I want a hippotomaus for Christmas...

Our neighbours have an inflatable Christmas hippo in their yard. A few days ago, Husband suggested we "steal" the hippo and place it our yard. Last night when we saw them leave for the evening, we knew it was the perfect time to pull off the heist! A couple of other neighbour kids caught us in the act, but instead of ratting us out, they helped us (They are brother and sister and as we were moving the hippo, the brother said "If you wanted to steal a hippo, you could just steal my sister!" Ha!). After we got Hugo situated, we began the task of patiently waiting for our neighbours to return. We were like children checking for Santa on Christmas Eve, constantly looking out the window to see if their car was in their driveway. Finally, five hours after the kidnapping, they returned! The neighbours say there will be retaliation, but we aren't too concerned. How can you top kidnapping a hippo yard decoration? By the way, another neighbour has an inflatable polar bear in their yard. I am thinking the polar bear would like to see the world from our yard in the next few days.

It's time to play "What's that smell?"

For about 2 weeks now, I have been smelling a strange, skunk-like odor in our apartment. It is not constant, thank goodness, but it shows up every afternoon, and is extremely pungent. I have searched and searched for the source of the smell, but to no avail. I cleaned and re-cleaned our apartment, and yet the smell keeps coming back. I would mention it to Husband and he would smell nothing. He would watch me as I got down on the floor to smell the carpet. He would laugh at me as I stood on chairs, sniffing at the vents in our ceiling. I am pretty sure he thought I was losing it! Well, yesterday, Husband walked into the dining room and said "What is that smell? It smells like skunk!" Woo-hoo!! He could finally smell it! I was NOT smelling things! Today, when the odor showed up again, Husband went to his computer and starting doing some online investigating. The verdict: marijuana. Yep. You read that right. Apparently someone in our apartment building is smoking weed, and the smell is wafting into our apartment. Lovely isn't it? Husband went down to the front office to talk to them about it, and they said there wasn't much they could do and suggested we call the police. Wondering exactly how stupid he would sound if he called the police and said "Ummm...there's a smell in our apartment. Can you come check it out?", Husband decided that he should call so at least there would a record of it. About an hour or so after the call, three police officers showed up at our door. By that time, the smell was gone, and of course, without the smell, there was nothing they could do. However, they did confirm that what we have been smelling was indeed the wonderful aroma of someone getting higher than a kite. I suppose it's better than a skunk trapped in our walls, although that would be easier to get rid of!

Won't you be my neighbour?

Last night I had to call to the police because my neighbours were too loud. For the past two nights, they had been partying. Loud music, loud cars, loud people. On friday night, I decided not to do anything about the noise, because it was the first time it happened. After things finally quieted down at 3:30AM, I decided that the next time it happened, I would call the police and complain. Last night it happened again. So, I called to complain. About 45 minutes after my call, the police showed up. Thankfully, after the police left, so did the partiers and the loudness. The bedroom is at the front of the house, so I was privileged to hear the conversations of the guests as they left. My two favourite conversations of the night: (Both have been edited to leave out all the swear words, otherwise the conversations would be MUCH longer!)

Conversation #1
(Sound of someone falling)
Girl: (laughing) He just did a face plant!
Guy: (laughing) Dude, get up! Dude!
Girl: He's not getting up. Do you think he is hurt?
Guy: He just did a faceplant on the sidewalk. That's gotta hurt! He's not getting up. Let's just leave him. (Still laughing)
Girl: We can't just leave him! Let's carry him.
Guy: Whatever! (Groans, and I can only assume they pick him up, sound of someone falling again)
Girl: We made him do another face plant! Let's just drag him! (sounds of talking get quieter as they move down the street!)

There was no body lying face down on my sidewalk, so I hope they took him with them.

Conversation #2
1st guy: Dude, I think I am going to puke.
2nd guy: you're drunk.
1st guy: (starts throwing up right outside my window!!)
2nd guy: Dude, that's sick. You drink too much!
1st guy: One more heave, dude and I am done (throws up again)
2nd guy: Dude let's go
1st guy: Dude, I'm too drunk to drive. I'm gonna walk.

I guess at least the guy was smart enough not to drink and drive. But it looks like drinking and puking was another matter!

Our next apartment will have a bedroom at the back of the house! Anf hopefully elderly people for neighbours!