photo is not of yard waste, but i forgot to take a photo of the pile.)

so on the weekend, the husband and i went to town on our overgrown yard. he tore out a huge wisteria that was trying to kill everything in its path including our beautiful plum tree that gave us some delicious fruit which may or may not be organic.

i trimmed branches and reshaped bushes and hedges. yes, i still have plenty to do. when the batteries ran out of the hedgehog and we were at a good stopping place on the branches, we hauled a pile of branches 8 feet long to our curb.

well, despite the crazy amount we pay each year for "refuse removal", it stayed next to the mailbox despite everything in trash bags disappearing.

i asked a neighbor what the deal was and she explained that sometimes "they" take it and sometimes they don't.

well, our next garbage day is thursday. and while having twice a week garbage pickup is quite a luxury, coming from a place where they shipped the trash to michigan, my guess was that the HOA (home owners association) would definitely not appreciate looking at the branches dry up in the sun next to our mailbox for yet another day.

and while i welcome correspondence of all kinds, after one month in residence, i think hate mail from the HOA probably wouldn't make my day, especially so early into our tenure here in stepford-land.

so at 10:45 tonight, i stuffed our wheelie trash bin until it screamed for mercy. i filled empty cardboard cartons that once housed chair parts full of branches. i dragged all that stuff back to the top of the driveway, where hopefully it would disturb no one except my sensibilities. (my arms are tired.)

grrr.

not being satisfied with that show of brute strength, i decided to wage war against the cardboard cartons that remained from the move and the purchase of new essentials for land ownership. the destruction made me feel better and at least i know that the chance of them recycling the cardboard is greater than mulching the yard waste.

coming from toronto, the place of green bin wet recycling for everything from dog poo to vegetable peels to oyster shells, brown bagging yard waste so that its mulched and you can repurchase it at home depot, and recycling of wine bottles for cash, it feels like we've gone back in time to the 50s.

where's my vodka martini served on a silver tray when i get home from a hard day at the office? yeah, i know, it's in the cupboard until i make it, smart ass.

at least the garborator pulverizes vegetable and fruit matter so that it doesn't go in the landfill, but instead to the sewage treatment plant.

rant rant rant

licensed for texas

wow, what a strange place the dmv was - right out of a bad movie about goverment processes. so many people milling about looking all crazy. and unhappy. with a free clinic next door. in a decripid plaza.

kids chasing balls, people on cell phones, everyone wandering around. lots of complaining.

a big contrast to the clean, almost sterile environment of the tax accessor's office in southfork, i mean southlake.

actually the people who worked there were very efficient and they were very happy when people showed up at the check-in window with forms filled out and all the id needed in had.

one thing that would have been better -- i should have brought a book with me, but i wasn't thinking that i would make it there today.

there was a guy sitting next to me who desparately wanted to talk to someone, just not me, not today. he eavesdropped on my conversation with the check-in lady so he wanted know know a bit more about my life than i was wlling to share at the dmv with a total stranger. i was happy to have the blackjack with me.

the eye test as probably the easiest i've ever taken. each letter was huge! and picking the colors? there were only 3 choices -- red, yellow or green. filling out the application form was harder.

all in all, it probably took 30 minutes to get the license including the requisite bad photo. still, i'm glad that i don't have to go back for 5 years.

plated!

ok, so this is not the exact license plate i got, but it is a texas license plate for all ya'll from elsewhere.

today my 8 am trip to get my vehicle registered (the 5th trip) was successful. after 3 months of paperwork and visits to strange places including the tax assessor's office, i now have texas plates.

can i get a whooo hooo? (thanks, i needed that)

now, let's just hope i can remember what i learned from this experience to texas title the other car.

chapter 2 of this saga is upcoming: getting a texas driver's license....stay tuned.

rest in peace, aunt lyn

if you've kept up with me in 2007, you know that it's been a major rollercoaster.

there have been so many highs and a smattering of serious lows. and just when i thought everything was on an upswing, my aunt lyn passed away after a long battle with COPD and lung cancer.

i flew to philadelphia on monday night after work to attend her funeral mass on tuesday.

aunt lyn had an uncanny ability to make everyone feel like they were the most important person in the world at that very moment. she was always positive, happy and joyful, even when she was dragging around her oxygen tank. she lived life at its very fullest and was fully emersed in the moment. she was amazing to be around -- you could feel her positive energy engulfing you.

i was very lucky to have 38 years with her. i got to learn some family history and secrets. I got to learn some customs and recipes that she and my dad grew up with.

during the past 11 years, i got to know her a lot better and i only wish i could have learned more of her secrets from her.

if i can be 1/2 as positive, joyful and charismatic as aunt lyn, i'll be ok.

yet another silly relocation errand

so get this, tomorrow I have go to the auto theft detectives' office in ft. worth.

why you ask?

to see if my imported-from-canada car is stolen, eh.

this run in with the law only takes place once a month, on the second Thursday. and no, silly, I can't just go to the local cop shop and ask them to run my VIN #. apparently this is highly specialized work that can only take place when the moon and the planets align just so.

anyway, I missed last month so in the interest of finally getting Texas plates and a Texas drivers' license, I figure I should make the attempt to find the place.

providing I don't get too lost on the way back, I should be in before 10, since I'll be waiting for the nice officers with a box of donuts when the place opens at 8.

(I know, I know, this is going to make a great story one day...or maybe an even better joke.)